Wounded Engine at DE....

FlaCarrera · 02:27 PM

First PCA DE of the year at 2.25 Mile Moroso track in Palm Beach. Turn out was 105 cars...bright sunny day about 75.

My first DE in the 944 and in 10 months (soloed in a 911) so I do refresher session with an instructor...hmm car feels great, braking superb, carbon getting blown out...NICE. Not as quick in the straights as the olde 911, but not slow either.

Last session of the day, instructors & solos together...got my groove back, THEN ooops...oil pressure goes away and car dies as I coast onto the grass next to a flag station....###!** Battery dead (??) dip stick shows 0 oil. Ride home on a freind's trailer...PCA is a great thing at times like this.

Next day...wrench finds metal particles in the oil (cuts oil filter in half as first exploratory). No word yet on what the inards will reveal. Only good news is a bodaciuosly good daily rate on a rental SUV...Ford Excursion for $30.day...last car they had available. What a HUGE beast, but kinda fun too. Def. a different
set of road manners from other drivers vs. the 944.

Lesson..check oil throughout the day before EVERY DE session.

Bummed in Fort Lauderdale
Ted
'87 944 NA in hospital

TCMdocs944 · 01-11-2005, 10:10 AM

Sorry to hear that Ted.

Main Bearing maybe?

Dantilla · 01-11-2005, 10:48 AM

Yes, add oil after EVERY track session.

My #2 bearing decided it was tired of looking at the same crankshaft journal and went to take a look around the rest of the engine.

It was a great time to have the crank cross-drilled, add trap doors in the oil pan, add turbo valve springs, new header & exhaust, and why don't we go with new coil-over suspension while we're at it?

The car is great, but I had to dip my checkbook in some ice water to cool it off after all that.

924Sman · 01-11-2005, 01:17 PM

Sorry! Geez that really screws up a weekend!

I feel it very beneficial to check before and after each and every run session. I figure it is the easiest thing to do on a Porsche reading the dipstick obsessively. I am old and lazy and rather not have to do the hard work later.

Martinirossi · 01-16-2005, 03:46 PM

I spun the #2 rod bearing on a track day 30 Oct. Finally getting my engine back in the car.

I will be checking the oil more often now.

FlaCarrera · 01-18-2005, 08:50 AM

UPDATE....
Well, it was worse than first thought...Pistons ceased, cam shaft to be replaced, bent rods, oil all over the underbody. Good news is I will have a rebuilt, fresh engine. While it was out of the car I figured why not stick in lightly used radiator, oil pump and a Lindsey Racing sump baffle and updated clutch (which was about 95% worn). Clutch labor nearly free as it sits there exposed.

Bad news is repair will cost more than I paid for the car. After the mandatory 1000 mile break-in, I'll be back on the DE circuit...it's just too much fun to have legally.

Ted in Fort Lauderdale
'87 944 Diamond Met Blue -intensive care ward
'05 Ford Excursion-The rent-a-tank. (hey $30/day, why not)

Z-man · Z-man's Garage

Ted - Good luck in the repairs!

Last season, my head developed a crack. $5500.00 later, I'm back to square one. (Note: 16-valve heads a a wee bit more expensive....)

Less than a month after getting my car back, I was back on track at VIR playing hard.

-Z.