924Board.org

[Paul]

C'mon guys let's not turn on one of our own, I'm sure Sleykin would have noticed if his car was running hot.

IMO, it's a coincidence.

[Sleykin]

Thanks for the vote of confidence No the amature job of timing belt change out did not cause the headgasket problem. In fact I am suspicious that it may have been starting to leak prior to the belt change. When I first got the car (4 months) it had some heating issues. I bled the water jacket and replaced the faulty cap and that settled things down a bit. Temperature would still climb at low RPM and drop when you reved it. I was also using a bit of water. It would go for days and be right on and then suddenly be a quart or 2 low. After the belt job temperature stayed exactly centered on the guage. Even with the steaming exhaust.
At any rate the only way the belt job may affected the headgasket issue is by increasing water flow and washing out the grunge that was keeping the tide back
BTW the belts on these beasts are not that bad to change out. They are fiddly and it takes attention to detail etc but they are easily doable by anyone with the patience and aptitude to do things like this. This was also not my first adventure into timing belts and interference engines.
YMMV
Glenn
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Glenn Neff
Medford, OR
87' 924S

[Sleykin]

[wdb]

I forget the details on which models and how many miles , but you may just need to retorque your head bolts ,if the gasket is leaking a bit . I think its every 30K miles .

[Sleykin]

[gohim]

I looked at used 87 924S cars starting around 91-92. Most all of the examples that I saw at that time had problems with oil cooler seals, bad water pumps, or blown head gaskets. I noticed the head gasket problem was common on cars with between 72-90K miles.

I don't know what happened to Porsche during the 87 924S model run, 924S cars have engine serial number that are separated from those of the 944NA, so maybe Porsche experimented with some parts on 924S engines that didn't work, or used workers that were not very well trained.

Seems like most manufacturers make some model year runs that have problems after years of building similar cars without any problems. A check of 87 944 owners might shed some light on whether the 87 924S was a "red headed step child".

At any rate, I don't believe that the belt change had anything to do with the blown head gasket, unless the water pump was not changed (and it was defective), or an inferior quality replacement water pump was installed. It is entirely possible that this head gasket failure is just another one of the common 87 924S head gasket failures, and probably due to some sort of parts problem, or assembly problem from Porsche when the engine was originally built.

[Sleykin]

Well I am not back home yet but the reason for the head gasket thing is now obvious. Just dum damn luck! I got as far as Vancover Wa in my 95 Cougar with 97K miles on the clock and something came apart inside the block. Oil pressure is still fine and all indications say it should be in good shape ... except for the ominous sound from the motor ... sounds like a hanfull of ball bearings in a cylinder. I had it towed to my Sister's house and went down and bought an 02 Explorer to finish the trip. One more thing that shouldn't have happened but did. Best guess is I lost part of a piston. I will be pulling the head on the Porsche as soon as I get back (tomorrow) and then I get to come back up and drag the Cougar home to do something with it. I am tempted to just call the yard and give it to them
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Glenn Neff
Medford, OR
87' 924S

[scheistermeister]

did you hoydrlock it like majorly? i mean stalled the mofo out? i had this happen to me before in another car...(sucked air from a BIG puddle through a cold air intake) cause if you did id be more worried about the other parts of the engine than just the head gasket. when it happened to me i after 2 days of getting all the water out of the engine i went to start it up and ohh did it purr... more like a dead cat than a health one though. about 30 seconds later when i reved the engine i shot a piston out of the bottom of my block.... most god awful sound i ever heard. needless to say that car got a new engine....

hope yours faired better!
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88 924S

[924martinirossi]

Let me know when you head up this way. I live in West Seattle and yes I know where Sedro Wolley is.

Michael

[Sleykin]

It was hydro locked while stopped. I only turned it over with the starter to clear the water. I am back home now. I will be haeding up that way again soon with the explorer and the car trailer to bring the dead Cougar home. I think the Porsche is in better shape than the Cougar ... not nice noises coming out of the hood region
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Glenn Neff
Medford, OR
87' 924S

[Sleykin]

Just to put this to final rest The head gasket has been changed out and the P-car is back online. The head gasket was seriously erroded from something in the water or age. Definately was not an instant failure. The best way to describe the old gasket would be "perforated". I have about 100 miles on it now and no loss of water. Temperature is staying the lowest I have ever seen on this car. It stays below halfway mark even with outside temps close to 100* F and driving in slow traffic.

I replaced a bunch of hoses etc while they were easy to get to and cleaned out the throttle body and intake. A new TPS cured the full throttle bog problem. Repaird a wire that someone previously had clamped under the bracket for the idle speed control valve and now I no longer have the intermittent high idle. I re-faced the valves and seats and replaced the seals just for good measure.

The only problem I didn't cure (that I know of anyway) is the heater control valve. I put in a new valve and made sure it had full travel on the lever but I still get hot air out the vents when the A/C is off. I am about ready to put in a solenoid valve with a switch to turn of the darn hot water to the heater core. I'm certainly not messing with the existing valve again. I swear it was designed by team TFI!! (Ford joke)

FWIW Being paid todo a job does not make you a professional.
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Glenn Neff
Medford, OR
87' 924S

[Porschephile]

Ya know what FORD stands for don'tcha?

F***ED ON RACE DAY!!!!
FIX OR REPAIR DAILY
FLIMSY OLD REBUILT DATSUN
FOWARD ONLY, REVERSE DEFECTIVE
DRIVER ROAMING ON FREEWAY (backwards)

yeah...I used to be a corvette freak. now I moved on to cars that are cheaper to buy, but more expensive to maintain.

Just kiddin to all you ford fans out there
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werd B.

[Sleykin]