986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post

kluver · 07-12-2009, 01:25 AM

I Just had a similar problem and had to take it to the shop. Found out that there was indeed a bubble in my system. The had to vacuum the system out twice. The first time they thought it was done but when they took it for a ride, the engine light would flash and coolant was gone. They vacuum again and it finally worked! They also had to replace my coolant cap because it wasn't holding enough pressure they say.

Here's my story before this all began. I noticed the engine light flashing and top it off with coolant and it would go away..humm strange I thought. Then after several weeks of being normal, the engine light flashed again. I topped off again but this time almost the whole coolant bottle. The next day driving, my engine light flashed and I pulled over and looked inside my trunk. The coolant cap was spraying coolant around up inside my trunk. The carpet was not wet inside but I noticed coolant was dripping where you saw your drip as well. However, my was not as much as yours. I also noticed on the rear bumper that there was a bunch of water spots that was not noticeable until it was pointed out to me by the shop that the coolant was spraying from the cap and just dripping down and being kicked up by the wind when I was driving. Check your bumper (wipe it clean and see if you noticed any hard water spots). if you see the same as what I describe than hopefully your situation is like mine. The shop was worried that it may be a warning sign that I might have cracked one of my cylinder head but in the end it was like I stated above...just air bubble and cap problem. I would suggest you also buy a new coolant cap and bleed the system for bubble. Also make sure that there is no leak/break in the coolant container. Hope that helps. The total cost was $300. It was well worth it from me since time is essential but more importantly I know what to do the next time. If you're getting frustrated find a local independent (reliable) shop to have then do it. Hope that helps.

07-12-2009, 01:25 AM	#27
kluver Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 10	I Just had a similar problem and had to take it to the shop. Found out that there was indeed a bubble in my system. The had to vacuum the system out twice. The first time they thought it was done but when they took it for a ride, the engine light would flash and coolant was gone. They vacuum again and it finally worked! They also had to replace my coolant cap because it wasn't holding enough pressure they say. Here's my story before this all began. I noticed the engine light flashing and top it off with coolant and it would go away..humm strange I thought. Then after several weeks of being normal, the engine light flashed again. I topped off again but this time almost the whole coolant bottle. The next day driving, my engine light flashed and I pulled over and looked inside my trunk. The coolant cap was spraying coolant around up inside my trunk. The carpet was not wet inside but I noticed coolant was dripping where you saw your drip as well. However, my was not as much as yours. I also noticed on the rear bumper that there was a bunch of water spots that was not noticeable until it was pointed out to me by the shop that the coolant was spraying from the cap and just dripping down and being kicked up by the wind when I was driving. Check your bumper (wipe it clean and see if you noticed any hard water spots). if you see the same as what I describe than hopefully your situation is like mine. The shop was worried that it may be a warning sign that I might have cracked one of my cylinder head but in the end it was like I stated above...just air bubble and cap problem. I would suggest you also buy a new coolant cap and bleed the system for bubble. Also make sure that there is no leak/break in the coolant container. Hope that helps. The total cost was $300. It was well worth it from me since time is essential but more importantly I know what to do the next time. If you're getting frustrated find a local independent (reliable) shop to have then do it. Hope that helps.