running hot

[brett25]

hi. my 1987 944 is running on the hot side. the temp gauge stays just a little under the top line, but never goes above it. sometimes it drops a bit, but usually comes back up in stop and go traffic. things feel hot in the engine compartment. all systems are running fine. full power, etc. just had the oil cooler seals done because i had some oil in the coolant. coolant system was flushed a few times. the car was running hot before this job, and since. is this ok? what is a good temperature for a 944 n/a to run at? what gives? thanks guys
brett

[justin]

Hey Brett,my 83 runs at the first mark while crusing at 60mph,and when I sit at idle it will get to the line before the red and the fan will knock it back down to the fiirst line past the colored part on the cold side and thats where it stays unit it does it again,but it only does this at idle at any speed over 10mph the temp gauge hardly moves. Check your thermostat,good luck

[Bob's944]

Mine runs at 1/2, get to just over 3/4 when the fans kick in.

First thing to do is check the front of the radiator and clean and bugs and whatever garbage might be lodged in there the best you can.

When was the waterpump replaced last? They are good for about 60,000 miles before they fail in various ways. One way is for the impeller to break up slowly causing the engine to run hot.

They make lower temp thermostats and temperature sensors to start the cooling faster, that might help if you can't find a problem.

If nothing works, most likely you have clogging inside the radiator that is preventing it from working at 100%, since you say you've flushed it several times already, it would most likely need replacing.

[iepie944]

Hi Brett,

If I were you I would first see if the temp sensor is in good working order. This is a sensor that can easily be damaged. I say this because everyone's temp gauge says another temperature. Mine '84 944 for example never exceeds the first mark.

If this isn't the problem look at the thermostat. The radiator and water pump are the most expensive parts of the system, so don't just change them immediatly.

[brett25]

Hi guys, thanx for the replies. another piece of the puzzle- the car is getting hot but the radiator is not ( hey that rhymes!). so is that sounding more like the thermostat to you? anyways she's going in tommorrow and we're gonna do the thermostat first. i will let you know what turns up (one can only pray).


" My porsche is like a girlfriend, i always wonder if she'll still be there in the morning" (i dont have an alarm. hehe)

[brett25]

Ok. update. got her back today. it was the thermostat. the car runs much cooler now ( down to the first line from bottom). thanx for your suggestions
Brett

[Brian J]

I had the same symptoms on my '84 944 na after the radiator hose and thermostat was replaced. It appears the head needs to be bled since my model is succeptable to vapor lock in the water system.

Each time I drive it and get home the excess air is bled from the system using a 12mm wrench.

since I have been doing this the symptoms are getting less pronounced.

[Lawrence Coppari]

Could be the water pump. Mine did that. It would run warmer than usual at low speed. It finally got to where it would not produce heat at idle but the temp gauge said it was quite warm. I replaced the water pump and the thermostat. Everything works well once again. This is a 951.