jtessaro

I just spoke to the mechanic who was rather vocal to the fact that I have the 2 piece OPRV ("not the 1 piece or the 3 piece") and that it is supposed to separate like that. He said that when they change the coolers they just leave the inner piece in and take the cap off so that they don't have to mess with it. He also said that he knows the housing is aligned because it rests on pins so there is no room to missalign it.

I have not heard anything about pins is this correct? and he is also adamant that the OPRV for my car IS the 2 piece valve.

KuHL 951

It could if it isn't scarred up and damaged but I wouldn't count on that in your case. The o-rings are available from Paragon. Maybe once you loosen up the cooler housing it will be easier to remove the stuck section. If undamaged it can be reassembled by installing the new o-rings and carefully pressing it back together in a vise. I think 'someone' installed the housing unaligned and used the threads on the OPRV head to force the unit into the bore. Make sure you can account for both of the damaged o-rings before you insert the new or reconditioned OPRV.

KuHL 951

Your mechanic is an idiot. There is no such thing as a 2-piece OPRV. They are not supposed to come apart. That's why they make the tool so bozos like him can't fubar up a perfectly good engine.

jtessaro

I am in a bit of a hurry to get the car running so I ordered the 2 O-rings and the alignment tool and I'm going to try to loosen the bolts holding the Oil cooler housing so I can tap it around a bit to align the OPRV bore. If anyone has any suggestions as to how to get the plunger out I'm all ears.

jtessaro

Just out or curiosity, Steve are you by chance a mechanic? It would be useful to me if I could mention to this mechanic that I consulted another mechanic and this is what you came up with.

KuHL 951

Sorry, engineer, not a mechanic but do all my own auto work. I'm surprised that responses here are so scarce. There are countless people here much more qualified than me that will hopefully agree with what I posted. As a relatively new member are you able to search the forums? If yes, do an 'advanced' search on 'OPRV' in the 944 and 944 Turbo sections. You will see that no ones OPRV ever came apart in the block or that the 87 style is considered a 2-piece unit. I wish I could help you more.

Here's a few links that might help. The last paragraph in the OPRV link is critical to read.

OPRV

Oil Pressure Info

VaSteve

Everyone's headed out for thanksgiving.

X2. Now that I can see the photos, it's worse than I though. Yeah that guy's an idiot. He may have gotten confused with a 3 piece version (because it's broken) which you CAN align the housing on by leaving it in place. I did it, then took it apart and checked my work. There may be a "pin" there like when you take of the housing behind the distrib. rotor, but the way to align it is with that big tool.

Good mechanics don't like it when you refer to something you saw on the internets, but if that's the way you got your car back, he's clearly in the wrong.

crooster

Hmmm. This thread has me thinking. My oil pressure gauge generally always reads about a "6" out of "5". When the engine is warm it does drop to about 3 when at idle. Does this suggest a stuck OPRV? I ask because I have a rather bad oil leak. I did reseal the front of engine last spring but have lived with it until now. I just removed the timing belt covers to have a look but I'm wondering if the high oil pressure is forcing oil out thru otherwise good seals. Is the normal oil pressure reading right around 5, rather than 5 plus? I will likely pull the OPRV anyway to have a look when I get a chance. Do I need to drain oil first?

jtessaro

I pulled the valve 2 nights ago and of course its the one piece valve however it is different then the one shown in the pictures, different then the valves I find at parts distributors now. I'm thinking It may be the valve produced in early '87 that was different? The big difference is that the O-ring on the end is black and flat.

I'm thinking it is part # 944 107 035 01
whereas the part you find for it now is part # 944 107 035 02

Which sucks because if that is the case it means not only did I order the wrong O-rings but I will likely have to get a new valve.

Can you tell me where to find the engine number on the block? I found a rather vague description online that was no help at all and would like to check it to verify which part I actually have.

Valve I pulled:

KuHL 951

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the black o-ring goes on the body/cap end, the green one on the bottom end. I would not use that OPRV at all, it has scoring marks on the piston that you can see through the relief holes and the body looks like it been turned while it was severely misaligned. I doubt it's the early 87 OPRV because they were recalled by Porsche due to corrosion problems. Your valve looks corre3ct, just beat to hell. Look at the force and wrong socket that was used on the head, the flats have started rounding over.

You can find the engine number on the edge of the block adjacent to the sensor bracket mount (drivers side). Use some brake cleaner and a rag and it shows up pretty easy once you clean it up.

jtessaro

I ordered a new valve and I have the tool already so hopefully i can get it aligned and get stuff working

jtessaro

Well Sadly I'll be waiting about a week for the valve and in the meantime I have loosened the oil cooler housing a bit and have been trying to use the tool to align it. I'm running into a problem which is taht the tool does not seem to have the correct threads for the hole (tool 9262/1) which has me once again looking for the engine number in an attempt to confirm that I've got the engine I think I do as I can't find any other explanation for the trouble with the tool. And I still cant find the engine number, I don't know the location of the sensor you mentioned or even which sensor you mean.

there is a number I found that is obscured by the oil filler tube but I don't think that is it.

KuHL 951

You seem to have the worst luck lately. To confirm your engine number, model year info, look at the flat spot on the block next to the sensor bracket (drivers side bellhousing/block interface). It might take some brake cleaner and a rag but the the numbers are there. I can't see why the threads would be any different for the alignment tool, all the oil cooler housings for all model years have the same thread pitch...it's the OPRV length/dia that is different.

mj951

If I were you I would pull the entire oil cooler housing, purchase a new seal kit along with the OPRV you have on order and reseal it yourself.
Less aggravating to do the job once correctly rather than twice incorrectly, just ask your mechanic.
If you're not familiar with http://www.clarks-garage.com/ search the garage shop manual, great resource.

VaSteve

The tool shouldn't have any threads. It's just a smooth piece of metal. Post a photo of what you have.


The number Kuhl is describing is on the other side of the engine. The side where you put the oil in...back towards the "cabin" of the car.