New 2001 Boxster S - Coolant after drive?

[jpc763]

Hi,

First post.

I just purchased my first Porsche. It is a 2001 Boxster S with 63000 miles on it. It was a 3 owner when I bought it and it was Porsche Certified between owners.

It is in excellent shape and was well maintained. I have the service records from the 3rd owner.

Today it took it for a spin in the mountains. About a 45 minute drive through some winding roads. I parked the car back in the garage and about an hour later I noticed some fluid coming from underneath. The fluid (which I assume is coolant/water) is yellow tint, slightly oily and no smell. There was not a lot underneath but there was enough for concern.

I checked the reservoir and it was below the MIN line by about 3/4 of an inch.

So, I am obviously concerned, but my question is, how concerned should I be?

I plan to take it to my mechanic tomorrow. Should I drive or tow it?

Thanks in advance,

John

[Timco]

Nice wheels! Looks great.

I'd drive it. Common issue is crack in coolant tank. Much swearing over that fix. Possibly water pump weep hole. (Another common failure)

What color is the resivouir cap?

[jpc763]

Originally Posted by Timco

Nice wheels! Looks great.

I'd drive it. Common issue is crack in coolant tank. Much swearing over that fix. Possibly water pump weep hole. (Another common failure)

What color is the resivouir cap?

Thanks - I really like the look of them.

The cap is a green/blue color.

Is it something I can fix or is it tough.

John

[Timco]

Originally Posted by jpc763

Thanks - I really like the look of them.

The cap is a green/blue color.

Is it something I can fix or is it tough.

John

Blue cap is current cap.

Whereabouts under the car is the puddle / drips? Left / right? Front of engine?

[BIGJake111]

Welcome and love your car. Well not to post a stupid answer but it happened to be the right answer for me in the past. I had water with pollen in it pooling from the trunk drains one time after a slightly wet drive. Was pretty concerned until I found it it was pollen. Love the car, I'm craving a mountain drive myself now.

[jpc763]

Originally Posted by Timco

Blue cap is current cap.

Whereabouts under the car is the puddle / drips? Left / right? Front of engine?

There were several oily pools the size of a half dollar on the right side of the engine, just in front of the right rear wheel.

The majority of the pool was below the engine and draining to the back of the car, below the engine.

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

Welcome and love your car. Well not to post a stupid answer but it happened to be the right answer for me in the past. I had water with pollen in it pooling from the trunk drains one time after a slightly wet drive. Was pretty concerned until I found it it was pollen. Love the car, I'm craving a mountain drive myself now.

We have had some wet around here. I drove the car home from Denver after purchase in a downpour, so that might be possible.

The only thing is that the coolant reservoir shows that it is low. I cannot remember if it was low before today.

John

[rdass623]

top it off and monitor it. just go through the procedures on the pelican parts website to purge any air from the cooling system, had a similar incident a few thousand miles back and could not duplicate it. monitor it and as a added safety measure carry a few gallonsof water in the trunk just in case.

[Timco]

Just in front of right tire is likely water pump. Just behind right tire is reservoir tank.

[cardiffgiant]

It might be as simple as reseating the coolant cap and tightening it down a bit. Some dealerships will top off fluids before letting a car off the lot, and they may not have seated the cap properly or tightened it down all the way. That's actually what happened with mine when I bought it.

The seal on the coolant caps is also known to fail over time. (Provided that you don't see an issue with the coolant reservoir) I'd order a new coolant cap to be safe (blue Porsche OEM - do a search to find the correct model). I'd also order a new case cap, because the seals on those fail over time too

[jpc763]

So what I gather is...

1) Top off the coolant with water
2) Order a new cap
3) Purge air from the system
4) Monitor

John

[kk2002s]

Defiantly get updated cap
Top off with distilled water until you can determine the type of coolant that is in your system
Get the level between min and max
Newer Porsche coolant is pink in color and mixing coolants can be a bad thing
There is an overflow drain around the right rear tire as well
I have had one time where i had similar drip but just once

[jpc763]

Originally Posted by kk2002s

Defiantly get updated cap
Top off with distilled water until you can determine the type of coolant that is in your system
Get the level between min and max
Newer Porsche coolant is pink in color and mixing coolants can be a bad thing
There is an overflow drain around the right rear tire as well
I have had one time where i had similar drip but just once

In response, there were drips, but also a pool underneath. Less than a pint of fluid total on the floor, but more than a few drops.

I took the car into Poudre Sports Car here in Fort Collins (highly regarded). They are going to take a look at it (unfortunately they are building race cars for an event this weekend) and I will post their reply. The guy said worse case would be a water pump. 6 hours labor and a $300 part so $1K. He also said that it could be a lot of other things as well

I am going to need to begin collecting new tools to do some of this work myself.

So my cap is NOT current (blue green)?

[RickG]

I had that problem and it ended up being a hose clamp that was loose on one of the lower coolant hoses. Once you take off the lower plastic undercarriage covers, you can inspect it.

[Parrot356]

Good choice on using Poudre. Zach and Adam are good guys and know the cars well.

They are getting cars ready for the National PCA races at High Plains this weekend. They have two rental spec boxsters, a whole handful of customer cars and a couple of 911's they campaign. I am sure it is a busy week.

Based on what you have posted it sure sounds like a water pump is letting go.

[Timco]

Current cap says 996 106 447 04 part number.

Water pump.

[RMD]

Originally Posted by Timco

Current cap says 996 106 447 04 part number.

.

early caps were also blue but with part number ending in "00" , so can't go just by color ...revised cap should end in " 04" , which has redesigned internals

[jpc763]

Well I just got back from Poudre Sports Car. The problem is not the water pump (although the one in there is original), it is the reservoir that is leaking.

Unfortunately, while inspecting it, he noticed that the main seal is leaking. So now I am getting a new clutch, IMS and the reservoir.

I knew that I needed to do the IMS. I knew I would need a clutch, just did not think I would need it 4 days into owning it!

I get it back Friday.

John

[JayG]

Its just like spinning the Wheel of Fortune

"Big Bucks!"

[BIGJake111]

Originally Posted by JayG

Its just like spinning the Wheel of Fortune

"Big Bucks!"

"No whammys :ah:" You like gambling, buy a boxster.

[jpc763]

In a very generous gesture, the previous owner is pitching in $500 for the repairs.

John