<VV> TEMP/PRESS Light Coming On

[N. Joseph Potts]

Take the cover off your oil cooler and clean out the leaves and bugs that
have probably accumulated on the top of the oil cooler.
     With the engine at running temperature, check the damper doors left and
right at the back of the engine to make sure they are coming fully open.
     I don't think your 63 has a PCV valve, replaceable or otherwise.
Dipstick rising is usually a matter of high crankcase pressures arising from
blowby (past the rings).
     You need to find out if this is oil pressure or temperature. Best way
is to disconnect one and see if the same drive makes the light come on. Then
reconnect that one and disconnect the other one to see if the results
change.
     Personally, I'll bet on overheating, for which the most-effective fix
is deflashing the heads (big job - check the other stuff first). It's not to
be ruled out that your engine has ingested trash that now lies hidden but
impairing air flow under the engine shroud.
     Of course, you must make sure the engine-compartment seals are in good
shape, to prevent reingestion of hot air that's already been through the
engine a time or two.

Joe Potts
Miami, Florida USA
1966 Corsa coupe 140hp 4-speed with A/C

-----Original Message-----
From: virtualvairs-admin@corvair.org
[mailto:virtualvairs-admin@corvair.org]On Behalf Of Tom Hughes
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2004 9:26 PM
To: virtualvairs@corvair.org
Subject: <VV> TEMP/PRESS Light Coming On


My daughter's been driving the '63 Sedan (102/PG) and she's been telling
me that after a long uphill climb on the Interstate (65-70 MPH) the T/P
light comes on. She's pulled over and turned the engine off to check the
oil level. It's been above the add mark, so she gets back in and turns
the engine on. The light goes off and stays off. The outside temp has not
been the same the handful of times that this has happened, but it's
always happened after a 10+ mile run on the interstate. I'm running 10W30
oil with a new NAPA filter. Is the oil too light? Also, the dip stick is
usually up a few inches after a run, so I'm thinking that the PCV needs
replacement and those lines to the crankcase should be cleaned out. Could
this cause the light to come on? It's been a while since I adjusted the
point gap. Could a change in the dwell cause an overheating condition?
Anything else to check?

Thanks for the sage advice.

Tom in Baltimore, MD
'63 Monza Sedan
'64 Monza Convertible that my daughter and I are restoring
'65 Pontiac Lemans Convertible project
__