Roush 511 not heating up

[csx4910]

This will probably sound like a dumb question, but yesterday I took out my CSX for a 30 -40 minute drive and got the water temp of the 511 warmed up to normal operating temp but the oil temp guage never moved off of zero. It was 95 in Phoenix so it wasn't as though it was a cold day. This is twice that it has happened. I have heard the the aluminum blocks don't heat up near as much but I am wondering if anyone else that has this engine or other alum. big blocks have experienced the same thing and if I need to be conerned? It seemed to running fine and kept good oil pressure but never heated up past the zero on the gauge. Sandy or tim in Phoenix, has it happened to you all?
Thanks
Ron

[ROUSHAC]

I'd think that it's more likely that the gage is misreading, Ron.

[vector1]

with an all aluminum small block and 10-12 qts.oil mine wont show temp for at least 15 min. prob take good 30-45 min to come up to temp. if it is warm out and easy driving.

[Bob Broberg SPF667 460BB]

Ron, you can feel the oil on the dipstick. I'll bet the sending unit or gauge are not functioning. Perhaps just a wire loose. You can also use a Pyrometer to point at the oil pan. My Oil is "off the pin" or over 40 degrees C in about 10 minutes. I use this as a green light guide so I can stomp on the loud peddle.

AZ Bob

[Great Asp]

Originally Posted by Bob Broberg SPF667 460BB

Ron, you can feel the oil on the dipstick. I'll bet the sending unit or gauge are not functioning. Perhaps just a wire loose. You can also use a Pyrometer to point at the oil pan. My Oil is "off the pin" or over 40 degrees C in about 10 minutes. I use this as a green light guide so I can stomp on the loud peddle.

AZ Bob

agreed.

E

[SandyC]

Hi Ron,

We have the same engine and my oil temp hits 60 deg. C (my personal "okay to get on it" temp) in about 10 minutes or so. In the winter my normal stabilized oil temp indicates 80-90 deg. C and in the Phoenix summer 85-95 degrees C.

Sounds like a bad gauge or wiring or something like that. Dang.

[csx4910]

Thanks for the advice. I will try to track down the culprit.
Ron

[RICK LAKE]

csx4910 Ron an easy test for the gauge is to remove the sender end and put it in a boiling cup of water. see how long it takes for the gauge to read this temp or come into the ball park. If you have a temp run use this to compare readings. It takes my oil about 10 minutes of racing to get to 220F-230F max. This is an Aluminum Shelby motor. I have a Canton oil pan in the car. Some senders need a good ground to get a correct reading in some cases also. Aluminum is not the best conductor of electricity or grounds. Does the sensor in the oil pan have a white or red sealer on it? Red RTV is better than white teflon tape or paste. Rick L.

[mln385]

MY Roush 427 does not read oil temp at speed however at a stop light it does. The sender is in the bottom side of the pan and my guess is it gets allot of air running across it at speed as it is mounted so low.

While sitting idling it will go to 185 F does yours?

Marc

[coosawjack]

Aluminum is an excellent conductor of electricity but "bi-metallic" connections are a nightmare!!

I suspect your sender is insulated from the block leaving an open or high resistance ground!! Clip a jumper cable to it and attach to a good ground and see what happens...if it works change the sealant as has been suggested!!

Good Luck!!

[Spoooky]

Ron,

I guarantee it's the gauge. My water temp comes up pretty quick and runs normal at about 200 degrees. It takes about 5 minutes or so for the oil temp to start to come up and then runs normal at about 210 degrees. I replaced all my gauges with "Speedhut" electric. Much more accurate. I know a Cobra has the "Smiths" and are what the Superformance came with but I didn't trust them and with the motor we have I wanted to know what's was going on. " It's the gauge."

[Fitz]

It is the guage!

[427Charlie]

Hi Ron. Since I built your car Ron - and Sandy's, Spooky's and many others - I thought I'd tell you what I know. Your temp gauge is mechanical and could have gone bad, I've seen it a few times. Putting the sending unit in boiling water is a good test but your sending unit isn't very easy to get to. The SPF cars have a provision for the oil temp sender in line with the cooler and filter and give a quicker more accurate reading. Since your car is a CSX it doesn't have this provision and the sending unit is mounted in the oil pan. This setup always took longer to get a reading on the gauge. I would try checking your gauge on a longer run to see if or how much the needle moves as a first step.
Please let me know if I can help.

[mikiec]

Charlie,

It's good to see you out here... Stick around.

Mike

[Bob Broberg SPF667 460BB]

Mike, Charlie was at the Under the Stars Show and said hi. He is working as a mechanic and said he would e-mail me with his location but I haven't received anything yet. Charlie??? He's a good guy to keep track of. Knows his stuff.

AZ Bob

[csx4910]

Charlie it is good to hear from you. I have been wondering where you ended up. Please let us know. Thanks for the advice. Saturday was the longest drive I have had in quite a while. Next weekend I will try to put some more miles on it on a longer run and see what happens.
Ron
PS Clay Cook (who makes air filters and other items for Roush)finally got some air filters custom made for my engine to fit under the csx hood. The first set of prototypes have been shipped and are heading my way. Better late than never!

[SandyC]

Hey Charlie! Good to hear from you.