Joe's '91 405 Mi16 (and '90 SW, '91 S, and '92 Mi16)...

[91MR2]

3 hours ago, SRDT said:

It's a 20°C increment: 90°C (194°F), 110°C (230°F), 130°C (266°F) and 150°C (302°F):

Thanks for the information, numbers are similar to what I assumed with the conversion equivalency. What temperature  does your car run at? Is it consistent with what I described in my post? 

[SRDT]

My car isn't a 405, I have the same water/oil heat exchanger but the coolant system isn't the same and mine looks like it was moded to run a bit cooler.

As for max oil temp according to Peugeot at the time it should be 140°C if continuous and 150°C for short peaks. Pressure and flow values are indicated for a 10W40 oil at 120°C.

Edited August 14, 2020 by SRDT

[Goce]

My Mi16x4 was at that temp 95 - 100 degrees C (200-230 F) i've gotten it very hot 150 C once or twice, racing up hill the engine has no problem it can cope with the heat. If you are doing lots of high rpm driving then keep your eye on the temp otherwise don't worry about it. External oil cooler is the solution to keep the temps down but on a street car with factory power there is no need. 

[91MR2]

SRDT and Goce, thanks for the info., good stuff here. I suppose what threw me off is that it seems to be running hotter lately, but then again summer heat may just be the cause. It's also wild having a car with such active gauges, my Esprit is also the same, but I don't see the same highs with that car ironically...

[Bean]

Thanks:  Having these kinds of threads troubleshooting issues is exactly why I’ve kept this forum going.  Seeing you being able to get your car going with input from enthusiasts around the world is what I just can’t let the site go.  We don’t have a crazy amount of traffic but it’s still one of my favorite online places to spend time.  

Oil temps:  As long as you’re running synthetic I think you should be fine - I personally run AMSOIL, Redline, or “German” Castrol synthetic in my motors.  

Became a full believer when I was a rally crew chief racing in the mountains in 40C heat.  Will also say that Redline water wetter made a VERY noticeable decrease in temps seen under race conditions.

Rabin

 

[91MR2]

2 hours ago, Bean said:

Thanks:  Having these kinds of threads troubleshooting issues is exactly why I’ve kept this forum going.  Seeing you being able to get your car going with input from enthusiasts around the world is what I just can’t let the site go.  We don’t have a crazy amount of traffic but it’s still one of my favorite online places to spend time.  

Oil temps:  As long as you’re running synthetic I think you should be fine - I personally run AMSOIL, Redline, or “German” Castrol synthetic in my motors.  

Became a full believer when I was a rally crew chief racing in the mountains in 40C heat.  Will also say that Redline water wetter made a VERY noticeable decrease in temps seen under race conditions.

Rabin

 

Rabin, I'm so glad you kept/keep it going. I hadn't joined a car forum in a very long time, only ever joined a couple to begin with, and was reticent to join here, as I was not sure what to expect (other than Savo's amazing build threads which is how I found the place). In any event, this place has become a daily check in for me, as anytime I made progress or had a question, you guys were the first ones to know. It also kept me motivated, and I felt a real responsibility to save this car. I didn't want to let you all down, as you were all so helpful and giving of your time and expertise. This car objectively does not stand out too much in my line up, but I've really grown to love it. I shudder to think that almost a year ago I sold it without even knowing what I really had (not to mention first spending years trying to find one). The lack of activity here also made me feel that maybe a new member could coax some movement into it again too. And here we are, on page 11...

Again, you guys have been so helpful, I really enjoy checking in here and keeping you all updated. I will continue to do so, even though my once long list is now down to...gulp...nothing but routine maintenance now? Of course as I type this, I may be jinxing myself...

I hope one day we can all meet up with our cars...open invitiation to Buffalo for anyone that wants to come here...I can put you all up...

Now before I get all misty eyed, here are my rear floor mats. I was pleased with how the fronts came out, so I cut these as well and took them to the carpet store for binding...

 

[SRDT]

Speaking of gauges the 405 cluster lacks the oil pressure, there is one on the 309 and on this car you better look at it if you're driving it hard.

[Goce]

Peugeot, did installed oil pressure sender, but is not connected to anything, when i did my RWD conversion i installed a gauge. 

[SRDT]

The BX instrument cluster had oil pressure and even oil level before starting the engine, because of that every engine had the sensors no matter the car.

[Goce]

Now you mention it, the 405 mi16 have oil level, is the same oil temp gauge, before starting the engine, not many know about it.

[91MR2]

Another update, we went to change my cv/axle boots, but realized we did not have the clamps. Bummer. Ordered them as well from Brian Holm, hoping to do this next week now...

[91MR2]

Did some maintenance on my mom's MR2 today, so had to pull the Peugeot out of the lift bay. Parked in next to my buddy's S60R. Was cool to see 2 great European cars together from different generations. Amazing how tinny and "thin" the Mi16 looks next to the much heavier Volvo. Still though, both awesome cars...

