S2 with vanishing coolant
#16
Three Wheelin'
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It was done by a shop that's an advertiser for the local PCA region. They are not a dedicated race shop, but they do service performance cars and the owner club races I believe. He didn't flush the system himself though, so maybe the guy who did my car wasn't familiar enough to do everything required.
Don't know why, but many people here likes to yell head gasket as soon as some coolant disappears without leaving a puddle. It's not always the case. In fact, it's often not the case. When mine went, I knew it was a head gasket or cracked head pretty immediately, as I had milkshake. It could have been an oil cooler if the only thing I had to work with was that information, but I had also noticed a bit of coolant missing every time I parked for the previous month or so, and had power problems after a cold start until I got into 2nd gear (turned out it was a cracked head/bad gasket and it was leaking coolant into the #2 cyl at shutdown when the coolant pressure is highest, so that cyl didn't fire properly until it all burnt off). Things finally let go, and I got milkshake. It was all pretty obvious from there.
It doesn't sound like you have any of these things going on. So you probably just need to bleed it.
#17
Burning Brakes
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I sure hope so, I really don't want to spend the cash for an r&r on the engine only 6 months after I bought the thing. Owner of the local porsche/944 shop was at the event and mentioned a rebuild could cost around $5000, but I think he was including a lot of stuff like rod bearings and a valve job.
#18
Three Wheelin'
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I sure hope so, I really don't want to spend the cash for an r&r on the engine only 6 months after I bought the thing. Owner of the local porsche/944 shop was at the event and mentioned a rebuild could cost around $5000, but I think he was including a lot of stuff like rod bearings and a valve job.
If this ends up just needing to be bled, you really should be making a phone call back to the shop. I'm sure you'll get some freebies the next time in, and that tech really needs someone to tell him that he's doing it wrong. If they're a good shop, they'll appreciate the call.
#20
Burning Brakes
#21
Race Director
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Yellow froth on the dipstick = coolant is getting into the oil. Can be:
1. Headgasket
2. Oil cooler gasket
3. Cracked head.
4. Other ??
My cracked head yielded the same frothy stuff - on the dipstick as well as on the inside of the oil cap.
Good luck,
-Zoltan.
1. Headgasket
2. Oil cooler gasket
3. Cracked head.
4. Other ??
My cracked head yielded the same frothy stuff - on the dipstick as well as on the inside of the oil cap.
Good luck,
-Zoltan.
#22
Burning Brakes
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![Smilie](https://rennlist.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Wouldn't the oil at the end of the dipstick turn cloudy as well though? It's staying clean and the level isn't rising.
#23
Three Wheelin'
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If I were in your situation, I'd still be making sure my cooling system was fully bled before bothering with anything else. Again.....simple and cheap first. Bleeding the cooling system is 15 minutes worth of work. Bleed it, fill it, drive it. For a few days. Then see if all the coolant and oil are staying where they are supposed to be.
#24
Nordschleife Master
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With as much coolant as you've lost, you'd be far overfull on your dipstick by now. Of course, the best way to know for sure is to change your oil into a clean pan, walk away for 30 minutes, and then slowly pour it into another clean pan and look for coolant below the oil.
If I were in your situation, I'd still be making sure my cooling system was fully bled before bothering with anything else. Again.....simple and cheap first. Bleeding the cooling system is 15 minutes worth of work. Bleed it, fill it, drive it. For a few days. Then see if all the coolant and oil are staying where they are supposed to be.
If I were in your situation, I'd still be making sure my cooling system was fully bled before bothering with anything else. Again.....simple and cheap first. Bleeding the cooling system is 15 minutes worth of work. Bleed it, fill it, drive it. For a few days. Then see if all the coolant and oil are staying where they are supposed to be.
#25
Race Director
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Check the inside of your oil cap - does it have the same frothiness? Or something that looks like a lot of condensation?
Drain your oil - see what comes out.
-Zoltan.
#26
Burning Brakes
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There has been some frothiness under the oil cap, but nothing new since I cleaned it out a couple days ago.
Seeing as there's a good chance I'll just have to change the oil again once I determine the problem, should I just fill it with regular oil or stick with mobil 1 15w-50?
Seeing as there's a good chance I'll just have to change the oil again once I determine the problem, should I just fill it with regular oil or stick with mobil 1 15w-50?
#27
Three Wheelin'
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There has been some frothiness under the oil cap, but nothing new since I cleaned it out a couple days ago.
Seeing as there's a good chance I'll just have to change the oil again once I determine the problem, should I just fill it with regular oil or stick with mobil 1 15w-50?
Seeing as there's a good chance I'll just have to change the oil again once I determine the problem, should I just fill it with regular oil or stick with mobil 1 15w-50?
If you're going to change the oil, have both the good stuff and something else around. If you inspect the old oil and it's fine, put in the good stuff. If not, put in some other stuff until you can diagnose further.
#28
Burning Brakes
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There has been some frothiness under the oil cap, but nothing new since I cleaned it out a couple days ago.
Seeing as there's a good chance I'll just have to change the oil again once I determine the problem, should I just fill it with regular oil or stick with mobil 1 15w-50?
Seeing as there's a good chance I'll just have to change the oil again once I determine the problem, should I just fill it with regular oil or stick with mobil 1 15w-50?
I would go with all the advice you have had so far and get the coolant system pressurized so you can eliminate a leak or not as the case may be. Its cheaper than changing your oil and filter !
Its a pity you didn't mention the coolant change as that has a very direct bearing on this I suspect the garage didn't bleed the system properly as others have said.
My local indie did just that and I ended up with a head gasket gone which they had to pay for.
#29
Burning Brakes
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After finding this pic from when I looked at the car prior to purchase, it appears it even had low coolant then, this pic was taken last September.
![](http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n317/crazykarl_03/The%20944/IMG_1349Large.jpg)
#30
Burning Brakes
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yes that would suggest that it has been leaking for some time. You could have a small head gasket leak. I nursed my Lux for about 10,000 miles (6 months) with a slightly blown head gasket before the garage left the engine running without the fan on and finished it off.
![banghead](https://rennlist.com/forums/graemlins/banghead.gif)