Why is the oil temperature getting too hot?

BYMA85

MEMBER
1987 VOLKSWAGEN CABRIOLET
86,000 MILES

My 87 volkswagen cabriolet - It causes the car to stall and overheat. If you are familiar with this car you will know there are three gauges by the shifter inside that show the battery voltage, oil pressure and oil temperature. I bought the car in the winter and it ran without any problems but as soon as summer pulled around (I live in the sonoran desert) I started having problems with the oil temperature getting so high that once the needle hits 100 the car stalls and kind of jumps, I have to pull over and turn the engine off and the fan off otherwise it will overheat.

is this because the car wasn't made for this type of weather (120 degrees) or is there something I need to do? Ie put in higher grade oil, etc?

1 Reply

EXOVCDS

MECHANIC
1,883 POSTS

Oil pressure or high temperature (in my opinion) is not going to cause the engine to "stall and kind of jump".

However, to rule-out oil and overall engine temperature, install an 80c or cooler coolant thermostat and fill the engine with an engine oil
that meets the recommendations for your climate.

These engines use a CIS Injection System (correct me if you have a different system), that will cause stalling / jumping when
the fuel pump relay cuts out momentarily. Or if there is a problem with the ignition system (hall sensor in the distributor etc).

I believe you are losing spark or fuel when the engine gets hot. I don't think it is an issue with the oil.

Thomas