Coolant Leak - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

jontalk · 07-02-2011, 05:42 PM

I live in the SF Bay Area and we are in the middle of a heat wave though today it was only in the high 80s. After doing a few errands (total driving about 18 mi), I parked the car in the garage. I went out a few hours later to check something and noticed a pool of coolant on the floor and a slow drip towards the front of the engine. Since I didn't have any Porsche coolant around I filled up the reservoir with distilled water and then took the car for a short drive to get it up to 180 degrees. After having cleaned the garage floor I parked it again and watched for dripping but did not see any. The coolant tank was done by the previous owner a couple of years or so ago.

So the question: Is it safe to drive the car with a couple quarts of distilled water and since it's a holiday weekend I can't take it to the shop until Tues. If it leaks some more what coolant should I get given the Porsche dealer parts dept will be closed now?

Jonathan
2001 Porsche Boxster S
Silver on Black
67K miles

RandallNeighbour · 07-02-2011, 06:43 PM

I think you are safe. Just keep an eye on your temp needle. If it climbs too high, shut it down.

There's only one or two brands of coolant you can safely add. Add the wrong thing and you"re in for real expensive trouble because mixing them causes thick goo instead of fluid. Search the forum for threads about coolant and you'll find the correct brands.

BTW, your "heat wave" is what everyone else in the US is now calling "winter"

san rensho · 07-03-2011, 05:41 AM

Be careful. Soundss like the leak is from the water pump. Once it starts to leak the pump can go very quickly and if it grenades, the plastic water pump bits can get lodged in the very small water passages in the head and cause blockages that can cause a cracked head or blown headgasket.

I wouldn't drive it until I knew what the problem was.

RandallNeighbour · 07-03-2011, 06:19 AM

SR is making a great observation. I retract what I said above.

I didn't fully read where you thought your leak might be coming from. Most coolant leaks are from the tank or a fitting giving loose on that tank if was replaced but the clips weren't replaced as well (they get brittle).

jontalk · 07-03-2011, 06:40 AM

Thanks guys.. I'm going to start it this morning and let it run for a while and see what happens. As luck would have it the darned thing decides to go sideways on a holiday weekend. And yes, I realize that our heat wave here in SF is like winter in TX, but we love them when they happen since it's typically foggy here until noon, so seeing the sun first thing and having the top down all the time is a gift!

Thanks again.

Jonathan

RandallNeighbour · 07-03-2011, 07:40 AM

I think not starting the motor is your safest bet. If that water pump goes out on you, the bits get into the engine and that's gonna cost you far more than a rental car for the next few days or the trouble of borrowing a friend's car to get somewhere.

Nothing about our cars is cheap to fix, and tempting fate has always turned out badly for most of us when it comes to driving our cars when they're having engine-related problems. Never forget that.