Boxster - loss of coolant
 

Hi, wonder if anyone can help me? I have recently bought a 2002 Boxster, which I love, but last night whilst driving my check coolant level came on, with temp light going red, although the temp did not rise above 80. I pulled over straight away, and once stopped the entire contents of my coolant system seemed to empty onto the roadside. I had a look under the card and it seemed to be coming from the centre, and heading out just in front ot the right rear wheel. It will be off to Porsche tomorrow, but is this a common fault and does anyone have suggestions what it could be, and is it an expensive thing to put right?
Any comments would be greatly received.
thanks

There are about half a dozen causes for cars to overflow and overflow their coolant, so its hard to tell you if its expensive, cheap, or somewhere in between.

Do you know when the last time the cooling system was serviced?
Is the serpentine belt still in good condition and attached?
Is the water pump still functioning properly?
Are the radiators blocked with dirt and other debris?
When was the last time the cooling system was properly flushed and bled of air?

Ask yourself those questions, and you might be able to narrow down the cause.

BC.

HI BC, thanks for that. Not too sure about the servicing as only had it a short while, servicing seems to be upto date on everything else so I reckon that must have been done. Its off to the garage tomorrow for them to look at it, but the way it dumped it all very quickly was as though something burst. Hopwfully its going to be easy to rectify tomorrow when they get it!
thanks

your coolant bottle is cracked and/or there is air in your system. Might as well change your coolant cap while you are at it.

I had the same thing happen recently. I have an '02 2.7 TIP. Contents dumped in driveway after returning home. Temp gauge never went up and red light never came on. So far the cap on the plastic tank in the trunk seems to be the culprit. I replaced the cap with the latest one, .03 number on the cap, and so far have not had any more problems. Was there any water or bubbling around the cap? Mine was wet and was passing steam. I had a pressure test conducted and there was no leak so you should have one of these tests performed. Check under the water bottle by pulling up the carpet and seeing if there is any accumulation in the well under the bottle. If a lot of water here it might be your plastic reservoir tank is cracked. If neither of these are the problem it may be a more expensive fix as previously mentioned. Keep us posted on your results please.

AKL

please update us on what the mechanics found. Also, what may have caused it. Just curious.

Thanks everyone for the replies, its appreciated. It went to the garage and it was the water pump, apparently it was very obvious once they started looking at it. Thankfully still under warrantly so all fixed, but interesting reading about the filler cap too. Pick it up on Monday, so once I know anymore details I'll post them on her. Thanks again