Coolant leak?

[Arenki]

Hi all,

Just got back from a quick blast and noticed a some steam/smoke pouring off the car. parked the car up and inspected the engine bay and noticed that a lot of the pipes on the left side of the engine (by the coolant tank) are covered in something i suspect to be coolant.





my initial thoughts are the coolant tank is leaking. anybody care to agree/disagree?

EDIT - sorry car is a 2007 997 C4S.

Edited by Arenki on Saturday 5th April 17:21

[Trev450]

Quite a common fault by all accounts.

[Arenki]

Aye i'd heard it was common on 996s, thought they might've found a solution on 997s. guess I'll roll my sleeves up and do some reading. Or (probably more likely) call the lads at 9E.

[ChrisW.]

Even if the 996 solution is better than the 997 --- just fitted old style connectors to the cooling system of my 2007 racing Cayman S ---

[Slackster]

I just had the same thing today,

Can anyone tell me what the fix is?

Steamed like hell for about 30mins, by the time the tow truck dropped me off the car was running fine again.

[Rockster]

Slackster said:

I just had the same thing today,

Can anyone tell me what the fix is?

Steamed like hell for about 30mins, by the time the tow truck dropped me off the car was running fine again.

What model/year of car? How many miles? Anything done to the car recently? Service or modifications?

Have you checked the coolant level with the engine cold? Be sure you confirm the level. Do not go by what looks to be the coolant in the tank as the inside of the tank develops a stain that looks like the coolant but of course is not. The actual coolant level can be hard to see through a discolored tank.

When you remove the cap is where the cap screws on crusty with some anti-freeze residue? In some cases the cap can develop a leak, although I've not known them to leak bad enough to show water vapor. Generally the sign a cap's leaking is the level drops enough over a span of time to cause the low coolant level warning light to flash. I've experienced this two times in one of my cars in about a month's time.

Also, you really need to get the car checked out with it in the air so it can be inspected for any signs of a coolant leak. The only time I've seen vapor from hot coolant coming from my cars is when there is a leak.

[Slackster]

its a 55plate 997

coolant level is between min & Max after taking the cap off to check this morning, the cap has no crustiness and seems good.

my local indy suggested the expansion tank could have split/be leaking but then again they expected a pool of coolant under the car and there has been none whatsoever since the incident

I have a suspicion it may be a pipe/connector that comes off of the tank to the right hand side near the alternator, as it looks like its been weeping around the joint and is crusty, this would explain why the alternator was drenched as it was the nearest part too..

[Rockster]

Slackster said:

its a 55plate 997

coolant level is between min & Max after taking the cap off to check this morning, the cap has no crustiness and seems good.

my local indy suggested the expansion tank could have split/be leaking but then again they expected a pool of coolant under the car and there has been none whatsoever since the incident

I have a suspicion it may be a pipe/connector that comes off of the tank to the right hand side near the alternator, as it looks like its been weeping around the joint and is crusty, this would explain why the alternator was drenched as it was the nearest part too..

Can't make that "55 plate" into a MY.

My experience has been the tank can leak horribly when the engine is hot and shut off and pressure builds but can then seal itself shut upon cooling down.

After the coolant gushed out of my Boxster's tank I let the car sit overnight and in the AM topped up the coolant tank with distilled water and drove the car a couple of miles to the dealer to get the tank replaced. There was no leak sign under the car in the AM -- the hot coolant that had run out the day before had dried -- and there was no signs of a leak once I got the car to the dealer. But the tank was definitely the culprit. The old tank once out of the showed signs of having been leaking a bit over some time.

In your car's case it doesn't have to be the tank proper, any old fitting/connector can leak, as you suspect.

If you want be sure the tank is topped up then with the A/C off drive the car around until the engine is fully up to temperature and has been for some minutes. Back at home park the car and raise the engine RPMs to 1K or a bit higher and hold until the radiator fans come on. Once the fans come on turn off the engine and open the engine compartment lid.

Be careful. If a hose or fitting or connection is leaking it can spray hot coolant on you. Approach the engine compartment with care. If there is leak where you suspect I think you'll see signs of it. If so once it is safe to get close with a flashlight try to spot exactly where it is coming from. Once you have it nailed down, let the engine cool down, then top up with water and get the car to a shop for repair.

[Pope]

Rockster, UK Registrations are specific to year as of September 2001:

September 2001 = 51
March 2002 = 02
Sept 2002 = 52
March 2003 = 03
Sept 2003 = 53

A '55' plate would have been registered Sept 2005.

Porsche's MY begins in the middle of the previous year so the 997 in the example would likely be a MY06.

Once we got to 2010;

March 10 = 10
Sept 10 = 60
March 11 = 11
Sept 11 = 61

2020?

March 20 = 20
Sept 20 = 70
March 21= 21
Sept 21 = 71

The plate system was redesigned after the suffix and prefix systems were used up - initially registrations were issued once a year on August the 1st and ended in a letter that denoted its registration year (to be confusing they missed out I, O, Q, U and Z). L was 1973, M was 1974, N was 1975 right up until Y - 1983. In 1984 the prefix system began Registrations started with A, B -1985, C - 1986 until we got to Y again in August 2001. Once the numeric system started Registrations were issued twice a year; March 1st and September 1st taking us back to the beginning of my post.

My Saturday nights are rockin'.......... !!

(Sorry if this hijacks the thread)