My 87 911 (98k miles) never seems to get hot. I've yet to see the temp guage climb above the first line (the first thin line that is). Granted, the weather here has not exceeded 75 degrees F or so since I've owned it. Should I be happy about this, or should I expect the engine temp to climb above that first thin line, especially if I'm running the A/C? Most of my driving has been at highway speeds, max of 80 mph, and for not longer than an hour or so, except for one 300 mile run where it still did not exceed the first line.
Thanks,
-Steve

 

Hi Steve,
I wish mine would run like that! I'm tearing into mine to clean the oil coolers this weekend because my 87 is hitting 240-250F (midway to above midway on the guage) on 75degree days. I've even added a switch to my oil cooler fan and still can't seem to get it to run like yours. What you describe is my goal for running temps, so I don't think you have any problems. I probably have some cottonwood tree fuzz clogging up my oil coolers.....
ell

 

My 87' also seems to run cool. The temp gauge never goes above 180 F, although I've only owned it since last November and haven't driven it in hot weather or stop and go traffic. The oil lines leading to the front oil cooler are always cold, which indicates that the aux themostat is not opening too early.

I think the first line on your gauge is about 180 degrees but I'm not sure. I swapped out my oil temp guage for an early style one, with numbers, soon after buying the car.

I've been told by others that 180 degrees is ok.

JP

1987 Carrera Targa - 17K miles

 

Ellsworth - you're up against the thin air of Colorado too (even thinner than mine in Denver and surrounding mountains) which is not nearly as effective at cooling as the sea level air is...

 

yeah - the thin air doesn't help me at all. I think I may also be dealing with a lean condition on my mixture. have any of you noticed a large temp increase with a bad o2 sensor? just wondering how much difference it can make? I don't know how many miles are on mine, so it can't hurt to replace it. I'm planning to install one in the next few weeks, since my car has started running much hotter over the last year. didn't notice much increase in the winter, however it's garaged most of the time. hit the 3rd bar yesterday going over vail pass and eisenhower (10,800ft or so) and it basically ran really hot down in boulder in the stop and go traffic. So, I'm a bit concerned since I'm currently job hunting down there. doesn't seem normal, and it can't be good for it to get that hot...