Advice Overheated '87 924S

[Austin87]

I am looking long distance now at an available 1988 924S that has been previously well maintained. I am over 4 hours away and have not seen the vehicle yet.

Current owner is a "young kid" working in a restaurant, and does not want to pay for tow to mechanic and put more $$ into the car. He is a car enthusiast and seems honest in talking with him. He only owned the car for a few months , and says it drove great until the hose broke..

So right now the situation described to me is that the lower radiator hose broke from it hitting the fan. ( it was not put on properly and there is little room for error.)

After the hose broke the car was driven maybe 1 mile to max 1.5 miles at 35mph or less.

He says there is "No coolant in the engine, but there is pressure going into the coolant from the engine, therefor he says he "cannot bleed the air pressure from the coolant reservoir".

Can anyone give their thoughts suggestions etc on what the damage may be based on this , or offer suggestions ......I am real interested in this '88 since I sold my 87 automatic a few months ago.

Loved driving the '87 Automatic , so '88 5 speed would be great to own.

.................Thanks, Austin

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[fiily]

Price, miles, condition? Well maintained is very subjective in the current owners eyes. Do you have pics of the car? 4 hrs there/4hrs back = excitement getting there, then sadness leaving without a car, been there done that.

[Austin87]

Originally Posted by fiily

Price, miles, condition? Well maintained is very subjective in the current owners eyes. Do you have pics of the car? 4 hrs there/4hrs back = excitement getting there, then sadness leaving without a car, been there done that.

Asking $1200. Like 90K . Was a race car , then converted back to street legal...

Have pics in my phone text. White , body & interior condition is good.

I am going on that this was a well maintained car up till the hose thing....

What I would like to know is what doe sit actually mean mechanically when "No coolant in the engine, but there is pressure going into the coolant from the engine, therefor he says he "cannot bleed the air pressure from the coolant reservoir".

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[Tom944]

Sounds like he is describing a blown head gasket. Engine gases are being forced into the coolant. Head was probably warped when it overheated.

[fiily]

Originally Posted by Tom944

Sounds like he is describing a blown head gasket. Engine gases are being forced into the coolant. Head was probably warped when it overheated.

Best case, new head, put it back together and let her rip. Worse case = $$$

I believe the 1988 924s heads are interchangeable w/2.5L 944 heads, which should be easily sourced for pretty cheap.

Offer $650, you don't want to spend a ton if its worse then just the head, and at least you can part it out and get your money back, hopefully.

[Austin87]

Originally Posted by Tom944

Sounds like he is describing a blown head gasket. Engine gases are being forced into the coolant. Head was probably warped when it overheated.

Hi Tom,

Thanks. So only way to truly know if there is any further damage is by removing the head and have ( not me ) a good mechanic inspect the inside of the engine for damage. Correct?

Based on the details of what happened so far, hose tearing , engine overheating and drive 35mph 1 mile home, would you expect further damage ?

Thx, Austin


...

[fiily]

Originally Posted by Austin87

Hi Tom,

Thanks. So only way to truly know if there is any further damage is by removing the head and have ( not me ) a good mechanic inspect the inside of the engine for damage. Correct?

Based on the details of what happened so far, hose tearing , engine overheating and drive 35mph 1 mile home, would you expect further damage ?

Thx, Austin


...

Austin, this might be a great opportunity to learn on this car if you can pick it up cheap. Bringing it to a mechanic will exponentially increase the ownership costs, do you have access to tools/garage? Do it yourself, use websites like these to assist you in DIY'ing the car.

In the long run, it will help your pockets and further your knowledge of the 924/944 species.

[dp951]

watch out for scored walls , if it just the head it not a big deal to repair and parts are all over but if the walls are scored totally a different story ( borrow a borescope to look inside ).
i've rebuilt many if you have a any questions pm me

[Austin87]

Originally Posted by fiily

Austin, this might be a great opportunity to learn on this car if you can pick it up cheap. Bringing it to a mechanic will exponentially increase the ownership costs, do you have access to tools/garage? Do it yourself, use websites like these to assist you in DIY'ing the car.

In the long run, it will help your pockets and further your knowledge of the 924/944 species.

I am liking that idea. He is looking for $1,200 which is too much I think. Also has either no AC or non working AC...then there is the task of getting it from A to B which is roughly 300 miles.

..

[Rasta Monsta]

FWIW, years ago my wife drove our 924s five miles across town bone dry without consequence. . .this motor has been our race engine for three years!

[Austin87]

Originally Posted by Rasta Monsta

FWIW, years ago my wife drove our 924s five miles across town bone dry without consequence. . .this motor has been our race engine for three years!

Bone dry as in ..No Coolant or no motor oil ? ( Or both )


....

[Rasta Monsta]

Coolant

[Gawernator]

lol. I'm with the guy saying offer less... this sounds like a bad case

[fiily]

Originally Posted by Gawernator

lol. I'm with the guy saying offer less... this sounds like a bad case

It's getting the car home too from what I can read into, I'm assuming the OP doesn't have a truck, which would help tremendously.

Still, it's a day burned driving down and back, just to spend money on a car.

Good Luck Austin, let us know your outcome!

[JonA]

It's not the initial price but how much you will have to put into it. It sounds like you do not work on these yourself so things could get really pricey real fast. If overheated it may have warped the head which may cause a head gasket to blow. You don't know enough about this car. Either spend the time and check this one out thoroughly or wait for the next one.

Jon

[fiily]

Originally Posted by JonA

It's not the initial price but how much you will have to put into it. It sounds like you do not work on these yourself so things could get really pricey real fast. If overheated it may have warped the head which may cause a head gasket to blow. You don't know enough about this car. Either spend the time and check this one out thoroughly or wait for the next one.

Jon

I agree, driving time, money to buy it, money to fix it, a rat's nest indeed. If it was 1.5 hours away that would be fine, 4 hours + traffic/1 way...too much for me.

[Bradical]

Unless the interior/exterior is immaculate you can stretch $1200 a littler further than a 924 with a warped head, however I don't think it's even been made clear that's what he meant. You wouldn't try to bleed pressure from the coolant reservoir, anyway. It's not far-fetched to say that maybe he means he filled it up with coolant but couldn't get it bled properly to run at the right temperature?

[VirginiaF1]

Howdy Austin..
I paid $1,700 for a well-running, inspected, daily-driven '88 944 in 2011.
Would hate to see you get in deep for money on this 924; unless you really dig the challenge.

Yes, mine had ~ 245k but also had 5 timing belts and $14k worth of dealer (overpriced) maintenance.
Still runs well and I love her..
Might be fun to tow your 924 home and spend all winter learning how to rebuild it.
Let us know your thoughts..

[Austin87]

Originally Posted by dp951

watch out for scored walls , if it just the head it not a big deal to repair and parts are all over but if the walls are scored totally a different story ( borrow a borescope to look inside ).
i've rebuilt many if you have a any questions pm me

The 924S is still 4 sale and I may still bring it back down to S. Florida. If you are willing to help me with the car I would like to know if you can take a look at it with me when I get it here...

[grendiers]

My '88 track car had the lower hose installed incorrectly, by me. And had that fan-hitting thumping noise, till it went away. At the track one day, after a 20 minute run, and I always pop the hood, saw coolant leaking, spurting, out a pinhole. So, this is probably what happened on this car, no massive leak, but a small pinhole leak. I'm surprised the PO didn't notice this on his driveway. Maybe there are other items not serviced, ignored, etc. But, an '88 car is nice, hard to decide for you. And, since I and others can work on these cars, the 4 hour trip is an easy decision. Good luck.