1002 3.2 S - emulsified oil in coolant - lots of it! - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

piersman · 06-23-2014, 04:06 AM

Hi All,

Just as I thought I had a car capable of being used (after 6 months) it's kicked me in the teeth again. I finally got round to sorting everything out on the car, new roof, aircon, AOS, etc... and started using it last week for the 80mile round trip to the office.

Had an engine oil low flash message on Friday so on Sunday decided to top up the oil. It ws off the dipstick, and I added about .5 liters to get it back just registering to minimum. Seems a lot of oil I thought, probably .75 to a litre for about 250 miles.

So then , whilst in there I thought I'd check my water, oh dear. Not good, the coolant tank had nothing but emulsified oil/water in it, all the way down.

Can't say I'd noticed this before, but with having done so few miles in it, it's possible I've just not noticed.

So I drained down the coolant, got about 12 litres out, maybe a bit more, and reckon that 25% of what came out was emulsified. I guess I know where my .75 litres of oil went!

So... I read that it COULD be the heat exchanger, but unlikely. I've taken mine off and using a rudimentary thumb over 1 hole, suck on the other I managed to form a vacuum across the oil holes, so I don't think it's that. Also, the one on there is dated Jan 2013 so I suspect someone has already gone this route. I'll try to apply a bit more pressure this week to confirm it's not leaking.

Which will leave me looking at cracked cylinder head I believe?

Can anyone advise whether .75 litres of oil in 250 miles seems about right for this? Seems a lot of oil to have leaked through the cracks I've seen on photos in just 250 miles?

Anyone care to suggest a price to get this resolved these days in the UK, Reading area?

Anything else I could check?

Thanks all.

Jake Raby · 06-23-2014, 04:27 AM

You have a cracked cylinder head.

piersman · 06-23-2014, 05:00 AM

Yes, I very much think I have, which probably explains why the car's been through a few owners in recent years. I've seen some of your posts on other threads and everything I know about the car points to it.

Quick question, if a cracked head is allowing oil through, could it be enough to swamp the scavenger occasionally (in the right driving conditions), and thereafter the AOS?

Slate 01 · 06-23-2014, 06:31 PM

The dreaded cylinder head milkshake, that sucks

Jamesp · 06-24-2014, 04:23 PM

So what are the tricks to finding out which head it is? Coolant through the exhaust is easy, look for the clean plug, but in the oil? How does one chase that down?

JFP in PA · 06-24-2014, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamesp

So what are the tricks to finding out which head it is? Coolant through the exhaust is easy, look for the clean plug, but in the oil? How does one chase that down?

Really does not matter which head it is as the engine has to come apart, which is when you find out.

BYprodriver · 06-25-2014, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piersman

Yes, I very much think I have, which probably explains why the car's been through a few owners in recent years. I've seen some of your posts on other threads and everything I know about the car points to it.

Quick question, if a cracked head is allowing oil through, could it be enough to swamp the scavenger occasionally (in the right driving conditions), and thereafter the AOS?

You should contact Autofarm in the UK. Checkout their website.

piersman · 06-26-2014, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

You should contact Autofarm in the UK. Checkout their website.

I did send them an email over the weekend asking for some guidance and engine prices as their website has everything priced as "POA".

But no response, so I guess they're busy enough to not be chasing work or reading emails.

danch · 06-27-2014, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piersman

I did send them an email over the weekend asking for some guidance and engine prices as their website has everything priced as "POA".

But no response, so I guess they're busy enough to not be chasing work or reading emails.

How about these ?

Porsche Engineering

danch · 06-23-2014, 04:48 AM

These could be worth a try : http://www.southernengines.co.uk/performance_cars_porsche.html

JayG · 06-25-2014, 12:48 PM

also, remember piersman is talking pounds, not dollars. multiply by 1.7 for dollars

£2500 = $4250

Jamesp · 06-25-2014, 02:32 PM

If it were me,

I'd pull the plugs and hope to find the piston with the clean top. That will show which head is cracked. A rebuilt from the US is $1900 USD. Divide by 1.7 for Pounds. Dump the oil and coolant. Dump the cracked head. Replace the cracked head, oil and coolant. Drive on.

If no clean piston top is found then either a head is not cracked, or one's cracked and leaking directly into the oil, so troubleshooting gets complicated and decisions get harder.

The downside with simply replacing a head is IF the internals are damaged, they may bite you later. The upside is, if they are ok, which they well may be, it's the cheapest fix going.

Topless · 06-26-2014, 08:29 PM

One other possibility. A few years ago a guy in Texas bought a car with intermix and it turned out to be a failed internal freeze plug. It was just laying in the bottom of the pan as I recall. He dismantled the motor, did some thorough cleaning, minor preventative work, replaced the freeze plug and reassembled. I think she is still running fine today.

Last year in March you UK guys had an epic cold snap that might have pushed out a freeze plug.

Eric G · 06-27-2014, 01:22 AM

You can also try these guys...

UK Porsche Parts, Spares And Porsche Service Center | Design 911

Dave2001S · 06-27-2014, 09:44 AM

Hi Piersman, I had the exact same occurrence in my '01 3.2L S. It was indeed a cracked head. Ended up purchasing a replacement head from a salvage joint, and overhauling the rest of the engine and tranny while I was at it. I'm $8K poorer, but I'm a fool for that ride. Such is the price of cool I suppose. All is well now. Good luck.

piersman · 08-05-2014, 03:12 PM

As an update...

The car has been into the garage today , they've stripped out the engine and confirmed that CH 4-6 is fecked and has been allowing oil into coolant and most probably over pressuring the cam covers causing the AOS issues I had.

A big decision to strip out the engine, it's a very fine line between whether to scrap the car or repair it as the cost of the engine work will likely be about £2.5K using a second hand replacement head. Only the fact that I've invested so much time and money into making the rest of the car so good persuaded me to go ahead and repair.

Bloody Boxster!!! Can't wait to get it back for what's left of the summer though!