Jeremy Martin

Hi all,
I brought my 944 turbo into the shop for a timing belt / rollar/ water pump replacement. they found that most of the seals in the area of the timing belt were leaking.. they also found that there is a small amount of oil in the air intake before the manifold, and in the turbo air system in general. The mechanic told me that this isnt anything to have a heart attack over, and i wont (he's been ultra reliable in the past). he did say that i should probably go back to using the oil the previous owner used and that might solve the problem, because they would be different viscosities. has anyone ever heard of this happening? any thoughts?

TCarrera

Jeremy,
Your mechanic is probably right, as long as the amount of oil is minor. More than likely the seals in the turbo are starting to seep. Don't worry but keep an eye on the oil consumption.
Synthetic oils are more prone to leaking so if you are running a synthetic, you might switch back and see if the problem improves.
Mike at LR

Jeremy Martin

Thanks Mike!

Danno

While they're in there replacing the water-pump, might as well replace all those seals. The camshaft seal, the crank seal and the two balance-shaft seals.

Jeremy Martin

Looks like thats the plan... i'm getting the timing belt, rollars, water pump, and all the seals in the area replaced along with new plugs, a new thermostat, and new fuel and air filters put in... i'm going to switch over to valvoline 20w50 and see if that makes the seals in the turbo ease their leaking, otherwise i'll probably just get a new turbo later this year. right now i'm planning on ordering a set of new wires along with a new distributer when i get the car back, and i'll test the coil to make sure it's up to snuff as well as the throttle position sensor. probably also about time to replace the oxygen sensor... thanks for the help guys!

Jerry

If your changing the water pump just because your changing the timing belt this is overly cautious and you should save your money. Also, regarding the turbo, don't replace it until your having a bigger problem with it. It could stay the same for years.

Jeremy Martin

Yeah, the turbo will stay put till it gets worse. as for the water pump, it's fine now, but water pumps tend to have a life span somewhere between 1 and 2 timing belts and if the water pump siezes it will result in a rebuild of the engine... so, it's worth the piece of mind to me. same reason i'm doing the rollars.

Jerry

There were many problems with water pumps on the 86 cars and maybe the 87's and Porsche went thru 14 different versions (improvements) and once you have the newest version (part number) it will last as long as any water pump which is 200,000 miles.

Jeremy Martin

thanks for the tip! i didnt know the updated part was good indefinitly

SherionG

Jeremy, do not reinstall an OEM thermostat, instead get one that opens earlier to keep the temperature down. You should similarly change the thermal switch. These cars tend to run a little hot, especially in the Summer.

Jeremy Martin

Any suggestions on where to get more agressive thermostats & temp switches? i know that these cooling systems are barely efficient enough to cool the engine at idle and that has always bothered me a little

TCarrera

Jeremy,
The radiator is capable of handling the requiremends of this engine, the watercooled turbo adds a great deal of heat to the system. The addition of an aux oil cooler would help you greatly, the factory didn't build this car with the intention of running the kind of boost that we are trying to these days. They made a big mistake when they 'notched' the oil pan to clear the exhaust pipe. Even with a double wall pipe, this super heats the oil which also addes to the #2 bearing problem that these engines have. The factory cooler is marginal and should be replaced or a second cooler add inline with the first.
Just make sure all the factory components are working correctly and you should not have a major overheating problems with your car. Upgrading to a air/oil cooled turbo rather than the water would be a good idea on down the road.
Good luck.
Mike at LR

Jeremy Martin

Thanks again for all the help, mike! which reminds me, it will be about time to install a boost enhancer and a new wastegate once i get this tune up finished.

Bii

Hi Jeremy,

I been using an 80 deg. thermostat along with an 85/ 93 deg. fan switch for several years know. At full warm up temperature my gauge is almost always on 1/4 slightly above white line on hot days or when run hard. I'm very happy with this setup. You can easily locate fan temp switches as VW Golf 2 and Jetta 2 used the same switches.

Use a new water pump it will last longer and is worth the added cost!