Oil Temperature High?

Hi,
I've just picked up my first Porsche, a '76 2.7s Targa. (imported to London from California
The oil temp seems to running a bit high. I have a gauge with numbers on it. Doing a steady 70Mph it was about 245• and around town about 252. Is this normal?
Also when I take my foot off the gas and depress the clutch, the revs fall off and it will stall. Could this be because it's running hot? it didnt do it when it was cold. It normally idles at about 8-900rpm.

My apologies for the basic post, but im waiting for a few books to be delivered and I've yet to find a good Porsche Mechanic in London. Actually if anyone knows of one could you email me details to: alex@cascade.f9.co.uk.

Many thanks in advance.
Alex.

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US 1976 911 2.7s
email:alex@cascade.f9.co.uk

I am not sure where you are in London, but the boys at Autofarm are great. They specialize in Porsche, only. Nice bunch on top of it.

Did you check the dwell and timing of your car and make sure that you had a full tank of oil. I would, before jumping to any conclusions, check all of the vital signs on your car. I had a car that would run hotter if the timing was far enough off. This would also create a situation, that the car would want to stall and the power felt way off. It also ran hotter because it wasn't firing properly.

I will try to find some other qualified Porsche people for you in the London area. There are some very good ones available to you.

If those are accurate numbers you cite, they are not only HIGH, but dangerously so!!! I don't know if you are familiar with 'Excellence' magazine or Bruce Anderson, but as Tech. editor, a few years ago, he said the factory 'Do Not Exceed temp.' was 256 F, or thereabouts! My recommendation, before you drive the car again, would be to test your temp. sensor off the engine, but wired to the engine with a set of temporary jumpers as follows: A ground clip is needed to go from the body of the sensor to the engine block. An extension of the sensor lead (to the gauge) to the sensor is probably also needed. Test the sensor by immersing in a small 'saucepan' of water drawn from your hot water line, and the gauge reading should be somewhere in the lower quadrant, a meat cooking thermometer should agree fairly closely with your gauge. Next, bring the pan of water to boiling, and check again, comparing your cooking thermometer with your gauge reading with ignition switch on, which should read somewhere around 210F. Personally, I have never seen a 'normal' running engine temp. higher than 230F in west Texas on the hottest day of the summer, so your temps are exceedingly high! Be sure to clean the sensor contact, and wire connector, as corrosion could alter gauge readings!

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

In 1976, all was not well with La La Land Porsches. They had a smog requirement that
caused Porsche to install thermal reactors(engine type no. 911/84).
If you look under your car, you will see
6 small dia lines running to the exhaust
port on your heads. These motors run hot and it is to their detriment. A set of valve guides last about 30K mi.
Since you no longer need them (the pump/reactor) get rid of it and get an external oil cooler. From what I read, most of these cars had none, not even a trombone.
The bottom line is all 2.7 motors need an external cooler, this engine more than any.

Warren is right to recommend checking the gauge, however.Damn, that's hot.
JPIII

Hi Guys,
Thanks for your help.
I took the car to a garage in the end.
I found a really good friendly dealer local to me.
TAG: 0171 385 5487
They are just near Earls Court in West london.
The guy looked at it for free and said that I do have an oil cooler, but it is not getting hot. Which seems to imply that the thermostat is not working. Im not sure what kind of oil cooler I have though, it was mounted behind the engine, I thought some were mounted in the wheel arches? He also said the car was running very rich which may have been done to try to cool it down.
Seeing as I have only just bought the car off a dealer (Fuchs) Im going to try to get them to pay to have the work done. I also need some work done for the interior heater, which seem to be missing most of the piping from the heat exchanges.

Thanks, Alex

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US 1976 911 2.7s
email:alex@cascade.f9.co.uk

I re-read my post and realize that I need t clarify something.
All 911 motors have an engine mounted oil cooler (up till the 964, I think).
This is mounted on the fwd part of the engine just ahead of # 6 cylinder.
You are correct in that the factory mounted
external cooler in the right front fender,
fwd of the wheel.
There is an internal thermostat for the
engine cooler and an external thermostat
...well you get the idea.

A bad thermostat (either one) will cause your problem.

If, indeed, there is an external cooler mounted at the rear of the car somewhere, it should be moved up front to allow cool air to reach it.

Peter Morgan authored an excellent book on the 911. Since he is a fellow Brit, you won't need a translator like I did...spanner..tyre..stockist...eh?
I recommend it highly.
J P Stein Vancouver, WA USA

Hey JP, how do one check if the internal thermostat is working properly, and where does it locate?

I've just spoken to my dealer (Fuchs) who is willing to either fix it them selves or liase with a local garage to get the work done.

I'll have the heating sorted whilst it's being repaired.
Does anyone have any suggestions for other work thats worth doing whilst it's in the garage?

Thanks, Alex

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US 1976 911 2.7s
email:alex@cascade.f9.co.uk

The internal thermostat is located above the
# 6 cylinder & oilcooler.
Since you 911 guys have your engines in backwards, it is extreamly hard to get at with the CIS motors.

A quick and dirty check is to warm up the car
then put your hand on the oilcooler.
If it's not hot something is amiss.
This is best reformed on a lift with the motor running.
JPIII

Alex,

you were asking what else might be a good thing to work on whilst being in the garage?

since i am also the proud (and rather new) owner of a 76' 911S Targa, i can relate to your problems quite well...in regard to the temperature issue, i have found that the switch from a 5 blade fan to an 11 blade fan has considerably lowered my temperature...where my car was still approaching 250 degrees quite easily before, i haven't seen it pass 220 since...if you look through the site, you can find a new fan for about $225 (support Pelican Parts whenever you can), and add about $75 for an hour's worth of labor (some garages might charge you two hours)...but this is money well spent...

if you feel particularily bothered by excess money in your pocket, you can't go wrong with having hydraulic tensioners installed...this change has been recommended to me from various independent sources, since a car this old has a greater tendency to have the old-style tensioner fail (causing *very* expensive damage to the valves), than many seem to feel comfortable with...

i don't know, of course, whether the expense is really justified in your case, but since i've had my engine removed in order to have a hole that the previous owner welded into the rear window deck (for a speaker!) welded shut and the damaged isolation replaced, i had many things done that would have been more expensive with the engine in there (such as the clutch, the cold-start valve, and many other things)...

figure $350 for the tensioner parts, and 4-5 hours of labour...not cheap, but highly recommended if you can afford it...

other than that i'd check injectors, spark plugs, hoses, seals, filters (air and oil), etc...many small things that can greatly improve the feel of the car...

if you or your dealer haven't done so already, check whther the oil is ready for a change...if it is, you might also check the transmission oil for similar need...

good luck and enjoy.

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1976 911S Targa

[This message has been edited by Till Krueger (edited 02-03-2000).]

Hi Guys,
My Porsche is going in for surgery soon.
It's going to a garage called Phil Wooley Porsche. They are about 1.5 hours drive from london. They seem really good and only charge £25 labour. The one in london wanted £60!! AutoFarm charge £39.
My dealer is going to pay for whatever needs to be done to repair the oil cooling
problem.
And at the same time im going to get some upgrades:
Carrera Tensioners
Pop off valve
Eleven blade fan
New brake discs (rotors) and pads, I'll prob get vented and drilled ones fitted.
And last but not least, a full service

Im told I have some smog stuff installed, If I remove this will I get a performance increase?

Thanks for your help everybody.


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US 1976 911 2.7s
email:alex@cascade.f9.co.uk