rusnak

I must admit to being stunned at the statement that zero oil pressure at idle is "normal" and 1.5 bar cruising down the highway is anywhere near normal. Not questioning Ken, just shocked at the fact that so many middie 911s would be set up that way.

I would probably install an aux oil cooler. You might call Chuck at Elephant Racing. He's a straight shooter. Or try Steve Weiner. You want straight answers, and I have found both guys to be very honest and to the point. The thing is, your engine must not even have piston squirters with psi that low. They wouldn't even work if they were installed.

I would even consider two oil coolers, one Carrera style with a fan, and a second in the front bumper for the highway/ DE/ higher speeds and greater cooling.

race911

Engine's likely not going to explode. Probably pull studs before that happens. Keep an old engine like this under 210-220F on track? Take a massive amount of external radiator. Put another way, a 2.4L at 85F ambient probably has 10-12 hard track miles on it before you're over 230. (Doing this all from memory of my Phoenix days.)

You can likely bypass an internal thermostat, and all that would do is delay your reaching 240+ by a couple of minutes.

Ultimate solution here is putting a 3.0/3.2 in, along with a sufficient external radiator. But now you've about doubled what you've got into the car. And you haven't even touched the suspension.

Don't read zero to be an absolute--it's the needle being barely off the bottom. But yeah, you'll have some that get a flickering pressure light at high temps at idle. (Also, refer back to the 2.0L era owner's manuals to see what Porsche said...........)

To the point of if they're "set up that way"........well, not really. But factor in the oil temperatures we're talking about, the use said engines were subjected to for years, and the age of those engines, and this is what you end up with.

rusnak

Yeah, but my 914-6 will see oil temps around 240F on the freeway here in Fresno on a summer day. And even in those temps I will get just under 1 bar at idle and maybe 3 bar down the highway at 4K.

race911

Your engine 100% factory original? Anyone who would have had the engine apart since probably the late '70s would have modified the case and put in a later oil pump to address some low pressure issues.

As I thought about this today, I thought the '76 was the split for the factory updating this stuff. But when I got home and looked it up, sure enough it was a mid-'76 changeover. Maybe the OP's car is still 100% as-factory-built. Hell, the thing could still have a 5 blade fan, and wouldn't even have the modified cylinder air deflectors!

rusnak

Ken, I don't know if my motor is 100% factory original. It might be. All I know is that the 100K odometer has gone around 3 times already and I'm working on the 4th. I have a '70T magnesium short block spare if I ever need it.

Joes911

I have the 11 blade fan so thats a change. EGR gone, the mounting studs were there. I can see the split pushrods lower tubes indicating some resealing work was done. Heat exchanger is original with a little rust.

Supposed to have sat for 20 yrs which ppi guy said as well. Who knows, I just want to protect it.

Great to have all the input guys!! Js