Afraid of the answer.....

[robdelorenzo]

Update:
I just took the car out to get new oil, a filter, and run a few more errands.
Along the way each time I stopped I sat down next to the ground near the passenger rear tire to listen for hissing or dumping coolant. I did not see or hear anything.

I live at the top of a steep canyon and as I was driving up the canyon the temp gauge rose a bit higher than it's (formerly?) normal temp of around 180. This time it was more like 190. It is a very hot and humid day here in Socal so that may account for some of it.

Anyhow, as soon as I pulled into the garage, guess what? Hissing and coolant started dumping out of the overflow. I had the wire in the up position the entire trip and I could hear air escaping from that valve. The coolant level in the tank is now is down to a bit more than 1/3 (from dead in between max and min) but certainly lower than it was when I started. At one point, while I was doing my errands I saw that the entire coolant bottle looked like it was full. It was almost all the way up to the black plastic.

I'm new to this car and new to all this. I'm learning what "normal" is from this forum.

Please let me know what's going on and if this is all part of the bleeding process or if I do in fact have some sort of coolant or circulation issue going on.

The oil is draining and looks pretty black to me. This is probably from the meltdown last weekend and it had been changed less than 1k miles ago.

Thanks in advance. This ought to be called Porsche University Online. I'm really learning a lot here!

[Lew]

It would not hurt to pull the bumper at some point and check the radiators for debris. Some cars are driven in the rain and over several years parts of the radiators get clogged with dirt, which will cake up on the radiator which stops air flow. Not to mention leaves, grass clippings, etc When I cleaned mine, I found cigarette butts, a chewing gum wrapper, a small piece of paper, plus many leaves, and some pine needles. No dirt, but I did find a small amout of sand in the lower corners of the radiators. It's just good maintenance! When I drive my car the temperture guage needle sits the with of the needle past 180. Never any higher even when the A/C is running. I might add, the temperture guage is watched more than any other on my car.

[911monty]

Were you able to positively identify the purge valve leaking? You said air but should be steam? When it is actively leaking you should be able to see from where. The purge valve is not supposed to leak externally. If it does it will need to be replaced. That's why I've suggested this for the 3rd time. You have replaced the cap so it can be ASSUMED the cap is not leaking. I don't like to replace parts needlessly. Is there a white crust around the purge valve. Throw me a bone here.
At this point I believe your leaking is due to heat soak. After your drive when the engine is shutdown Coolant circulation ceases and temp increases from the residual heat in the cylinders. This is normal. However if the system does not maintain pressure such as the purge valve leaking, the coolant will boil, turn to steam and leak. The purge valve can be replaced, but it is more cost and labor effective if it can be identified as the source of the leaking.

On reflection perhaps you aren't aware the overflow hose that you see leaking is the drain hose from the basin cast into the top of the expansion tank, that the coolant cap, dipstick and purge valve are located in. When they leak, liquid is collected and drains out that hose. Yes?

[robdelorenzo]

I'm sorry maybe I misunderstood. Are the purge valve and the bleeder valve the same thing?
It's definitely dumping liquid coolant and not steam and it is coming out from what the mechanic told me was the overflow that dumps above the passenger rear tire.

As it has cooled over the last hour or so, no new liquid drained out, but the tank is now well below the minimum mark and less than 1/3 full again.

No, there is no white crust around the valve or in the oil/coolant fill area. When it's dumping liquid, I don't see anything going on (steam or liquid) in that filling area.
It's all coming out from under the car above the passenger rear wheel.
Which is what the mechanic told me was the overflow while it was on the lift yesterday.
I'm also wondering now if that valve is bad. When I pull up on the wire it doesn't move very far and then when I put the wire back down it doesn't move too far either.
Should it be flush with the top of the valve in the closed position? Because it's not. But you also mentioned that this should release steam and not liquid.
I did hear it gurgling air while the coolant was dumping out, though.
The other part that I'm not clear on is if the valve is defective, should I be seeing the liquid and steam collecting in the basin and then running out through the hose or only as it runs out the hose?

I'm not doing something right, as I'm getting the same results.

I'm obviously not understanding something correctly here, Lew.

But I am learning and I think we are getting closer to where I understand what's going on.

[911monty]

Ahh Good. Yes the purge and bleeder valve are the same thing, it has the wire bail on it. It's purpose is to purge or bleed the air from the top of the radiators and oil cooler so the system is completely fluid packed.
Now the two sources for coolant draining out the drain/overflow hose are the coolant cap and the purge valve. The drain hose attaches to a nipple on the tank which drains this area. The hole is just forward of the purge valve, hard to see but it's there. If the fluid is coming out of the drain hose then one of those two points must be leaking. Do not install the plastic cover over the purge valve. This way next time you hear the hissing open the trunk and see if you can tell which one is leaking. Again if the cap is leaking do not attempt to tighten until the car cools off. Better?

If the cap or purge valve are not leaking then perhaps the hose from the oil cooler you replaced the fitting on is leaking???

[nicecar]

add some distilled water . and keep driving. I had exactly the same thing and as I said
first off and then all the experts said get it on an incline. I backed it up on some ramps and opened the valve and ran it and finally after months of seeing a coolant level up and down it stopped.Good Luck

[nicecar]

Best advice was the jfp in pa expert says get someone who knows what they are doing and pull a vacuume....done

[robdelorenzo]

Ok. Thanks. I'm really beginning to understand. Yes, the hose BEHIND the firewall on the coolant tank is where the liquid is leaking from.
So, I am going to keep an eye on that bleeder valve as well.
I'm not sure if it's defective or not.
On the Pelican page the following reviews describe my valve pretty well:
Pelican Parts - European Automotive Parts and Accessories - Porsche • BMW • Mercedes • Volkswagen • Audi • Saab • Volvo • MINI

I did buy "The German" bottle and not The Porsche. Lesson learned. No more cheaping out on parts.

If that valve is indeed leaking during the cool down or heat soak, would I see liquid or steam coming out of it?
I do not see steam, condensation, or liquid near the new cap or the bleeder valve, yet the liquid spews by the rear tire.
This morning I did not get the engine as hot, which is probably why it didn't leak as much. This afternoon's leak was about the same as yesterday's.

I'm not sure that rushing out and buying The Porsche valve is a good idea just yet.
I'm also going to keep a close eye on the hose from the top of the oil cooler, as I don't know if that's the culprit.

Besides, Pelican is closed until Tuesday.

[911monty]

I found a thread with a lot of good info dealing with this with pics and everything! Enjoy

http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/56959-ugh-i-need-some-help-identifying-coolant-leak.html

[robdelorenzo]

Thank you!