Overheated to 250, died on side of highway, left stranded
 

Car would get to ~210, flashing light, last few months

Mechanic checked temps, says everything seemed ok

Replaced cap to .04 did not help

Mechanic said maybe low, fill to top, any overfill will boil over, do no harm

Did that. Temps went to 250 in 5 miles, ac stopped workin, solid red temp light. Mechanic said shouldn't be, bad temp gauge? Drove 5 miles, temp dropped to 180, light flash, AC working. Drive 5 more miles, temp to 250, AC stop, solid light. Downshift to get off highway, everything died, all instrents lights on, hear clunking sound. Get out, light smoke coming from the back. Boxster will not restart, stranded, waiting for tow truck now.

Aw, man...this is not what I wanted to see first thing in the morning. Sorry to hear, man.

My mind was trying to fly through the possibilities of what's up...water pump failure, maybe? Maybe some impeller pieces got stuck in some of the cooling channels and blocked your coolant flow. Is there any fluid on the ground under the car?

The only other thing I'm thinking, since you mentioned running the A/C, is that the radiator fans may not be functioning.

Please let us know what you find. Hopefully there isn't any serious damage.

No... just coming here to post that actually because I thought it was wierd that there was never any boiling over. A little condensation but that's it, no puddles under the car or anything

I ended up walking to work, so I'm out of the heat for now

Tow company called and said they'll get here when they get here

That's why I didn't wait for tow first time it reached 250. I pulled over and called mechanic, he said check for boiling over. Nothing back there, little warm, a little condensation, no leaks, no smell, no puddle. That's why he probably thought bad gauge and why I continued to work

Would be nice if they picked you up and brought you with them when it comes time to get the car. They sound like fine fellows.

I walked to work, probably take cab home... or call enterprise over lunch, think they deliver vehicle to you

The irony is this happened because I was trying to prevent this from happening


When coolant light first started flashing months ago I brought it in and mechanic said temp gauge was accurate, not overheating at ~200, don't worry about it

I googled, said replace cap with .4. I did that, no help

Well as summer got worse light kept flashing and temps got to ~220, just below 3/4 mark. Brought car in again on monday night the 23rd cuz didn't wanna be stranded in rush hour in 110 heat. Mechanic said temps fine, maybe low coolant, fill to very top, too full will not hurt, pressure builds until cap releases and boils over until correct level

Did that next morning, tuesday. Drove work, no problems.

After work : problems. Fine at first then temps got to 3/4 mark and stayed. Call mechanic last night, said maybe bad gauge? Should b overheating, is there water boiling? No, no water, not wet, all good. Just keep watching it then

And then this morning I already posted the story


So yeah, if I had just continued to ignore the light instead of taking to shop to fix I would probably be fine right now

That's a drag. Let us know what happens. I'm West of Kansas City and the heat is brutal. I got mine out a couple of days ago just to drive it and noticed it running hotter than usual. We're supposed to be around 106 today and I know STL is about the same. Good luck!

That really sucks. Where in STL did you get stranded? The heat has been crazy lately. Actually been keeping my top up in the afternoon to blast the AC since its so hot...

Can/did you check the coolant level in the coolant tak?
 

How is the coolant level?
I had the same symtoms as you and I ended up changing the tank.

Chesterfield

Still waiting on tow truck, hope they get it to shop today so they can diagnose and order parts and repair tomorrow

If they pick up too late shop can't look at till tomorrow, and if parts don't come in until Friday I might be boxster-less this weekend :(

I would have the mech replace the water pump and thermostat, just to be safe.

Even with this insane heat, my Box has been running slightly cooler since I cleaned out my radiators and scoops.

Sorry to hear it, man. Hopefully the overheating didn't cause any permanent damage.

Double post...

After many years of research I sort of expected this from Boxsters so I am not upset or surprised over situation, actually I expected it much sooner, and I'm not rich but I have some money to throw at it. This is why I bought an older 2.5 base and not a newer 3.2 S, so I would have extra $$ for often repairs

Possibly air pockets in your cooling system?

Best of luck to you bud. I hope it's just minor and you can spend your cash on those tires you were asking about.

Hankook Ventus V12. I'm impressed so far.

Sounds like you should upgrade your mechanic & avoid downshifting on the freeway when your car is running hot. Also when your coolant level is low add distilled filtered water as it makes the engine cooler than antifreeze.

Yeah, I hate to say it, but you and your mechanic made some bad decisions. You shouldn't continue to drive a car that is running hot, especially a Boxster.

I learned the hard way years ago. I had a coolant hose leak on an Acura, and thought I could drive it 1 mile to get home. That 1 mile lead to a blown head gasket.

No disrespect but if you make it through this find another shop, the mechanic's guess that the gauge was off seems like a "drive it till it breaks again and return it" guy. Never, ever drive a car with an illuminated oil idiot light or cooling idiot light with reckless abandon, nothing good can happen. I hope your heads are not cracked.

PS I just remembered a customer who blew up his motor. He said to us "the oil light came on but I was only sixteen miles from home so I didn't pull over". Well then get ready to "fork" it over.....

Like post said, I was getting off highway. Can't do 20mph in 5th ;)

I added distilled water Tuesday morning

You could cut the AC and reduce the parasitic drag, further in a situation like this many don't know that turning the heat on will cool the car a smidge by running the coolant through another small radiator.

Agreed. If I survive I will be taking vehicle elsewhere for troubleshooting. Maybe he's ok for routine maintenance? Tires, brakes, filters? Funny thing is hes the owner, three bay shop, has employees but still wrenches on occasion, known him for almost 10 years, he was even in my wedding

Oh well.....

