Winter 944 tips

[Diver944]

Just thought I'd cobble together some thoughts about
common problems that rear their head at this time of
year. Most of it is common sense and I'm sure is
pretty well known anyway so apologies in advance.

1. My car won't start

If your battery is in any way suspect or getting old
(say over 4 years) then as soon as it gets cold you
will start having problems. Our cars have pretty big
pistons to turn over (especially the high compression
3 litre S2), and on a cold morning your oil is going
to be particularly thick putting even more strain on
the starter motor as it trys to spin.

Get your battery drop tested at any good accessory
shop and if it's below par, replace it with a good
brand that has a long warranty. Also consider the
newer technology calcium batteries that hold their
charge longer and are more resistant to draining
totally. Another good idea is to keep your car plugged
into a battery conditioner when it's not in use.

I use the 34.99 Carcoon conditioner from
www.carcoon.co.uk all year round. Two wires
permanently attach to the battery and there is a small
socket under the carpet in the boot to plug a long
cable into the conditioner overnight. It stops
charging as soon as the battery is back to full
strength.

2. My oil is creamy.

Another 'problem' that rears it's head in the cold and
damp is an excess of mayonnaise around the oil filler
cap and also the dipstick. Most people know that
'mayonnaise' is a sign of head gasket failure, but on
our cars it is just a symptom of the damp weather and
is in fact condensed moisture on the very long filler
neck that our cars have.

It is especially worse on a car that does short,
stop/start journeys and never gets up to full
operating temperature. My S2 has done this for the
past 6 winters that I have owned it and it generally
gets an 80 mile motorway blast a few days a week.

3. My wipers stopped working.

Another problem in the wet winter can be bearings on
the windscreen wiper armss. Open the bonnet and spray
grease on the bearing at the bottom of the wiper arm.
You will need to lift the plastic plenum covering the
passenger side one. You will see that they are
cunningly placed at the bottom of the windscreen so
that any water will gradually wash any grease away. I
do mine a few times a year after one seized and
stripped the wiper motor costing me several hundred
pounds to replace.

4. I'm getting leaks.

Finally check the 4 sunroof drains are not blocked up
with debris or autumnal leaves. There is a hole in
each corner of the sunroof gutter. Pour water down
each one and watch for 4 trickles under the car. Any
blockage can be 'gently' cleared by sliding strimmer
wire down the holes. Blockages will cause the gutter
to fill with water and then leak into the car.

The front two drains actually empty into the back
corners of the engine bay just in front of each door.
Each side has a further drain in there that also can
get blocked with leaves and will then cause leaks on
your feet when the water cannot drain away.

Nick, If you feel this could be useful I dunno if you
want to cobble any of it in to the next Porsche Post.

Anyone else got any winter 944 tips?

 

[John Sims]

Anyone else got any winter 944 tips?

Good tips Paul - bored this evening were you?

Don't forget:-

Be carefull on wet leaves and in the shady side of bends; even on dry winter days these can be slippery.

Check your tyres. Cheap tyres with good tread are better than the most expensive tyres with no tread when the road is wet.

Be carefull with that foot Eugene! Turbots can be especialy exciting when the roads are damp and cold, and the damp cold air makes them go that much better.

Keep an eye on your boost gauge - if you set up your boost level in the summer you could find that you are over boosting now that it is cold and damp.

 

[Mark_Bennett]

Good stuff Paul, I remember the panicy feeling when I found the "mayonnaise" on the oil cap on my first 944!

How about a reminder to use the correct anti-freeze suitable for aluminium engines?

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: Mark Bennett

How about a reminder to use the correct anti-freeze suitable for aluminium engines?

Hellmanns [][][]

 

[Fen]

Nice one Paul.

I doubt it's winter related but I finally got round to washing the cab for the first time in 3 weeks or so (tunrs out it was a light blue colour underneath the grime) including a quick wash of the inner winds and removing leaves from the scuttle. It rewarded me by leaving its cooling fan running permanently the next time it was used. Fuse 15 now resides in the cubby under the stereo until the switch in the rad gets replaced.

Stuff I'd add is to look out for frozen locks and door handles - I have struggled to get into 944s on more than one occasion when there has been moisture around the handle mechanisms that has frozen, or alternatively the door won't stay shut after I got in because the handle has jammed in the pulled position. I guess the plan here would be to spray it with some sort of light lubricant that will displace moisture.

Oh, and use the car! It's designed to be driven and using it all winter with regular washing (underside and in the arches too) will do far less harm than just dumping it in the garage. If you are going to store it then make sure you do it properly.

I might even practice some of what has just been preached - currently I'm only doing the "use it" part...



[edited fro typos - I'm sure there's a feature in the software that randomises text when you press the submit button]

 

[chrisr]

Cheers Paul , must admit my old girl wasn't to happy starting at 6am this morning ( 0% temp ) and reminded me that the battery got completely flattened earlier this year and a visit to Halfords may be a viable option as I use it 7 days a week.