Engine Running Hot or Not?

Hello,

I was doing some detail work on my car today and noticed that the badges on the back grill seemed unusually hot to the touch. I opened the lid and the engine obviously also seemed hot (had not been running for 20-30 minutes).

I am a relatively new owner and have not noticed this before. Is this common? Or is there something I can do to determine if everything is ok. Any feedback or ideas would be appreciated.

Other than that...she's running great.

Thanks

Tim, is your engine compartment sealed up, or can you see the ground through it?

Cory,

The engine compartment is closed. You can not see all the way down to the ground.

Get the Gene Berg oil temperature dipstick; check out the link:

http://www.geneberg.com/cat.php?cPath=5_118_2734

I took a 2 hr drive today in the Interstate and after sustained 60-70 mph speeds for a while my oil idiot light flickered a little. I slowed down to 55 mph and the light went down instantly. The good thing about it is that it's only around $20.00; it's a hoot to install (about 5 mins.) and it's calibrated to the needs of the air cooled VW engine so you know exactly what you need to know (when to slow down or turn the engine off), plus it doesn't disable the original oil idiot light's function (oil pressure).

Hey Ricardo......
For all the tinkering I did with my VS heat problems a couple o weeks ago, I never thought of getting the GB/temp-gage dipstick! I ran one on my stroker motor and in my IMHO it is one great product.
Thamks for the link: I just ordered one!

Great advice! Thanks!

I'm glad Ernie! Try it on the road sometime, it's pretty neat.