Right, see the link I posted above about the seals in the 951.Bergerac wrote: Wed Jul 09, 2025 10:01 pmThere is no water/oil cooler.Race5103 wrote: Wed Jul 09, 2025 9:37 pm Maybe I should start again and I will look more closely at my car. But whether or not it has an external oil cooler isn't the issue. The issue is the possibility of removing the water/oil cooler which fails and is a pain to repair.
S2 Oil Cooler
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Tom
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Tom
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Maybe a picture of what you have would be helpful. I can tell you with great confidence that the 951 does not have an oil/water cooler. People often refer casually to the housing as the 'oil cooler housing' but there is no actual cooler inside there -- just an oil thermostat to control when to oil to the external air/oil cooler. The S2 should have an oil filter console like the one shown below. If that's not what you have, post a picture of what you do have and we should be able to tell you what it is. No matter which set up you have, with or without an oil/water cooler inside the housing, they are all vulnerable to mixing water and oil since they all rely on similar seals to keep the two apart.Race5103 wrote: Thu Jul 10, 2025 6:39 am Sorry but the fact I've had it in my hands, replaced parts and have oil in the cooling system says otherwise.
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Hi Tom and thanks for the replies. I cannot post a picture now because I have not taken the car apart yet and don't intend to until I've decided how to resolve this problem and have all the parts. That is not what I have. I have a housing with room inside for a cooler, which I have assumed is what all S2s have. Perhaps incorrect on the assumption but it doesn't matter. It is for certain what I have.
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Tom
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Are you sure you have an S2 motor? 16 valves? It sounds like you are describing a standard 8-valve oil-water oil cooler? I suppose it's possible someone put one of those on your car, but that would be a pretty unusual mod. Do you not have the external cooler? What year is your car? Pop the hood and take some pictures, you've piqued my curiosity.Race5103 wrote: Thu Jul 10, 2025 12:25 pm Hi Tom and thanks for the replies. I cannot post a picture now because I have not taken the car apart yet and don't intend to until I've decided how to resolve this problem and have all the parts. That is not what I have. I have a housing with room inside for a cooler, which I have assumed is what all S2s have. Perhaps incorrect on the assumption but it doesn't matter. It is for certain what I have.
p.s., for what it's worth, PET lists 944 107 056 00 -- the oil thermostat housing shown above -- for all S2 and 968's. It wouldn't be the first time reality diverged from PET, but I'm wondering if someone had a leaking external cooler and tried to fix it with an n/a oil-water cooler -- perhaps mismatching parts in the process and leading to the problems you are having....
I hope we can get past this checking me out part but I do understand. But a little info may help you. I've owned two S2s and a regular old 8v. It is impossible to confuse what engine is in the car once you drive it. But here is the engine cover and serial number.
Whether I have an external air/oil cooler isn't really important because I do have a water/oil cooler that I have repaired before. Maybe not properly. The issue now is can I get rid of the damn thing.
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- S2 serial number.jpg (113.37 KiB) Viewed 912 times
The car is titled 1989 and there is an S2 badge on the rear. I don't think there is any doubt about what I have. But I have been wrong I admit, just ask the Datsun 2000 I'm getting running.
So from my perspective the question isn't what engine or car I have but how I delete the water/oil cooler I know I have.
So from my perspective the question isn't what engine or car I have but how I delete the water/oil cooler I know I have.
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Tom
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Well in 1989, Porsche did sell a quirky 2.7 liter motor with a 3 liter block and 8v head. Certainly wouldn't be the first 944 badged as something it's not. Does your body work look like a turbo or an n/a? S2's looked very much like a turbo, whereas the n/a looked like a regular n/a 944. Does the motor look like the red car below, or the gold car. It would be good to know what you have for sure, so that you can source the right parts to eliminate the oil-water cooler. You have options with factory parts and no oil-water cooler either way.Race5103 wrote: Thu Jul 10, 2025 5:34 pm The car is titled 1989 and there is an S2 badge on the rear. I don't think there is any doubt about what I have. But I have been wrong I admit, just ask the Datsun 2000 I'm getting running.
So from my perspective the question isn't what engine or car I have but how I delete the water/oil cooler I know I have.
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- 1986_Porsche_944_engine.jpeg (508.28 KiB) Viewed 906 times