Oil cooler - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

oc-boxster · 10-19-2015, 09:51 AM

I know results may vary but I'm wondering how likely it is for the oil cooler in my boxster to fail and cause intermix issues? Has anyone replaced theirs proactively? I am having my starter and alternator replaced and thought it may be a good time to replace it. My 02 had 117,000 miles. I was at my Indy mechanic the other day and they had the engine out of a 2000 996 with a bad oil cooler it was a mess.

JFP in PA · 10-19-2015, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oc-boxster

I know results may vary but I'm wondering how likely it is for the oil cooler in my boxster to fail and cause intermix issues? Has anyone replaced theirs proactively? I am having my starter and alternator replaced and thought it may be a good time to replace it. My 02 had 117,000 miles. I was at my Indy mechanic the other day and they had the engine out of a 2000 996 with a bad oil cooler it was a mess.

The coolers can fail, but it is not a common occurrence. Fortunately, the cooler is easy to remove and test.

Porsche9 · 10-19-2015, 12:25 PM

I have not seen/heard this being an common issue. You may want to do a search on this site to see if anything comes up.

What's much more likily is that your water pump impeller break due to age and end up blocking a water passages of the cylinder head which can lead to a cracked head and possible intermix of coolant and oil. Water pump replacement should be part of regular maintenance.

clickman · 10-19-2015, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porsche9

Water pump replacement should be part of regular maintenance.

At the rate my Porsche water pumps fail, "regular maintenance" is right...

More pink dripping off mine.

rick3000 · 10-19-2015, 06:13 PM

I upgraded mine from the base to the 'S' oil cooler, so I guess you could call that preventative. I have never seen anyone post online about an oil cooler failure, I'm sure it happens, but it's not common. A much more common issue is when broken water pump impeller bits clog the oil cooler, at which point you would want to replace the oil cooler to make sure those bits don't get any farther into the engine. I have my water pump on a 60-75k preventative replacement schedule, just to be safe.