John_AZ

Oil cooler inside the OPRV oil cooler housing.
Coolant flows over oil cooler
Oil stays inside oil cooler
If oil cooler seals fail oil goes into cooling system or coolant into engine ----OR both.



Oil cooler engine mount fouled with coolant sludge



Oil cooler housing with corrosion pits



If pitted badly, get a good used oil cooler housing



GL
J_AZ

Arominus

Once you have the cooler housing off testing the actual core is easy. Turn your air compressor down to about 15PSI, stick your finger over one outlet and use a blowgun with a rubber tip that seals the inlet and submerge it in a bucket of water. Pressurize, look for bubbles!

If its good clean everything up and reassemble with new seals. The kit is about $40, also do the OPRV o-rings as suggested. Those are $5. The alignment tool is absolutely required.

Tampa 928s

I appreciate all you help makes my job a lot easier. With it overheating on three occasions once the fan is fixed I may luck out and it will not be a head gasket.
Any short cuts to remove it and a vendor that carries non Chinese junk parts?

John_AZ

Commenting on the oil cooler housing:

It is possible to remove and install from the bottom-----only if you have a photographic memory on how you removed it to get by the lines and frame.

A few members will suggest to remove the exhaust header for access. Then you need 4 exhaust manifold gaskets and 2 exhaust flange gaskets to finish.

Pelican for seals and eBay or WTB on Pelican parts for sale if you need a new OPRV oil cooler housing.

Overheating? 3Xs may cause a warped head- GL

J_AZ

odurandina

fantabulous design.

Arominus

If you have the crossmember out to do the rod bearings its easy to get to from underneath. I just did it on my 944S and had no problems getting to it. No header removal required. When i did in on my 924S with the xmember still in it i was able to get it out without pulling the header. There are some small bolts on the heatshield that are a bit of a pain but thats the worst of it.

Well besides the waterfall of coolant/oil that comes out when you pop it loose

Tampa 928s

Here comes a question because I have not taken a look at it! The coolant must have hoses from the pump or radiator so would it not be better to take the radiator out of the equation? My thought was to bypass the coolant lines and pressure test the radiator then look for bubbles once the motor is running. Also with the cooler bypassed any new oil from the motor should be coming from the head gasket. I am still not clear where the coolant enters and leaves the oil cooler and how the lines maybe attached.

Arominus

There are no lines, coolant flows out of a water jacket in the block and then back into the block. Its all contained by the outer housing of the cooler.

Tampa 928s

I now own this car and just did a little trouble shooting. Pressure tested the radiator seems to hold cold. Started and it runs good but just picked up some oil and filter for a change before I heat it up. It seems like the consciences is the oil cooler seal I assume coolant and oil would both end up in pan and radiator. I think removing the ehaust manifold and addressing the oil cooler should be first, the seal will tell the story, hope it is not a head gasket but this seems the best approach.
Parts list
Cooler seals
manifold gasket
Flange gasket
Tool for seal
Any thing else?

Arominus

You do not need to pull the header to do the oil cooler. I did it on my 924S without removing the header.

Cooler gasket set
OPRV O-rings
OPRV alignment tool

If your taking your chances on the rod bearings, then that's all you need. But seriously consider doing the bearings, its a lot cheaper now than getting another motor if one spins.

Tampa 928s

I plan on doing the bearings also the MM but want to test for a bad head gasket after the cooler is repaired and all coolant is out of the system before I replace the bearings.

Tampa 928s

Looks like I got lucky and it was the seal that was leaking causing all the coolant mixing.
I am ready to replace the rod bearings and had a couple of questions. The lower A-arms bushings and sway bar bushings are dry rotted and motor mounts are collapsed other then that tie rods ball joints are in good shape. I want to drop the sub-frame and get this done but need to know if I can replace the A-bushings with out using a press and while on the car? Any other hints before I start or parts I should plan on ordering besides the oil pan gasket bearings and nuts and bushings?
Thanks

John_AZ

Motor Mounts--

The only motor mounts that will last in a 924s or 944 are the OEM Porsche mounts.
Corteco/Rein or OEM Porsche are preferred.

Never touch Deutsche Parts, URO, maybe Meyle--only if you plan to sell the car soon.

Control arm DIY.
http://reutterwerk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28296GL

GL
J_AZ

Tampa 928s

Getting some mixed advice on the rod bearings.
Some camps indicate that coolant in the oil that goes unnoticed tends to cause the damage. The motor was run for about 20-min before it overheated and the coolant issue was observed. So some are advising to leave it alone due to the minimum time frame the engine was running.
Car has 47K on it and mileage should not be a factor, seems sometimes replacing parts for a future problem maybe not the best approach. This car is for my son and will be his first car so longevity maybe an issue but not for the rod bearings I hate to go through all this work and find it is not necessary, any real life feedback?

ilikemy944

I had mixing in my first 944 and I didn't touch the bearings. Fine for another 50k+ until I sold it.
That said, bearing failure will result in more expensive work, the crank will likely need work which means the engine has to come out, etc...