Hello people, Im a noob, I just bought a 98 Porsche Boxster but have problems : (
 

Ok so I bought this car off my aunt. This car has been sitting unused for over 3 years due to a problem she ran into. After conducting research on the car I found that this problem is quite common among this model and engine.

I have found oil ( lots of it ) in the water cooling reservoirs and system. The car starts off like a dream and I have not done a diagnostic with a mechanic, I also do not drive it since I am hoping to cause less of a problem for the engine. Although I am new to Porsches I am not new to engine modding and or repair. the car has 128,000 miles.
If anyone can point me to the right direction that would be fantastic. I will take pics of it and start posting on my process in fixing this vehicle. If it requires dropping the engine, I have a bud that knows a little so we will be doing the dropping and installing ourselves. I have also found a machine shop by here in L.A. that is ready to take the job. But if any one can help me with this topic I will greatly appreciate it. thanks! :cheers:

well you have come to the right place i feel, check out the search engine on the site as probably every fault with a 986 has happened to SOMEONE on here, i bet you anything you'll have it running in no time and quite a few dollars left in your wallet than if you were to take it to a porsche dealer :eek: If it has been given to you cheap just blow whatever you would have spent on some tin box ricer on it!!!, you WON'T be disapointed :D

Oil in the coolant is a SERIOUS problem!

Do NOT run the car!

Get it to a Qualified Porsche Mechanic, not some guy you know, or trust - this goes beyond trust!

You and your buddy may have some experience, but these motors are waay beyond the capabilities of even the above average shade tree mechanic!

It's not gonna be cheap - never saw an oil-in-the-coolant issue which was, so be prepared!

Cheers!

Oil in coolant
 

Check out this thread, the heat exchanger might be the culprit.
http://www.986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21749&highlight=oil+cooler

cool thanks guys, I will document my adventure with this engine with lots of pics. Thanks for the help, we will be doing a compression test and removal of the bumper exhaust and tranny this weekend. I did more research and found that most people pinpointed the problems to 3 main things: the head ( warped or cracked or gasket )
or the Heat exchanger or possibly even a cracked block. I talked to some porsche mechanics here and they all claimed it's probably the head. Is there any way to know if it's the heat exchanger, or the head? or should I drop the engine and just take it to them and leave it in their hands? I really want to pinpoint the problem, either way I know the engine will have to come down : ( :cheers:

I think I'm going to work my way down to the problem. Compression test and the heads, if they are not the culprit then probably heat exchanger, and if that's not it...then I have no clue :confused: hehe

With that mileage on the motor, I'd find a good used one.

I think you've got your order wrong way round - its a lot easier to remove the heat exchanger (located on the top of the engine), have it pressure tested and, if its OK, move on to the heads and coolant plugs.
If you use the search function theres enough reading to cure insomnia......

I agree with checking the heat exchanger first, since the techs have pointed to this possibly being the issue in other threads. If you find this to be suspect, also replace with the larger 3.2 S version.

Thanks again! I will remove the heat exchanger this weekend and have it pressure tested. Is there any way to tell that it's bad without having it pressure tested from the get go?

the mechanic told me to remove the engine already but I want to make sure of everything before I need to do so. Thanks guys I will take pics this weekend and post.
:)

I'd be very surprised if it's the heat exchanger. Possible, but very doubtful.

My money's on the head gasket... but which one?

Good luck to you, but I think you're in over your head.

Cheers!

do you guys recommend removing the heat exchanger yourself? and also do you recommend getting the Bentley manual? I was doing some google searching but couldn't really find any helpful links to the heat exchanger, I just found a bunch of other people that have the same problem : ( sorry for the trouble and for being such a noob! :dance:

thanks Little bastard, Im just going to work at it little by little, But I'm in no hurry to fix the car, it'll be a learning experience : )
one more question. Does every shop have a tool to check the heat exchanger. OR is it only German or Porsche shops?

If you're going to work on the car, buy the Bentley Porsche Boxster Service Manual . This link is the cheapest and includes Free S/H.

The book will pay for itself over and over for the DIYer.

And, instead of spending time here asking loads of questions, you can spend the time fixing the car.

The Heat Exchanger is really called the Oil Cooler. There isn't a special tool to check it - it has no moving parts and is either leaking or it isn't. The only real check is to pull it and pressure test it.

Cheers!

thanks little bastard I will be on it! :cheers:

Help in removing Heat Exchanger / oil cooler
 

sorry for the repeated question. Anyone has a link to remove the heat exchanger ? (oil cooler) I just ordered the Bentley manual so I promise no more questions until later : ) hehe :cheers:

PM sent....

compression testing
 

so reading from sites it has to come out about 150 for each cylinder? my mechanic will do a compression test tomorrow

Did the compression test and the heads are good : )
 

so I did the compression test and the results state that there is no head damage:

1 st head on the drivers side:

170 ( 1st puff got up to 80)
160 ( 1st puff 70)
160 ( first puff 65)

2nd head on the passenger side

165 (1st puff 80)
150 ( 1st puff 80)
160 (1st puff 80)


So I guess this means the culprit has to be the heat exchanger?
can't be the thermostats or waterpump since that doesn't cause oil to go into the reservoir cooling system right?

