mooty

^ i apologize. i didn't meant to state you are the culprit. i just wanted members to know even if they have a late production car. they are still in the danger zone.

sorry

RedRSA

While not directly related due to the vehicle model and production numbers, Porsche is sending checks to Cayenne owners for similar coolant system problems. Several owners in the DC area have received checks, some multiple checks based on having submitted claims for more than one Cayenne.

Different case, but is there any incentive for 997 GTx / turbo owners to pursue further based on the Cayenne precedence?

Turboslut

They actually reference that the procedure and adhesion process is used in Cayenne and Panamera in their response to the NHTSA. I would say that the Cayenne and Panamera are more of a volume car for them, so they probably respond well to issues related to those cars

Spyerx

There was a class action lawsuit filed for the cayennes.

dr79930

I had the pipes pinned on my '07 GT3 RS last month and drove the car a half dozen times or more on the street with no problem. Last weekend I was at Mid Ohio in my first session on the second lap going down the back straight and when entering Turn 7 the car spun three times and came to a stop in the grass just off the track. Four cars spun behind me barely and missed hitting me. I thought a car in front of me must have dumped the coolant, but it turned out it was my car. The lines underneath the car separated because the spring clip that holds them in place came loose. I'm sure this must have been due to the engine being pulled and then the lines not fastened all the way, but why didn't it leak sooner? Has anyone else had this problem?

karmx7

I had a similar experience when I had my fittings pinned but fortunately without the coolant loss. One of the coolant lines came unfastened after the pinning, my first track day back out with the car I could hear a sound when cornering and thought a tool had been left in the car or something was loose in the suspension. We couldn't find the issue until a week or so later I was looking under the car and could see one of the coolant lines loose through one of the NACA ducts in the undertray.

dr79930

So from what you're saying the lines did not separate at the fittings underneath and you lost no coolant. Mine separated at the fittings so I'm thinking either the o-rings are bad or the spring clip failed.

Big Al HURT123

What am I missing here. Isn't this fix suppose to prevent anything like this from happening.

Spyerx

Pinning or welding the coolant lines only fixes the issue of separation of those pipes where the glue is known to loosen over time.

There are MANY other connections in the cooling system: rubber hoses at the radiators, rubber hoses in the engine area, rubber hoses that connect the engine to the hard lines on the chassis, etc...

Point is: These are all maintenance items, should be inspected for seeping, etc. Cup cars time out many of these, including radiators as they are known to crack over time and leak. Unless the clip was never fastened right, 'catastrophic' loss tends to be pretty rare. But not unheard of.

dr79930

Sphere, you are right about many connections besides the ones on the manifold. Mine came apart where the rubber hoses connect to the hard ones on the chassis. My mechanic says he fastened the clip properly and says if it wasn't it would have failed when I was driving the car on the street. He maintains the extra pressure put on the system on the track and the rocking of the engine (I don't have solid mounts) probably caused the clip to pop off. I don't know whether to believe this or not. Another mechanic told me those fittings should be changed every time the engine is dropped, which they weren't when the lines were pinned.

Tim Kay

dr79930,
Frustrating to be pro-active to prevent an incident that ultimately occurred but-for the reason you were pro-active. No good deed goes unpunished!! I guess the silver lining is it could have been sooo much worse…..

dr79930

Yeah, I was lucky. Sitting there with cars spinning in front and back of me without getting hit. It could have been bad.

Spyerx

I think the clip was not fastened right. These are pretty robust connections. see below for a picture of the hoses that goes from the engine to the hard lines to the radiators. this is a carrera but the GT3 isn't terribly different. A sping clip inserts and holds the hose which has an aluminum fitting on it.

i've been on track 3x now when GT3 lost coolant. It's like a slow motion ballet of spinning cars. So lucky the ones I've seen no car to car or car to barrier damage.

AudiOn19s

After I had mine fixed I could drive around on the street completely normal and I was fine, but every time I ran the car to redline it would pop off one of the main coolant lines in the engine bay. Thankfully all of this testing was on the street. I finally figured it out...3 of the 4 clips that hold on those fittings are the same and one is different and I had mixed them up when I changed the hoses.

I was only there sat/ sun last weekend but my brother drove through the dump and said it was pretty hairy. I too am glad everyone came away without damage.

bsavino

Pocono....first DE after i had new engine replaced and was on my second lap doing a night event with Audi, CC....car suddenly started going sideways on main straight after coming from infield, just past a car and all i hear are the rear wheels screeching for about 100 yards i was drifting sideways at 110+ mph..first I was wondering if a tire went down, then if the car was put back together correctly with new engine replacement....after getting the car straight again i went into the infield part of the track and then it started again in the other direction, albeit at a lot more controlled speed...looking down at the gauges i saw i was overheated ...after i came into the paddock i noticed the entire rear of the car and both rear tires were soaked with coolant, and it finally made sense...and go figure, first time in 10 years i didn't trailer the car...good thing i was only a few hours away from home and my buddy was coming to watch that night...we went home that night picked up the car with my trailer next day...dropped it off at the dealer on the way home....dealer said he didn't know what happened....all good now, was very lucky, in retrospect, i had the street tires on, if i had the hoosiers i would have been toast.