first off.. dont feel bad about the money pit. heck if i would i wouldnt sleep right at night. i got this car for 9k and i'm over 20k in it one year and a half later and just replaced my engine at 130k miles. for me it's all about the happiness it brings me and it brings a lot. as long as i am not taking food from my kids mouths (if i had any
) i can accept the expenses.
now.. your situation sounds similar to something that happened to me a while back. i was driving my friends Boxster to see what all the fuss is about with this tip tronic stuff and i will admit i was driving fairly hard (good friend this guy
). at one point we were stopped at a light and the temp gauge blinker starts to flash indicating low coolant level and steam starts coming out the rear passenger front wheel well. my heart stops for a second (I blew up his car?) and when i walk out and see it's steam not smoke i breathe again. the temp didnt go up at all so i caught it early. we kill the engine push (the heavy bastard!) over to the side of the road and the underside is full of green coolant. i figure it's the water pump.. tank was empty.
my mechanic looks at it and finds out it's the valve behind the water pump which can be deleted. he did that and a few days later another hose cracks and he spills all the fluid again. it's a 2001 model but most of the coolant hoses were old and brittle, the one that popped looked like an over fried sausage.
i'm with you on this one, i dont think it's the coolant cap if you're spilling underneath, it's probably something else, there are a lot of hoses and things that can go bad.
i hope i am wrong and this doesnt happen to you again. ans most importantly that i'm not behind you.. i wouldnt want your coolant on my squeaky clean windshield
best of luck with it and remember, if it makes you happy and you can spare the money dont feel too bad about it. went for a hard drive last night and forgot all about the 7000$ i spent a week ago on it.