Coolant pouring out from under the car

hasaramat · 07-22-2011, 07:56 PM

I pulled up in my driveway this evening and coolant started running out fom under 1999 Boxster. It was coming down just inside the right rear wheel. There was not a trail of coolant, it waited for me to stop in the driveway. I went for another short drive and stopped in the street and it did it again. It dumps about 2 cups of coolant and then stops. Any ideas?

Dale_K · 07-23-2011, 09:56 AM

Several ideas.

Do the fans work?
If yes it could also be the cap, bleeder or bleeder valve o-rings.
Next level of thought - air entrapped in the system, or damaged water pump. Also pull up the carpet in the trunk and look for coolant on the trunk floor, which would mean a cracked tank.

In my car I was able to fix an overflow condition by replacing the o-rings under the bleeder valve. Worked great for about 3 months but then when the hottest part of the summer weather arrived and my tank cracked. It's in the shop now for a tank replacement (difficult job).

harryrcb · harryrcb's Garage

That sounds like the typical coolant cap is yours upgraded to the part number ending with the 04? If not it's a cheap fix. this has been a know issue. if thats not it then it could be the coolant tank but it sounds more like the cap. Start with that and then if it does not fix it look for the other things mentioned.

hasaramat · 07-24-2011, 02:59 PM

Thanks for the ideas! I will start with the easiest and work my way thur the list.

superglide · 08-22-2011, 07:29 PM

I just returned to Tucson from San Diego; a 6 hr straight thru drive, 400 mi or so. The majority of the drive my air temp read 105 -111 degrees. Engine temp gauge was right where it should be, ac on and working fine. When I pulled up to my house and began unloading; coolant began flowing from the right rear wheel well. About 3 qts or so.

Trunk is dry; got the upgraded cap; WTF? Can anyone offer any thoughts on why this happened?
Semper Fi,
Andy

Dale_K · 08-23-2011, 03:02 AM

The bleeder valve has 2 o-rings beneath the lower housing. At first glance the lower housing looks like part of the tank but it pulls straight up after you wiggle it with some big pliers. Here are a couple pics.

First remove the bleeder valve cap by taking out the bolts.

The lower section looks like it's part of the tank but it is removable. It will be tight and you'll need to wiggle it with some pliers. Then pull straight up.

There are 2 o-rings under the lower section. I used some I bought at the hardware store.

nosnow4pc · 08-23-2011, 09:57 AM

Flush the cap with warm/hot water to make sure all the coolant is out and then put it on VERY tight. My car did this and it ended up that my cap was not tight enough. I was amazed at how tight I was told to get it but haven't had a problem since.

MnW's 987S · MnW's 987S's Garage

Ours did the exact same thing. It was the cap not holding pressure. A new cap and all is perfect once again.

ITR81 · 08-24-2011, 05:53 PM

Same issue fixed by a new cap

superglide · 08-24-2011, 07:49 PM

Thanks All!
Glad to hear that mine isn't one of those no-see-um issues; which make no sense physically. Armed with this knowledge; I'm going to address the above next Sat. Probably won't be able to offer the actual problem, or the true solution, as I'm going to redo the whole coolant exchange (start over).

Tucson is just too warm of a planet to be worrying about this waterpumper...
Semper Fi.
Andy

sdtech968 · sdtech968's Garage

Dale_K has it right on the money, but Porsche sells the parts for the repair. Be careful to CORRECTLY install the bleeder valve.
Tom

superglide · 09-16-2011, 09:52 PM

a moot point now; hit a low curb during downpour (in tucson).; :Progressive totaled my car....looking for red silver / 's' under 50k mi for sale...... andy 520.275.9761

JMatta · 09-17-2011, 05:14 AM

They totaled your car due to a curb hit? Must have been one hell of a curb!

UNYboater · UNYboater's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by superglide

a moot point now; hit a low curb during downpour (in tucson).; :Progressive totaled my car....looking for red silver / 's' under 50k mi for sale...... andy 520.275.9761

Sad. Hope you find a great replacement!

superglide · 11-14-2011, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMatta

They totaled your car due to a curb hit? Must have been one hell of a curb!

sorry for the delayed response. Yeah, I couldn't believe it myself, till I saw the front pan folded up on itself... And the airbags didn't even deploy.

But the Silver Lining is that Progressive gave me $21k for the car(!!!!!), I pulled a bit out of the mattress and found a perfect '04 C4S Cab, w/ a new factory warranty motor, for $32k. So now I go to the OTHER forum...
Yours Aye,
Andy