Name/guess this symptom game....05 Boxster 987

[Boxsta]

Decided to leave home today and take the 987 Boxster for a spin...and saw this under my parking spot...never saw anything before as it's always clean and dry.

I'm wondering if anyone can guess what this might be before the I take it to the shop this week.

It is a manual car - no transmission fluid.
Car is not overheating
No noises
No CEL

I'm thinking failing water pump but there appears to be "oil" on picture too.
The residue looks like a thick white paste,
opened the oil filler cap and didn't see any chocolate shake.

I had an oil change done 2 weeks ago, I put less than 100 miles on the car since.
No white smoke, therefore I am eliminating Air Oil Separator hypothesis.
I checked the fluid levels.
Oil is halfway down???
Coolant is low???
What could be wrong?

[BoxsterSteve]

You checked that there’s no intermix in the coolant reservoir?
Beyond that, I hope it’s nothing major.

[thstone]

Intermix. No doubt about it.

Probably leaking from oil cooler.

Here is a pic of intermix in one of my previous engines...

[MWS]

This definitely looks like intermix. Check your coolant tank (and cap) for signs of oil. FWIW, this wouldn't be the first time someone put oil in the coolant tank by mistake....other than that, I'm sure you know that other potential causes of intermix, so I won't add to your gloom. ;(

[Starter986]

Probably leaking from oil cooler.

Replace those oil cooler o-rings... hose it out*... refill it... drive it.

*Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

[Boxsta]

Sooooo...

Allow me to understand the functionality/purpose of the oil cooler...

This “receptacle” cools oil with air or coolant that runs through it?

If by coolant...Does the leak / intermix takes place when the o-ring leaks allowing fluids to mix or Oil cooler line/unit is punctured?

I guess my two other possible repairs could be:

Head gaskets...?
Head replacements...? Would bad compression be a sign?

[BoxsterSteve]

You can get oil cooler intermix due to an internal leak or from failed O-rings.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by Boxsta

Sooooo...

Allow me to understand the functionality/purpose of the oil cooler...

This “receptacle” cools oil with air or coolant that runs through it?

If by coolant...Does the leak / intermix takes place when the o-ring leaks allowing fluids to mix or Oil cooler line/unit is punctured?

I guess my two other possible repairs could be:

Head gaskets...?
Head replacements...? Would bad compression be a sign?

The oil cooler works by transferring heat from the oil to the coolant (which then transfers the heat to the air at the front radiators) AND by radiant cooling to the air surrounding the cooler.

There are 4 o-rings that seal the oil (inlet and outlet) and coolant (inlet and outlet) at the engine block. If any of those 4 o-rings leak, you can get a leak on the ground and/or intermix within the cooler.

The cooler itself can also leak internally. This usually only results in intermix (no leak on the ground). The cooler can be pressure tested to determine if it has an internal leak.

Head gasket failure can also cause the symptoms that you are experiencing. But head gasket failure is pretty rare and you would usually have some other symptoms like chocolate shake in the coolant reservoir.

Other (much worse) engine problems can also cause intermix but since you have intermix on the ground, I would start by finding where its coming from and go from there. It should be pretty easy to find where the coolant is coming from.

Here is a pic of the 4 o-rings that seal the cooler to the engine block... (some older models have the green o-rings mounted onto the cooler itself rather than in th engine block). You get the idea.

[The Radium King]

or coolant level increased due to the addition of oil from an unknown source - cracked block, cracked head, bad head gasket, failed oil cooler. coolant tank then overflows. check coolant tank for intermix (milkshake) and dipstick for coolant in oil. check oil level - going down? then probably going into coolant somehow. don't go buying oil coolers and o-rings until you check a few things.