I ordered the parts from Pelican today and a flex 10mm socket, which seems to be the trick for those pesky water pump bolts.

I did clean out the radiators today.
They look like that had never been done, or at least not in a long, long time.
But, the driver side air dam disintegrated when I unbolted it - cracked down the middle.
Not completely in half, so I should be able to salvage it for a little while as I proceed along to see what's going on. The plastic mush have been so dry and brittle from all those miles a few inches off the road in the hot dry air that it just gave way.

Pretty minor, all things considered.

One question, depending on what I find with the water pump (shot bearing is what I'm thinking) do I want to flush the car with a garden hose and tap water or fill it with distilled water completely, run it, drain it, and then put in the 50/50 mix?

I'm holding good thoughts on this working out.

Perhaps, I missed it by not reading every post.

I would think a mechanic could pressure test the cooling system and narrow down the source of the leak. With such information in hand, one could decide what things to do 1st, 2nd, etc.

Some of you may be sick of reading this, but here goes.

I pulled out the water pump and thermostat today.
Tested the thermostat in a pot of boiling water and it opened, so I know that works.

The water pump did have a blade or two that appeared to have had some of the blade sanded down a bit. Nothing too major, but when I compared it to the new pump and used a magnifier, it really looks like it to me.

I'm going to flush the car a few times tomorrow and see what happens.
I'm really not quite sure how anything will be any different as the thermostat is good, the pump bearing spins fine and other than a barely noticeable amount of impeller being sanded off, nothing's changed.

Will a new pump and thermostat, coolant overflow cap, flush, fill, and I also cleaned out a small village of hobbits worth of crap out of the radiators (which I'm sure was blocking some air flow) make any difference or do I have bigger problems?

The coolant had no oil in it and was pink and the oil was dark, but did not have coolant in it when I changed it a few days ago.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the coolant overflow will stop.

I will know more tomorrow and thanks for the help and encouragement.

I now know how to do a thermostat and water pump!

Absolutely not my friend, you got it all wrong! Anything car related is good to go here. I'm enjoying reading your updates in fact. Sure it will be 10x more exiting to read when you'll finally fixed it tough :D

Don't give up is all I can propose! Also proposing a pressure test on the system to ensure it is water tight. Slight drop of pressure in that thing and the heat is going to take over and will eventually manage to piss out all of that pink stuff (entirely, if not careful refilling regularly lolll). Got to be sealed correctly.

Just do it!

Rob,
Just take your time and ensure that the system is properly bleed…
Good luck

Well, this can't be good.
I buttoned everything up and started to fill the coolant tank with distilled water.

As soon as I started the engine, water started flowing out of the overflow hose.
That's the ONLY place that I can see water coming from.
I got on my knees with the rear in the air and looked with a flashlight.

As the engine got warmer, it started to flow more.
I shut it down. I didn't even try to get it up to temperature.
As it was running, I could hear a sucking sound coming from the overflow hole in the tank. I put my finger in the hole and felt suction.

This may be a dumb question, but if the tank can't hold pressure, would it dump into the overflow tube or is the cooling system itself under too much pressure and dumps out coolant as soon as the engine is on?

I don't think it's burping, because it's a steady flow. Not a once in a while thing.
Can the bleeder valve be bad? Would that cause these symptoms?

So the tank may be the problem.
What would cause the overflow to just keep gushing on the other side of the firewall?
Does this mean that the tank is unable to hold pressure and it's bad?
The mechanic told me that the cap vents steam into the overflow hose in case of high pressure.
I have water flowing out of the overflow hose.
What else goes into that overflow hose?
I have yet to find a decent picture that explains the connections on the inside of the firewall and where each hose comes from and goes to.

A pressure test, I know. I don't have one.

The one in there is "The German" one from Pelican and is still under warranty.
I think I was charged about $600 to have it put in.

The real existential dilemma is it's a salvage title Boxster with 145k on it.
How much more $$ do I put in at this point?
If I can drive it to the junk man, I'll get $1400. If they come get it $900.
If I replace the tank, will it last or does it have "hot spots" that are going to crack on me and is the $$ better spent on more reliable car for now?

Ugh.

https://www.amazon.com/Stant-12270-Cooling-System-Pressure/dp/B0002SRGWU/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1505006467&sr= 1-1&keywords=Stant+12270+30+Pound+Cooling+System

Buy it, use it then sell it on ebay. Pressurizing your system will tell you in minutes where the problem lies.

Ignore the obvious advice and keep posting otherwise.

Thanks. A number of people have suggested this.

But.....This morning on a stone cold car, I went to pour in some distilled water and it immediately comes out the overflow hose above the right rear tire.

Does this mean the tank is bad?
When the previous tank went bad, the trunk was flooded with coolant.
Most of what I read on these boards says that is the symptom of a bad tank.
But my trunk is dry.
Can they crack or split on the inside of the firewall or in the drain flow path?

I can get a pressure tester from Autozone as a loaner, but it's a $250 deposit and a 2 hour bus ride (No second car)
Or I can buy one as suggested, but is it necessary at this point?

