Is it safe to apply a ton of pressure to this 24mm in the counterclockwise direction? It makes me nervous but that's what makes sense. Most of the reference videos I've seen skip over this. I think it's supposed to be torqued at 34 ft.lbs. I assume the flywheel lock can take the force but it feels weird to bounce on the nut.

ETA 83 944

 

The torque is 155 lb ft. Don't use a hammer or an impact wrench to remove the bolt. No bouncing, just constant pressure.

Use a two foot long breaker bar (1/2 inch drive or larger) and a cheater pipe (a 4 foot jack handle), and a flywheel lock. (With the socket on the bolt, and the cheater bar sticking up towards the hood, push the cheater towards the passenger side, using constant pressure at the long end of the pipe.

 

This worked. And thanks for the correction on the torque specs.

 

Follow up here...

I'm doing the water pump and timing belt. My kit also has an oil cooler gasket kit. Should I just do that while I'm in here? I wasn't planning on it. I got oil all over the engine so I really couldn't tell you what's leaking. I thought it was the air oil separator o-ring and already changed that.

 

do it now.

 

Regarding the oil cooler, from what I learned, when reassembly, use the realignment tool to get everything aligned. It’s a dummy tool that has only one purpose: To align the shaft hole. I had a shop rebuild my cooler, and they needed to order that alignment tool.

 

I looked it up on Clark's Garage and the oil cooler requires removing the exhaust manifold and having access through the water pump might not really save me any time. It'll be something I come back to later if I can confirm there's a leak.

 

If the oil cooler is leaking, you will get milkshake in your coolant recovery tank. Check it often.

 

Mine still has the original oil cooler gaskets. I check it EVERY TIME after taking the car out for a drive. And for milkshake on the dipstick. Oil in the coolant won't harm the car, but with enough coolant in the oil, the oil film will break down, with engine damage not far behind. At the earliest sign, seal replacement is mandatory.

 

Just so you are aware, there are also a number of great guides here (even though this is for turbo, many of these are the same or similar process with the NA and 16V cars):
https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart...ljGhxp4Madrewm

And the FSM is free and downloadable, a "must have" if you are doing your own mechanic work (and it will also give you torque specs)
http://p914-6info.net/944%20Manuals.html

Lastly, the Porsche PET Parts catalog is an invaluable resource for looking up part numbers or bolt sizes (or for any "whats this part" question):
https://www.porsche.com/usa/accessor...artscatalogue/

I recommend downloading the PDFs of the workshop manual (electrical, engine, body, etc) and the parts catalog and keeping them handy.

 

I wouldn't drive a 944 without a known age oil cooler seal after mine let go on my first 944 whilst driving..