My first project

[lovemy924S]

Hello everybody!!! Nice to be a part of this forum, and porsche loving community!!

First of all, I got my first car, an '87 924S towards the very end of the summer. It was a treat i found on eBay for $650 just 30 miles away. My dad, who is also somewhat of a car enthusiast, was taken by it quickly, and he decided to buy it then and then. Thanks dad!!!!! It turns out that there was a lot more going on in this car than i expected. First of all, the seller said that all the car needed to run well was a replaced oil pump (according to 3 Porsche mechanics thats a major load) and a battery. The reason it was so cheap was the poor thing was smashed up by a tree about a year ago, and i imagine this car hasn't run since before that.

So, my dad and i decided recently that we should trailer the car over to the local European car place, to have it looked at before we turned it over. It turns out that the fuel pump was bad, we put a battery in it, and checked out the electronics. They were fine, so i went ahead and bought a used fuel pump, and a new fuel filter so i could kill two birds with one stone. I finished everything on the fuel system (i hope) today. And turned my baby over for the first time in a long time. It took a while, but she ran.

The problem is, she ran very rough. The oil is ok, but the pressure is low. At first, the oil light went off after about 30 seconds of the car running, but the guage stayed at about 1/2 to 1. I'd like some input on this, because i turned the car off, and then restarted it, and the oil pressure light stayed on, i didn't let the car run for too long, so it may have gone off if i had left it, but i didn't want to mess anything up really badly. I'm thinking of dropping the oil pan to see if it's full of junk, or if anything is stuck, please give any input on that also.

Thanks guys.

[drift a 944]

great find! looks like a fun project, good luck with it!

i wish i could help out with the oil problem but thankfully I havent had those problems yet with my car.

Just remember to carefully inspect the timing belts for cracks, and if the previous owner hasnt told you when they were last replaced, I highly recomend you replace them as soon as you can.

[944 boy]

Yeah, could quite possibly be the pump. Replace that, all the seals, belts, rollers, and anything else you find. Running the engine under 1 bar can cause bearing failure. You could rebuild the motor yourself for a few grand and have a reliable fun car for less than 3K

[Razorback1980]

I would put a gauge on the engine first to verify it's reporting correctly. The oil pressure relief valve could also be stuck causing this problem. I would check that. If that isn't it, then I would go to the oil pump. It could also be a bad crank/rod/balance shaft bearing leaking off your pressure. I'm not really sure if there is a place to put a gauge on the engine before the relief valve or not..maybe someone else knows that.

I don't think we can stress enough the importance of not running an engine long with low oil pressure or knowing the condition of the timing/balance shaft belts. If these belts break, then you will have some major engine damage. To replace the oil pump you will have to remove these belts, so that's a great time to replace them....along with the rollers, water pump and front oil seals as already mentioned.

Should be a fun project for you and check out clarks-garage.com and 924.org for more information on your car.

Good Luck.

[924RACR]

What Tom said - I'd want to know for sure that the low oil pressure is a legit reading. If it is, then yes, rebuild. But verify that reading first. You could have a bad sender, or wiring, or possibly even gauge.

How many miles on it, and have you already changed the oil? One thing that could kill your oil pressure is if the oil is watered down badly with gas (or otherwise in bad shape). Not sure that this is possible on the 2.5L engine, but very common on 2.0L 924's with ignition problems but functioning fuel system... crank them for a long time, you rinse the cylinders out with gas and all that gas just fills up the crankcase, thinning out the oil.

Just a thought...

[rudidelange]

If all your oil seals are ok and the and crank pulley bolt is torqued correctly and still low pressure than it could be worn rod bearings, or the oil pressure relief valve. Oil pumps seldom wear out - unless there is some mechanical failure.
Clean the pressure relief valve (I used metal polish to remove the varnish), replace the oil with 10w 40. At idle with cold oil it should give 4.5 - 5 bars with ambient temp at 20 deg celcius. If still low increase the revolutions to 2500 - it should increase.
If still low check with an external oil pressure gauge. You can fit it at the same place of the sender unit - will have to place the car on ramps. It the external gauge stills shows 1 bar at idle then it is most probably the rod bearings.
If you have to remove the oil pump then you must remove the sump - big job!!!!
If the sump is removed then you can check the rod bearings - if you removed the rod bearings then you can just as well remove the top and replaced the head gasket - when the top and bottom is open - then you can just as well push the pistons out and check the rings - whats left would be the block - then you could just as well remove the engine and redo it ... ask me!!
Enjoy the car

