prestone coolant
 

how much coolant is needed to bring the tank from the min mark to the max mark? 1quart?


has been discussed, but cant find the correct answer, is it ok to top up with prestone, my mechanic did that today... quoting it says all brands all models on the jug. my coolant color was orange/yellow.

i understand this top up is a small amount relative to the whole tank size, however do I need to take this to the dealer and get it flushed out?

I have driven the car since the prestone coolant was added, siphoning is no longer an option.

While some aftermarket coolants are compatible with the OEM product, not all are and mixing can result in major league problems. Two basics: 1). Never let anyone add any other brand coolant to your system. 2). If no Porsche coolant is available, add distilled water instead; the system is so large that a small amount of DI will not alter the freeze point by much.

If you get over the counter, get the extended life one, more yellow than green. The green one is conventional antifreeze.

I cant beleive i didnt stop him at the time. kind of too late now, flush necessary at this point?

I understand the hesitation and it does happen.

I would flush it. It's one of those cheap maintenance. Drain it, run it with distill water for a day, drain it, and then put in new coolant.

That's probably good advice if you live in Texas, but depending on where in Canada Max lives, it's getting a little late in the season to risk having no freeze protection, even for a day.

Max, if it was going to be problem, I'm pretty sure you would already know and have a big ol' gelled mess on your hands. If that hasn't happened, I think I would leave the flush until next time you change out your water pump or coolant tank, or do some other work on your cooling system.

What I would do is test the freeze point to make sure that you are adequately protected down to the -35 to -40 range and then call it a day.

You should also be aware that gelation problems do not necessarily happen instantly, but often require both heat and circulation to form over a period of time.

If you flush, you need to have the newest coolant cap from the dealer (if you haven't already updated it). That's one part I wouldn't try and get from Ebay. Not worth the savings.
And if you are doing the fill old school (no airlift) make sure its burped good, check the coolant level constantly in the trunk. If all the air isn't out and you're on the original coolant tank (by now old and brittle), you'll likely be in for another coolant flush, an unexpected one.

That's good to know. I thought it would be almost instantaneous if it was going to happen. What do you think, JFP - should he flush the system?

Because we are a shop, I tend to take the "belt and suspenders" approach to this type of problem because we do not want to have a customer stranded somewhere as the result. I would dump and flush the system.

This way, you sleep better at night..............

interesting points here:

i called the dealership, the parts department guy said porsche coolant is not compatible with any aftermarket coolant, prestone included.

I then called the service department of the same dealership and the person said it was fine to top up with same/similair color coolant as long as the coolant added was not green in color. the added coolant had to be the yellowish/orange color.

I then followed up and tried to book a coolant flush appointment, and they refusued it, as the coolant is lifetime and they dont do or advise any flushes being done.

mentioned to them my situation, as i only topped up from min to max, they let me know the min/max only measures the coolant overflow tank is approx 2L, while whole coolant tank is around 16L. so it should not harm anything. are these figures accurate? Havent got a chance to check my manual yet.

I am rather confused now. any more insight into this?

called another dealer part dept, and he said the same thing that no other coolant is compatible with porsche oem coolant.

2 vs 1 right now....


my car 2005 boxster S 987 btw.

Max,
This is my 2 cents worth.PPI said non Porsche coolant. Comes across as kind of pompous!? A year later I thought I am driving a Porsche. It deserves the best. Bought Porsche coolant and (distilled water ?)and supplied it to my indy who installed it. I don't cheap out on Box. Oem only for me....

not really about costs here for me, want to find out if the mechanic adding non oem coolant did damage to anything,

and figuring out if i really need a flush, if i dont need one, i rather not do one.

Question has been asked and answered...............and by multiple sources.

Don't porsche use pink coolant like Toyota now?

Yes, the green coolant was discontinued years ago. The green is compatible with the newer pink.

no, it hasnt been clearly answered. if you read my previous post from the dealership, the same dealership is telling me it is OK and IT IS NOT OK to use prestone.

they are also refusing coolant flushes..

I would flush, I'm not an Independent Mechanic, but I wouldn't go to a Michelin rated restaurant and be satisfied with box wine served with dinner. The coolant will likely run you $120-$150 from my last recollection and the water is easily available at most grocery stores. And ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

When was green coolant discontinued by Porsche?
My 2k box received a factory reman engine in 2005 by a Porsche dealer (and had the expansion tank replaced in 2008 with no mention of coolant flush).
I received the car with green coolant which the PPI noted as incorrect. Would a dealer in 2005 have used green?

The new coolant was fazed in around 2005. Porsche was careful to make sure the green and pink coolants are totally compatible (read mixable), so adding pink to a car with green in it would not cause an issue. However, as most dealers buy coolant in bulk (usually they store it in a large 250-500 gallon tank), it took a while for most of the dealership shop area's to work off their existing stocks.

