Coolant adventure and couple of questions
 

Hi,

After a 15 mile/50 minute stop and go northern Virginia traffic, I pulled into my garage, turned off the car and car dumped coolant in front of right rear tire.

I read the posts and did my research, ordered a .04 coolant cap (I had .01) and borrowed pressure testing kit from Autozone (BTW: Number 7 cap fits our car). The system maintained the pressure and did not show any leak.

Also, there was no sign of coolant in the trunk after taking our carpet. The tank did not look old/yellow. It looked whitest white.

Filled with new Porsche coolant (that's what car had before), burped the system drove around for a while (40 miles with new cap) and no leak (:)). One garage I called to ask approx. cost to replace coolant tank and I was quoted $1200 labor + part.

I have couple of questions:

What should be the coolant level when the car is cold? (Min/Max/In between)

What is the best way to figure out that the radiator fans are turning on when they are suppose to?

I am newbie when it comes to working on the cars, with your help I have been able to do some work like change rear spoiler motor, change gear oil, change window regulator etc.

Thank you in advance.

Jay

Cold, the coolant should be midway between the min/max marks.
The front fans are controlled by software in the DME, so there is no way to check that. With a Durametric system, you can trigger the front fans from a laptop to check that they are functional.

I wonder if your fans are not working on high speed. It sounds like your tank is not the issue and stop-and-go traffic in high temps with the AC on will really give your cooling system a work out. Did you note how high your gauge was running on the dash?
1) Maybe post a thread titled "Want to borrow a Durametric in the DC area." If you were local, I'd be glad to help and I bet there are forum members in your area that will if you can find them.
2) Search some of the threads about the fan resistor and relays, like these:
http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/46404-one-my-rad-fans-has-stopped-working.html
http://986forum.com/forums/performance-technical-chat/54024-radiator-cooling-fan-resistor-values.html

Keep a gallon of distilled water in the frunk, just in case....

Good news, it doesn't sound to me like you need a coolant tank. Never go to the folks that quoted $1200 plus the parts again. They don't know what they're talking about and probably are incompetent.:eek: In big metro areas, you have many choices of shops. I look for the worst organized ones with loads of cars in the storage yard. Busy and popular.

Welcome to the part of the Boxster world where you have to worry about the puzzle of the cooling system. The coolant dump is part of the overflow system--poorly designed as it is. My ancient Dodge Dakota never dumps coolant out the coolant reservoir. Neither does my ancient Prius.

Nice thing about topping off with distilled water is that it's cheap and compatible. Bad things are that it doesn't show up in the reservoir very well and it dilutes your coolant. Great in an emergency, but only as a get it home solution. Next time it's low on coolant, replace the coolant level sender. It's quick, cheap, and easy. I'd get some sort of OAT coolant--Porsche, Audi, or VW brands are all compatible. Even Toyota coolant is compatible. (And red!) And keep a jug of mixed coolant in the trunk for topping off. Don't overfill!

There is an updated coolant cap that's supposed to help. I had the green updated cap, my local Indie shop GAVE me the black one! (I wrote a glowing Yelp review for him!)

I've had 2 coolant related issues...water pump and yes, the cap. Issues were unrelated, but frustrating none the less. In your case, I would suspect that only the cap was at issue and wouldn't worry much more, but keep an eye on temp. If you look around the forum, you will find that pumps (for some reason) are an issue...unfortunately I cannot give advice on how to check the health of your pump. Actually, forget I even mentioned the pump...I don't want to add to your concerns. :). If the tank looks good, I wouldn't think about changing. I suppose that one could argue that tank replacement could be considered a "proactive maintenance" item, but with that logic, everything would be. ;)

Thank you guys. The water pump was changed in 2010 by previous owner. I have proper coolant, no leaks and I will keep an eye on the temp level. For the moment it stays just shy of crossing 8 of 180 (you can see slight line of 8 on right of needle).

Just for the info : The $1200 labor quote was one of the Porsche Indie shop that is on PCA web site and been in the business for a while.

Jay,
I am in the NOVA area. Just got my 2001 about three weeks ago. There is someone on craigslist that says they will do durametric readings. That might be an option, if you still need it. I ordered a cheaper reader from Amazon. It should get here today. I know it won't do everything the durametric will, but I am hoping it will do what I need.

Hope to see you on the beltloop (hopefully going faster than 7 MPH).

Chris

Along with the cap check the overflow valve. Had a similar issue and it was a bad oring where the valve sealed to the tank.