[Razorback1980]

One other thing I thought of that might cause this is a bad oil pump drive gear. As Rudidelange already mentioned, the oil pump is metal gears and they almost never go out, so that is probably not the problem. There is a drive gear that slides on the crankshaft that could be stripped or as Rudi also suggested loose. It is VERY IMPORTANT to make sure the bolt on the front of the crank has the right torque (I think it's 150 ft lbs if I remember right) as that bolt is what tightens the pieces that drive the oil pump. Of course what Vaughn suggested was another simple thing I didn't think about...you did change the oil right? Hopefully you did that before you cranked it. Let us know what you find. Again clarks-garage.com is an excellent source for repair information.

[924Sman]

Oil pick up tube may have broken off or clogged.

Dal

[pozican]

At any rate, it could be any one of those things but I think your first step is a quick and simple oil change

[lovemy924S]

wow guys, i didn't expect this much help, thanks for all of the tips!!! Lemme tell you, it's very nice to be able to talk to people who 1. know what they're talking about, and 2. are nice about it.

To answer a few of your questions i didn't do an oil change, i personally put all of my weight against the plug and couldn't move it, so hopefully my dad could give me a hand with that tonight, or this coming weekend. Second of all, who would be able to put a gauge on the engine to test if the numbers are correct? Would just any auto shop be able to do it, or would it have to be a special place/person? (You can definately tell i'm new to the whole actually owning a car thing, but at least i did the fuel pump and filter right!!)

Thanks again so much guys! I promise i'll have more questions hahaha!!!

[Razorback1980]

YOU should put a gauge in. Just buy one that either fits into the oil pressure sending unit hole or buy a "T" fitting and put the sending unit in one hole and the gauge in the other. You DEFINITELY want to change that oil before you turn it over again.

[lovemy924S]

where would i buy one? i definately will change the oil don't worry about that.

[Slam]

Okay - I'll be the one to say it this time. Every time you turn the engine over you're playing Russian roulette with the valves - until you change the cam belt. Read all you can about timing belts on these cars, and then get back to us! The guys on this site are very knowledgeable and very helpful. Speaking for myself, it's great to see another one of these cars saved! But it's gotta be saved right - at least in the beginning.

If it were mine, the first thing I'd do - before going after oil pressure problems - would be to do the front-of-engine service. All seals, rollers tensioners, timing and cam belt, and water pump.

As a part of this procedure, you'll be torquing the crankshaft bolt (155 ft/lbs) and that alone may help with your oil pressure trouble. Also, check the coolant catch tank for oil, and check the oil for coolant. If you've gotta go after rod bearings, you won't have to touch the front of the engine anyway so you wouldn't have to backtrack with any work you'd done.

Let us know how things go.

Oh yeah - welcome to the board!

[lovemy924S]

hey guys, been a while, look it's a new year!!! haha, well, so far i've given the timing belt a good looking at, no cracks, looks brand new actually. The only thing i'm worried about is the deflection of the timing belt. Is there a simple no b.s. mechanical way to test the deflection and see if there is too much?? Because i can't seem to find anything like that anywhere. It's all "this should be done by a local dealer". Well it's kinda hard to get it to a dealer when it doesn't freaking run. However, i'm currently trying to figure out how to turn the engine counter clockwise. Clarks garage said to pour oil down the tube running from the filter to the block, and then spin the crankshaft backwards to prime the oil pump. I thought this a possibility in the oil pressure problem seeing as this was a once a month pleasure car for many, many years (the previous owner used to drive it back and forth from here in Maryland to Tennesse every once in a while). So back to the point, whats the easiest way to turn the crankshaft, from the looks of it, it's going to require something like a 4 inch long socket (my car has the power steering option, i don't know why, but it does, haha) that i don't have. Is that the only option or is there something easier to do?

Alrighty then guys, thanks a bunch, i'll be back.

[Techno Duck]

24mm deep socket and a breaker bar or ratchet.

[ae1969]

IF you want to prime the oil pump.......... the quickest way...PUll the dme relay out.........

Crank for 15-20 seconds....... at a time.....wait 15-20 seconds in between. It may take 6-10 times....... to do this

IF the car builds pressure you will see the guage increase from 1 bar and it will climb up as you crank.

Once it does that....put the dme relay back in and fire it up.

But otherwise you can follow the procedure you found.