Bonton

Friends,

Took '87 S4 for a shake out ride from Austin to Houston,TX. Engine did great, no prob averaging 75 mph there and back.

Here's the problem- Air from the engine compartment is entering the cabin-heavy, hot and oily air that makes it uncomfortable to be driving. Goes right up my nose. Seems to be coming in under the window/sunroof switches (baking the crap out of them).

Since I don't have AC the windows were open the whole time. If they were closed and I had AC it would be undermined by this hot horrible air, it inflamed my lungs but I powered through and enjoyed the ride.

Later I took a cloth and placed it over the console, over the window switches which did diminish the entry of the engine compartment air.

So? What is going on here. Is there a gasket/assembly (that has degraded) that prevents this from happening? Has anyone prevented/solved this problem? If so how?

Thanks!

ammonman

Auto or 5 speed? IIRC the usual culprit is collapsed motor mounts and /or missing insulation on the top of the torque tube. The collapsed mounts let the engine and torque tube drop far enough to lower the insulation and create a gap between the insulation and the body tunnel which then lets hot air into the center console.

Mike

Bonton

THAT makes sense! Thanks! Holy smoke, it is unbearable really. I'll get those done.

Josh

MainePorsche

Josh,
And transmission mounts at the other end of the tube.
When car is up and level, can you get your index finger in between the transmission and the crossmember at the back end ? If trans is sitting on the crossmember, you need new ones. This job done without major dissection. Actually it is pretty straightforward. Someone posted good pics and description here. Do a Search.

Bonton

Thanks y'all.

Bill Ball

Temporarily you can stuff some insulation down into the shifter cavity gap to reduce the flow of hot air until you get to the root of the problem.