It is possible to swap out the coolant tanks in these cars without totally draining the system, so they may have just toped it up with the green stuff.

It has been, however you are not seeing it. The parts guy is correct, you should not mix brands. The service writer is also correct, if somewhat vague in how he is phrasing it; he appears to be talking about the Porsche coolant by color (e.g.: Don't use the green, use the later pink).

And just as a reference point, in general, service writers are the last ones to ask technical questions; most end up on the service desk because they lack the skills to work in the shop. Parts guys, on the other hand, learn from experience what works and what to avoid.

And if the dealer does not want to do the change out, you are money ahead as doing it yourself is one of the easiest maintenance projects short of an oil change on these cars...........

Lifetime? I put this out-of-warranty advice in the round filing bin. The same one I used to file "the IMS is a lifetime part, why do you think they made the 05-08 IMSB non-extractable? Life time part buddy, no need to worry".

Wayne Dempsey in "101 Projects for your Porsche Boxster" recommends changing the coolant every two years. I plan to do the coolant cap, brake fluid and coolant at the same time going forward.

Personally, I think Jeff's advice is spot on. I have enough trouble sleeping at night the way it is:cheers:

Toyota used to say to their customer the same way that Porsche say about their coolant. For over a decade, Toyota was the only company that use the pink coolant that does not contain silicate, nitrate, or phosphorous. That has all changed when people just use over the counter coolant that does not contain those three chemicals w/o any effect.

Honda always recommend their ATF for their transmission, people quit using them because they believe it causes damage to their V6 trannies.

What I'm saying is, do your research and stop listening to car makers.

For porsche coolant, just get any coolant that does not contain silicate, nitrate, or phosphorous. Try Zerex for asian car that is pink color.

If you thoroughly and completely drain and flush out (multiple times) the system to remove any trace of the OEM coolant, you can use just about any aftermarket aluminum/alloy compatible coolant in these cars.

That said, if there is any trace of the OEM product in the system, and you happen to choose an aftermarket brand that is not compatible with the OEM coolant, well, good luck cleaning out what happens next.

Then add in the fact that the OEM product is very good both in protecting the alloy components and in how long it can live (properly installed, we have seen it go 7-8 years without problems and still test fine), it is readily available, and not all that expensive; and you have to ask yourself "Why bother looking for a substitute?"

Thanks for the advice. I will flush my coolant sometime soon.

Just sucks becuase one guy decided to put 2L of prestone into my 22Litres of oem coolant while he could of just put in water to avoid all this trouble.

Which is why you always need to be alert when someone else touches the car; a moment of diligence often saves hours of grief.

And only use a mechanic who is thoroughly familiar with Porsches.

Just had my coolant flushed and filled - G11 which the Porsche indie tech said was correct for Porsche. It is blue!



I have always driven Audi's which uses G12 (pink).

What is a good flush procedure for the DIY guy without Vacuum filler?
Drain via Drain plug and radiator hoses, refill with Distilled water, burping via Bleeder valve, driving some small period of time? - Follow Bentley procedure basically
Repeat till only clear water is drained?

I initially didn't hesitate in buying Porsche coolant. I topped off maybe 1/4 - 1/3 pint many months back. The other day I topped of with about a 1/2 pint of Distilled water after getting new Cap. I looking in the tank I see green in the bottom. So Now I don't really know what is in there. Whether the previous owner switched to general coolant or not. Now I'm afraid to add my Porsche coolant. So it's time to flush and start with a known Porsche coolant

A good flush procedure for the DIY guy without vacuum filler:

Step 1: buy a vacuum filler

Seriously, this tool is worth its weight in Porsche coolant. Makes the job dead easy.

Mark_T you are right as I have several other cars(kids, wife) It would be useful for them as well. Need to get a Compressor.
I have thought about it and I'm thinking this would also be the time to do water pump and Low temp thermostat

I would suggest getting a compressor big enough to run air tools. You will wonder how you ever got by without them.

Especially if you're doing this at a regular interval instead of just having the same coolant in there for a really long time.

P.S.
I would get a label maker and stick it to the tank: "WARNING:PINK COOLANT ONLY!"

So what does happen when I use coolants I listed above?

Maybe it's good to explain why because many people like me dont ever use one.

If you mix the OEM coolant with an incompatible aftermarket brand, the most common problem is the formation of large quantities of gel, often looking like loose porridge in consistency. Besides leading to overheating issues, it is usually one Hell of mess to clean out of one of these cooling systems..........

With a vacuum filling system, it is a 5 min. process to refill the entire cooling system without any problems; no air pockets ever, no "burping", no running around with the surge tank vent open, no topping the system up. You fill it, and it is done.