How hot should a 944T be?

[txhokie4life]

New to 944T. Although I race a 944 NA. I never see this on my NA, so thus my concern.

I'm in the early stages of ownership where this is going to be a 90% track car. So I'm sensitive to just about
any anomaly and trying to learn what is normal and what ain't quite right while I am on the track
or driving around town.

Noticed last night when driving back from the airport -- relatively mild temperatures -- 80ish.

highway driving -- nothing too spirited. When I got home I wanted
to check the oil and darn near burned my hand grabbing the stick.

In fact the whole top of the engine was quite warm. When I pulled the stick (with shop towel :-), the stick/oil was steaming. Same for the oil fill tube.

I was towards the lower end of the dipstick -- but no where near "low" on oil.

I topped it off with < 1/2 qt.

I also noticed that after this I checked the water temp gauge. it read
2/3 (or the second line), this was after the car had sat for a few minutes (while
I was checking oil).
As soon as I started, temp when to the normal 1/3 mark I see - or the first line.

In this case I had not run the car at idle to cool it down upon entering the garage.

Just wondering if the hot temps are due to the general nature of forced induction
and heat flowing in the the intake.

Anything to be concerned about?

Mike

[Techno Duck]

I would be more inclined to think the steam you saw was probably blow by and just oil vapor, not uncommon especially for 944T .

I too got the very hot dip stick, intake..etc. This is after letting the car sit for more than a minute or so. If you do the same right after you come off the highway it should be barable to touch. I cant even count how any times ive burned my hand trying to get the oil fill cap open after coming in from a DE session in the paddock.

If the car was off, seeing needle 2/3 of the way up is totally normal. Its just heat soak. I got into the habit of letting my car idle for a few minutes if the high speed fans are on when i park.. i just leave it on long enough for them to shut off. I figure this takes the 'edge' off how much heat soak goes on under the hood.. if i am at the track i leave the hood propped open 4-5 inches to let the heat out.

In my experience of daily driving my 944T for around 30k miles is that you should never get much past the 3rd mark sitting in traffic in all but the worst weather (hot and humid). The temp will creep up, but as soon as you rev the engine a little or the fans come on it comes right down.

Do yourself a favor and clean the two spade connectors for the temp gauge on the top of the block, they are right underneath (Approximately) the #1 intake runner. This will ensure you are getting a more accurate temp reading from the dash gauge. Cleaning the grounds also will help.

Another thing you should do just to make sure the cooling system is 100% is bleed the air out. As you probably know from owning a 944 it can take a few (dozen) attempts to get all the air out. If you havent done it personally yet, give it a try because who knows what the previous owner did.

[txhokie4life]

Jon,

Many thanks -- all good tips!

Adding to my list.

Mike

[tedg04]

I haven't had my 951 all that long, but seems consistent with what I have experienced. The coolant gauge never concerned me (since it immediately drops once you start the car), but the under hood temps do seem excessive (at least the temp of the intake manifold, etc.).

[89-944NA]

+1 Techno.....first mark on the gauge for all but the worst stop and go traffic.

Do yourself a favor, if you ever have the head off, invest in the Lindsey Racing Steam vent kit...not only makes bleeding the system automatic, but also bleeds that hard to bleed pocket at the top of the #4 cylinder.

I installed one when I did my valve job, cracked the bleeder screw, filled the cooling system, closed the bleeder, started the engine and watched the system bleed it's self.....no more raise the nose, bleed the system, lower the nose, etc. Best $50 I have ever spent on this car.

Works on both turbo and NA cars.

[nize]

Originally Posted by 89-944NA

Do yourself a favor, if you ever have the head off, invest in the Lindsey Racing Steam vent kit...not only makes bleeding the system automatic, but also bleeds that hard to bleed pocket at the top of the #4 cylinder.

I installed one when I did my valve job, cracked the bleeder screw, filled the cooling system, closed the bleeder, started the engine and watched the system bleed it's self.....no more raise the nose, bleed the system, lower the nose, etc. Best $50 I have ever spent on this car.

Works on both turbo and NA cars.

+1

i also leave the hood open for about 30minutes after a drive whenever i can to help vent the heat out and prevent hoses from baking.

[txhokie4life]

Originally Posted by 89-944NA

+1 Techno.....first mark on the gauge for all but the worst stop and go traffic.

Do yourself a favor, if you ever have the head off, invest in the Lindsey Racing Steam vent kit...not only makes bleeding the system automatic, but also bleeds that hard to bleed pocket at the top of the #4 cylinder.

I installed one when I did my valve job, cracked the bleeder screw, filled the cooling system, closed the bleeder, started the engine and watched the system bleed it's self.....no more raise the nose, bleed the system, lower the nose, etc. Best $50 I have ever spent on this car.

Works on both turbo and NA cars.

Have this on our Chumps Racer --- works great -- just no way to put it on without pulling the head -- and I'm not doing that until I have to :-)

But I agree -- it would be on my todo list.

mike