924Board.org

[Coolbri1191]

So today I decided to check my oil since I hadn't checked it in about a month or so (I know..) and boy am I glad I did. I had to put in two quarts of oil, and it's still not full. I did an oil change back in November 2010, so I know I'm ready for another one.. but the car shouldn't be needing two quarts of oil.. The dipstick checked out okay, with no milky substances on it, but the oil filler tube had brown gunk around the edges. When driving the car with the windows rolled down I can smell oil burning.

Anyways, sort of going off topic, but I got in a small fender bender back in December 2010 (wasn't my fault), so I claimed to get my bumper fixed, but it took way long. It sat in the body shop for a full month (2/11-3/11). So idk if that's really important to know, but just in this time frame it wasn't driven for a month. When I drove it home from the shop, I got on the freeway and had to pass a semi, but when I went to pass him I noticed a plume of white smoke behind me.

There's a lot of hesitancy with the acceleration too, so I replaced all the spark plugs and spark plug wires, which didn't help at all. I still have the cap and rotor to do, but the old spark plugs had "heavy tannish deposits" on them (I can post pictures if you guys want), which Clark's Garage shows to be worn valve guide seals. So what I have come to the conclusion is I have worn out rings (have yet to do a compression test), worn out valve guide seals, and a possible head gasket, since I have no records of it ever being done, and the 924S is guilty of having them go bad at 60-100k-ish miles and I'm at 159k miles..

Also, my coolant is slowing depleting from the reservoir tank. When I got it back from the shop I had to fill it up because it was right under the minimum mark. It is now 4/29/11 and it's at that mark again, so I've lost coolant. The car also runs pretty hot. Just driving 5 miles to my college I'm always past the halfway mark and when shut off or parked its either past or at the 3rd mark. Granted, it is an automatic, but I have the manual radiator and a separate tranny cooler. So that's why I think it might be a possible head gasket.


Sorry for the long post! What do you guys think? Possibly rebuild the head or what..?
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Guards Red 1987 Porsche 924S (Automatic)
2001 Ford Explorer Sport (DD)

[headstrong2740]

I would not say head rebuild just yet.

Sounds more like a headgasket possibly gone. The white smoke is coolant burning. As for the oil depletion.. you could have a leak somewhere... or your burning it... which again could be the head gasket if im not mistaken.

What do your plugs look like? Pulling your plugs and looking them over will give you a better idea as well as to what is going on in your chamber.

sounds more promising to lean toward the head gasket.. your going to have to replace it anyway when you pull the head to see how bad it is so cross your fingers and hope its that
_________________
1987 924s "Enzo"
2002 1.8t VW Passat
http://porsche924resto.shutterfly.com/ - follow the progress of "Enzo"

[edredas]

[joecitizennn]

Have a leakdown test done. You can do it yourself but it is crucial to do it right to get accurate results.
_________________
87 924s
88 924SE gone
447 hp cgt clone
87 924S gone
84 944 sold
83 944 sold
89 turbo S LSD, ABS etc
86 951 white rocket
85 944 sport everything.
84 944 sold.
87 944 sold

[Coolbri1191]

I'm using Castrol GTX 20/50 oil.

Is the AOS hose under the intake manifold? I see a hose with some oil on it and can't imagine how it got there.

I'll try breathing out the coolant system again and do it a bit longer this time.
_________________
Guards Red 1987 Porsche 924S (Automatic)
2001 Ford Explorer Sport (DD)

[edredas]

[gohim]

Sounds like a blown headgasket to me.

Let's see, you have an 87, right?

How many miles on it? Are you between 90K and 110K?

That's the mileage range where it's very common for the headgasket on a 87 924S to blow.

And, yes, while the head is off, it's best to have it inspected and repaired as necessary.

Don't forget to budget for the FOES, because most of those parts have to be removed along the way to servicing the cylinder head.

[Coolbri1191]

I'm at 159K miles. No goo in the oil dipstick, or gunk on the oil filler cap.

I already did the FOES.

and btw, it was about 95F today in CA where I live, and I went on the freeway with a passenger and was above the 3rd mark on my temp gauge the whole time. When I parked it and let the fans run I was just barely in the red.

I have a 160F thermostat too and both fans kick on early instead of one.
_________________
Guards Red 1987 Porsche 924S (Automatic)
2001 Ford Explorer Sport (DD)

[edredas]

You may need to have your car checked for blockages in the radiator.

Also, when you filled your coolant, did you take the upper hose off and refill the block first?
_________________
'84 944 -White, Brown interior
'84 944 -Red, Automatic
'86 944 -Garnet, Fully loaded, Koni suspension
'87 924S -Red, 300hp 951 swap
'87 924S -Red, Project Car
'88 924S -Red, Daily Driver

[Coolbri1191]

Just did a compression check a couple days ago and here are the results...

Cylinder 1: 171
Cylinder 2: 151
Cylinder 3: 152
Cylinder 4: 151

WOT and the engine was at operating temperature. Did about 6 turns each cylinder and pulled the DME relay so no fuel was washed in. What do you think?

Also that same day I cleaned the throttle body and my god was it nasty. Plus I found a surprise in the J-boot.. Oil!!

So my Air/Oil Separator seal is blown..
_________________
Guards Red 1987 Porsche 924S (Automatic)
2001 Ford Explorer Sport (DD)

[joecitizennn]

What does the cyl 1 spark plug look like compared to the rest?

Also, you cant always find a hg leak by compression test. If it is a minor leak it wont show up under such low pressure, the engine will have to be running to leak, as combustion pressure is hundreds of times greater than compression by itself. If your hg has a minor leak it will bleed gasses into the water jacket under a heavy load. Your best bet is to run a small hose from your overflow nipple on your coolant resivior to your windshield. Take your car out and drive it hard and watch the end of the hose. When you load the engine look for coolant leakage as this indicates leaking combustion into the waterjacket.
_________________
87 924s
88 924SE gone
447 hp cgt clone
87 924S gone
84 944 sold
83 944 sold
89 turbo S LSD, ABS etc
86 951 white rocket
85 944 sport everything.
84 944 sold.
87 944 sold

[Rasta Monsta]

Expansion tank should only be filled to MIN when the car is cold. If you fill to MAX when cold, the car will spit out coolant through the cap.

Ergo, leave it at MIN and drive it for a few days and see if it goes down any further. If not, you're fine.
_________________
Toofah King Bad

• WeiBe (1987 924S 2.5t) - 931 S3

[Coolbri1191]

I'm starting to think it's not a head gasket.

I found a 'tiny leak' of coolant around the radiator. It is indeed, my thermo fan switch on the radiator. This is frustrating because that thermo switch is new and so is the seal for it as well..

Also, I don't think there's any air in the system, because the top hose was pretty firm.

I can't do a leakdown test as of now being that I don't have the equipment.

I'll post pictures of my spark plugs later today. They are new as of March 2011
_________________
Guards Red 1987 Porsche 924S (Automatic)
2001 Ford Explorer Sport (DD)

[gohim]

If it the radiator, then you're getting off cheap.

If the headgasket is the problem, then the odds are (as I wrote before) FOES should be done.

Just because you did the FOES before doesn't mean you don't have to do it again. FOES is every three years or 30K miles, whichever comes first. I know some people you end up doing the FOES every year or year and a half.

When did you FOES, and did you do the whole list? You might be able to get away with just the belts if you did the waterpump and the oil seals in the past year.

[joecitizennn]