Awful News

[Kenny Boxster]

Awful news boys,

I went over a road and cracked a radiator- I hope that is the least damage. Some son of a ******************** tried to merge into my lane on a dark part of SH 360. I swerved to avoid him. Got out of the car and to inspect the damage and noticed coolant pouring out where the passenger side radiator is. Drove two miles until I could push my car safely home.

46*F outside
Temperature gauge got to 195ish
Drove two miles without any coolant, 3 minutes of engine running.
Didn't notice any smoke
Coolant gauge intermittently flashed- low coolant levels indicator.

What do you guys think? I feel this incident of driving with no coolant will not be catastrophic, but I want to hear what you guys have to say.

[rp17]

Wow thats terrible news. You went over a road? Did you hit a pot hole? Keep us updated Kenny. Hoping for the best for you.

[Kenny Boxster]

I am safe thankfully. I know my bumper hit something because that cracked the radiator, but it was too damn dark to tell / see anything. I drove on the grass until I could get back on a service road, and scraped the underside of the car on a curb.
Good grief I feel like I've been hit with a baseball bat in the stomach. I am going to jack up the car/take off the bumper to see what is damaged as soon as I can tomorrow.

[SF-Rockster]

Good luck Kenny. Hope there no other damage from over heating.

[litespeedp]

The lame -o that ran u off probably talks with his mouth full.

Anyway,my bet is that your engine is OK.Cool weather,not too terribly hot on the gauge and short distance running low on coolant.Our Box's have at least 2 rads,3 if your is an "S". The existing rad/s just did extra duty.

I hate this for you Box.Good luck.

[coreseller]

Hopefully the AC Radiator made it unscathed. Here's a video on how to remove the front bumper cover, it's for a 996 but same procedure:

Porsche 996 986 bumper removal - YouTube

If you get lucky and the coolant radiator is all that needs replacing, try Sunset Porsche since their prices for new OEM will likely be the best;

Portland Oregon Porsche Parts & Audi Parts | SUNSET Parts

A picture of mine when I pulled the bumper to clean the radiators, this will give you an idea of whats in there:

[Homeboy981]

Sorry to hear it Kenny! The dumba$$es were everywhere yesterday shopping and not paying any attention to driving. Fortunately my new TS Cat Back System was LOUD ENOUGH to keep them at bay.

You should O.K. since it WAS COLD and you did not go too far. There is quite a lot of fluid in our systems….did you drain it all?

Also, if you went off the road, check the underpinnings, you may have more stuff to do as a result. Maybe enough to file an insurance claim and get it properly repaired.

[Kenny Boxster]

I'll be checking everything in an hour. Coreseller, thanks for the info. I've cleaned the radiators before too, so hopefully it will just be a radiator that needs to be replaced. Last night I briefly looked under with a flash light and didn't see anything out of place. When I was driving back, my car pulled to the side so I suspect maybe frame damage, wheels out of alignment, or maybe, if I am lucky, traction loss on the passenger side due to slick coolant. I spun around twice when I made a slow turn because the radiator is right in front of the passenger wheel, and coolant coated the tires.

[Eric G]

Hopefully things are still OK, your temperature did not get to catastrophic levels. The cooling system has a lot of fluid so this is one plus for you. Cost is not to bad on replacing them as I have seen prices from below 100 to the 210 I paid to Pelican. In the end I found the OEM to be the better of the choices to go with.

Keep us posted.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by litespeedp

Our Box's have at least 2 rads,3 if your is an "S". The existing rad/s just did extra duty.

I don't think so. A Tip trans has the 3rd rad.

[Flavor 987S]

Sorry this happen to you. But why would you continue to drive? The risks are just too high.

[Kenny Boxster]

Rural part of SH360 in the middle of nowhere with spotty reception at best. By the time I made it out I pushed the car back home.

[boxster6354]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

Sorry this happen to you. But why would you continue to drive? The risks are just too high.

Agree on both points.
A lot cheaper to call for a tow vs. engine replacement.

Also for the other poster, regardless if your car has two or three radiators they still share the same coolant and if you bust a line or crack a tank you will drain the system of coolant, the other(s) will not compensate as a redundant system.

Also with a engine running at 190ish degrees it really does not matter much with outside temp.

Hope nothing was warped as it does not take long with no coolant.

Good Luck!

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by Kenny Boxster

Rural part of SH360 in the middle of nowhere with spotty reception at best. By the time I made it out I pushed the car back home.

I understand, but I suspect there's more to the story. I also understand that you may not want to share it on a public forum.

Glad no one was injured. Hope your Boxster is A-OK ASAP.

[Kenny Boxster]

Originally Posted by boxster6354

Agree on both points.
A lot cheaper to call for a tow vs. engine replacement.

Also with a engine running at 190ish degrees it really does not matter much with outside temp.

Hope nothing was warped as it does not take long with no coolant.

Good Luck!

I agree with that, but what's done was done. Yes, it's true that temp only measures coolant temps, but with no coolant who knows how hot things actually got? I'm trying to be optimistic with what I have but first off I am going to take off the bumper and see what I have.

[DFW02S]

That stinks Kenny, at least you're safe.
Bad weather to work on the car though.

[Kenny Boxster]

So this is where I spun out from the coolant being over the wheels.



So much was going through my head, my brain went mush. Notice the coolant trail. Good thing I did not go over the ledge below, I did not even notice it because it was so dark.

Here is what the car looked like when I took a picture of it this morning.


I'll update the thread as I go on.

[BruceH]

That's a bummer Kenny. At least you are ok.

[Kenny Boxster]

Interestingly enough, finding the leak is not very obvious. The coolant tubing and hoses are intact, and the radiator isn't leaking any coolant. My next course of action is to fill up the coolant reservoir and briefly turn on the engine to see where the coolant is leaking from.

[thstone]

Although this incident kind of sucks, the good news is that you're ok and the car should be easily repairable. I wouldn't worry about the engine and the temps, it should be fine. Just find the source of the leak, repair it, and you should be good to go.