Coolant Question
 

A friend of mine who lives out of town had an issue with his Boxster S recently. While out and about his car decided to let loose of some coolant via the cap dumping it onto the ground in front of the passenger side rear tire.

I'm aware of the coolant cap issues and that several revisions to the original design have come forth, that part of the solution has been identified and the updated part is on order. He also pulled back some of the interior carpet around the reservoir and checked it for moisture / leaking, all dry.

After a brief phone conversation he found some water (not sure if it was distilled) and added about 2/3 of a gallon to the cooling system, wiped down inside of the cap threads, secured it and drove the car home for about 45 minutes without any issues or spiking temps.

Question; would adding that amount of water to the coolant have an adverse effect on anything? He lives up north so would the effective freeze rating of the Porsche coolant be drastically changed? Lastly, is the OEM Coolant only available through dealerships?

Thanks Guys.......Mark.

I had the same thing happen to me at a DE this weekend w/ my 2002 S. It puked out about 3/4 gallon. No one had any coolant available, so I used the hose next to the garage to just fill to the "minimum" line.

I then drove the last event of the day w/ no problems. After the car cooled, I did get the "Low Coolant" flashing red light (to be expected), but temps stayed at 180, where it always rides.

I stopped at WalMart, picked up a jug of 50/50 mix and topped off the reservoir. I drove 4 events on Sunday and 125 miles back home w/ no problems.

I also have a new coolant cap ordered. I'll probably have the system drained, flushed and filled the next time the car is in the shop for maintenance, but I'm not going to worry about it until then.

I imagine he could order OEM coolant through Pelican, Sun Coast, etc.

It's not something I'm going to lose sleep about between now and then.

Rick

Adding just water did dilute the antifreeze a little, but with the large amount of coolant in a Boxster, I don't think the ratio of the mixture would be that far off. Any auto shop can test the antifreeze level with a hydrometer, or you can get a tester at the parts store to check the ratio of the antifreeze to water level. 50/50 is the ideal mix, but you can be anywhere between 40% to 60% depending on your temperature needs.

Make sure you use "Extended Life" type (OAT) rated anti=freeze, so that it is compatible with the Porsche coolant. Otherwise you are going to make your coolant into gel. You don't have to buy Porsche specific coolant, buy Havoline Extended Life Coolant and you will be perfect. Porsche $35 per gallon, Havoline 16 per gallon at O'Reillys

Thanks for the answers guys.........:cheers: