Coolant game streaming out
 

2001 Boxster no signs of leaks or any other problems with water pump. Pulled into the driveway and suddenly a stream of coolant came out just to the inside of the right rear tire. Had to leave on a business trip and didn't have time to check it out. That said, since I'm sitting in a hotel room on the road, thought I'd write and ask y'all for advice.

I'd say that just under a gallon of coolant came out in a constant stream, like it was running out of a hose, not like it was leaking out from a burst hose or leaking out of a failed or failing waterpump. Then is quite suddenly quit running out all together. Other than a hose coming undone, any ideas what I should be looking for or at?

Thanks for your help. I plan on getting into this thing on Friday and hopefully enjoying the car this weekend.:)

Check inside your rear trunk. Lift the mat by the coolant tank. Is it wet down there?
Same scenario, I just changed my coolant tank a few days ago!

Most likely the tank has cracked. But, it could be the cap has failed and coolant boiled over and exited through the overflow hose, which also would leak in the same general area as a cracked tank (somewhere infront of the right rear). If you check the bottom of the trunk, it will be more clear which has happened


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Theres a leak somewhere. Pressure test the entire system and the cap and you will find it.

the overflow hose comes out by the right rear tire... It's most likely the cap or the pressure relief cap that is leaking and blowing by. If you remove your oil and rad cap (slowly after the car is cooled down) take out the insert cover (you have to remove both caps to get that out) - all fluids that leak into that basin drain out at the right rear wheel... might be a place to start.
H

Same problem
 

I had the same problem- shut off my car in the hospital parking lot and it spewed a gallon of fluid (as measured later, although I felt it was 3 or 4 at the time).
I called my mechanic and had AAA put it on a flatbed and hauled it to him.
He sort of laughed because it was the result of an improperly closed radiator cap, as in my fault

He added some fluid and bled the system.

Being anal, I bought a new cap and screwed it off and on 3 or 4 times to be sure I did not get it on crooked.

Dang you guys are good. I checked the area in the trunk, carpet dry but coolant looks to have exited the cap, fluid was sitting on top of the black plastic piece in the oil and radiator cap area only. So it seems to be a cap failure and nothing more. Any suggestions on who to get that cap from, with fast and reliable delivery?

Thanks guys, you are so good. Mucho appreciated.

Is this cap describe as "Expansion Tank Cap"?

Pelican is quick :-)
and they will ship you the latest cap!

Yes.

2001 Porsche Boxster Base Convertible - Radiators - Page 3

Ordered it and it is the latest Genuine Porsche Blue Cap.

Thanks again everyone

Shortly after I purchased mine, I was checking fluid levels. I added a small amount of coolant. A couple of days later I parked at a friends house and the same thing happened to me. It came gushing out near the passenger rear wheel. I freaked. It turned out that I hand't reinstalled the coolant cap properly, It was cross threaded and wasn't sealing properly. It was even the newest cap version. I make sure I get it on right now. Plastic threads on plastic threads can be a bit tricky.

Also, make sure your oil fill cap has a good seal. Mine was just barely loose when installed and was sucking dust into the engine.

Yes .
This is it .



http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...psdb0c07ba.jpg

Same thing happened to mine a few weeks ago. Ordered a new cap and has been fine since.

After a coolant change (and a radiator, and a heater core) I had leaking from the front (small amount maybe a few ounces) and it peed out the overflow at the right rear tire (marking territory?), again a few ounces. I did the "bleeding the coolant loop" dance and all that before it happened, and made sure the coolant level was at max. Before I could tear into it to see what was going on, it quit leaking. The coolant level did go low, still above min, so I topped it up and it has not leaked since. Air in the system? Ghost in the machine? :confused:

Got the new cap installed, took it for a 20 mile ride, pulled back into driveway and it did the same thing as before (fluid came out in a small stream just inside the right rear tire. The first time I lost 3/4 of a gallon of coolant, this time maybe only 1/4 gallon or less. Do I need to bleed some air out or something, any suggestions?

Any thoughts? Is it normal to have to top off the coolant reservoir a few times with just slight fluid loss each time until system corrects and things go back to normal?

One more thing, I noticed the last time I drove the car the temp went up to i'd guess 190 degrees and held steady. I seem to recall that it always stayed right at 180 to 182 consistently previously.

Might be just an air pocket somewhere causing an air lock.... when the system is cold open the cap and flip up the little arm on the release valve and start the engine... you should see the coolant flowing when looking into the tank..... give it a few minutes to circulate and then close the release valve and close the coolant cap again... it shouldn't spew over unless the tank/system doesn't hold the standard pressure causing the coolant to boil when the pressure lowers rapidly or too much pressure is building in the system from another source.... you're not seeing any discoloration of the coolant are you?

Could be an air pocket or a pinhole in your coolant tank (what color is it?). Does the car run hot? Where does the needle usually rest. If I remember correctly it should be to the left of the zero. Is there any leaking around the water pump? Do you have a lot of condensation in the oil/coolant compartment? Did you check your radiators? They have plastic end tanks that do fail. Sorry, but the 9x6 cooling system sucks across the entire porsche platform.

Here we go:

No coolant leaking out from water pump.

Color of fluid is normal and not discolored.

Only leaks out in little stream under car near right rear tire. The first time it leaked out a nice consistent stream of 3/4 gallon. Showed signs of fluid had come out under the coolant reservoir cap (no wet carpet in truck, only some coolant up in the coolant and oil cap area in trunk). Bought new genuine porsche cap, topped off coolant to max. line. Took a 20 minute drive, temp stayed just a hair above 180 degrees the whole drive. Parked in garage, then a little stream in the same location by rear wheel came out, this time only maybe 1/6 of a gallon.

thought it may be some type of air gap from the first coolant cap failure since so little coolant came out after cap was replaced.

You mentioned flipping a coolant switch with the cap off, is that located under the car and/or can you describe where I find it? I would like to do that before I take it out again and see if that is the solution. Even if I don't find the switch, should I remove the coolant cap and start the engine and see if it burps out some air, then take it for a drive?

BTW, I have not driven the car since the second leak, I'll take it out again tonight and see what happens and report.

Thanks Porschites, much appreciated.

Remove the cover under the two caps...

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1401907880.jpg

The just fold up the wire clip on the pressure valve...

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1401907955.jpg

Put the oil cap back on and start it up.....
When its running and you look into coolant reservoir you'll see the water circulate through it... any big amounts of air should flush out....

H

What H said above, but whenever I have burped the system, I've found that leaving the valve in the open position for 3 or 4 complete heat cycles gets rid of all the small air pockets lodged in the cooling system.
In fact, I normally leave the valve open for a few days, topping up little by little every day until the level stabilises before flipping it back.

You guys are great thank you so much. Wow, pictures and everything, you guys go above and beyond. I'll keep you posted over the next few days.

Sometimes pictures are easier than explaining :D
I hope you get it sorted out.
Cheers,
H

Thank you to all of you that were so willing to help. New cap, opened the valve took a drive with it open, got up to temp and shazaam no more leak. Thank you all so much.

I just installed topspeed test pipes and new aftermarket muffler literally just before this leak problem showed up. So anyone want to take a guess what I will be doing this weekend?

Thanks Porsche Brethren!

:cheers: to you all!

Glad you got it sorted out...
:cheers:

Excellend advice, all of this happened to me and then I did all of the things you reccommend and all problems disappeared, many thanks.

sometimes it is the expansion valve which gets stuck open (so i have read). i had a similar incident, which i could not duplicate. i also actuated the purge valve quite a few times (pulled on the wire ring opening and closing the valve). i just topped off the reservoir purged the air from the system and it has been fine for the past 3k. i also closely monitor the engine temp and constantly looked in the rearview mirror for the next couple of weeks for the tell tale signs of leakage.

I'm having the same coolant leak issues, and they are occurring on a "frequently infrequent" basis -- the car won't leak for a few days, and then it will drain itself of the coolant from a spot near the right rear tire. When it's leaking, you can see the drip trail on the ground when the car has been moving.

Since I'm not having any issues with moisture in the trunk, I would assume (from what I've read) that it's not a leaky tank. Would a problem with the expansion valve cause this type of behavior and, if so, is this an easy fix?

(My mechanic couldn't isolate the issue, and wants to replace the coolant reservoir. I'd prefer not to, especially if this isn't the root cause of the problem.)

I'm only commenting on your note below as I'm not sure why your mechanic wants to change out the coolant reservoir.... If the reservoir itself isn't leaking or has any cracks then there is no point in replacing it... I haven't seen many of the valves fail and they do come as part of the tank assembly when you order a new tank. If any air gets into the system (ie the cap isn't working right) then with less pressure the boiling point of your coolant will drop (meaning the coolant will boil faster)... you may even have some bubbles in the system in result of this..... I would say open the valve and purge the system, fill it to capacity, put a new cap on the reservoir and you should be fine...
H

When you loose coolant do you top it up after?

Be careful to only fill the tank to the correct line marked on the tank.

I mention that because if you overfill the tank it will always barf out the surplus while you are slowed and typically parking the car.

I only had this problem once when I decided that the coolant level needed to be near the top line and the car was on a bit of an incline so on level ground it promptly barfed the rest out after a drive while parking.

There was no issue, just too much liquid and not enough expansion room in the bottle due to my overfilling it.:o

I'm topping it up, but only to a point above the minimum level - since it's not a constant leak, and I can't figure out a pattern to it, I figured there's no sense wasting coolant by filling to the max line.

Yesterday was a great example: coolant leak in effect, and needed to refill. Added coolant mix to a 1/3 between min and max markings on the tank. Leak continued, and could see a drip trail on the road/driveway when I went to visit my dad.

Drove home and parked in the lot; checked a couple hours later, and no coolant puddle; nothing this morning, either and coolant level seems to be holding.

It's gotten to a point where I keep a spare jug of coolant in the trunk because I can't tell if/when I'll need it.

It seems like there might be an airpocket still.

I would drive a few more days with the burp valve lever UP to let out more air.

I just noticed your from Hamilton, ON. and a McMaster U grad?

I went to Mohawk college in the 80s for civil engineering tech, but recareered in the 90's in Computer Science at Ryerson U. and U of T.

The followed the work to CA, USA in 2000.

Small World!