Wow man, I'm really sorry to hear about that.
Yea man, I agree with GhostRider and everyone else on here. You need to ditch your mechanic. No car should be driven with the light on.

I've actually been getting overheating problems myself, but only when I have to start the car from a dead stop (i.e. stop sign or red light). I find that the temperature climbs a little every time I have to move the car from a dead stop. I had the mechanic look at it. No coolant leaks, water pump works fine, radiators and their fans work fine as well. We attributed it to the fact that it's 120 F in Arizona. It used to overheat a lot faster when I had the AC on, but since my AC broke, I haven't had that problem anymore. It doesn't seem to overheat when I'm on the freeway driving at a constant speed, only when it rolls from a dead stop.

I never let the engine get close to flashing. As soon as it crosses the 3/4th mark, I pull it over and let it cool. Everything else can wait.

Bad Water Pump? or idler pulley

There is a way with the Duramatic to engage the fans -- so you should be able to check that.

Hopefully the no start is that the pulley on the water pump or along the serpentine belt has seized
and its not letting the starter turn over the engine.

Also means that the Alternator is not charging.

should be obvious to eliminate by pulling the front engine panel which is behind the seats.
~10 x 10mm nuts/bolts I believe.

mike

If it was losing coolant i would love to know where it went because it wasn't under the vehicle....?

Full coolant Tuesday morning. Drove.... about 50 miles total, never saw coolant leaking at any time, even after sitting in garage overnight

Crono, Record heat has made driving the Fiat like your experience, at 120 lotsa cars going to overheat, especially running AC. What you describe can in part be attributed to the air flow into the radiators, sitting in traffic or at a stop, no "ram air" effect, which will eventually increase the temp.

If you want to do a quick check the head gasket look at the coolant if it looks oily, crack a beer and do some deep breathing.

It was trying to turn over, didn't sound like anything was seized, but I didn't wanna push it too hard, car dying usually Very Bad Thing, best to tow and let mechanize repair.

Boxster towed little over 1 hour ago, should be in shop by now and I should know something in the next hour

Enterprise just called, they're on their way to my office to pick me up. Hope I don't need the weekly rate :(

Three possible places coolant can go:
1. Floor of the garage- simple leak
2. Crankcase- Coolant/oil intermix
3. Combustion chamber (white smoke out the tailpipe)

My guess from your comments so far... cracked head due to overheat/failed waterpump. Sorry. :(

Hate to say it but I think topless made the long distance diagnosis, I think he's right. If makes you feel any better I lost an engine at 30K and I still don't know what happened to it. You'll get through this and in the big picture of stinky surprises it's way further down than any health scare.

After driving land rovers where head gaskets are about as permanent as water based finger paint, it pains me to hear of any mechanic advising a client to ignore a warning light and gauge on an aluminum block and aluminum head engine.

This whole thing makes me a bit sick to my stomach.

Tough tough learning situation.

Mechanic says blown engine

Says maybe hose came loose

Now what? Anyone need doors? Seats? Wheels?

Turn the heat on high and crank the fan on full, if your not getting burning hot heat then no flow in the cooling system, shut down immediately. I've had the fan go out on a GTI in brutal heat, was able to drive it 30 miles to get home with the heat on full crank, sweated my azz off but saved the engine from over heating.
Sorry to hear about your situation.

Time for a 3.4L Vette killer?

That mechanic should really take the fall for this, not you...

I have to imagine Topless may be right, too, with #3. You mentioned smoke when you got out of the car. Was it coming out of the tailpipe or out from under the car?

If the head/block overheated, you can be pretty sure something cracked and introduced coolant and/or oil to places they aren't meant to go. I'm still wondering if the water pump impeller is what did this in, or maybe it along with a combination of other factors like faulty fans? Have you changed the water pump recently/ever?

I have to agree with others on finding another mechanic for your Boxster. I understand if you've known the guy a long time, but that unfortunately does not grant him expertise in M96 engines, or anything Porsche for that matter. Aside from the (non-flashing) CEL, I don't think there's really any light anyone should ignore, nor be told to ignore. There has to be a fairly local specialist for you to go to. Mine is nearly $40/hr less than the dealer and only 10-15 minutes farther away, and while he's still not cheap when you get right down to it, all he does is Porsche, for nearly 30 years now.

Any chance your employer has a corporate discount with Enterprise or another rental company? :D

Really sorry to hear about this, but I hope it's not as bad as we're all thinking. Keep us posted.

EDIT: Well I'm seeing there's been plenty of updating going on as I've been typing. Maybe I'll go back later and delete the irrelevant stuff.

Well crap, that sucks, though I'd be looking for 2nd opinions from someone who knows these cars. The maybes and the possiblies don't really work, in my opinion. What failed, and what broke as a result? That's what I'd want to know, definitively. See if there's anyone near you.

Why not see if you can find a 3.2 or 3.4 to drop in there? Great excuse at this point.

I'd hate to see it get parted out, but if that happens I'm sure we can help you accomplish that, and maybe you'll be able to nab yourself an early 986 S to keep right on going. :D

Man, that just sucks. The mechanic really needs to own up to this. He really did you a disservice, friend or not.

I'm still absorbing what happened, I'll answer questions later

I will say my rental ford focus really sucks

^^^^^^^as would any non-performance-oriented rental you jump into after being used to driving around in a Boxster.

I do hope the mechanic is going to make some sort of amends. The advice given was definitely wrong in general, and particularly with this type of car.