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MG TD TF 1500 - Water temp/oil pressure

I reinstalled the refurnished instruments, and taking my time to make sure all is connected properly and no leaks. I kept an eye on the temp gauge and ran the engine about 20 minutes. Kind of a cool morning (65F) but the engine stabilized at ~85C (185F). I gather that's a good temp. That said, I'm expecting it to climb when driving. Where as 110C is at the upper range, what should I consider as far as an acceptable/ no concern temp range when when driving?. I still need to hook up the oil pressure line and see what it registers. I assume it should show a higher pressure when cold, but then drop off when the engine is at operating temp at idle/low RPM's, and then increase pressure while driving at normal speed (3,000+ RPM's)?

Jim
Jim Rice

Jim, Search the archives. George
George Butz III

100°C = 212°F.
W A Chasser

My TD runs about 70-78C which is about 172F on a hot day. I think it has a 160 F thermostat. I think your reading is very dependent on the thermostat rating.
John Quilter (TD8986)

There are a lot of factors involved here, but I'm happy seeing 70-80C. 85 is ok on a hot day. 90+ starts to concern me, not because the car can't handle it but because it shouldn't get that hot unless there's an issue or you're doing something extreme like climbing a long grade at full throttle on a very hot day. Over 95 and there's something wrong.
Steve Simmons

Jim, I switched to a combination oil/water gauge a long time ago. A few years ago I installed one of Butch's water pumps along with an 80° thermostat. Normally runs at just a bit over 80°. Exception was 3 weeks ago in the July 4th parade. Very slow parade in hot sunshine. Crested a hill at about 98°C. Wasn't worried, thanks to 50/50 coolant mix. Had to do a lot of throttle blipping to keep from stalling, but oil pressure not dropped below 20 psi, normally about 40psi at idle, 60-70 above 1500 rpm. Worthwhile to check the calibration of both parts of the gauge. Bud
Bud Krueger

This thread was discussed between 24/07/2022 and 25/07/2022

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