[doors1024]

Hey, I purchased my 92' 968 in July of last year and have not had many problems considering the cars age. Lately the temp. guage has been acting up on me, jumping up to around 10 o'clock but dropping down to 8' instantly. Also, my968 is a DD with about 125k on her.

I'm hoping this is'nt a serious problems although I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worse.

On a ride earlier today my temp guage hit 10 o'clock and held there for about 5 min. Later, while casualy taking off at a light, the engine made a strange noise while at around 2.5k in first and 3k in 2nd. The noise almost sounds like the Vario-Cam is engaging too early...I'm scared to drive her again, but it also felt like there was a loss of power while this was happening.

I'm also due on an oil change, I'm running synthetic and i'm at about 3.2k miles since my last change. ...I'm not sure how important that is but I'm trying to give you all the information I can, [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img].

Please help me! Please tell me this is an easy fix? [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

thanks,

-Robert G

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[gbarrier]

Temp should have nothing to do with variocam but if you or someone else hasn't been in there to look I sure would. Sometimes you can hear the chain slap as you come off the power with the hood up and moving the throttle by hand. Either way, chances are that if noone has been there the teeth are probably almost gone on the cam sprockets.

Don't know about the temp. Better check the timing belt as the water pump runs on the back of it.

These things don't require much attention but the belts and cam chain do deserve a little respect.

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[blue968]

I would get those cams looked at right away, I was very luck and caught mine in the nick of time!!! It would have been a very bad day if that last tooth broke on me. Can cause serious damage if the cams slip.
Pretty simple to get the cam cover off and inspect. Make sure you turn the engine over by hand to rotate cams 360 degrees.

Good luck

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[RS Barn]

Stop...
Don't start until U look at cam teeth.
Starting and shutting off seems to be the time when cam teeth shear and possible bent valves can occur.
Pete

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[doors1024]

Hey, i thought i'd add on that while cruising in 4th, if i hold in the clutch and move it into 3rd it sounds like things are engaging that aren't sapposed to...

the revs don't go up, although it almost sounds like they should...

Thanks for help guys,

-Robert G.

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[Winston968]

I had a similar problem where the temp gauge needle would slowly rise as normal. Then it would "flick" up and down.
Turned out to be an instrumentation problem. It didn't require any parts to fix, but it needed to be done by a specialist.
That's about all the detail I have, but it wasn't a serious problem.
Can't comment on the engine noise though.

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[S_Cal968]

My cam teeth were approximately 80% gone at 77k miles, but I drive my car fairly hard. So at 125k if the cams haven't been checked it should be done asap.

Regarding the coolant temp; Does the temp climb once after starting off and then settle around the first mark? I ask because this is normal operation. Also outside temp [really cold] has an affect on thermostat operation which may be seen on the temp gauge. If the gauge is erratic then it sounds like a poor ground issue or poor connection to the cluster. Perhaps try re-seating the connectors going to the cluster. Use caution the lock mech. on the connectors are very fragile. Another possibility but less likely is air in the coolant system which is a challenge to purge for most.

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[jeffski1]

Well, let me start with a basic question regarding your erratic temp gauge--did you check your coolant level? The reason I ask is my temp gauge acted the same way when I had a mysterious coolant leak and I let the water level get too low. This was soon followed by an overheat light, which prompted me to pull over immediately. You DO NOT want to drive our cars in that condition at all. Because the mysterious leak had be ongoing for a few weeks, I kept a couple a gallons of distilled water in the car. After I added almost 3/4 of a gallon of water [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif[/img], the temps and temp gauge were rock solid at the normal 9:00 position.

So basically, I would check your coolant level and then monitor it closely.

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[S_Cal968]

Hmm, my temp gauge is typically around the first mark which I think is 8:00 position...

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[Anchorman]

I have a "jumping" temp gauge - and I'm convinced it's caused by a loose connection in the electrical plug on that side of the instrument panel. When the weather warms sufficiently, I'll be removing the instrument cluster and reseating the plugs. I'm certain that will fix my problem - and such an approach might also fix yours.

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[wasserkuhl]

It sounds like you may have several problems at play here.

Firstly I would remove the cam cover and inspect the camshaft, teeth and tensioner/ variocam mechanism.

Secondly I would perform an cylinder leakdown test/compression test (when at operating temperature)

and finally I would see hwat the results are of the above tests.

If the cam, teeth and tensioner a displaying wear I would replace all of them(at a 'large' cost)

in adition if the compressions recorded differ, I would then get the coolant analysed to see if oil was contaminating the fluid.

If so, a full head, cam train and gasket rebuild is in order.

What oil are you using?

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[flash]

as i said, verify the gauge - get a real thermometer and see if it's even reading real temperatures

as for the noises, try to isolate from where those originate

variocam kicks in at 1500 and out at 5k - those noises are not likely related to that

is this a tip or 6-speed?

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[doors1024]

it is a six speed,

I brought it down to a friend of a friend's shop but this guys seems kind of "iffy"
I'm going to take it down to a place called European Motorcars, they seem to be more professional.

So far nothing has gotten done to the car...it hasn't moved its spot since the last post.

I'm unable to do any work to the car ATM because all of my tools are at a friends house,
once i get my tools back I'll take a look at the sprockets and check the compression.

thanks guys,

-Robert G.

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[Ryan]

If you had your location in your signature, people could make mechanic recommendations. Hope this isn't cam related. $$$

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[doors1024]

i took it to the shop and they told me a) engine mounts or [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif[/img] the balancer belt is off. I'm iffy on what they're telling me, and would like to take a look under the cam cover. is a new gasket needed if i take the cover off?

thx.

-Robert G

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[ds968]

the gasket is rubber, and should be good to use and reuse regardless how many times you remove the cam cover, but it will probably wear out enough you'll want to change it after about 50k miles.. I changed mine at 60k even though it still looked pretty good ' then..

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[doors1024]

I took the cam cover off, the sprockets look fine. I'll have pictures up tomorrow.

Me and my brother took a look at the car, and while standing out side i had my brother rev. to where the noise would start. It seems as if the noise is coming from under the front seats... maybe this is just something loose? idk...

What do you guys think?

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[94SilverCab]

Something simple like a heat shield maybe?

Jay

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[DaveN]

2 things.
1 - the heat shield is known to make a racket at certain rpms. I have yet to fix mine - after the new clutch and flywheel it now makes an awful sound when passing down throught 2500 rpm. I sound like a 500.00 pickup truck [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img] I tend to put the clutch in and coast to stop signs if there are people around.

2 - you can reuse your cam cover gasket but they are known to leak at the corners. I bought some copper rtv (high temp) and put a coating all around the contact area of the gasket. Put it on finger tight to start a seal forming, then left it for an hour or more to firm up. After that I torqued to the specs.

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[doors1024]

would the noise be a high pitch rattle or a low rumble?

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