I was tooling along at freeway speed when the temperature gauge began climbing and the red light flashing. I pulled over and peeked underneath the car. Sure enough, I had a coolant leak, and by the looks of it a substantial one. As in split-hose substantial. I was still 25 miles from home, so I gave AAA a call. First time I've used the service. A wrecker flat-bedded my 986 to my destination.
First thing I did was check to make sure there was no coolant in the oil, to rule out a blown head gasket or cracked block, the stuff of nightmares. I was relieved to see only oil on the dipstick.
Coolant was dripping out behind the drivers-side front wheel, but plastic sections cover a good part of the bottom, so I couldn't see where it was leaking specifically. I put the car up on jack stands, removed the front wheel and wheel-well liner (and therein lies a tale) to have a peek at the intermediate coolant hoses behind it. Didn't see anything obviously amiss there. Next, I removed the middle plastic section underneath (and that's another tale).
After adding a gallon of distilled water to the coolant tank, I started the engine. I let it run until I was certain the thermostat had opened, revving it a bit to make sure. (Parenthically, I sure do like the exhaust note of my 986, even with the stock muffler.) The temp climbed to around 200 as the light flashed. "Now we'll see what's what," I muttered. Sure enough, there was a growing puddle underneath.
Creeper time.
Underneath, I did not find a split hose, or a loose fitting, like I was expecting. Instead, coolant was coming out of a small rubber fitting that looked like an overflow tube. Coming out of it to beat the band. Here, have a look-see:
At this point I'm thoroughly confounded, not to mention discombobulated. I haven't had much luck turning up anything that explains what's going on. I'm hoping someone here can shed some light.
I'd been hoping to correct the problem with a minimum of fuss so I could flush the coolant system and replenish it with the genuine Porsche coolant I bought from Pelican. (Sure, it was a bit more than Prestone or Zerex, but what's a few bucks?) But noooooo.
Ah, the trials and tribulations of a gearhead.
Threaded Mode
