Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi guys.
Been looking at my bucket list car.
944 turbo.
I like it, but it is high mileager at over 200k, but alittle concerned about oil pressures.
What pressure is normal for a warm car on tickover?
And at, say.... 3000rpm.?

What figures would be concerning?
Thanks for your advice/experience.

Hi 944driver

A few things to consider, you say over 200k miles, is there any evidence of any engine rebuild work? This would likely affect (slightly) your oil pressure readings.

For example, my car is 160k miles, but had a head refresh and new piston rings and big end shells around 110k.

At warm idle I get about 3.5 bar pressure, on a hot day after spirited driving nearer 3 bar pressure at idle. At 3k revs I see 5 bar (although could be higher as gauge only goes to 5. This is about 0.5 bar up on my readings before the engine work was done, so 3 bar hot idle and 2.5 bar hot day after spirited drive.

I would want to see at least 2 bar at hot idle if I was you on your 200k specimen, and up nearer 5 at 3k revs. Another thing to consider is the state and age (and grade) of the oil. Fresh oil will always make more pressure than old crappy oil. As a side note I use 10w/50 fully synth in my 90 turbo and have done for years.

Another aside wouldn't be a bad idea to check the compression is decent and relatively even across the 4 cylinders. A test drive and keeping an eye on your oil pressure should also be a good gauge of engine health.

Cheers

Stuart

Thanks for that full reply.
When you really want something you tend to view with rose tinted glasses. Lol.
Such a nice looking car, but now concerned about the oil pressures.
At warm tickover, we were looking at 1.5bar.
But a blip of the throttle brought it straight up to 4 bar.
Could be a worn pump and I don't know what oil is being used.
Seller swears it doesn't use any oil. (Seems a honest guy)
Is pump replacement a simple/cheap job?
Thanks for your thoughts.

On the large size of jobs , very time consuming . The sump would have to come off to change the pump which means having to remove turbo , crossover pipe and front crossmember and with the sump of you might as well change the rod bearings .
The pumps are very reliable on these cars , I don't know of many failures so would look elsewhere first for low oil pressure .

No worries. At 1.5 bar hot idle I would imagine you're not far from an engine rebuild, there are of course reasons it could be low, oil too thin and/or needing replaced, faulty sender, faulty dash gauge, oil pump (although as mentioned they are fairly bullet proof). If you really fancy the car it may be worth enquiring about the grade of oil and last change. Could well be with a fresh fill of a decent 10w/50 synth you may see over 2 bar at hot idle. If you were to see that, and no smoke out the exhaust, and no leaks (as he says) it may change things.

On mileage 200k itself is not a problem for these engines, if, and a big if, they have been looked after. My mate had an 87 220 turbo with 225k and it was 2.5 bar hot idle. Also heard of these engines seeing 400k miles (not a turbo though).

I would say though at 200k you are in rebuild territory if nothing has been done to the engine other than service it. I will say my big ends were unmarked @ 110k but we just changed them as we were in there and they are relatively inexpensive. The head however needed a refresh, new guides etc. and the piston rings had seen better days as well as the head gasket which was toast. Worth noting a standard head gasket on a turbo car is best changed every 10 years, so look for that in the history too, especially if you up the boost!!

Cheers and good luck

Stuart

So no then. Lol
Thanks for reply.
He's said the engine it high-mileage but good. No issues.
He uses quality 20/50.

Ha ha! 20w/50 is plenty thick, probably move on to your next target.

Cheers

Stuart

Price and condition?

He wants 12k.
Says rust free. Cracked dash.
Slightly custom, Bucket seats etc.

£12k is ok ish., however, "rust free" has to be inspected to be believed (camera into sills via B pillar vent). Sills, lower rear quarters and front wing bottoms all common rot areas, also quite common around stone chip areas of rear of rear arches, number plate light cut outs, rear inner arches up and around behind the lower rear quarter panel (where big stone guards are). All can be pretty well hidden with a splash of filler, stone chip and paint or underseal! Good to get someone who knows the 944 well to have a good look about!

Cracked dash is common, slightly custom is bad for value, unless he has bits to put it back to standard it will really limit the market and the cars value.

Check out the buyers guide here: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=5183

Cheers

Stuart