At Mosport this year I thought I blew the motor in my 944S2. (three laps from the end of the enduro. I pulled the oil pan and found the oil pickup broken and lying in the bottom of the pan. We pulled the No. 2 bearing and there is some scoring. Also some very small metal flakes at the corner of the bearing, next to the crank. My plan was to pull the crank and have it professionally checked. I can see some slight coloring on the journal surface from heat.

I was very quick to kill the motor when the idiot light went off. I was in the T3 right hander, at the bottom of the hill.

My question is... do we think I need to replace the oil cooler as there may be some debris lodged in the cooler? I will be pulling the engine and replacing it with a spare race motor I have. I was planning to use the same oil cooler.

Thanks for any advice.

Don Ehinger

 

Don,

You should have the oil cooler flushed/cleaned before running the new engine. Do the same with Accusump if you have one. The Accusump should go back to Canton to be cleaned. Ask them if they can take care of the cooler, as well.

GL

 

The oil filter will keep most of any debris from getting back through to the engine. If youre worried about reduced flow through the cooler due to blockage, then remove it and reverse flush it.

 

Don - Sorry to hear about your misfortune. As you noted, it was a good catch before things got worse.

This "broken oil pickup" thing is starting to pop up a bit more often. Not to hijack your thread in a different direction, but have you gained any insights as to cause and steps to avoid the failure?

Thanks in advance.

 

Hey All,

There is currently a thread on the 944T/S board dealing with this specific subject.

Kevin

 

Hi Dave;

I think so. When we pulled the motor we found a failed motor mount. I should have seen that but missed it. My Stahl header was also cracked in a number of places. Finally, my AC support rod was broken. Note that this was a 98K street motor. We are thinking that the vibration may have caused this and could have contributed to the broken pick up. I'm just not sure.

 

Hey Don;

Good save.

You have to judge how much bearing material you find around the engine as to whether you need a new cooler. You can look at the damaged bearing to judge how much is "missing," and then the other bearings, and every other assembly and see the signs of bearing contamination. Flush the cooler thoroughly at the least, and change it often once or twice after rebuild.

Cracked pickup tubes are pretty common. It comes from age, vibration, and problems during pan installation. You need to inspect them carefully every time you go in there. It does not hurt to reinforce them. They can get snagged on the baffle and banged around when trying to maneuver the pan back in place. Cars not running balance shafts also have to watch for cracking EXTRA closely.

 

Thanks Don and John. I have seen folks starting to reinforce the pickups. I have not heard of anyone lucky enough to catch it like you did Don, so kudos.

It does sound like you've been getting a fair amount of vibration. I suppose that it doesn't help our cause when we keep pulling all the rubber bits out of these street cars, loading them up with obnoxious spring rates, and then keep them spinning north of 5500 rpm all day...

 

Can you please post a picture of the pickup tube.