Stuttgart 944

Ok so today I pulled the car('83) out for the first time in a while (two-three months). I drove it to circuit city and back to my dads shop. Ran fine until i went to my g/f's house. I left it running while I went in. I was gone for about 5-7 minutes and when I came out it was smoking. Leaking antifreeze pretty bad. I think it was coming out of the top of the reservoir for the radiator (i'm pretty sure there were no leaks in any hoses). So I let it cool and then put water in it and started it again to see if it would leak and it came back up the top of the reservoir. So we had to get it towed back to the shop. So could it be the thermostat ..or head gasket?? Please help. Need to get it back on the road.

Stuttgart 944

anyone?

porschefig

smoking (out the tailpipe)
or steaming? (off the hot engine)

have you found any leaks or was it all being let out the cap on the reservoir?

were the fans running?

Stuttgart 944

Steaming (sorry for not being specific) from the engine. I'm almost positive it was all being let out of the cap on the reservoir. The fans started after I shut off the car and did not stop. I had to disconnect the battery.

Serge944

Neither thermostat or headgasket have anything to do with it. If you say its coming from the reservoir then you should look into getting a new cap.

Luis de Prat

New cap is definitely a good place to start.

Not sure I understand where the cooling system leaking. Anywhere on the radiator? In that case, the plastic side tanks have separated from the aluminum middle part of the radiator. This is generally solved with a new radiator. Sorry.

IceShark

I don't think you have your leak pinned down if the steam is coming off the engine. How is it getting from the reservoir over to the motor - spraying out of the cap? That would be quite easy to see.

Take a better look at the motor to identify the steam source.

joseph mitro

i second the advice to look at the cap. you could also have a leak from the hose going from the overflow tank to the radiator. or maybe the temperature sensor in the radiator. wash it off with water, let it dry, then start it again and try to pinpoint where the leak is.

Stuttgart 944

I wish I could explain it better. The steam was not from "on top of the engine" it was around the reservoir area. I couldn't see any leaking hoses. We started it today but didn't let it get too hot. We took the cap off to see if the coolant was circulating but it wasn't. Also isn't the cap suppose to allow coolant to come out if it gets too much pressure and heat? If the coolant isn't circulating could this be the water pump?

bearone

be careful on the cap.

i put a 13# on the '84 and forced water out places that weren't supposed to leak.
the older ones take a lower pressure cap.

Mike C.

Were the fans running before you shut the car off? If not, this could be part of the problem since these cars will overheat if sitting at idle long enough with no fans. Could be a bad relay. When overheating occurs, the reservoir cap will release pressure at the limit on the cap. Hopefully it is only a bad cap but I suspect something else isn't right.

Stuttgart 944

When the thermostat is stuck closed won't this cause it to overheat? Could this be the reason why the build-up of heat and pressure made fluid to come out of the top? I dont recall if the fans were on before I shut the car off. I don't think they were. Thanks for the help so far.

Mike C.

A stuck thermostat certainly can cause overheating. However, I would still expect the fans to be on and doing thier job to prevent it.

Stuttgart 944

Posted by Mike C.Like the cooling temperature switch or the electric cooling fan circuit? Should I just check them both?

Mike C.

Yes both. You can jumper the coolant switch and see if the fans go on. Also, when you turn on the A/C, both fans should run. If not, there is a relay that may be bad. I replaced it quite a while ago on mine. Let me know if you get stuck and I'll look over the wiring diagram to refresh my memory.