Oh Well Time For The Yearly SORN Declaration Then

[robwright]

B*****KS!!!! Walked by the car on the drive tonight and notice that it had had a massive slash all over said drive!!! So all the coolant that was in my engine no longer is. In itself maybe a simple fix but a quick check around and a look in the oil filler showed let's just say a bit more than your average amount of white sludge that is normal for 944s. So it looks like the car will be getting that rebuild sooner rather than later. I think my experiment with extra wind may have been too much for the tired old HG. So I can only muster enough for half of what I wanted to do right now so I think I will crack on with the Widefire HG, new rings and big and small end bearings. The belts weren't due till next year anyway so they will have to wait until then I think. Tax is due up at the end of the month so I may as well just SORN her and get on with it. This really isn't turning out to be my day though as the only reason I was checking the car was because the exhaust practically dropped off my daily nag tonight so I am at the minute pretty well carless [] Hopefully my donkey will make the 15 miles to work in the morning and I will dump it there and nick the work van [] Me and her really aren't best of friends right now []

 

[simdel1]

I'm gutted for you, Rob. It's amazing how these things all seem to happen at the same time. The silver lining, I guess, is that the engine will be better than it's ever been after the rebuild. It might even be able to take a bit more 'wind'...

 

[andy watson]

Rob,

Really gutted for you mate, keep positive the end result will be worth it

 

[GlennS]

Ouch! That's bad news.

 

[TTM]

Sorry to hear this.

Are you really sure the headgasket is gone? Might be worth filling coolant and see if it really smokes white when running, if not then you could just take it easy on the throttle to go to work until the daily car is repaired.

 

[J4CKO]

So the coolant came out onto the floor, has it come out of the side of the HG or somewhere else ?

Mine had the mayo after winter but not since, my dad said that the cold air over the bonnet means the oily mist in the crankcase, some of which rises condenses and emulsifies, he said it was common on old cars in winter when he was younger and not to do my normal and get paranoid about it, wiped it out and its not come back, I put two and two together and assumed HG but the little bit its loosing is coming from the wonky elbow on the thermostat housing.

 

[homesea]

I'm with these two above mine also has a bit of mayo, think its common depending how the car is used, parked etc.

Mine had about eight coolent leaks until Promax fixed them all last year, everytime one was stopped it started pissing out some place else!

With your mods the headgasket should be ok, depends on how much you turned the MBC up!

 

[Hairyarse]

Oh that sucks!! []

Spanner holding hand at the ready []

 

[zcacogp]

Not good news, Rob. Sorry to hear it. Sounds like 2012 will be one of those 'expensive years' for your 944! Here's hoping 2013 will be cheaper ...

I know I'm telling you stuff you already know, but don't skimp on the quality of the workmanship or the parts you buy and change. Your car is a keeper, and if you cut any corners you'll only regret it later.


Oli.

 

[GPF]

Hi Rob,

Sorry to hear of your troubles, but why do you equate the car leaking coolant on your drive with the head gasket going??

I can't really see that. [&:]

I'd whip the plugs out and check there is no water in the bores first, then if they are clear top the coolant up and check for leaks.

 

[robwright]

ORIGINAL: GPF

Hi Rob,

Sorry to hear of your troubles, but why do you equate the car leaking coolant on your drive with the head gasket going??

I can't really see that. [&:]

I'd whip the plugs out and check there is no water in the bores first, then if they are clear top the coolant up and check for leaks.

Graham. Perhaps I could have written it better but I was in abit of a paddy lol. The car having a wee on the drive doesn't really concern me. That is clearly a leak of some sorts and leaks can generally be easily fixed. What did concern me was what I saw in the oil filler neck. I had opened it to add some oil as the light had come on when I was driving it on Sunday. Now I am quite used to seeing a little bit of emulsified oil in the filler neck of a 944 engine, especially in the winter but what I saw was somewhat more than that and cause for concern. The cottage cheese filled almost the entire diameter if the filler neck and most of its length. The car has used some coolant of late as well but this is always difficult to nail down on these cars as they can tend to leak sometimes. Given the recent compression test and my plan to do this work anyway, compounded by what I found in the filler neck I thought I may as well just not bother renewing the tax and take it off the road for a month to get some of the most important work I had planned done. I was planning to use the car as much as possible in the Summer. Most importantly me and my boy are planning a 'Lads & Dads' weekend in Conniston Water at the end of July and we would love to take the Turbo so I need it to be reliable. A Guards Red Turbo in the lakes. Could you think of a more fitting backdrop? So after the initial feeling of dread I have now picked myself up and I am looking foprward to getting started. I had already spoken to Promax about my shopping list for work I had planned. So rest assured Oli it will all be quality material []

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: robwright
So rest assured Oli it will all be quality material []

Good. Glad to hear it, hope the work goes well.

A lads-and-dads trip to the lakes, eh? My family owns a large estate there but my dad only ever took me there in a VW Passat! Sounds like you have a lucky lad.


Oli.