oil temp gauge showing 257

[David Anderson]

I'm moving my oil temp concern off of the "need help finding a route" topic.  We drove from Tuscon to Phoenix last night.  It was still 103 after dark.  My water temp was 185, but my oil temp gauge climbed to just shy of 260.  I couldn't understand it.  Turbo boost was normal. Oil pressure was normal. Tranny temp matched the water temp at 185.  Nothing was awry.  I ducked into a rest stop off I10 and grabbed the IR gun and jumped out of the coach to shoot the oil pan before anything could cool off.  The temp sender is in the side of the oil pan.  The pan showed 220 on the gun, 250 on the gauge.  After about 5 minutes of idle it showed 180 on the pan and 220 on the gauge.  I shot the crossover water pipe above engine and it was 175 and the dash gauge showed 175 on the water temp.

I'm trying to convince myself I have a bad gauge.  Can I assume that with what I just described to you?  Also, how much higher than the water temperature should the oil temperature generally go under most conditions?

[blue_goose]

That is normal the oil temp on mine always runs hotter than the water temp.  The water can't cool it as fast as it gets cooled.
Jack