oil temperature

can anybody help with this query on my mgtf 1.8 135 2003 yr . the oil temperature rises to 120 on the oil gauge and thats just driving round town 25 mile trip at 30 to 40 mph, the water temperature is steady at the half way mark.
the reason i ask is that my old mgf it only just went past the 60 mark on the oil gauge and that was town and motor driving .
could the gauge be faulty or is there something sinister going on that i havent spotted yet

rayb wrote: can anybody help with this query on my mgtf 1.8 135 2003 yr . the oil temperature rises to 120 on the oil gauge and thats just driving round town 25 mile trip at 30 to 40 mph, the water temperature is steady at the half way mark.
the reason i ask is that my old mgf it only just went past the 60 mark on the oil gauge and that was town and motor driving .
could the gauge be faulty or is there something sinister going on that i havent spotted yet

Ray,, it's probably just the oil temp gauges notorious inability to read correct temperature.

Keep an eye on it through various driving conditions. If it shows a stable 120 in normal driving it's likely just to be a high reading gauge, or even too thin an oil. :yesnod: Unless it keeps rising, don't worry.
If you feel the notional reading is too high you can reduce it by putting a resistor in the wiring,:lol:

I was just reading about a similar situation although the oil got upto 160!

Turned out the water pump had packed up and ultimatly led to a knackered head gasket, I'd check that the coolant is getting pumped around the engine.

thanks guys, i have checked the oil etc and its fine but will be changeing it soon. i have also noticed that i havent heard the fans running. at what temp are they suppose to kick in. but when i carry the service out in two weeks time i will check to see if they are working. the mgtf came with service history and it was last serviced at 3000 miles ago but it dosent show what had been done so while the engine covers off i will go over it with a fine comb. that way i know if i change anything its been done.

Updated by moderator 08/06/12.

Cooling fan 103C on 96C off
Engine bay 75C on 65 C off

My engine bay fan came on for first time recently. Took me by surprise, thought I had a seat massager - quite a vibration.
Incidentally, my tf oil temp reads 80-90 on steady driving. Motorway rises to 120 hard driving 130

rog1963 wrote: Incidentally, my tf oil temp reads 80-90 on steady driving. Motorway rises to 120 hard driving 130

Those figures match mine too.

Mine was the same but now a little bit lower with the new TT exhaust.

my oil is always about 120c area, 110 if light driving, 125 if heavy/hard...

water is always about 70-80C

the oil temp gauges are a gimick put onto the car,as it was a sports car.they wanted to fit lots of gauges so it felt like a sports car/race car..But the main dash was a rover so they only had a clock to fit.the oil temp gauge was fitted because it was a cheap easy fit.
The engine is a rover engine fitted to every rover and they never had gauges.the engine has no oil cooler.the oil will never get hotter then it is meant to.the water will rise way before the oil.They where going to fit an oil pressure gauge but it was more expensive.so oil temp is simply a gauge mg stuck in a hole.They dont really work.12 cylinder cars have oil temp rover do not.take no notice of it.

Thanks Daz. If there is a catastrophic failure of the coolant level ie: split hose or similar, will i notice a change in the WATER temp gauge before causing hgf? Currently temp is great, just below halfway. Or is a water level warning needed?

Damage can be caused before the water temp gauge hits the red. :omg: Plus people often don't notice the gauge rising. :nonod:
A low coolant alarm is a very good idea. :yesnod:

the basic truth with these cars.the engine was designed long before an mgf,the temp gauge only works in water.if the h/G fails and lets the water out of the head,then your gauge will show cold,as the water has gone,the engine will cook.A low coolant alarm is a good idea and a bad idea.
low coolant alarms dont always work,and if you rely on them you are watching some thing that may not tell you the truth.
The best way to use these cars in to check your coolant daily if doing a lot of miles or weekly if short runs.If a hose splites you can smell coolant and smell steam.
Years ago men knew there machices,there noise,smell in fact every thing,steam train used to have a bearing that gave off a smell just before it failed.can you imagine that these days.
So
1 CHECK YOU HAVE A NEW TYPE OF GASKET
2 CHECK YOUR RAD AND THAT THE FANS ALL WORK
3 CLEAN THE FINS ON YOUR RAD
4 CHECK ALL YOUR HOSES
5 CHECK YOUR LEVELS WEEKLY OIL AND WATER
6 ENJOY YOUR CAR.
IF YOU KEEP YOUR CAR MAINTAINED IT WILL BE FINE.IF YOUR CAR STARTS TO OVER HEAT SWITCH IT OFF FOR 30 MINUTES.