I am going to take out the heat exchanger and have it pressure tested next just to make sure and pinpoint the trouble.

But thank god it's not the heads. When taking out the spark plugs I noticed that they were really black so it's running rich. The mechanic said if it was the heads or gasket at least one of the spark plug would be clean because of the coolant. :dance:

here are my notes copied from the mechanic's notes
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1st step done, 2ond step drain the oil and look for coolant.

Don't let the compression test fool you to believe that you don't have an issue with the head. You could still have a cracked head (or block), just not right against the combustion chambers. I'm hoping it's as simple as your oil cooler. Let us know what you find with the oil cooler.

The reason I always recommend a compression check first on a 100K+ motor is to determine if the motor is worth saving.

Definitely agree on that Paul.

Looking at the comp #'s i'd say it's a tired motor. The 150 cyl is more than 10% less than the 170 cyl... just an old rule of thumb. Better readings could be taken if the motor was warmed up, and whether or not a shot of oil was injected to see if the numbers pumped up or not (ring vs. valve issue). Not sure if all that was done in this case. If this was my engine, I would rebuild it or replace it with a bigger 3.2 :)

Hey guys sorry for being M.I.A. ok so today we will be taking out the oil and also the oil cooler. I meant to do it sooner but I had a nasty cold this Sunday, so I just recooped. I wil post the results tonight. Thanks for all the help guys. As far as the compression test goes is the engine is worth saving? and also If there is no coolant does that mean it's likely to be the heat exchanger? Although I will get a pressure test on that too. :cheers:
any idea where I can get this pressure tested? or at any mechanics shop?

I think I got bad news for my car
 

So I take out the engine oil and it looks a bit weird, light brown, a little frothy.
I'm getting picks up in a bit. What does that mean? since it passed the compression test and does not throw out smoke from the exhaust.

Does that mean that it has head gasket failure? cracked head?

the mechanic said that if it was leaking coolant at least one spark plug would have been washed a little since they were all dirty.

ALSO, this car has been sitting for about 3 years so can the oil just be really dirty or somehow mixed water in those 3 years? what should I do??? someone please advice thanks!

Ive already got plan B locked in and found a great machine shop ready to test the heads and everything. And I can start dropping the engine Ill put up picks today

You did not find any antifreeze in the oil so that's good (by now if would have separated from the oil and would have been the first thing out of the drain plug).

This also means you were not pumping antifreeze through the oil passages and bearings when you were "test" running it.

Next step is to drain the coolant and pull the oil cooler for testing.

Paul, but doesnt that type of oil mean head damage?
here are the pics. Im a little confused :dance:

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I already got to the Oil Cooler all I need is to get it out.

Is this the oil cooler??? just want to make sure don't want to take the wrong thing out right : ) <br />

this things been sitting at my aunts for so long it's got rodent poop at the top hehe
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<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i40.tinypic.com/2u8e9mc.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>

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Yes that is the oil cooler, drain the coolant, then remove it.

That oil look looks bad. A leaky oil cooler can cause that.

If the oil cooler tests OK, I would find a good used motor.

If the cooler is bad, I'd flush everything and try a new one.

cool where can I get it tested at? somewhere reliable Im here in Los Angeles. Any radiator shop?

Took out the oil cooler and it look pretty jacked up. In one of the holes there are pieces of something, I cant really tell what it is but the cooler doesn't look like it's in good condition. I will get it tested. Found a bug shop that might be able to test it

Any radiator shop should be able to do it while you wait.

?????
 

Ok so I took it to this little radiator shop and they said the oil cooler was good (no leaks). But Im going to take it to this place where they machine vw's and porsches just to get a second opinion since so much rests on this thing being bad or good. So everyone thinks I should get a new engine (if the oil cooler is not the culprit) ? But isn't a head gasket job alot cheaper?

It's pretty hard to mess up a pressure test.

Do you really want to spend money on a 128K motor? You need to get "this will be a cheap fix" out of your mind.

very true :barf:
I'm just going to check it one last time because I don't think that guy had the proper plugs for the oil cooler. If this engine is truly messed up then I guess I'm upgrading to the 3.2 I think it's worth it. Is there alot of modification to do this swap?

found a type S 3.2 motor off a 2002 same settings 64,000 miles for a pretty good price, by my house

If your's is a 98, yes it is a lot of work and a lot of parts to install a 3.anything.

A used 2.5 will be the least expensive engine swap option.

Ok I guess Ill start prepping everything up to drop this puppy.

The chocolate milk colored oil indicates significant water is emulsified in the oil. If it's been sitting for 3 years the rings and valve seats are rusted to some degree on an already tired engine. And no telling how long your aunt drove it with water in the oil. Sounds like it's not the oil cooler as you describe, which I was hoping you might get out of this cheap. I don't believe that'll be the case. I'm gonna bet on a cracked head or block. Do you live up north where it gets really really cold?