Overheating and no heat.. Help please
 

Hey guys, first day of spring and while at work last night it started to snow storm really bad here in upstate NY. I decided to drive the 2001 boxster s (3.2) home anyways. I had a tough time and the wheels were spinning. After some time at moderate rpm (3-5k) the temperature went up way past normal. I kept at it a little and it continued to climb so I shut it off. I let it cool down a little and when I turned it back on to get at it it got up the red and pegged high. I shut it off, checked the coolant and it had relieved. I turned on the lights and no heat. I had the car towed and now I have no heat, car still overheating.
Ideas? Thanks

Possible thermostat or water pump failure. Do not drive it until it is fixed.

Anyone know why the heat won't work? I'm a former motorcycle tech, and those don't have heat.

No water circulation (failed water pump, closed thermostat)= No heat..............

i feel dumb, thanks for pointing that out. I guess i'll start with the thermostat. i really hope the head gasket didn't go in the process.

If HG you would have a leak, or mixing of water & oil. Highly doubtful. Stat or pump.

Don't feel dumb. At least you checked the coolant level. I had to have a mechanic explain to me that without coolant, there would be no heat. (I was a wrench for Uncle Sam at the time) Talk about feeling like a dumbass.

well, the tech manual i ordered (bentley) should be here tomorrow, and the thermostat soon after. I haven't ever worked on anything other than a front engine car so this should be an experience. any tips or past problems people have had when replacing the thermostat or water pump?

Its easy to change the pump and or the thermo... the only trouble you may run into is filling the coolant unless you have a vacuum filling tool to bleed all the air out of the system first... its doable manually but a bit of a pain...

yes.
1. read this: Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Water Pump & Boxster Thermostat Replacement - 986 / 987
2. use OEM pump.
3. use OEM coolant.
4. inspect hoses, and replace if needed.

there is no problem i can think of.
in fact, up to date, that was the easiest project ive done on my car. (not including the small maintenance things)

one thing you should consider, is replacing the front engine mount at the same time.
if needed obviously.

Meir, that's an awesome tech article! Thanks for putting that up here. I think I'm gonna take off the thermostat, test it, and if bad just replace it. If good then order a water pump and deal with it. In my experience a thermostat is more likely to go than a water pump, however I suppose high rpms could seize a water pump just as well. I guess we'll see tomorrow.

on the pelican website, you will fined a DIY for almost anything you will need, and more.
Pelican Parts - Porsche Boxster 986 / 987 and Carrera 996 / 987 Technical Articles

i warmly recomend of purchesing the 101 book as well.
more detailed then the bentley, and with colored pictuers.

good luck.

The car should still have heat at heater core with a closed thermostat, due to the bypass system. sounds like you had or have a very low coolant situation, (coolant in the bottle doesn't always mean coolant in the entire system) or as suggested no flow.

Either way the water pump and thermostat are relatively easy jobs if you are halfway decent mechanic. a lot easier than a car that has the water pump behind the timing belt like a miata or a VW golf.

I had this same issue a few weeks back. Exactly as you mine happened when heading home from work and a big snow hit. I thought it was the water pump, so I ordered a new one and a low temp stat. In the end I didn't need either, I needed to add coolant and bleed the system with the coolant bleeding valve. I had added coolant, but it kept over heating, being a new Box owner I didn't know about the bleeding until I already had the parts and was reading up on how to replace them and read the bleeding part. So I have $300 in water pump and low temp stat sitting here doing nothing lol. I'll probably replace them when it gets warmer out. Where the heck is Spring?

Pedro's Garage is another great source for help on DIY projects. This is where I always go for info first as the articles are really well written and there are lots of good pics as well.

DIY Projects: Do-it-Yourself Repair and Maintenance for your Porsche

That vacuum bleeder is well worth having, but you do need a decent compressor to run it.

Weird how similar our situations are. I just went out to check it out and went to feed and bleed the coolant as described in the manual... i'm having a little trouble. I don't have a bleed valve i do not believe on my 2001. I'm gonna keep at it. Weird though. How hot did yours top out at?

LOL knowing that you have that bleeder valve sure does help things... wow...

just wanted to say thanks for your responses guys. I got it back right. It turns out it was nearly 3 gallons low on coolant. It has inspired me to work on it more though after forcing me to explore the entirety of the car and buy a service manual.

the 2001 Boxster definitely had the coolant bleeder valve, it is next to the oil and coolant filler caps in the rear boot, it is hiding under the removable panel:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...small/Pic3.jpg http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...9610614707.jpg

question is, where did the 3 gallon of coolant go? :confused: