Chunky Brown Sludge in Coolant Tank...
 

I thought my coolant was low because on the gauge it showed 1/3 full but when i started to fill up brown crap came out of it right away.

First picture show what came out when I initially filled up

Second picture shows the bottom after taking out the coolant

Third shows in the inside wall with the brown gunk caked on

Fill it up with water and sucked it out a few times and the brown crap didnt come off the walls.

As for the last picture it shows new coolant added after "cleaning"

I did research on here and I fear the worse then just a "oil cooler"

How screwed am I?

Nasty coolant is never a good sign. Pull your dip stick and see what it looks like. If you have a chocolate milkshake there too, you have lost $$$ in your future. Good luck with your investigation.

I would start with removing oil cooler and taking it to a radiator shop to have it pressure-tested. They will be able to instantly tell you if it has a leak or not.
Good luck

Oh boy, that is UGLY.

Oil in coolant = bad.

my 944 I had coolant looked like that, it was the oil cooler/oil cooler seals

I hope it is the cooler. But have I done any engine damage?

violametallic...

If your engine is not overheating or puffing white smoke and running smooth you probably will be ok.

Once you replace the oil cooler you may want to fill it up only with water, run the engine, drain fill up again, run the engine, drain, etc, etc, until the water comes clean, then fill it again with destilled water and the proper antifreeze mix.

Think optimistic.. :-)

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Thanks Gilles, engine is running well no over heating or smoke.

im hoping for the best

yeah they had to flush the oil and coolant a couple times in my 944 to get rid of all the goop

I've heard of folks using Dawn dishwashing detergent to get rid of oil contamination in the oil system. You'll be an expert in the art of flushing and air venting by the time you're done. The O-ring seals on the oil cooler might be the source if you're lucky. Hate to think it's a head gasket.

Don't drive the car in this condition. I wouldn't even start it. Drain the oil, if there is no water or "milkshake" in it, then there's a good chance its just a failed oil cooler.

Violametallic,

I would not use soap... :eek:

Actually Prestone has a product called "cooling system flush or radiator flush" that you add to the cooling system and let the engine run for a while to clean all the passages and radiators (open the heater valve)

However, this is an agresive chemical (for prolonged contact with aluminum) that must be neutralized (by another Prestone product) and afterwards to will want to flush several times until your water comes off clean.

It will take you most of the day because every time you add coolant you want the thermostat to be fully open, the good part is that both of the Prestone products will cost you a little over $10 ...

again, good luck!

.

Not likely to be the oil cooler but the oil cooler seals... They need to be replaced once in awhile. See photo of what happens to them over time (they break-down and crumble).

is this something I can fix on my own?

Look at figure 7 in this DIY.
Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Starter Replacement - 986 / 987

Man that's ugly. Let us know what your dealer says is the problem.

How much would an oil cooler cost me? and where to look?

About $200 or so from Sunset Porsche. Be sure to replace all the orings or you will have leaks.....

I get all my parts from the dealership........... where they are installed. No grease under these nails. ;)

No Grease under your nails....hmmm.....good for you and your wallet!

wow!:ah:

How do i know if its the oil cooler for sure and not the seals?

Have it pressure tested by a radiator shop once you get it off. You need to replace the rubber coolant hoses once you clean the oil out since the oil ruins them.

Ordered the oil cooler and seals 250 from the dealer not bad. If someone has experienced this issue, could you tell what kind of product you used to clean out the cooling system? I dont think water will help with the caked on gunk inside the tank.

A well used trick over here in the UK is a dishwasher tablet, run to temp and then rinse and repeat then flush with fresh water, sometimes with the hose connected at various points around the car.

Prestone cooling system cleaner, then lots of clear water............

And I really would not put dishwasher detergent in one of these systems.

replacing the O rings sounds like a good idea as preventive maintenance.
is there a DIY for this project?
how to i prevent the coolant and oil mixing with each other when removing the cooler?
will draining the coolant will be enough?

