heater not working

[Guest]

Hi everyone. I have just purchased my first porsche
(1980/81 spec 924) and will soon be in the process of getting her back into the condition she deserves to be in. The problem I have at the minute is that the heater does not work! The fan works fine but it is constantly blowing out cold air regardless of which position the switches are in. When I move the 3 position fan controll switch fully to the left (doesnt go quite all the way so think this may be part of the problem!) I can still still hear the fan spinning, all be it a lot slower. And cold air continues to come out of the vents. Also no matter what position the hot/cold switch is in it only blows out cold air even when the engine is fully warmed up. Any help would be appreciated. Also the clutch pedal is really stiff and the guy who I bought it off said that it would probably need a new clutch soon (also can be hard to get into 3rd gear when down shifting from fourth, but ok on the way up through the box!?) I know this is quite a big job so how much should I be looking at to get this done in a garage?

 

[924nutter]

HEATER

The ventilation fan spins all the time, as there is always voltage to the teminals.
Two things to check.
1) Look under the bonnet and locate the heater control valve. It should be somewhere on the passenger side below the level, and well to the left, of the brake servo. see if the cable is connected to the regulating lever. Try moving it as far as it will go in either direction and see if you get any heat. With the early heater control layout you will have to move the fan speed lever to the right, as there is also a cable connected to it which regulates airflow in some way. Im not so familiar with this layout myself as all my other 924s have had the rotary fan control, but my current turbo has this earlyier system.

2) Check the level of the coolant. If it goes too low the heater matrix will not fill with hot water.

CLUTCH
The 924 has a cable clutch, and it should be fairly light, so by the sound of it the fingers on the diaphragm are literally clinging on by their tips, and the thrust bearing is nearing the point where it will go right through. you are probably no longer operating the clutch by the thrust bearing but the casing in which it sits, and this is wearing a little each time you change gear. I speak from experience.

Obviously either the engine or the gearbox has to come out, neither of which is a five minute job I'm afraid.
Engine removal means lowering the front suspension to clear the sump, and frigging about with all the heat shields, but the clutch is in front of you.

Gearbox out means that, then unbolting the bell housing, torque tube and sliding it back and changing the clutch through the approximately 4" wide gap.
You are not going to see much change out of a days labour are you?
6 to 8 hours at what, £40 an hour? £240 to £320 labour plus parts. Any one else want to jump in here and argue?

 

[danmason]

for reference my 924 had a new clutch fitted 3 yrs ago for £250.