Antifreeze smell in a Boxster

[thomschoon]

Sorry for the cross post but the Boxster BBS has very few postings. I am looking for a daily driver and found a great 2002 Boxster S in yellow, only problem is that there is an antifreeze smell in the cabin. The car has 24k and just went through a CPO inspection which found nothing and then the car was serviced, any ideas or am I just paranoid about adding a water pumper to the garage next to my SC


Thanks

Thom

[herman maire]

Heater core maybe, leaky rad or leaky pipe...If your smelling it something has to be leaking.
Good luck

[curiousone940]

I've changed out defective water pumps on 2 Boxsters in the last six months or so....if leaking antifreeze on the pavement is not obvious, I'd get it on a lift, take off the bottom engine cover and start looking for leaks. The water pump is located right behind the driver seat/console...if it's leaking, I think it would be a sure odor inside the cabin. Not really that difficult to change out.

[singpilot]

Do you have any P-car purist friends who would pull a fast one on you?

Or maybe the SC is extracting revenge.

[scottb]

Check the exhaust pipe for signs of anti-freeze. Could be a blown head gasket (though a more benign problem is probably the cause).

[juanbenae]

i did some research for a lady at work that had the same thing going on. i found by nosing around the boxster search deal with "antifreeze" and maybe smell, or leak, dont recall exactly. but it is quite common for the overflow in the rear trunk area to leak down in under the false bottom of the trunk. dont remember whether it was a hose, the tank themselves, or the overflow lid deal leaking. maybe it was all three.

T$

[Bez]

It's probably the cap. I recall reading that it needs to be replaced with a newer cap and the problem goes away. I almost bought an 01 S and this was the reason for the leaking coolant.

[Por_sha911]

A blown head gasket is easy to find-you'll see a whitish foam on the oil dip stick.
Don't forget rule #1 in a Porsche purchase.
Everyone repeat the mantra: "No PPI = No Sale"

[jwmarc]

You could have a leak in the expansion tank in the boot... check out Porsche Petes 986 board

[unclebilly]

The way to check for a blown head gasket is to remove the coolant cap (COLD), start up the car and let it warm up. Keep an eye on the coolant in the tank. If you see tiny bubbles (maybe .020") in diameter, you have a bad head gasket. The white oil doesn't always work - this just tells if you are getting water in your oil but not if you are getting coolant into your combustion chamber.

My vote is for a bad heater core but it sounds like the coolant cap is a viable excuse too.

[Zeke]

I replaced my cap, or more specifcally, the pressure cap which is held on by 8 bolts. The PC has a sensor and it can leak into the floor area of the "boot." A lot of them do this and, yes, there is a superceded part. Take the hard carpet out and check.

[Por_sha911]

Originally posted by unclebilly
The white oil doesn't always work - this just tells if you are getting water in your oil but not if you are getting coolant into your combustion chamber.

This is true however if you were getting coolant into the combustion chamber you'd have moisture coming out the tailpipe and also problems with the way it runs.
I also vote for heater core.

[Skeeter1]

Need your help.

I am new to Porsche cars, bought my first last year - 01' Carrera 4 w/32,000 miles.

Car runs great but have the smell of anti-freeze issue. I took the car in for a pressure check of the cooling system - no issue. After that I took the posted advice on this site.

I checked the oil for the whitish foam - none

Just turned the car on 'cold' - removed cap and looked for the .020 bubbles - saw none.

There has never been any leaks on the garage floor.

I checked the anti freeze cap and saw the model # ended in the number '0', have ordered a new one.

I did notice antifreeze below the cap of the anti freeze tank. I wiped it off and will monitor. The anti freeze smell comes when I start it and when I get out of the car. I wouldn't say it was a strong smell.

The mechanic said it could possibly be the head gasket but wasn't for sure.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Dave

[CCM911]

In my group of Porsche friends, we have already had to replace the expansion tank on a Boxster S and on a 996. Easy to check, and will not break the bank if it is indeed the culprit.