Afraid of the answer..... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Lew · 09-01-2017, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robdelorenzo

Maybe a 1/2 cup of coolant. Enough to be noticeable. The hissing sound is what caught my attention.
The mechanic is Rob Wessels at Dutch Treat here in LA. He's supposed to be very good and seems like a decent guy, so I don't think that's an issue.

Have you contacted the mechanic about your problem? If it were me I would take the car back to him and let him check out the problem. Remember he said it didn't overheat or leak......

911monty · 09-01-2017, 07:52 AM

I'm with the possible air still in the system camp. However is the coolant expansion tank cap the one that was on during the overheating event? If so it could be weak, I'd replace.

robdelorenzo · 09-01-2017, 08:04 AM

Yes, that is the original cap that was on during the meltdown. I removed all of the carpet from the trunk before I took the car in to the mechanic. I had the tank replaced by him about a month ago. I left the carpet out. When it was spewing yesterday the trunk was dry. I wondered if the meltdown had cracked the bottle or not. If the cap were the culprit, wouldn't the trunk have coolant in it?
Yesterday the coolant was definitely coming from above the passenger rear wheel somewhere. I just looked again after letting the car cool overnight and very little coolant came out. The level in the bottle is a bit low, but not drained or even well below the min mark. I started the car briefly and it started right up and seemed ok.
I know that the mechanic's shop is in a very flat area and I drove it up hills yesterday, which is where I live. He gets in shortly, I'm going to call him. The biggest thing is of course it's a 3 day weekend, he's closed Monday and so is Pelican (local to me)

911monty · 09-01-2017, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robdelorenzo

Yes, that is the original cap that was on during the meltdown. I removed all of the carpet from the trunk before I took the car in to the mechanic. I had the tank replaced by him about a month ago. I left the carpet out. When it was spewing yesterday the trunk was dry. I wondered if the meltdown had cracked the bottle or not. If the cap were the culprit, wouldn't the trunk have coolant in it?
Yesterday the coolant was definitely coming from above the passenger rear wheel somewhere. I just looked again after letting the car cool overnight and very little coolant came out. The level in the bottle is a bit low, but not drained or even well below the min mark. I started the car briefly and it started right up and seemed ok.
I know that the mechanic's shop is in a very flat area and I drove it up hills yesterday, which is where I live. He gets in shortly, I'm going to call him. The biggest thing is of course it's a 3 day weekend, he's closed Monday and so is Pelican (local to me)

If the cap leaks the coolant collects and runs down the overflow tube behind the pass tire, as you reported seeing, you may also see condensation on the trunk lid above the tank. When the tank leaks coolant collects in the trunk.

robdelorenzo · 09-01-2017, 08:15 AM

Thanks.
Ordering a new cap then.

911monty · 09-01-2017, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robdelorenzo

Thanks.
Ordering a new cap then.

Well It's cheap so yeah, but I'm only giving thought to things to check. The purge valve can also leak in this same area and was also exposed to the meltdown and could now be compromised. You will want to remove that plastic cover over the expansion tank and attempt to identify the leak point. As an FYI the cap is very easy to cross thread.

robdelorenzo · 09-01-2017, 08:42 AM

It's back to the mechanic this morning. I'll keep you posted.

It just keeps getting better.....I brought it in to him leaking coolant from the overflow. He suggested that it might be the cap. We changed the cap and I drove home. It's still not circulating properly and sending the heated coolant out the overflow. He now says that something in the circulation system was cooked by the overheating. The water pump, the thermostat, where the impeller blades connect to the pump shaft may have melted, radiator, broken impeller pieces blocking coolant channels, etc. etc.
I'm really at a loss here now.
The temperature gauge does not register overheating, but it's obviously leaking and something is wrong.
I'm trying to get back on my feet from surviving cancer, unemployed, and no more money to put into this car right now (or at all?)
At what point do I walk away or keep dumping money into it?
The engine seems to run fine and after letting it cool off for about an hour I can see that the coolant tank is only about 1/3 full (of course 3/3 full would be way too much. Point is a fair amount of coolant came back out the overflow and something is wrong.
Should I cancel the insurance, keep it garaged, and slowly save up and fix the cheapest thing first (thermostat?) or is there just going to be so much collateral damage from the meltdown that I walk away and sell it as a roller?
Another mechanic I just talked to told me to have the test done for hydrocarbons in the coolant. If there are, he said to walk away. He also said that the coolant is circulating, since the gauge is not showing abnormal readings or overheating and that it could still be more air in the system.
Please offer advice. I'm desperate.