With the smaller coolers (I'm not sure about the larger coolers on the S model) this is not an issue. I did not drain the coolant. I had some clean rags and lifted the cooler straight up after removing the bolts and quickly put the rags under the cooler. Make sure you clean all surfaces before putting the new seals in-place. After you get the cooler re-mounted remove the coolant fill cap and make sure you flip up the coolant bleeder valve to get all the air out of the system (while running the motor), add a little Porsche coolant if needed. This really is an easy job.

JFP, the Prestone super flush works great and after flushing with clean water a few times I also like to add the Prestone additive (lubricant..?) to the distilled water and antifreeze mix to neutralize the acid from the super flush.


** Remember to open the heater valve all the way...
.

OOOOOOOOOKAAAYYY

finally i tackled my oil cooler project, i took it out and realized that the seals were toast. I replaced it with new seals and a new oil cooler, pretty easy job. same day i did oil change and spark plugs and other stuff

I did the prestone super flush 3 times, then regular prestone flush 2 times and then just water a few times. Its 98% cleaned up now. between the flushes i would run the car for 10 min with the heat cranked, but the fans never blew warm air it was cold air. why is that?

For my final coolant refill i used the audi/vw coolant and mixed it half half. it was 2am and plus 2 outside i drove the car to my house (10min drive) and as i was in my area my engine temp shot up and i turned off the car and glided home.

I popped my trunk and steam was coming out of the cap. whats going on here? been working on the car for 7 hours tonight, now im exhausted and going to bed.

ViolaM,

Stating the obvious I guess but you did bleed the cooling system right?

I would leave the cap off and start the engine and let the bubbles rise up. In the Bently manual it never told me to actually "bleed" the system. I figured letting the air out was sufficient. Was I wrong?

If you do not use a vacuum filling system, yes, you do need to bleed it. Pedro had a pretty good DIY for this on his site..............

Looked at my resivour tank and looks like I have more oil again, maybe my
Flush wasn't good enough.

What about the rad, I didn't do anything with that. Is there drain plug there?

how I bleed mine...
 

Viola, after installing the center (3rd) radiator, I connected all the hoses and filled the system, started the engine until the thermostat opens (w/the heater valve open), then turn off the engine.

Then let it cool down, refill again the system, start the engine, let it cool down, refill, repeat, repeat, etc, etc,

It took me all afternoon and a six pack of beer :) But if you take your time, you will manage to slowly bleed the system.
I never had any issues with it afterwards.

PS, patience, patience.. ha!

.

Ill have to re-do it again, with patience this time :P Also ill take off the front bumper and remove the rad and see how it looks.

i just wanna enjoy it already :(

Its been a while but I haven't fixed this issue yet. I finally dropped it off at the mechanics and they realised theirs some brown gunk on the dip stick.

Its being inspected as we speak.

I've been ignorant about this whole IMS and RMS ordeal thinking it would never happen to me of course. But it looks like it has.


What are my first steps in this matter?

if your car is still running then methinks not an ims/rms issue. you have 'intermix' (you can search the forums on this) - a mix of oil and coolant (ims causes intermix by shoving connecting rods through cylinder walls, etc., so not your issue). the oil cooler was a good place to start looking as there is opportunity for oil and coolant to get together if a seal goes bad. as this has not fixed your problem (or perhaps new unit was also bad, or perhaps faulty installation?) that you might have a bad head gasket.

edit: ... or a cracked head or block ...

Cracked Bank 1 cylinder head would be what I would look for. I tip my hat to you doing the heat exchanger leg work first, but it was likely to be this from day one.

Now the question is did you displace enouggh oil with coolant to scar a crank/rod bearing, or some cam bearing surfaces in the heads.

Skoot

The shop will check everything out first, if the cooler is installed correctly first and then go from there. Gotta wait...

If only I had a hoist,,,

After over a week of waiting for my car to be inspected for this oil/coolant issue I ended up taking my business else where. So Monday I'm seeing a new Porsche mechanic.

I realized today that I have the brown sludge on my oil dip stick, does that confirm a head gasket issue?

Also I only drive my car to the mechanics and back until I resolve this issue. Am I doing any internal damage?