83Green944

For some reason my car is running really hot. I noticed the coolant level was down a bit and topped it up but that didn't help. One concern I have is that it is just the gauge, but I don't really want to chance it. Any ideas? Possible to have the cooling system locked? Or maybe the thermostat seized? The fans are working.
Thanks

Legoland951

Did you bleed the cooling system after topping off? Look for a slow leak before you go ripping the cooling system apart. The thermostat is a pain to get to even if you have right tools.

83Green944

No, didn't bleed it. How do I go about doing that? Yeah, I was afraid of the thermostat being a pain

Devia

I normally squeeze the top hose, with the cap off, after the thermostat opens, and burp it!

But you may want to check a few other things, first; have any leaks anywhere? Coolant always goes somewhere.

Did you check your oil, and see if she's eating any? I find that when a car starts to 'drink' antifreeze and overheat that there will also be an oil drop, the car trying to keep cool, and may go through oil faster.

When was the last time the waterpump and thermostat were replaced?

Alot of the coolant leaks are hard to find when the car is cool; let her run parked, until the temperature gauge goes up; that's the thermostat opening. Now look under the car, and see if you find any leaks. Alot of cars won't show the leaks until warmed up.

Check hoses, etc. Do NOT forget to check the heater hoses!

If that all checks out, wait for the car to be thoroughly cooled off. Then take the timing belt cover off, and look into the 'weephole' of the waterpump, and see if she's got a leak there.

Timing belt covers come off in this sequence: middle cover, then the upper one, and the one down to the right and lower (when you are looking at the engine from in front).

Oh, you might need to take the alternator/air cond. belt off first, but that's where you have to be careful, that's a worm gear holding the tension on, on that little metal 'pole'. You need to get under there and make sure you look at the threads, and turn it the correct direction to loosen it up.

I think you only need to remove the middle and the upper left. Take a flashlight and look into the "weephole" on the top of the waterpump.

While you are in there, look at the inside of the teeth of the Timing belt, and see how that's doing, along with the balance belt. Roll the rollers, and make sure they roll easily and are round. Just don't play with any tensioning in there, or you will be in for trouble.

I also put in a low temp switch on my radiator, to keep it cooler.

I just changed my Timing belt and such, on Friday, so I hope my info is helpful.

83Green944

Devia, thanks alot for your info and help. I will start with these things and go from there. Will post how I make out.

Luis de Prat

It also helps to park it facing uphill before bleeding the cooling system. Seriously, this trick is quite effective at getting most of the air out of the hoses.

83Green944

Thanks. Not too many hills around my place. Floor jack should cover it though

SidViscous

"Floor jack should cover it though"

You must have one big *** floor jack if it can cover your 944 <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />

Legoland951

Julie, I think you are scaring him....

Legoland951

By the way, they have bleeder valves on some of the early 944 specialty radiator hoses. On the late model cars the bleeder is actually on the dome pipe bolted on the cylinder head connecting the upper radiator hose to the radiator. Start with the cheap items and work your way up.

83Green944

Awesome, thanks. Will look at the hoses for a bleeder valve.

Sid..... oh yeah... you should see the size of this floor jack.... LOL

944Play

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by 83Green944:
<strong>One concern I have is that it is just the gauge, but I don't really want to chance it.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Here's a place to start:
<a href="http://frwilk.com/early944/misc/watertemp.htm" target="_blank">http://frwilk.com/early944/misc/watertemp.htm</a>

"Check your f'ing grounds" indeed.

A poor engine ground connection can cause the temp gauge to float upwards. It's a PITA to get to, but imperative to electrical sanity. On my 944 there is a 13mm nut on the top of the bellhousing and a 10mm bolt in close proximity on the rear of the block, both buried under the heater valve. GL!

sm

I just replaced my grounds and added a supplemental ground from the driver side frame-rail behind the headlight to the upper balance-shaft housing (thanks Iceshark) - and - my temp needle is noticeably lower. Not by a whole lot, but at least it stays in the middle of the gauge now. We'll see what happens during the summer time.

83Green944

944Play, do you know of anywhere that has a diagram of all the grounds? I recently cleaned the main ground from the battery to the chassis, the block to the chassis and the ones under the dash (2 ground blocks) I heard that there are a couple more beside the drivers side headlight. Are there any more, other than the ones you mentioned?
Thanks for the link

SM, Might look into doing some ground replacing. Thanks for the info.

944Play

In the Haynes manual, on the first page of electrical diagrams is a thumbnail that shows where all the ground points are. The engine grounds are the most important since they carry the full current of the alternator. I think.