Don Nguyen

So lately, it seems like my car has been running slightly hotter than usual. At first I thought it was just because of my hard driving or because of the warmer/hotter weather here in socal.

However, after some searching, it seems like my oil thermostat that is broken? I tried doing the warm fender test, after a drive, to warm the car up. The only thing is, I am not clear on where exactly to put my hand in order to feel the warmth. Is it the fender itself, or the portion right in between the windshield and the hood, basically where the water nozzles goes?

I figure that might be it, since that was the only area that was slightly remotely warm at all. Except, when I touched it, it did not feel all that warm. It was very faint, not entirely obvious.

Is that a sign of a broken thermostat?

thanks.

-Don

Crystal Cranks

This is the area that should be warm when the car is up to temp and the thermostat is open.

Indycam

http://www.bentleypublishers.com/fea....jan.16.jp.jpg

LouZ

2 areas:
passanger side, directly behind the door - this is the oil resevoir w/ the thermostat @ the bottom behind the "shark fin"

pass side front fender -just behind the headlight - this is the oil cooler.The thermostat has to "open" to pump the oil thru the cooler.

Don Nguyen

Seems like the thermostat is broken, since that area does not feel warm at all.

Where's the best place to buy a replacement for that, pelican parts?

Should I also check to see if the fan's are working, if so, how can i do that?

thanks.

-Don

mojorizing

Go here for info on the thermostat:

http://members.rennlist.com/rgranaas...0Rev_0_Web.htm

and more info here (scroll down page):

http://members.rennlist.com/rgranaas/rgranaas.htm

Don Nguyen

Replaced the thermostat, but it seems like the car is still getting warm while driving around.

I drove about 5 miles on the street and 40 miles on the freeway today, in warm socal weather, and the car was slowly getting hotter and hotter.

It got to the point where the needle was close to the 10 o clock line. I drove at around 80mph the entire time and the car was not cooling down at all.

LouZ

Are you feeling any heat in the front fender now?

elbeee964

Anyone else thinking 'crushed oil line'?

Are there any (passenger side) signs of baseboard deformation?
From an improperly positioned lift in the recent past?

(that's the only things I know about not yet touched upon -- not at all familiar with the failure modes of the thermostat.)

Keep posting -- this isn't a common thread of inquiry, especially after thermostat being replaced. And hang in there...

Don Nguyen

No heat, and I had my friend try it out too, just in case my hands weren't sensitive enough to it.

The temperature gauge was also pointing around 9 o clock when I did the warm fender test.

I looked, and there doesn't seem to be any deformation in the baseboard/bottom of the car. How deformed would it have to be, would it be obvious?

The thermostat sensor I also replaced was the one in the front fender, behind the fender liner.

Could a slightly high oil level cause any of this? Mine is right at the top line. Sometimes it will dip to a little under the line while normal driving, but if I idle for a while, it will sit at the top line again.

elbeee964

Nope. that isn't it. (Otherwise a third of the folk here would have toastie engines)

mojorizing

Interesting. You can remove the thermostatic element from thermostat housing, re-install the o-ring and cap, and drive the car, you should feel heat up front. With the thermostat removed a lot of oil should be circulating up front, be it warm or cold. The temp. sensor up front is to turn the oil cooler fan on at 2 temps. Also, the eng. oil temp. guage on the dash could be suspect, but I know SoCal as had some warm temps. lately so you should feel heat up front. What year is your car, and what was the part # for the new thermostat?

Don Nguyen

My car is a '92 C4

The part number that I ordered, off of pelicanparts was:

964-624-110-00-M100
Temperature Switch for Front Oil Cooler, 911 Turbo 1991-94, 964
Carrera 2/4 1989-94, 993 Carrera/Carrera 4 1995-98, 993 Turbo 1996-97,
Each Brand: Genuine Porsche

dfinnegan

What you likely need is the oil thermostat that opens the oil flow path to include the front cooler. It is an insert that gets installed just in front of the right rear wheel where (one of) the oil change drain plugs is located.

PET 104-01 thermostat insert alone
#13 964.207.349.02 thermostat insert
#12 999.701.393.40 o-ring 32x2.5
#14 964.207.351.01 washer
#14a 999.041.037.00 circlip 37x1.5

PET 104-05 whole thermostat housing
#11 964.207.047.08 thermostat


Some folks have noted difficulty in removing the insert from the thermostat housing, but I didn't have any trouble with it. You will have to do an oil change at the same time. Note that the book says you get 6 qts out if you only pull the t'stat housing drain plug and not the crank case plug. Don't believe it. I got less and proceeded to over fill my oil when I was done.

dfinnegan

Here's a thread that shows the process to change the t'stat insert