Porsche Repair: 1985 Porsche 930 (911 Turbo) oil tmeprature, temperature thermostat, porsche 930

Question
All of the sudden after 20 years the oil temperature has become
very high and the oil pressure of course dropping. I have taken
out the oil cooler fan and cleaned it and checked the bearings
and the fan blade alignment, all seems just fine. It puzzles me
that overnight the car went from normal oil temp to the current
state.

thanks for your time


james snelling

Answer
Hi James,

I don't have any reference materials that discuss this problem, nor is there anything that talks about the '85 model specifically; however, I did find one interersting tidbit.  This may explain how you could go from good to bad overnight.  

The 911 engines have an oil temperature thermostat that acts just like a thermostat on a watercooled car.  It won't let oil into the cooler until the oil has reached a "working" temperature (176 degrees F).  There is the thermostat and a swich involved.  Both or either could have become faulty and thereby preventingc oil to pass into the cooler at any temperature.

The location appears to be next to the oil pressure swith on top of the crankcase.  What you're looking for is "flange" with two hold-down bolts.. it looks very similar to the shape of most US cars' water thermostat housings but without a water outlet.  Great description, huh?

Good luck.

Dave