Cessna 172 Oil Temp

The engine has around 400 hours since major (1995) new Superior cylinders
installed at that time. Found aluminum in the oil last winter, oil analysis
said it was piston pin cap material. Pulled all cylinders and had re-built,
new rings, new piston pins, new exhaust valves and guides. Temp has seemed
higher since the cylinder work. Would expect temp to be higher during
break-in but its been 26 hours since the cylinder work.

The 172 users manual says temp should be in the green with max allowable
temp at the red-line. Anyone know what the actual temp is for this 172 at
red-line, any way to calibrate the gauge?

Thanks for your help
Gary
"RST Engineering" wrote in message
...
"A couple of months" tells us little about the number of hours. How many
hours on the engine since rebuild? What was done on the "rebuild"? New
rings (I hope), rechrome?

Darryl, I don't have my O-300 book handy, but as I recall when I
overhauled
my engine the book recommended mineral oil for the first fifty hours.

When I overhauled the 182 jugs and rechromed them, the oil temperature ran
hot for the first ten to fifteen hours, and then dropped like a rock when
the rings finally seated to the chrome.

Jim



Gary Wilcox wrote:

I have a 1964 Cessna 172 (Continental 0300D) and the oil temp seems to
be
running higher than I remember from last summer. Its still in the green
but
only a needles width below the red-line. What is normal? Conditions
during
the latest flight were hot and humid - temp at ground level was 92 and
relative humidity in the 90's.

The engine had all cylinders re-built a couple of months ago and I am
runnning straight mineral oil (Aeroshell 80). All of the baffles are in
good
shape and the mechanic sealed all of the seams with sealant during the
cylinder rebuild.

Leaning too much? Perhaps you aren't getting full rich... Makes a big
difference at low altitudes with our C172F... I dunno if I'd still be
running mineral oil, break in wasn't required, rings should be seated by
now, we run Aeroshell 100... Make sure all the baffles aren't folded,
putting the cowling on can sometimes bend them the wrong way...

There are STC's available for adding an oil cooler... And don't
overfill,
too much oil might also cause an overheat issue. We run ours below 7
quarts but above 6.5...

According to the type certificate data sheet for the O-300D the max
allowable inlet temperature for the oil is 225F. I've always done an
"eyeball" test with a hot plate and boiling water. If the needle is about a
needleandahalf below redline, that is about right.

I looked at the tc for the Cessna and strangely enough, it doesn't specify
the redline temperature. My 172 manual got burned in a hangar fire about
ten years ago and I haven't gotten around to replacing it.

Jim



The 172 users manual says temp should be in the green with max allowable
temp at the red-line. Anyone know what the actual temp is for this 172 at
red-line, any way to calibrate the gauge?

Thanks for your help
Gary