944s2 hot

[Gavin944s2]

My 944s2 runs like a new car, the temp guage is ok, & its balistic. I care for her, regular services etc etc......Thing is she is hot !!
I just did a scotland 3k sprint for the fun, & woweee she seems to run hotter than ever, no problems & guage ok.

Would she benefit from cosworth type vents been let into the bonnet to keep the engine bay cooler & the flow of air better?

Track race guys you may help me with my dilemma ..regards to all

 

[jonk]

My gear lever can get very warm too, though engine temp is fine. I changed the thermostat back in March.

 

[bmnelsc]

I haven't heard of airflow problems with the S2 (or Turbo) so I'd look for low hanging fruit first such as belts are properly tight so water pump is being driven at proper speed. Also - how old is the water pump? I've had water pumps wear out - the impeller no longer moving sufficient coolant - but no leaks or bad bearings to alert you to a problem (on a Volvo and a Chevrolet) so that might be worth looking at.

Has the coolant been changed with a proper system flush? Note that the S2s are notorious for trapping air if the coolant is not changed with a pressure/vacuum system. There is a procedure to bleed air from the cooling system using the screw on the top hose mount. If you have an air pocket it will run hot. Likewise - if the radiator cap is not holding pressure - it will run hot. Your garage can test the cap or the whole system as small leaks may not hold pressure but not show a significant coolant leak.

Also - not sure what the insect situation is like where you are but it may be as simple as obstructed air flow around the radiator cooling tubes. With the turbo nose on the S2, a casual examination of the intake side of the radiator is not easy - might be worth a look. Powerwasher is great but a garden hose with a hard stream nozzle will do (spray it down with some kind of soap and let it soak for a bit to loosen up the remains). I got close to a plastic shopping bag full of wasps once after a trip - car was fine on flat ground but under load it started to overheat).

Good luck - when you find the cause please post.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

she seems to run hotter than ever, no problems & guage ok.

Hi Gavin,

I don't get this, is it running hot or not? If the gauge is fine and there's no other problem? [&:]

 

[tref]

I reckon that these are hot under the bonnet when everything is right... when the thermostats age, they run cool. Many now if not most are running cool... Changing the thermostat on mine did increase the underbonnet temp, the gauge spends more time at the middle than at the bottom quarter. It also does more to the gallon as a result!

Tref.

 

[chrisg]

The question I would pose is, is it running hot through insufficient cooling (blocked radiator, low efficiency water pump etc) or is it running hot as the engine is running too lean ? What sort of state are the spark plugs in ?

 

[Gavin944s2]

Spark plugs are fine, the cooling system is all fine, the dials work fine, the flow of water is fine..all belts /tensioner/pump were recently done [] its just feels really hot, i expect driving it like a lunatic on speed dont help.but........I thought that keeping the engine bay cooler, may help the life of the car.

It simply feels too hot !!

When i take her for a spin around the Yorkahire Dales, Scotland or where ever, i love to use her right, I have to put the heater on to expell heat, she is like a factory turbo heat blower, surely this cannot be helping the engine. I thought bonnet air vents, may help heat escape.

bmnelsc - I gentily washed the rad out of bugs, woweeee they do collect, after the last mad dash around Scotlands finest west coast roads , & up to St Andrews across the bridge & back to Yorkshire, she collected a mass of bugs, the bonnet had the bug shadow [] im suprised i didnt have honey dripping from the bonnet, they were that many of the things there yad have thought there was a hive !! []

 

[Lowtimer]

I may be misunderstanding you but I am finding it hard to follow what exactly you are describing,
When you say "It simply feels too hot !! ", what feels too hot, and how are you perceiving it? Do you mean there is excessive heat-soak into the cabin? Or are you talking about your perception of the heat of the engine bad after you stop?

If the temperature gauge shows that the engine is running at the correct temperature, the fans are coming on and off at the appropriate times, why do you feel that "I have to put the heater on to expel heat"? If the engine is running at a higher temperature than it is supposed to, i.e. into the red, then fair enough, it is too hot. But if it's running in the correct temperature range, then that's how Porsche intended it and I certainly wouldn't cut any holes in the bonnet. Assuming the coolant and oil temperatures are OK, I can guarantee your S2 is not getting as hot under the bonnet as a Turbo...

When mine comes back from the body shop in a few weeks you can have a comparison, as you must be fairly nearby (I'm in Northallerton).

 

[Gavin944s2]

ORIGINAL: Lowtimer

I may be misunderstanding you but I am finding it hard to follow what exactly you are describing,
When you say "It simply feels too hot !! ", what feels too hot, and how are you perceiving it? Do you mean there is excessive heat-soak into the cabin? Or are you talking about your perception of the heat of the engine bad after you stop?

If the temperature gauge shows that the engine is running at the correct temperature, the fans are coming on and off at the appropriate times, why do you feel that "I have to put the heater on to expel heat"?  If the engine is running at a higher temperature than it is supposed to, i.e. into the red, then fair enough, it is too hot. But if it's running in the correct temperature range, then that's how Porsche intended it and I certainly wouldn't cut any holes in the bonnet.  Assuming the coolant and oil temperatures are OK, I can guarantee your S2 is not getting as hot under the bonnet as a Turbo...

When mine comes back from the body shop in a few weeks you can have a comparison, as you must be fairly nearby (I'm in Northallerton).

Yes you got me right, all is working very well. infact very well.....It simply feels too hot, (compared to other cars i have had) in the engine bay. I thought some vents would help expell the heat & help engine life longetivety, on the theory , cooler is better, & haveing some extra air flow in the bayarea.

 

[Northern924]

They do feel hot under the bonnet after a good run, but they are all like that and the were designed with that in mind so I wouldn't worry, and personally I certianly wouldn't be want to cut holes in the bonnet to add vents!

 

[Lowtimer]

And cutting holes in the bonnet won't make the engine run any cooler.
And if it did make the engine run any cooler, that would not make it last any longer. It's supposed to run at that temperature, honest. Cooler is not better.

 

[Frenchy]

Hot is good !

 

[OLD_ian]

Mine's a Lux, not an S2, but I had a similar thing happen after the water pump and radiator were replaced. It would always run close to the top edge of the gauge and in traffic would creep alarmingly close to the top. On a couple of occasions I had to turn the heat on while sitting in traffic. It also would have regular hot start problems. I had Ninex Motorsport look into the running hot issue and they found that my car had the wrong thermostat installed by the previous shop. It now runs much cooler and better than before. Temp gauge sits between 1/3 and 1/2. Hot start problem appears to be gone as well.