overheating
 

I bought a boxster (tiptronic) 97 year and was driving a couple days and i saw what i is overheating, the coolant level its ok and is not leaking. What i should to do? is that normal temperature?

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1442017719.jpg

Not normal. Don't drive it like that. First thing, remove front fascia and clean the gap between the AC condensers and the radiators. If that is packed with trash, which is common, run it and see if it is fixed, if not, you've likely a damaged water pump impeller, so check that next. Temp needle should be passing through the low side of the 8.

Clean radiators? Water pump?

I already clean the radiators but not the water pump...
How to check the water pump if its damaged?

Next step is replace the water pump. The problem is the broken pieces of the plastic impeller can get lost in the cooling passages causing mischief. Do the water pump immediately to avoid that as much as possible.

Also, cleaning the radiators involves the space between what you can see on the outside (the AC condensers) and the radiator (behind the condensers). You must physically remove the condensers to clean the radiators. I tried to shortcut this by spraying a bunch of water and it does not work. The pump has to be removed and the impeller inspected. If you've gone that far simply replacing the pump makes sense. They are known to go out,so a new one is a good investment.

just to clarify, you can't clean the water pump

IMHO, that's not excessively hot, but does appear to be hotter than normal

Also, the dash temp gauge is not always accurate. get an OBD2 adapter and one of the phone apps and check the actual temp. Generally the needle is in the middle of the 8 on most cars. Mine does go to the middle of the 0 when it's really hot and have been driving hard.

Where in CA are you? If you are in the San Diego area, come down to Qualcomm on Sat 9/12. There is a PCA autocross and I'll be happy to plug in my OBD2 reader and check it for you.

that will be perfect, i am from San Diego!

I'll be there tomorrow!

I just have to say the car is certainly running hot. If it is due to a failing impeller, meaning vanes are flaking off and it can pump less cooling fluid, driving the car further may cause additional damage. An OBD2 reader, or even a Durametric will only show what the gauge does, the car is running hot. I drive mine in 90-100 degree heat, and I'm not gentle. With clean radiators my car stays in the 185 degree range regardless of outside temp or load on the engine.

look for me
Silver Boxster S #990

James does have a point about possible broken impeller.

I just had a WP failure, but it was a leaking shaft seal, the impeller was whole

It is a reasonable easy DIY to change the WP

It looks like JayG will get you on the right track.

Here's some stuff you may want to look at to help you understand:

A YouTube video showing the radiator cleaning after the front bumper cover has been removed:
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3xhw_hWpisY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


The water pump replacement process:

Porsche Boxster Water Pump and Thermostat Replacement - 986 / 987 (1997-08) - Pelican Parts Technical Article

Are both cooling fans running on high when the AC is on? Loss of a fan would do this.

The video suggested pressure washing the radiator and condenser. If you go that route back way off and be careful with the water spray. The high pressure can bend the fins on the radiator and condenser closing the airflow path through them.

FYI it's impossible to drive with the stock thermostat and say your running temp is 185, because it opens at 187. When there is lots of ambient cooling capacity (cold outside) I have seen OBD steady state driving temps of ~192-194 on the highway. If you sit still, it will heat cycle, going from 201-212 no matter how cold (it might just take a while if it's really cold).

I believe the stock thermostat is marked 83 degrees C, which is 181.4 degrees F, which I would assume would be when it starts to open. Granted, Dempsey's book seems to indicate otherwise however.

Sorry i cant come today...
Can we meet some other day?

I agree with JayG. Get the context surrounding the heat. Downtown slow traffic in 85-90+ temperatures. This weekend I was pushing her at 3/4 at 9-10,000 feet altitude and had the same temp. slightly higher. That temp by the way is not even close to the "red" light. Some folks on here...........I'll bite my tongue.

Yes your car is running HOT. Before you do anything check to see if your coolant fans are functioning properly! I have a 99 had the same problem. above the fuse panel are the relays. there are four in a row for the front coolant fans remove them. Make a jumper out of a small piece of wire and with the car off put one end of the wire in the lower slot for one of the relays and the other end in the top slot for the same relay. You should hear you fan go on. do the same thing for the other 3 relays. if they all work then your fans are ok if not therein lies your problem. when I checked my passenger fan wasn't working at all and the driver side only on high speed. replaced them. Pedro's board has a good diy on how to replace them. after that car ran cooler but not cool enough. then I changed out my water pump, front engine mount and a low temp thermostat. I found my old thermostat wasn't working properly so you like I might have a few problems but checking the fans is very easy to do. Good Luck and use this and other Forums as a resource. there are plenty of us that have experienced the same pain and can help you!

It should read on the low side of the 8?
Odd, both my 986's run in between the 8 and 0 when fully warmed up and can venture to the high side of the 0 in outside temps above 90 degrees. I've been told by two shops, the dealership, and even a few folks on here that it was a 'normal' operating range.

Side note: awhile back, my daily driver started reading about what the image in the first post shows (even a little higher) and it turned out that there was tons of debris sandwiched between the condensers and radiators. A proper cleaning as described above (removing bumper cover and separating the condensers from the radiators) brought it right back down.

Pick up a laser thermometer and measure the temps at various places. There may be a bad sender involved and not other parts. Clean radiators is a good thing!

Jon

I get the same results as Retroman. I was seeing to the right of the zero in mid 80's and 10,000 elevation this weekend while climbing up the passes.

I was driving yesterday the car and in the parking spot i saw how ALL coolant was leaking in the floor under, close to the back rear wheel. I immediately add more fluid but now when i tried to check from where was the leak i cant see nothing, the trunk is dry to... I stopped today in some chip service to ask the mechanic and he said what i have to change the head gasket, but i cant believed what is that!!!

