QuentinH

This past year I have seen 2 spectacular failures and two less noticeable ones, plus heard stories of many more, where oil starvation of journal two and three caused the separation of beautifully wrought engine internals and their scattering across the landscape. I have always had such confidence that Porsche left no detail unattended, and with that, any Porsche could be, and was indeed designed to be driven on a race track, or as if on a race track, without ill effects - barring driver error. What is it about the 951 oil pan that Porsche DID NOT do to prevent oil starvation in long, high "G" sweepers. And, what is the cure. This is something I have worried about on long sweeping exit ramps after seeing the effects on a track-prepped engine that was blown to bits. I have never backed off on any porsche I have driven, believing that they are truly designed , and track tested, to handle what ever you can ask of them. After all, this is what Porsche would have you believe in order to help justify the fact that their racing programs are reflected in the price of their cars. I am very disappointed to think that so much design detail was addressed in the Turbo, but the oil sump isn't properly baffled to protect the engine from oil starvation during track-like driving. Somebody please tell me the S sumps are different, or if they aren't, what the remedy is. I have heard that the crank has to be cross drilled and an aftermarket sump plus accu-sump has to be added to the car to prevent this problem. I can't believe that Porsche wouldn't address this in design, let alone in the aftermarket with dealer available kits and special bulletins to owners. I guess if you hide your head in the sand and act like there is no problem, the attorneys can't get you. Even knowing the legal consequences, I can't help be disappointed in my hero-of-all-car-companies.

rage2

My original 951 engine blew up about 7 years ago because of this problem. The car was completely street driven for 3 years (I drove pretty hard on the street) before it died.

You can get modified oil pan baffles to cure this problem. I just got mine done, not sure how much it'll help, but I should know pretty quick as the car will see a lot of track action this year.

Tabor

Many people add the accusump. Some people just over-fill their oil pan by .5-1.5 quarts.

I heas that the Boxster and 996 engines seem to have a similar problem, even if not to the same extent as the 944 series.

Porsche did update the oil pan baffles in 1988. I think they then updated the oil-pan in 1989.

sprbxr

Where is the best place on the engine to add the accusump?

Justin

John Chasse

I had a discussion with a pretty reputable engine builder (who specializes in 951s) last week about this very topic. While the following is his opinion, my experience around track-driven 951s leads me to believe he is correct:

Almost without exception 944 turbos blow oil. The harder the cars are driven, the more they use. My engine was freshened up last spring and it is dry as a bone (no leaks), but it is not uncommon for me to use a quart of Mobil 1 per day while pushing the car hard on a race track.

Cars that reportedly "blow up" as a result of the dreaded spun #2 rod bearing were almost certainly low on oil. Maybe not a lot, but they were ceratinly not full or slightly overfull! The way this car is designed, if the oil level is completely full, the rod bearings will be well lubricated unless the car is turned over on it's side.

I think the solution here is just check your oil level before EVERY TRACK SESSION, not at the end of every day! If you keep the level just slightly over full, I doubt you will ever run into this "common" problem.