The more I can learn here the better before I do anything else.

I'm a recovering cancer patient, getting low on $$ and need help.

Thank you.

Perhaps there are other 986 enthusiasts in the LA area who can loan Rob an extra set of eyes and hands on this? I'm surprised that hasn't happened yet.

I think I finally found the culprit!
After a few times of trying to flush and bleed with just distilled water, I saw flow from under the bleeder valve! I guess it wasn't a big enough leak to be visible until I ran it for a few cycles.

Now I do have a few questions on replacing the valve.

Is it a good idea to put silicone or any kind of sealant on the threads of the screws?

Can anyone report success stories on replacing just the valve? The mechanic says he doesn't replace only the valves as he's had too many problems with them.

I see that they need to be handled with kid gloves or it's new tank time.

I'm really hoping that this solves the problem.

Thanks for the help.

Congrats! I think you can get it done without too much trouble now...

Check out Jon Slocum's post about a coolant leak. Near the bottom of post #63.
http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/59015-1st-boxster-7th-porsche-we-now-have-4-family-4.html
I also remember it being discussed (with parts) in another thread... maybe JFP in PA detailed it.

Thanks!
We will know in a few days.

Try replacing the O-rings first- it worked for me! I was able to source them at a local hydraulics repair shop. No need to seal the screws with anything - just don't over tighten them. Good luck!

Be very carefull with the screws. They go into plastic and strip very easily. I didnt use any to of antiseize or watever. The best advice I got was on here....rotate screws counter clockwise until it clicks into original bore then tighten down only to snug. The O- rings do the sealing. Cross your tightening pattern to insure even seating. Disclaimer I am a cook not a mechanic. Good Luck. Still had to bleed air after completion

Thanks, I just got the valve today and am going to install it in the morning.
Does anyone know if it needs to be installed with the bail in the "open" position?
I saw that mentioned in this thread, but nowhere else
https://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?app=forums&module=forums&controller=topi c&id=14754
I also saw that using some silicone grease or even dish soap on the o rings is a good idea. Any comments on that?
The biggest thing it looks like to me is to go very easy on the screws and to twist them backwards until I feel the pop of the threads and then tighten them down.
Thanks and I'll let you know what happens.

Replaced the bleeder valve today, filled it with distilled water, burped it, and drove it like I stole it for a bit.

No leaks, no temperature issues.

I may have dodged a bullet here.

Thanks for the help and encouragement.

I'm new to the world of Pcars.

I think the problem is solved.

Tomorrow I'll pour in the unicorn tears.

I LOVE my Boxster.

Great to hear! Enjoy. It feels better when you fix it yourself.

Outstanding :cheers:

Yes indeed..!

There are many knowledgeable and supporting people here, Congratulations!

Congratulations. Drive it like you work on it.

Good for you I knew you weren't a quitter after all you have been through.

Well, there is one thing still plaguing me.
I have had all of the carpet pulled up from the trunk for a while now.
I filled it with coolant and drove it and am letting it cool down.
All seems well, except that the strange "rag carpet type thing" that goes across the rear of the bulkhead is wet in the lower right corner by the tank. It has not dried up since the meltdown. I think this may mean that there is steam or coolant leaking onto it ever so slightly or it just hasn't dried out yet.
It is pretty thick stuff and maybe it will just take a while to dry out?
It must be so small of an amount leaking that it's not visible.
The tank is dry, the hoses seem dry, but that thing should not be wet. What is that, anyway?
How can I test it to see if it is indeed being leaked on?
When I press down on it, it's wet.
There's been so much water, coolant, overflow, etc in the past week that I can't tell if it's indeed just soaked or is continually getting wetter.

At this point I would just drive it and keep an eye on the coolant level. The level will tell you soon enough if you still have a leak.

Or have the system pressure tested.

Thanks.
I'm going to drive it a lot today and see what's going on.
A pressure test will be next if the levels seem to change.
This place is very helpful.
Thanks.

Wet carpet in these boxers is notorious for never drying. Take some time to insure no moisture is puddling under the seats. There is a very expensive and important computer sitting in the lowest point of the car - under the seats.

Thanks. It isn't the carpet though. It's that brownish looking thing that goes across the firewall at the back of the trunk under the computer. All of the wiring harness sits on top of it. I'll shoot a photo of it and see what happens in the next day or two.

To bring this story to a close, two coolant tanks later (I was warned about not getting a Porsche tank after the first one which was not) the problem was solved.
The original tank went bad.
I had an "off-brand" one installed, which has a hairline crack in the seam on the side and sprayed a fine mist of coolant onto that "pad" in the trunk.
I then had a Porsche tank installed (#2) and that problem went away.
Lesson learned - the $100 I saved by not buying The Porsche Tank cost me a lot more than that to have it replaced.

And a lot of time spent chasing tail...this was post #80. Thanks for the closure.

This was post #84.

