Discussion
Morning all,
Normally on my way to work in my mk1 Tuscan when I am stuck in traffic the water temp obviously gets to 90+ & the fans kick in. No problems there. Sometimes in really heavy traffic in warm weather, the oil temp will reach 90+ as well. Never been a problem.
This morning however was only very light traffic and not particularly warm out, yet both temps were into the 90's and the fans were running quite a lot. Oil pressure was crap as it always is, but then it is an early one.
What also worries me is when I started the car this morning there was a fair amount of smoke out the back, not sure what colour it was & it cleared within seconds, but I don't recall this happening before...
In 'Dear Deidre' fashion - should I be worried?!
Normally on my way to work in my mk1 Tuscan when I am stuck in traffic the water temp obviously gets to 90+ & the fans kick in. No problems there. Sometimes in really heavy traffic in warm weather, the oil temp will reach 90+ as well. Never been a problem.
This morning however was only very light traffic and not particularly warm out, yet both temps were into the 90's and the fans were running quite a lot. Oil pressure was crap as it always is, but then it is an early one.
What also worries me is when I started the car this morning there was a fair amount of smoke out the back, not sure what colour it was & it cleared within seconds, but I don't recall this happening before...
In 'Dear Deidre' fashion - should I be worried?!
Are you sure both fans are running. The temperature will creep up if your down to one. The oil pressure will drop largely because the oil thins as the temp rises. The oil is cooled via a heat exchanger that has coolant pushed through. The higher the coolant temperature the less effective the heat exchange process will be.
Smoke on start up (if it has a blue tinge) will be where oil is draining past the valves into the combustion chamber. Typically caused by worn guides and/or failing valve stem seals.
Smoke on start up (if it has a blue tinge) will be where oil is draining past the valves into the combustion chamber. Typically caused by worn guides and/or failing valve stem seals.
I would not worry at all, where I live I spend more time stationary than moving and my oil temp regularly gets to 90.
Change the oil for a thicker grade - Millers 20w/60 - it will give you much better oil pressure and if you are in traffic a large amount of time it will not get so thin like the 10w40 - It will also help with the smoke as the oil is getting so hot and thin it is likely to be seeping past the stem seals.
I use that now in my Tuscan on the recommendation of Dave at RND and it stopped the smoke and the engine is far quieter when hot. To be honest it was one of best bits of advise I have been given. If you leave your car standing as well the oil clings to the components far better and does drain back into the sump so next start there is less metal to metal contact.
The straight 6 BMW M3's use 20w/60 so don't worry about it being too thick as I am sure they have tighter tolerances than the Speed 6 engine.
Change the oil for a thicker grade - Millers 20w/60 - it will give you much better oil pressure and if you are in traffic a large amount of time it will not get so thin like the 10w40 - It will also help with the smoke as the oil is getting so hot and thin it is likely to be seeping past the stem seals.
I use that now in my Tuscan on the recommendation of Dave at RND and it stopped the smoke and the engine is far quieter when hot. To be honest it was one of best bits of advise I have been given. If you leave your car standing as well the oil clings to the components far better and does drain back into the sump so next start there is less metal to metal contact.
The straight 6 BMW M3's use 20w/60 so don't worry about it being too thick as I am sure they have tighter tolerances than the Speed 6 engine.
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