I'm wondering what would be the average temperature of the oil in an Y-Block 292 running about 180-190ºF.

When the engine is turned down, the water temp gauge goes all the way to 250~260.

I've hear that mineral oil "goes bad" at temperatures in exess of 300ºF

What do you thing guys, can the oil get that hot on a street driven engine, that never goes over 190 when running?

Túlio Lazzaroni "FORD", Florianópolis SC Brasil.

'74 Ford Galaxie 500 292 V8

'82 Ford Galaxie Landau 302 V8

'98 Chevrolet S10 4.3 V6

'01 Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec

From what I know your oil temp should be close to your water temp. Maybe a little higher- It will go higher if out of tune or you are working the engine under load. Your water temp is going up after you shut down because the water is not flowing thru radiator. SO- in my opinion you have nothing to worry about with water temp at 190.

Ol'ford nutCentral Iowa

56 Vic w/292 & 4 spd.