Go Back   986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners > Porsche Boxster & Cayman Forums > Boxster General Discussions

Post Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-04-2017, 04:56 PM   #1
Registered User
 
Pdwight's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: North Alabama
Posts: 2,079
Puddle under my P Car today

The wife and I took a 200 mile trip this past weekend to the Space and Rocket center, it poured rain every step of the way. My Boxster always stays inside a garage with heating and cooling so I know it is not drainage. I was getting ready to start a sparkplug job and looked under the rear trunk an d there is a large puddle of orange liquid #%^##&

I raised the trunk and the area above the coolant tank had a lild layer of condensation .....guess it's time for a water pump job

I cleaned the floor and will see how much water is there tomorrow....the car never ran even a little hot on our drive.

Pdwight is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2017, 05:14 PM   #2
Artist, 986S tinkerer
 
NewArt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Montreal, Canada
Posts: 1,821
Why do you think w.p.? Where was the puddle located? If from overflow tube, it could be cracked bleeder valve ou just bad o- rings under same. No wetness under carpet near coolant tank?
__________________
James now has: 2008 987S 6 speed
Crashed: 2010 987.2 pdk in speed yellow!
Sold to a cool racer chick: 2004 986 S
YouTube channel: the PORSCHE as seen by NewArt
www.youtube.com/channel/UCohdrH2xHTklM1thxk0KKOQ?
NewArt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2017, 05:23 PM   #3
Custom User Title Here
 
particlewave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,163
Garage
Condensation in the fill area is typically bleeder valve o-rings or bad cap. Based on your puddle, I'd say it's the o-rings.
particlewave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2017, 05:54 PM   #4
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 161
Couldn't the coolant reservoir be a culprit as well?

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
GTsilber is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2017, 05:58 PM   #5
Custom User Title Here
 
particlewave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,163
Garage
Could be the reservoir, but you'll typically have water in the trunk under the liner if that's the case (and a significant pool of water under the car instead of a puddle).
Any water under there, Dwight?
particlewave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2017, 06:05 PM   #6
Registered User
 
Pdwight's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: North Alabama
Posts: 2,079
Trunk dry as a bone

This might sound stupid....but where do I find the bleeder valve o-rings ?
Pdwight is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2017, 06:10 PM   #7
Custom User Title Here
 
particlewave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,163
Garage
Take the fill area tray off and you'll see the bleeder valve.

See here: http://986forum.com/forums/diy-project-guides/9195-coolant-flush-step-step-pics.html

Last edited by particlewave; 01-04-2017 at 06:13 PM.
particlewave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2017, 07:10 PM   #8
Registered User
 
Pdwight's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: North Alabama
Posts: 2,079
Thanks

I will dive into this tomorrow as soon as I get off work
Pdwight is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2017, 07:16 PM   #9
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Florida
Posts: 2,492
Make sure to check under the trunk carpet just to see if the coolant tank is leaking.
dghii is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2017, 07:29 PM   #10
Registered User
 
Pdwight's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: North Alabama
Posts: 2,079
Will do

Sure hope it is just the O rings......rare I get to fix something on this car for less than 5 bucks
Pdwight is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2017, 09:25 AM   #11
Registered User
 
kk2002s's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: S. New Jersey
Posts: 1,239
Garage
Dealing with this issue now, condensation on truck lid, few drops puddle from overfill tube(just in front of Right Rear Tire)
I isolated Bleeder valve issue from Cap by putting plastic sandwich bags over cap and Bleed valve and drove around at operating temp.
I only had condensation form in bag for Bleeder.
There is a drain hole in Expansion tank between Bleeder and Cap area and the condensation eventually goes down there and ultimately on floor
I just order 'O' rings from ******************************************** (They are back-ordered but only place I see that sells them). So hopefully that's the cure. Some here suggest you can find 'O' rings from hardware/Plummer stores. I didn't want to to take chance I could not
__________________
2002 S - old school third pedal
Seal Grey

Last edited by kk2002s; 01-06-2017 at 07:57 AM.
kk2002s is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2017, 02:43 PM   #12
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Florida
Posts: 2,492
Excellent idea with plastic bags! I've r/r o-rings before with local hardware stock. Worked fine for awhile but have condensation again.
I don't really care. That whole coolant tank area is isolated from the trunk and I don't experience any coolant loss.
dghii is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2017, 03:52 PM   #13
Registered User
 
Pdwight's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: North Alabama
Posts: 2,079
An experiment while waiting on O Rings

I removed the cover this afternoon and looked into the coolant tank, it was not empty. My O rings will not be in for a few days so I decided to add some water, to my surprise it only took a few ounces to bring the level up to the "Min" mark...surprising small amount. I left the covers off and of course the car will not be driven, so if the fluid remains at the "Min" mark it should rule out a split coolant tank ?? right ??

