smoke from passenger vent - Page 2 - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

euroboxster79 · 05-02-2008, 10:01 PM

im having a similar problme i still have powersteering however but also have steam coming out only light that come on was the one on the temp guage the one that flashing when it gets too hot. Funny thing is that the temp guage said i was in the right temp but the light kept flashing till steam came out and antifreeze as well what does this sound like to u guys

ultimate1 · 05-07-2008, 07:21 AM

Thanks ToolP and LilB for all of your help. I changed the water pump and replaced the serpentine belt with the help of a friend. I mixed porsche coolant and water to replace the coolant athat was lost and fired her up. The only problem is that almost all of the antifreeze leaked out and I the temp started to run above the normal 180 or so that is normal. I shut the car off and there was steam coming from the reservoir.

The hose that connected to the waterpump was a little worn and I had to special order it because almost everybody was out of stock. I have not gotten underneath her just yet but I am going to replace it as soon as it comes in in the next day or so. I could use any suggestions with regards to the car running hot and the steam from the reservoir. The fans in the front and rear are working fine and the thermostat looked alright.

Also, about how much coolant will I need?

Lil bastard · 05-07-2008, 07:42 AM

The rear fan is just an engine bay exhaust fan - does not cool the engine at all, it prevents heat build-up in the engine bay.

Steam from the reservoir could be a bad cap, an open Bleed valve or a cracked Reservoir (not to mention hoses, clamps, spillage, etc.).

Hope you used Distilled water and not Tap water to mix the coolant.

Tool Pants · 05-07-2008, 08:43 AM

Don't forget that when you fill the system with coolant after a water pump replacement you need to bleed the air out of the system. Remove the black plastic plate under the caps and you will see the metal lever for the bleed valve.

ultimate1 · 05-07-2008, 09:17 AM

FOund the bleed valve is there any particular technique?

Tool Pants · 05-07-2008, 11:54 AM

A few years ago Porsche started using a vacum filler device, which most people are not going to have. Before then there was the old method. I assume you do not have a tiptronic.

Lift up on the lever. Warm up the car a while and keep the tank full. Put the cap on run the engine at 2,500 rpms for 10 minutes to get the thermostat opened. Make sure the tank is still filled. Run the car at 2,500 again for 5 minutes and every 30 seconds briefly rev the engine up to 5,000 rpm.

All this is for a car in a shop setting. When I bled my system at home a few years ago I filled the tank. Put the cap on and lifted the lever. Then I went for a 20 minute drive. I brought water with me in case the low level warning light came on to top off the tank, but it did not. When I got home I filled the tank to the max and closed the lever.

Don't burn yourself.

ultimate1 · 05-07-2008, 05:13 PM

Thanks ToolP. I will try that in the morning.

Tool Pants · 05-07-2008, 05:30 PM

I hope that means you are not going to try burn yourself.

Any pictures of the old and new pump? Does that ebay pump have a metal impeller?

ultimate1 · 05-07-2008, 06:10 PM

Thanks again ToolP, I will do my best not to get burned.

The new pump has the metal impeller and I did not take a picture of it before I installed it. Sorry about that. I will take a picture of the old one and post it for you in the am when I get out to the garage to work on it.

ultimate1 · 05-08-2008, 01:56 PM

Thanks again ToolP I bled it like you suggested and so far so good no leaks. I used distilled water and I will drive it a little tomorrow morning and see how she reacts. If no leaks then I will flush and fill with proper coolant.

The temp ran a little just past the 180 mark on the temp gauge, the fan came on and off. Topped off a little and put down the bleed valve and closed her up. The warning light was blinking the whole time while I was bleeding her. Am I to assume that is normal since I did all of this while the car was in my garage? Door open of course.

Here are a few pics of the old water pump

Tool Pants · 05-08-2008, 02:14 PM

The blinking light is because of the low level in the tank. If you fill the tank up to the max while it is blinking and the engine running it will continue to blink. But once you turn off the car and start it up again the blinking stops.

If you did not get all the air out then, as I said, you can drive around with the bleed valve open for a while. If you see the level going down a bit then you know there was still some air that has come out and replaced by the coolant.

Can't see the first 2 pictures. The pulley is cockeyed and wonder if the impeller took a hit.

Any indication on the pump or packaging as to who makes it and in what country?

ultimate1 · 05-08-2008, 02:37 PM

Thanks again for all your help.

It looks like the bearings went out and then the plastic impeller got beaten up pretty good.

I did not see any obvious label on the pump. I did see a small marking that says SEM on it. I edited my initial post. The pics should be better now.

I wanted to replace the hose that connects to the water pump but as usual Braman Porsche ordered the wrong hose and their excuse was priceless. "We don't know we usually just swap out the part when the tech brings it to us."

Do you know the part number for that hose?

Tool Pants · 05-08-2008, 03:15 PM

I looked at PET and see why the wrong hose was ordered. There is a page of spaghetti hoses. A diagram of every hose in the cooling system and then the poor parts guy has to figure out which one go where. No written descriptions. And of course the water pump is is on a different page. I do not want to guess at it either.

If you want to get under the car again you can look for a part number on the hose. Or, just leave it alone.

As for the impeller on your old pump. It went bye bye.

One of your pictures.

ultimate1 · 05-11-2008, 07:10 PM

Thanks again ToolP, I took her out for a short drive on Friday and she had no leaks but ran a little warmer than normal. There was no smoke or leaks as I found before I bled her. Am I correct to assume she ran a little warmer than normal is because I used distilled water?

Once I get the hose replaced I am going to flush the coolant and replace with coolant and she should be back to normal. BTW is this the hose that connects to the water pump from your picture below?