Ok-here is my story and my ultimate question-hopefully in a nutshell. I usually consult past posts on this forum when tying to trouble shoot, this is my first quest for actual advice/info/expert opinion:)

So I had my local guy replace my water pump mid November. It was an obvious diagnosis-turned out it had disentigrated and the blade was pretty much shredded like most impellers in these old gals. Opted to go ahead and replace thermostat at the same time, upgraded that a bit, had some hoses replaced, necessary seals, connectors, etc since we were in there...
I felt comfortable with a few really good engine flushes as we were able to get almost a complete impeller from the pieces-felt that what was left was most likely going to get shredded to bits and given the history...I feel good about it. Anyway-get her back and she is dropping some liquid. After scouring the forum I realize that it might be a pressure issue.

The long and short of it. After my attempts at bleeding and re-bleeding I am first convinced that I still have a leak-probably some additional hosing that needs to be replaced or perhaps a cracked water resevoir. Every 2-3 days, I drop approx. 1/2 a gallon of what appears to be only the distilled water that I am topping off-not coolant...although I feel like I can smell a little bit of coolant after a good drive.

I've been dealing with this, biding my time for the last couple of months-just topping off-making sure that my resoviour is not low-planning to get her back to my guy to trouble shoot the remaining issue.

Very late on Sunday after a less than climatic superbowl-I am heading home and go to top off my water resevoir and accidentally overfill-it's crazy dark and my friend is slow on the draw with the cell phone flash light. Anyway-it's the first time with an over fill since the work has been done. I shrug it off saying-it's going to leak out fairly quickly anyway. Here's the rub-it's now Tuesday night, and NO CHANGE IN WATER LEVEL!!!

What the heck-could that really have been the problem? Could a pressure issue really have resulted in a coolant/water leakage issue of 1/2 gallon per each 2-3 days? Oh and also my engine light HAD come back on about 5 weeks after the work was completed only to go off on it's own about 4 weeks after that ( which was like 2 weeks ago).

Thoughts? PS. Thank you for taking the time to read and hopefully to respond and PPS. I love my Porche!

I also had a bleeder valve go bad. It took a while for it to get bad enough to where I could actually see the leakage around the valve. Until that happened, it would spray out a fine mist of coolant under a certain pressure and then stop when the engine was shut off and the pressure dropped. The crack had to get wide enough to be seen in action to find it. Try a pressure test. Auto Zone will loan you a tester if you don't have one.

Thanks robdelorenzo.
I will definately try to tackle the pressure test-I'm intimidated by auto-projects that have more than about 10 steps but the pressure test sounds like something I might be able to brag about having done myself :).
I am trying not to be too optomistic-at this point-about the dry spot under my car in case I start seeing evidence of leakage again.

To give an idea of how significant the leaking was-this is what I'd find each day at 5pm. My officeparking spot is on a slight incline which I guess was allowing the liquid to drain from the under-carriage cover...

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1549492923.jpg

So here's something you can do that will take a bit of effort but with no real risk.

Your pic looks like it coolant coming from the forward part of the motor but because of the under panel, who knows.

Here's what I'd do. Slide your seats forward and remove the carpet from the firewall. There are great instructions on this site and others on how to remove the carpet. Look for instructions on water pump or alternator removal. Once removed, remove the metal firewall panel. Don't be intimidated, its just some nuts and bolts that are easy to get at. Once the panel is removed, visually locate your water pump. The pump is located down low on the the passenger side of the car.

Start your car and look for signs of a leak. Be patient, it may be very small, even from around a fastener. Water pump bolts only require 7 ft-lbs of torque, which isn't much. Just see if you can locate anything obvious.

Again, this exercise will be helpful, wether you find the source of you leak or not. At the minimum, you'll know how to access the front of the motor, which will allow you to change your own alternator or pulleys or serpentine belt...all easy DYI's that will save you some bucks.

That is a significant leak, and as stated above, once the firewall access is removed (very easy overall) I’m thinking it will be pretty obvious. The primary coolant hoses run straight down the center of the car, it is possible a clamp is loose, or you have a small split or something. Usually, if you have a pressure issue, you would be blowing coolant out of the reservoir overflow which should empty on the right side of the car just in front of the rear wheel. Your leak is someplace toward the front of the engine most likely. If it’s anywhere on the front of the block you will notice it right away. If it’s a hose, you might need to put the thing in the air and pull the underside rear panel (easy as well) and look for the “wet spot”. The thermostat hose can be a little bit of a bugger to fully seat and get the clamp on properly. As it was replaced, I would start there...

The people on here know what they are talking about (myself excluded) listen to their advice, they are here to help. I have to agree that the leak you are experiencing is way more significant than what I had. The drain hose for the coolant tank is found up under the passenger rear tire. You will see a short stubby hose that is open on one end if you remove the tire. It took me a while to figure out that's where the coolant was coming from. With the help from here, I followed the hose up to the small drain hole in the top of the coolant tank. From there, it was either the caps leaking or the bleeder valve. Stick with it, the coolant system only has so many parts, it's sealed and under pressure so finding the source of the leak will become apparent.