Where i should check the leak? My car still hot, i already clean the radiators an the fans working properly..

I had the same thing happen to me. After driving for a while, the pressure would build up that it would start leaking. I tried to test it at home by letting it idle and it didn't leak. I stuck my hand under the coolant tank and felt liquid. I then changed the coolant tank and been good ever since.

Stop driving the car
Check the water pump and hoses
you can get a look at it by pulling the carpet behind the seats and removing the access panel
http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/34-WATER-Thermostat_and_Pump/34-WATER-Thermostat_and_Pump.htm

probably not the head gasket

if its the water pump. its a reasonably easy DIY

Water pump, Thermostat, and coolant will cost you $350-400

Or you can have an indy shop do it, probubly add $300-400

What part of San Diego are you in? There are a lot of good shops that will not rip you off here

I'm from La Jolla/UTC

If your trunk is dry, its not likely to be the coolant tank
Was the tank empty?
The water pump is on the front of the engine on the passenger side, so a leak there could be by the tire
There are several plastic covers on the bottom that can redirect water from where it is leaking
If you remove the front one, its pretty easy, you will need a 10mm socket and a torx screwdriver. You may see where it is actually leaking from

Just be careful as the coolant will be hot and can burn you if the car is all warmed up

There is a very good indy just off Miramar road
Mirage Intl - Porsche parts and tuning

another excellent shop is
Black Forest Porsche/BMW/Mini | Your Dealer Alternative

You could also go to Porsche of San Diego on Miramar Rd. My guess it would cost you more there

I would see if you can figure out what is leaking and if it is the water pump and you have the time, DIY

Both shops are PCA members and may offer a PCA discount
Yo can join PCA for $46

Thank you!!

That is certainly good advice. Both the water pump and the rear overflow hose dump water by the right rear tire. So, the pump could be leaking, or the car is getting really hot and the pressure is causing the coolant to dump out of the overflow. When I rebuilt my engine I had coolant blow out the rear overflow after initially filling it with coolant. That was likely due to air in the system. Has the coolant been changed or drained and replaced recently? Is the coolant green or pink?

I bought the car few weeks ago i dont know. The coolant is green

So you likely have "coolant pudding" instead of coolant. The car uses pink coolant from the factory. Dumping in green prestone causes a chemical reaction that thickens the coolant making it unable to efficiently cool the car.

Anyone familiar with how to get a positive diagnosis and clean up this mess?

That's not completely correct. There has also been green factory coolant. Porsche has also used yellow. The current color is pink

I just changed my WP and coolant and what came out was green and it was factory coolant

[QUOTE=JayG;466485]That's not completely correct. There has also been green factory coolant. Porsche has also used yellow. The current color is pink

I just changed my WP and coolant and what came out was green and it was factory coolant[/QUOTE

And my 2003 was pink. No idea if it was factory though as I was not the original owner. So, do you know how to determine if it is coolant intermix?

Porsche has made their coolant in Green, yellow and pink. All of them are factory and OK for the car and even to mix.
So you could end up with orange or other colors depending on what was mixed

In my case, I have service records for the car and the coolant had never been changed. Green is what they put in in Stuttgart, at least in my 04

Vanya, sorry for the back and forth on coolant, it does not help you get your car running. The fact is if you mix the coolant commonly available with US cars and the coolant that is specified for your Boxster, the result is the two coolants can react and form a gel. If this has happened to your car the gel has to be cleaned out of the cooling system. I don't know the procedure for doing that. I was hoping a forum member with that knowledge would respond. Keep this in mind if your water pump checks out good.

overheating
 

Before doing engine cooling maintainance my 2000 s it ran a little over 180*
The car has 61k so thought it time for water pump, thermostate, and coolant renew.
I also cleaned the radiators.. Also put gutter screens over the opening holes,,,the holes are about 1/2"in the screens.
After my hard work, my car runs halfway between 180* tick and the one above that whatever that is 220*??????
I followed the directions from 101 projects.
Did I not get all the air out???????? How do I proceed???
Thank you this is a great resource
Pat

overheating
 

Several things a failed to mention,
New rad cap,
Also battery died and lost all my gauges.
Removed ground after bleeding system. Restored my gauges
Only put 4 1/2 gallons of coolant in.
maybe a valve didn't open and now has air trapped??
Any ideas on how to proceed are welcomed.
Thanks again
Pat

Your car is not running hot, it is running hotter than what most consider normal temp. To say that every Boxster should be running with the needle on 8 or 0 is not accurate. I've owned my '99 for six years and it consistently runs at the right side of the 0 when warmed up. Depending on ambient temp or how hard I'm driving it or a grade it will go to where yours is in the picture and I've had no failures due to temperature.
There is an easier way to test your front fans, let the car warm up and pull it into a dirt field, if you see dust coming up from both front sides they're working and believe me you'll know. Also you should be able to hear your engine fan running when the car warms up and it is located on the passenger side and sounds like a vacuum cleaner when running.
It is a good idea to clean your radiators and condensers as they do accumulate debris and if you do decide to change out the water pump put a new thermostat in as well.
You'll soon find out that the internet is full of owners who recommend to blindly start replacing parts only to find out later that the cause of their problem was something else and they've spent a lot of wasted money.
Find a good independent mechanic that can use Porsche equipment to diagnose problems and see what they have to say. Most will diagnose without charging you then you can decide if you want to tackle repairs and or maintenance yourself or pay them to do it.

Does my Boxster have an oil pressure gauge?
 

Oops. wrong thread. Sorry.