toddbailey

Hi all,

I have a 1983 944 that according to the water temp runs quite hot.

I just did a chemical flush and refill and that didn't really help much.

I can hear the high speed fan come on, at times when the temp is really maxed, and also when I run the a/c. I'm not too sure about the low speed fan but I hear it running when I park and it turns off after a few minutes.
but should it be running more often? I think that perhaps the thermostat may be going bad. Since it's a pretty cheap part, replace it before looking at new relays. But what temp to get, any suggestions hi or lo temp?


thx

Calmchaos

I would decide high or low temp based on where you live.
When you say the temp is "really maxed" does that mean it is at the top of the gauge? Because my fans didn't work at all for a little bit, and I never got the car that hot.

PorscheDude1

Did you bleed the cooling system?

toddbailey

Yes I did bleed the system. When I say max'ed I mean that the gauge is at the far right, either in the solid yellow box or pinned to the side. Napa suggested something called water wetter. I've seen it before but never tried it. I'm in Seattle so we get 95 degree days, all three of them but mostly stays in the upper 80's for 1 -2 months, then is't back to the the rain and cold (65 or colder). I'll probably stick with the stock 180 degree unit for now.

Wipeout

Could be that you didn't completely bleed the system. I know that I had to do quite a bit of bleeding after replacing my radiator.

PorscheDude1

Try jacking up the front of the car and bleeding the system again.
It can be stubborn.

Vjgtrybno1

+1 on the thermostat - Clarks garage has test procedure - also test the fan switch. When you jack the car. just jack the driver's side.
Water wetter is fine, but not if something else is problematic.

Tenacious_G

Also consider replacing your thermostat. Mine always showed that it ran really hot, too. Replaced the thermostat and things settled down a bit.

JohanvdWalt

I've been struggling with an overheating problem on my red cab for a while now.

I have replaced the electric fans, the temp sender unit, the fan-switch and I'm in the proses of replacing the radiator and thermostat - including the rubber seal behind the thermostat (don't know if the older cars has it).

I know I've got a leak at the heater radiator in the car too. I've just blocked it off for now and will attend to it as soon as I've got the temp under control.

Good luck.

Ben951S

Why would you even let it get that hot?? Full pegged? You must be really confident it's lying to you...

theykallmekem

my 86' 944 also runs the fan after i turn it off as well. the temperature is usually in the middle bar as well when i do park it. i would deem it as normal, but technically, you should try to replace the thermostat because maybe its acting up and nothing is wrong with everything else inside??

JohanvdWalt

I never drive any car when the needle is in the red, the moment it touch red is the time you pull over and turn the engine off.

Johan

Yummybud924

thermostat is a cheap part but it'll be a bitch to replace with the water pump in the car. you'll need to find snap ring pliers that can get inside the pump to ge the old thermostat out.

Whisper

I just did this. (See the thread entitled "The Evil Snap Ring Coloring Book").

But I sincerely doubt the thermostat is your problem. A car with a bad thermo will tend to run hot when driven easy, then rapidly cool off when pushed harder.

If you're sure your cooling system is properly bled (air bubbles will show up as sudden heat spikes), and you're not just plain low on coolant, then normally I would consider the radiator next. But since you used a chemical flush on it, I assume it's fairly new (since one would not generally risk that with an old radiator).

Someone else want to chime in, here? Oil cooler, possibly?

JohanvdWalt

Bear in mind - if the thermostat is faulty the radiator is useless, the heat never even reach it.
In my red car the fans will come on and go of again while the bottom radiator pipe is stone cold. Even the coolant leaking from my radiator (while the fans are blowing) was cold.

The flow of coolant is so slow with the faulty thermostat that although the coolant in the radiator is cooled quickly and efficiently the volume/flow of cold coolant is not enough to cool the engine.

Johan