We will see tomorrow if the water has dropped..I did find a few drops under the water pump area, so a preemptive water pump looks to still be in the future (I just 80K miles)....but as I understand from reading the water pump is easy compared to the coolant tank.
Pdwight is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2017, 05:24 PM   #14
Artist, 986S tinkerer
 
NewArt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Montreal, Canada
Posts: 1,821
WP is not very difficult. Use a piece of cardboard to keep your bolts in order because they are different lengths.
Coolant tank is a PITA, but do-able. Check the write-ups on this forum for some good hints.
Bleeder rings are easy peasy. Just be gentle with all those little bolts anchored in plastic, they're easy to strip. Check the condition of the bleeder cap and replace it if it is cracked.
__________________
James now has: 2008 987S 6 speed
Crashed: 2010 987.2 pdk in speed yellow!
Sold to a cool racer chick: 2004 986 S
YouTube channel: the PORSCHE as seen by NewArt
www.youtube.com/channel/UCohdrH2xHTklM1thxk0KKOQ?
NewArt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2017, 06:30 PM   #15
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Florida
Posts: 2,492
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pdwight View Post
I removed the cover this afternoon and looked into the coolant tank, it was not empty. My O rings will not be in for a few days so I decided to add some water, to my surprise it only took a few ounces to bring the level up to the "Min" mark...surprising small amount. I left the covers off and of course the car will not be driven, so if the fluid remains at the "Min" mark it should rule out a split coolant tank ?? right ??

We will see tomorrow if the water has dropped..I did find a few drops under the water pump area, so a preemptive water pump looks to still be in the future (I just 80K miles)....but as I understand from reading the water pump is easy compared to the coolant tank.
It MAY tell you something but when running, your coolant is under pressure so any small crack or pin hole will be more easily discovered.
dghii is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2017, 04:08 PM   #16
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: S.California
Posts: 2,027
Here is a diagnostic for the tank:
http://986forum.com/forums/performance-technical-chat/64817-coolant-tank-condensation-debugging.html
and some chat about coolant tank prices:
http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/31255-suncoast-vs-pelican-coolant-tank-price-2.html

Last edited by Gelbster; 01-06-2017 at 07:14 PM.
Gelbster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2017, 04:06 PM   #17
Registered User
 
Pdwight's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: North Alabama
Posts: 2,079
Update

Well checked on my P Car today , after bringing up the coolant level to the "Min" mark two days ago with distilled water it has not budged...of course the car has not been driven or even started. This gives me hope that the O rings might just be the problem........Now if Atlanta Porsche would just ship my O rings I ordered the middle of last week.....if fact they have not even processed my order or charged my card ??

I chose them because they were so close geographically . Today after the mailman (Actually a Lady) did not deliver I ordered some more O rings from an O ring supplier made of Viton....I had to buy 10 of each size ( 4X47 and 4X17) to make the minimum order of $20....so in the future if any of you folks need an O ring just let me know.
Pdwight is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-12-2017, 02:54 PM   #18
Registered User
 
Pdwight's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: North Alabama
Posts: 2,079
O rings finally came in

I pulled the Coolant relief valve and replaced the O rings today, the ones that came out did not look bad....but it was out and I had brand new ones. I used Parker O Ring Lubricant on the new rings and it went back slick and easy. I start to get an inkling of how bad a design the coolant tank is now, I was fortunate to have a 70+ degree day (in January) and I am sure this helped to some degree with elasticity of the plastics involved.

After I realized this thing was asymmetrical and I got the bolt orientation correct it went back pretty easy.I left the little cover off and took the car out and got it up to temp and put a few miles on it, got it up to 6K a few times and brought it back and parked it in my garage and no coolant got passed the valve....time will tell the real story.

Thanks for everyone's help

Dwight
Pdwight is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-14-2017, 06:57 PM   #19
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Florida
Posts: 2,492
Best of luck.
These cars are weird! Not long after purchasing my 2000 Box in 2008, I returned to work after lunch and went to my office. A coworker friend of mine came in a few minutes later and, In a voice just loud enough for others to here, announced that "Your new Porsche is puking fluid everwhere". Since this was a new to me car, and my first P car, my first thought was "Oh crap, here we go".
]
Anyway it was middle of a hot FL Augiust. The coolant must have been too high or the cap was crap, can't remember. All I know is the car started fine, wasn't running hot and required no further attention.

I did replace the water pump and thermostat....7 years and 50K miles later (at 128K miles).

These cars are so unreliable!

dghii is offline   Reply With Quote
Post Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -8. The time now is 05:51 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page