Matt Marks

Does anyone know if the oil cooler seal replacement procedure is the same on the 968 as on the 944? I'm starting to lose some coolant, and have the slightest hint of chocolate at the coolant bleed valve, but none yet in the oil, on the dipstick, or in the coolant reservoir.

Combine the coolant loss with a fairly significant leak up near the oil filter "block" (below the filter somewhere, but above where the OPRV and oil thermostat is, and it seems to me that the cooler seal would account for the leak).

No white smoke at the tailpipe - so I'm assuming (for now) that the head gasket is OK.

As I don't have the manuals at the moment - it looks like the paragon seal kit is identical for all 944/968 cars. Is it right to assume that the procedure is the same?

After this task - I'll dig into the balance shaft seal(s) if this doesn't cure the problem.


Thanks!

Matt Marks

bump

joseph mitro

i would assume it's the same, but since i've never had a 968 i'm just talking. when i changed from an integral oil cooler to an external oil cooler, the procedure was the same and the gasket is the same.

weren't you going to put the 944 engine back in?

Jfrahm

Doesn't the 968 have the oil to air cooler like the S2 and 951? I do not think it has the oil to water cooler like the 944NA.

Matt Marks

I was thinking the same thing - but PET is showing the seal in this pic - which is the same seal used in the 944 and the 944 Turbo. Maybe it's now just an oil seal instead of oil/water - but it's definatley leaking oil up there even if it's not an oil/water thing...



It's #21 in the diagram

Maybe the water leak is somewhere else - if it's not an oil/water seal.

joseph mitro

that's the same integral gasket used in the 944, regardless whether you are using the integral water-to-oil cooler or the external air-to-oil cooler. water still passes through that passage, so it could be that seal leaking or it could be 19 or 20 (the little o-rings) that are leaking.

joseph mitro

i found this site very helpful: (in fact, the oil cooler i bought was missing the oil connector pipe, and i had to REDO it to get that tube in there )

http://members.rennlist.com/tom86951..._seal_repl.htm

Matt Marks

Joseph,

GREAT FIND! Thanks a bunch. It makes a ton of sense now.

Though to re-confirm - there is coolant flowing into the area even though it's not used as a heat exchanger on these engines, correct? Therefore, it's possible that my coolant loss could be coming from the area?

Will tackle this in a week or two, and I'll post pics as to what it looks like on the 968

joseph mitro

oh, yeah, i'll confirm this. i had the oil filter housing in place with headers back on and coolant filled up before i realized the oil connector pipe was missing. i removed the housing and coolant just poured out onto my garage floor. so there is definitely coolant flowing in there, i just can't figure out the passageways to understand the flow pattern. but there is definitely potential for oil and coolant to mix there.