Porsche Repair: 930 getting hot, automobile radiators, human arteries

Question
hello i have a 1982 930s #6 of 15 with this nose its a "row" to make a long story short my porsche is getting up to 230 degrese and cant figure out why, the car runs between 190, to 210 degrese normal and now its running at 230 or higher , its oil cooled 3.2 liter. i flushed all the lines and its still running hot. is running the car at 230 or above ok, or am i going to cook the engine. my dads had this car 24 years and it never got this hot. can u help

Answer
Hi Brett,

I too would be concerned about this sudden change.  I don't know the max temperature but I think you're right to call it a problem and get it fixed.

There are two areas you should consider:

-Like automobile radiators and human arteries, oil coolers can get clogged with foreign matter so their efficiency wanes over time.  You might consider pulling the cooler and having it flushed/inspected (by a good radiator shop) if you haven't already done that.  Frankly, if the cooler is
25-ish years old, the car may deserve a new one...since cool oil is all that's keeping you running.

-Deep inside the engine, or somewhere that's probably hard to get to is a thermostat and a valve that prohibits cold oil from entering the cooler.  Oil less than 176 degrees is just circulated in the engine til it warms up and then is sent to the cooler.  I don't know the mechanics of this valve arrangement, but consider the possibility it is clogged or defective in some way...preventing hot oil from being cooled.

There may be other considerations, like the pumps not moving enough volume anymore...but let's not go there yet.  And as I was editing and about to send this note I saw your 930 again in the title...if its a turbo and the turbo is also oil cooled, even more reason to correct the problem now...but I'm not a turbo expert so I don't know that piece of the equation.

Let me know what you discover.  I'd be interested in knowing what you find.

Thanks

Dave