Narrative:

I was the flying pilot on aircraft X. We had a normal takeoff and departure. We were climbing with the autopilot engaged at a derated climb thrust through 10;500 feet when I thought I smelled a hint of something. Checking the engine instruments we noticed the left engine oil pressure was just barely above the low oil pressure amber band and the left engine oil temperature was high and climbing. The first officer suggested we request a level off from ATC as I was beginning to pull back the thrust on the left engine. At this time I transferred control of the aircraft to the first officer. I requested a level off at 12;000 feet with ATC to address an engine problem. The oil temperature gauge turned red indicating an overheat and the oil pressure was still very low. I pulled out the high oil temperature checklist from the QRH while the first officer continued to reduce thrust on the left engine. By following the checklist we were able to reduce the oil temperature without having to shut down the engine. The faint smell also dissipated. We advised ATC that we would like to return to ZZZ. I also asked ATC if they could advise our company of our air turn back. We then transferred control of the aircraft back. Having just shot the ILS approach on the previous leg; setting up and briefing went quickly. We also mentioned differences if we had to go around. We extended the downwind slightly to look up landing performance in the QRH. The approach; landing; and taxi in were normal. I was very impressed and appreciative of the first officer's great inputs; teamwork; and professionalism during the situation.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: 757 Captain reported low oil quantity and high oil temperature resulting in a return to the departure airport.

Narrative: I was the Flying Pilot on Aircraft X. We had a normal takeoff and departure. We were climbing with the autopilot engaged at a derated climb thrust through 10;500 feet when I thought I smelled a hint of something. Checking the engine instruments we noticed the left engine oil pressure was just barely above the low oil pressure amber band and the left engine oil temperature was high and climbing. The First Officer suggested we request a level off from ATC as I was beginning to pull back the thrust on the left engine. At this time I transferred control of the aircraft to the First Officer. I requested a level off at 12;000 feet with ATC to address an engine problem. The oil temperature gauge turned red indicating an overheat and the oil pressure was still very low. I pulled out the High Oil Temperature checklist from the QRH while the First Officer continued to reduce thrust on the left engine. By following the checklist we were able to reduce the oil temperature without having to shut down the engine. The faint smell also dissipated. We advised ATC that we would like to return to ZZZ. I also asked ATC if they could advise our company of our air turn back. We then transferred control of the aircraft back. Having just shot the ILS Approach on the previous leg; setting up and briefing went quickly. We also mentioned differences if we had to go around. We extended the downwind slightly to look up landing performance in the QRH. The approach; landing; and taxi in were normal. I was very impressed and appreciative of the First Officer's great inputs; teamwork; and professionalism during the situation.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.