Hello people, Im a noob, I just bought a 98 Porsche Boxster but have problems : (

[Paul]

1st step done, 2ond step drain the oil and look for coolant.

[texomawaves]

Don't let the compression test fool you to believe that you don't have an issue with the head. You could still have a cracked head (or block), just not right against the combustion chambers. I'm hoping it's as simple as your oil cooler. Let us know what you find with the oil cooler.

[Paul]

The reason I always recommend a compression check first on a 100K+ motor is to determine if the motor is worth saving.

[texomawaves]

Definitely agree on that Paul.

Looking at the comp #'s i'd say it's a tired motor. The 150 cyl is more than 10% less than the 170 cyl... just an old rule of thumb. Better readings could be taken if the motor was warmed up, and whether or not a shot of oil was injected to see if the numbers pumped up or not (ring vs. valve issue). Not sure if all that was done in this case. If this was my engine, I would rebuild it or replace it with a bigger 3.2

[dti]

Hey guys sorry for being M.I.A. ok so today we will be taking out the oil and also the oil cooler. I meant to do it sooner but I had a nasty cold this Sunday, so I just recooped. I wil post the results tonight. Thanks for all the help guys. As far as the compression test goes is the engine is worth saving? and also If there is no coolant does that mean it's likely to be the heat exchanger? Although I will get a pressure test on that too.
any idea where I can get this pressure tested? or at any mechanics shop?

[dti]

So I take out the engine oil and it looks a bit weird, light brown, a little frothy.
I'm getting picks up in a bit. What does that mean? since it passed the compression test and does not throw out smoke from the exhaust.

Does that mean that it has head gasket failure? cracked head?

the mechanic said that if it was leaking coolant at least one spark plug would have been washed a little since they were all dirty.

ALSO, this car has been sitting for about 3 years so can the oil just be really dirty or somehow mixed water in those 3 years? what should I do??? someone please advice thanks!

Ive already got plan B locked in and found a great machine shop ready to test the heads and everything. And I can start dropping the engine Ill put up picks today

[Paul]

You did not find any antifreeze in the oil so that's good (by now if would have separated from the oil and would have been the first thing out of the drain plug).

This also means you were not pumping antifreeze through the oil passages and bearings when you were "test" running it.

Next step is to drain the coolant and pull the oil cooler for testing.