Thanks guys, I'll check them out.

There's some new info about my little $500 beater. My hood release has started to...well...release. lol. Need to remove it for a good clean and lube. I don't think the fans are coming on but if they are and that was what I was hearing, then I think it was the high speed and only for three seconds at a time. Also, I don't think the turbo is working....I can't hear it, and it drives like a four cylinder if you know what I mean.

But hey...it cost me $500 out of pocket, right?

 

$500! That's a deal for a running 944....even if you have to put some TLC into it that's a good little project to play with. If it doesn't work, you can part it out for more money than that.

 

Welcome dunl ... I am in Calgary and I am one of the "Wild Rose" PCA track rats who plays out at Race City Speedway. The track will be open in 2011, so look into this PCA club if you want to track your car. But who knows what will happen in two years with it.

I say we should kidnap Mosport and bring it back West with us.

 

Well, I should say "$500 out of pocket"...I sold a vehicle that I had here for $2500, and picked this baby up for an extra $500...so I consider it my $500 winter beater. Even with a turbo rebuild, should be worth the money.

To everyone, "it's a PORSCHE!!!"....to us, it's simply a very nice little 4 cylinder for the money.

 

Wellcome!! .............a 2.5L 4 cylinder is not little.

Try not to drive it until you fix it.

 

Well, there's lots to fix. I think I found the cooling issue....when I turn the A/C on, both fans work. So they're working in the mechanical sense, not sure about the thermo switch or not.

I think I have most of the hood release problem fixed, but unfortunately I dropped the little screw that holds the end of the cable in....need to find that and it was getting dark.

The heating issue? The hose that runs underneath the airbox was kind of wet on one end...looks like I need to replace that. If it is leaking, then I would assume that would be the place where the air bubble is being created.

Tomorrow I'm going to pull the boot and look at the turbo.

 

So, you have a cooling issue, you are down on boost, and your coolant resevoir has an impending crack.

Does the cooling resevoir look very swollen?

Do a compression test, leak down test, check your oil for coolant, and your coolant for oil. Once all of these come back clean, then start looking for other problems.

Cooling issues on the 944 should be straight forward to diagnose. However, back when Rennlist didn't even have a web based discussion board (it was only a mailing list! Hence the list name.) Ther was a guy somewhere in the Arab region who was chasing a cooling issue. The poor guy replaced everything, and then found out the issue was simply compacted sand in the radiator. That is an easy thing to clean and check.

How does your temp guage operate? It should warm up to about 3/4, then you hear a click, the fans kick in, and it cools down to a 1/4. A thermostat failing is not that common. If the fans don't kick in when you are at 3/4, the switch may be the issue, but you may also have air bubbles in your cooling system. The air bubbles can throw off the temp sensor and make you go nuts searching for problems. Take a few minutes and bleed the system properly. It is easy (and messy) in a 944.

If you have good coolant, your radiator is clean, your fans are coming on, there are really only two things left. As your water pumps starts to go, it reduces it's ability to flow coolant. Change this before it siezes, other wise your $500 beater will be sold for parts on E-bay shortly. If you have no history of the last time the belts, rollers, and pumps where replaced, order the parts and change them today. Just an opinion. The water pump will make noise for about 24 minutes before it packs up and takes $5K - $10K out of your wallet.... if you still want to keep the car.

The final cause of the cooling issue may be that your head gasket in done. Not that big an issue if you catch it in time, and it gives you a reason to change the belts, rollers, and water pump on your maintenance schedule. But check this before you do anything else, it is not worth the time to check everything when your headgasket is done. Compression, leak down, and visual test. Even Canadian Tire can test this for you. Get it done for piece of mind... If you where closer to my garage (a few 1000kms closer actually) I would invite you over to check these for you, just because you are a new owner!!!

Don't worry about the boost issue, until you solve the cooling issue. The boost issue can be easily solved, but the coolant and boost issues may be directly related. If you are really curious about the boost issue, I recomend you check for leaks in your header and crossover before you check anything else...


Hope this helps...

 

Thanks for the advice, and I'll try to answer each of your points if I can:

No, the expansion tank just looks like 23 year old yellow plastic and there is one section where it looks like there is a ridge on it. I thought it might be cracked when I first looked at it, but there is nothing escaping from there.

I did do a compression test:
https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-...t-results.html

No oil appears in the reservoir, and no coolant appears on the dipstick.

The temperature gauge climbs to 3/4 and then there is NO click....so I am assuming that my fans do NOT kick in, as the gauge will continue rising, especially in idling traffic.

I'm assuming that the hose coming from the rad is leaking (appears wet just a little on the bottom), which would allow air into the system. I had planned to drain the coolant, but if the hose is leaking then I would need a new one, as I doubt trying to tighten these up will make a difference.

Water pump - when idling in traffic, a little accelerator will pull the temperatures down somewhat - indicating that the pump is at least working.

No history on the pump or belts, although the timing belt looks practically new with the yellow printing on it in excellent condition.

Is it possible to have a blown headgasket with compression test numbers like I found?

One other piece of pertinent information...the air filter is brutal. I would say 80% or more used...I have a K&N one coming in tomorrow hopefully (should have been here last Thursday).

 

If the hose is only slightly leaking then it could be corrosion of the aluminium and not the hose. Let the car idle with hood open and visually check if the fans come on when they are supposed to. There are too many assumptions in you diagnosis......need to start visually check and confirm all of these.

 

You're right, it could be the aluminum....hopefully not.

As for starting it, right now it is without an air filter.

 

I would guess you need a water pump based on that alone. I had the same symptoms in a Turbo car a few years ago, changing the waterpump fixed the issue. However, my car would only be too hot after driving on the track for 20+ minutes... so I caught it early. If it is doing this in stop and go traffic, I would think about changing it...

Air bubbles, if they are big, or if your coolant is low would do the same thing. Fix the leaks, bleed the system, and see what happens.

Your compression test looks good...

Looking at your pictures, you have some leaks in your power steering system. These are not difficult to address, and the leaks make a huge mess.

You should check the fluid levels in your transmission. You don't want the transmission to pack up because of low fluid, this is an easy issue to address and the sweating would be a concern to me later on. At least check the level and address the leaks another time...

Also, I noticed a bit of fluid at the line leading to the fuel regulator. If this is a very small leak, and it gets bigger, it sprays fuel all over the engine bay. By the time you notice it and turn the engine off it's too late. Just check it too be sure...

These are great cars when they run well... enjoy it...

 

I agree with IMoOOO. It should be obvious when the fans come on, do a visual check. If they are not coming on, it could be a bad switch, low coolant, or air bubbles. All very easy to fix.

 

Okay, the only thing I had time to do tonight was to replace the air filter and check the cooling fans. The filter didn't make any kind of noticeable improvement, but the fans do in fact come on. So the switch should be good.

I've also noticed that it is really sluggish until it heats up.

 

Welcome.

Looks like your car has found the owner it needs.

 

Welcome on Board...