 

[Bean]

Two of the best sports sedans from their respective eras, and both generally under appreciated by the masses...  Truly special to those that know what they are though!

I always take in the amazing sight lines in the early cars - everything is slim and purposeful.

Rabin

[91MR2]

I agree, Rabin. I feel fortunate to have been able to own both...

[91MR2]

Also, just got my cv/axle clamps in the mail, unfortunately just in time where I have to head out of town for a couple days...will be done early next week...

[91MR2]

Hey guys, have any of you ever run an oil cooler on your cars? If so, any specific kits to recommend? I'm running pretty hot lately (over 230 if the gauge is to be believed), and while I know it is summer, this just seems too high compared to what a lot of you guys are running at. And this is just running around, not hammering on the car...

[SRDT]

For me a temp over 230°F isn't a problem, the tiny dot before 300°F should be 140°C so as long as you don't go beyond that the engine can run all day with no damage ; and that's with the oil they had 30 years ago.

[91MR2]

Fair enough. I'm just not used to these oil temperatures, even my Esprit usually runs around 80-90 Celsius no matter how hard I run it...

[Goce]

10 hours ago, 91MR2 said:

Fair enough. I'm just not used to these oil temperatures, even my Esprit usually runs around 80-90 Celsius no matter how hard I run it...

Haha, do you really trust the british to tell you what temp the engine is. From past experience many smit gauges on british cars are so inaccurate and fail all together that i don't trust them at all. If you rely want to upgrade the oil cooler, you need any generic oil filter sandwich plate M20x1,5 threads, 16 raw and bigger radiator, high pressure oil lines and you need to remove the factory coolant to oil heat exchanger, i think the factory coolant line is long enough to connect so no need to bypass anything. I hope this explains it if not i'll get some pictures.

[Bean]

First thing I'd do is make sure you're using known good data - doesn't take much to throw on a temp sensor, so I'd use something that you know is known good to get accurate oil temps.  I've got a thermal camera that would likely be far more accurate for a quick reading just to make sure you're in the ball park.  I'd be willing to bet that it's a temp error rather than actually running high oil temps.

Up here if I was driving in winter / cold temps I'd want a thermostatically controlled oil cooler so that oil temps didn't get too cold!  

As for your Lotus - I believe they have a pretty large oil capacity in comparison no?  I have no idea what either car takes, but a quick google shows capacity of the Esprit is close to 7L?  I'd also verify temps with something more accurate than factory gauges just to be sure.

Rabin

[91MR2]

13 hours ago, Goce said:

Haha, do you really trust the british to tell you what temp the engine is. From past experience many smit gauges on british cars are so inaccurate and fail all together that i don't trust them at all. If you rely want to upgrade the oil cooler, you need any generic oil filter sandwich plate M20x1,5 threads, 16 raw and bigger radiator, high pressure oil lines and you need to remove the factory coolant to oil heat exchanger, i think the factory coolant line is long enough to connect so no need to bypass anything. I hope this explains it if not i'll get some pictures.

Goce, hard to argue with you, but they are actually vdo not Smith, and quite accurate from what I can tell. After knowing many other Esprit owners/cars, I can say with confidence my gauges are at the very least, in line with theirs...

Thanks for the oil cooler info. Good to know in case we pursue that route...

[91MR2]

23 hours ago, Bean said:

First thing I'd do is make sure you're using known good data - doesn't take much to throw on a temp sensor, so I'd use something that you know is known good to get accurate oil temps.  I've got a thermal camera that would likely be far more accurate for a quick reading just to make sure you're in the ball park.  I'd be willing to bet that it's a temp error rather than actually running high oil temps.

Up here if I was driving in winter / cold temps I'd want a thermostatically controlled oil cooler so that oil temps didn't get too cold!  

As for your Lotus - I believe they have a pretty large oil capacity in comparison no?  I have no idea what either car takes, but a quick google shows capacity of the Esprit is close to 7L?  I'd also verify temps with something more accurate than factory gauges just to be sure.

Rabin

Rabin, good point, thermal camera is worth looking for. And yes, the Esprit has a greater cooling capacity, about 7.2 quarts. 

[91MR2]

Hey guys, small update, finally got my axle boots replaced. This was the last major job to complete and the car is basically done now as far as the restoration/maintenance, at least for this year. Unfortunately we found after doing the timing belt that the cam seals seem to be leaking, so just going to wait until next year to do all that again. No other leaks that we've found, at least so far. For now, I'm just going to drive it for the rest of the year and enjoy it. Stay tuned for glamour shots in the future...

[91MR2]

Also, worth mentioning, the oil temperature gauge hit around 240F on the way home. Going to try and get a hold of a thermal camera, per Rabin's advice, going to see if these temperatures are to be believed...if true, going to look into an oil cooler set up...

[SRDT]

If you can find a bigger heat exchanger that's the easiest way, but then again 240°F is lower than 140°C (284°F) so it's still a safe temp.