24 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHTemp issues possibly?
Leading reported evidence
Install with an electric fan
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
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Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
These radiators are each fitted with an electric fan.
Leading evidence: 'Install with an electric fan' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'tensioner' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check coolant cold, my needle never moves' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Discussions that suspect a cause
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Suspected cause
The start up rattle is probably a failing tensioner.
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Suggestion
check the coolant cold, my needle never moves from straight up 180 degrees
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Suggestion
It's an expansion tank, does no good to check the level when its hot.
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Suggestion
I went from 0w to 5w and even tired 15w for a couple track days and none of those changes helped.
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Suggestion
Looking for a bit better hot idle pressure and after talking to Mobil , on my last oil change I used One 5qt 5W50 and one 0W40 both of them European spec A40.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
24 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
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1 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Outcome without a verified action link
I have tried heavier oil, but that hasn�t worked for me.
I�ve noticed my temp fluctuating lately. It rests about where you see it here. It will creep to about 195 and then back down when driving. My coolant in reservoir is between the lines when warm, have yet to check it cold. I can�t see any visible leaks. Something I�ve noticed is a rattle at cold starts that goes away after 30 seconds or so. Am I looking at having to replace water pump or thermostat possibly?
Mine never goes above 180, but the temp gauges are not very accurate.
Check with a scan tool and see how hot it's really getting.
How old is your water pump?
If it is older than 3 or 4 years old, I recommend replacing it.
Replace the thermostat at the same time.
The start up rattle is probably a failing tensioner. U have 3, bank 1, bank 2 and ims chains.
U may also have a low stage in one of your fans going out. A good scanner can turn them on and off individually.
What year is your car? The 99�s have a temp gauge that moves all over the place. Porsche �fixed� that �issue� in subsequent models. I have posted quite a bit about cooling for 99�s. Many think they have cooling issues, but few do.
My car also has a cold start rattle/knock. It�s been like this for 5 years. It could be tensioners, worn tensioner pads, piston slap, any of the 5 chains can make a heck of a noise, early onset bore scoring, a loose piece of metal in the cat or mufflers, a banging coolant hose (in at least 2 cases). If I start my car and drive off immediately, I have no rattle. So that�s what I do and recommend you do not let the car idle to warm up. If it�s piston slap, you want oil circulating as fast as possible, and get temps going north.
I did have worn tensioner pads and had those replaced. My cam deviations were off. Others have tried replacing tensioners, and sometimes that works.
Thanks - that is comforting to know. Was getting worried reading the other responses.
I have a 1999 C2 and my temp needle is always moving up, then fans kick in - moves down, then slowly back up again. It's never just sitting steady (unless cruising on the hwy). I just changed rads, water pump, thermostat and a bunch of hoses (proactively).
Yep. And that gauge (along with the Audi HVAC hack) would have you believe you might be hitting 110C, which is way above what the DME might be reporting. The last white line on my car�s gauge is about 101-102C, which is not really that hot. It�s also the temp the fans come on my car. The way to determine this is via Durametric or even a simple, cheap, ODBII dongle and app.
I checked it cold, the coolant was well below the low mark. Drove it home, checked again and it coolant was back in the min/max range. I can�t see leaks anywhere.
Find someone with a decent scanner. I bet that light is anoying as f. Airbags lights r easy to diagnose and pretty easy to fix. Even if u have a bad bag there r a ton in the junk yards to swap out. Most of the time its the seat belt connection. U can also drive around with the scanner and monitor the temps
Shoot some electrical contact cleaner in the seat belt connector. Often solves the airbag light problem. But, you need something like Durametric or Foxwell scanner to turn off the airbag light.
.
BTW, an easy quick fan test is to press the AC button (even in winter) and check that both front fans come on at the front of the car. If that works, both fans will likely kick on if the engine temp starts to climb. Here�s more data:
Electric fansThere are two radiator modules installed in the front of the vehicle (on the jleft- and right-hand side). These radiators are each fitted with an electric fan. They can be operated at two speeds and are activated by the DME control unit whenever the following conditions apply:
Electric fan, speed 1
(Ground to DME control unit, terminal 35)
Coolant temperature higher than 96.75�C or air conditioning switched on.
Electric fan, speed 2
(Ground to DME control unit, terminal 36)
Coolant temperature > 102�C or air-conditioning fluid pressure switch closed (coolant pressure > 16 bar).
Note: The electric fans for the radiators are only triggered when the engine is running.
Engine bay fan:
The engine compartment purge fan rarely comes on, except can turn on in summer heat
From the service manual...
"Switch-on conditions for engine compartment fan (this fan pulls air into the engine compartment) The engine compartment fan is switched on when the engine compartment temperature is > 176 degrees F or the coolant temperature is > 216 degrees F.
After-running of engine compartment fan
If the ignition is switched off and the engine compartment temperature is more than 140 degrees F, the
DME
control module remains in readiness for another 20 minutes. During this time, the engine compartment temperature is retrieved every 10 seconds. If the engine compartment temperature is > 185 degrees F , the engine compartment fan is switched on for 20 seconds. If the engine compartment temperature is still > 185 degrees F after this time, the fan remains on for a further 30 seconds."
The old tensioners design tends to also leak some oil easier while sitting. Looking for a bit better hot idle pressure and after talking to Mobil , on my last oil change I used One 5qt 5W50 and one 0W40 both of them European spec A40. The car can now sit for almost a week and no rattle at start. I like how it runs too.
I can give my mechanic $1000 to replace all 3 tensioners in my car, not such a bad price, but I have doubts it will fix my rattle. I agree with you, though, those tensioners do leak over time. I have tried heavier oil, but that hasn�t worked for me. It�s not the hot oil spec (50w) that will do it, it would have to be the cold spec. I went from 0w to 5w and even tired 15w for a couple track days and none of those changes helped.
I guess I could replace the tensioners and see.
mike, I�m in Texas our temperatures don�t drop as much. Honestly that One 5W50 and One 0W40 worked real good for me. I�m driving it like this until it blows.
