HELPPP!!!!??? Engine Cooling Problem.

[PlayersExpress]

Hey guys, this is somewhat scaring me and before I bring it into the stealership I want to see if i can fix the problem myself.

Background: Last summer my car blew the "transcoolant valve" (regulates the flow of coolant into and out of the engine. It was towed to The Porsche Exchange in Highland Park, IL. They fixed it and pressure checked the system blowing my water pump... total bill cost me $1700+ $200 towing.


Now: The engine goes from average running temperature then goes up into the redline above 250 degrees... and will come back down if i turn the Heater on full blast. The cooling fan is running at full blast constantly saying the system is overheating and it is blowing out some coolant here and there because it is so hot... but its not staying in the redline, the temp will drop from red to under the 2nd white line to normal temps then back up.. and down... Now on the expressway for the most part it was stayin within Normal operation except for one or 2 times in a 30 mile round trip on the expressway.


Any clue as to what it might be? I dont want to blow the engine (143k miles on it) and I dont want to drop another $2k into the cooling system that has been recently worked on and replaced. Ohh btw, all my fluids are fine. Oil, gas, and coolant.

Thanks,

Adam

[PlayersExpress]

fluids are full and fine.. there is no error code going off, and no check engine or any other warning lights.

[Lucky]

Could be several things:

• water pump,
• gunk/clogs in the system reducing coolant flow through radiators,
• junk clogging the air flow through the radiators, and/or
• air bubble in the system.

Start with bleeding air out of the system & cleaning the radiators, then go from there.

Good luck.

[Brad Roberts]

You are explaining an air bubble in the system

Want to do this on your own? I can walk you through it


B

[PlayersExpress]

Brad, that would be amazing if you could...! Ohh and if you ever get past the mock up stage with the V8 in the tub and want to actually try it on a car.. you know where to find me.

Im looking to not blow this engine if i can help it for about another 6-8months.. at which point im going to start my conversion to a bigger motor, possibly with forced induction.

Thanks a million!

Adam

[Brad Roberts]

With the car COLD!

1. Open the rear trunk
2. Pull off the oil and coolant cap
3. With a small screw driver, pry underneath the "false floor" under those two caps and remove it completely.
4. Flip up the small bent steel wire on the coolant expansion tank pressure relief. It is located directly behind the coolant fill hole.
5. Put the OIL cap back on
6. Make note of the coolant level. Full should be just where the white plastic meets the black plastic. You can see where the two come together by looking inside the coolant fill hole. Top it off.
6. Install the coolant cap
7. Start the car and let it run for 5 min. Let it idle.
8. Keep an eye on the coolant reservoir.
9. Now, REV the engine to 3k and HOLD it there for 15sec.
10. Let it idle again
11. Repeat step 9
12. Let it idle again
13. Repeat step 9
14. Let it idle
15. Check the coolant level. DO NOT remove the cap!!
16. Drive the car around the block.
17. After returning, check the coolant level again
18. Let the car cool down (hour or so)
19. Top off coolant (it should be down) and it may be down earlier in this cycle
20. Drive around a few days with the steel wire to the coolant expansion cap in the UP position.
21. Keep checking the level while the wire is in the up position.

Side note: we run with the wire UP everywhere ALL the time. This is how we do it in Cup cars and this is how we do it in the Boxsters/Caymans. It gurantees that the system has no air bubbles in it. When you are confident that the issue has gone away.. flip the wire down and put the false floor back in

Or don't and run around with the wire in the up position. Let me know if you want pics. I can shoot some today while I do an engine pull and install.


B

[Brad Roberts]

FYI:

This method takes me 10min to complete. 99% of us use this method when replacing or installing a 3rd radiator



B

[JFP in PA]

Or you could spend about $90-100 and purchase a vacuum fill system the totally eliminates any chance of air entrapment in the Boxster or any other car for that matter. Great addition to the tool box.............

[saturk]

Vacuum Fill System looks like a great option. Would provide info on where to purchase?

[Brad Roberts]

Last time I checked.. the vac system required an air compressor..


B

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by saturk

Vacuum Fill System looks like a great option. Would provide info on where to purchase?

Company is called "UView" out of Canada (they have an excellent website), they have a virtual store on Amazon.com. Their stuff is also sold by several other "tool sites" as well......

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Brad Roberts

Last time I checked.. the vac system required an air compressor..


B

You are correct, but the required air supply is pretty low, so even a small compressor is enough to evac, leak test and refill the cooling sysytem on an M96 engine in just a few min.......................

[PlayersExpress]

Hey Brad, thanks for the step-by-step.. Ill check it out today. Maybe a couple of pics wouldnt hurt.

Just a question, does it matter if i leave the wire up after Im done, and what exactly is the purpose of the up/down of the wire and the false door?

I'm just curious because I'm not the most knowledgeable as Im only 19, but Ive learned a lot by doing almost all my own maintenance on my car for the last 3 years since I bought her.

Thanks,

Adam

[Brad Roberts]

Adam,

my helper is 18 and an engineering student going to school close by

I'll snap some pics and post them shortly!



B

[PlayersExpress]

Wow, thats great.. 18 and going for engineering. Im double majoring in Pharmacy and Business Administration.

Pictures would be great if I could get them, and just a quick question, does it matter if i leave the wire up after Im done, and what exactly is the purpose of the up/down of the wire and the false floor?

[PlayersExpress]

NEW PROBLEM!!!!!

Just finished doing your step by step to get the air bubble out. Had to add 2 gallons total... then went completely down.

I let the car sit in the garage for 30 min or so to eat dinner, came out and there was a puddle of coolant now on the garage floor about 12x20 inches.

The leak i can tell is running down the bumper of the passenger side. If you look under the car at the passenger side rear bumper cover you will see 2 screws holding the cover on.. and a silver liner on the inside of the bumper. The leak is flowing down between the bumper cover and the liner between the 2 screwes and its dripping from the 2 screws....

Where is the problem?? And how do I fix it without the stealership???

[Brad Roberts]

Adam,

take some pictures.. show me.. The overflow line for the car runs just above the right rear tire. If you overflow the coolant.. it drips from there.

Now.. it could be that your coolant expansion tank is broken. If broken, it leaks the coolant into the trunk and will typically find its way out the rubber grommet for the 02 sensors (depending on year of car)


B

[PlayersExpress]

Here are some pictures, see my last post as reference to the pictures and where the leak is coming from.

Also the rear trunk is dry, absolutely no coolant in the trunk.

[ramo80]

kinda looks like a blown coolant bottle...Is there coolant in your trunk under the carpet and the foam?

[PlayersExpress]

Im pulling up the carpet as we speak, but i dont believe there is any coolant in the trunk and ... im going crazy here!