TMc993

2014 981 Cayman Base with PDK, 55,9XX miles. Daily driver, no track or sustained hard driving. The car had an oil change service about 1000K miles ago. The technician said the engine was dry (No leaks/drips) at that time.

Today, after a few days of lows in the mid-20's I went through my usual late fall routine of adjusting tire pressures, filling wiper fluid, etc. When I do this, I routinely manually check the engine coolant level (As opposed to depending on an idiot light).

Here's how it went:

• The car had been sitting for three days in sub-50 degree temps and was stone cold.
• When I opened the coolant tank cap the red plunger was sitting on the bottom of the coolant tank neck indicating that the coolant was at a "Minimum" level at best. There was no low coolant warning light so this kind of surprised me.
• Using an 50/50 coolant mix I began to add coolant in 4 oz. increments.
• It took 32 oz. to get the plunger to the Owner's Manual-prescribed halfway between the MIN and MAX mark.
• 32 oz. seems like a lot, but given that I have no obvious leaks, puddles, coolant odors, etc. I'm thinking I keep an eye on it and see what happens.

Any ideas/opinions based in experience with 981's?

Thanks,
Terry

Titanium5150

My experience is to not add coolant unless you get a warning light on the dash.

RGS

Take a look around the water pump area for any dried white scale, that could be a leaking water pump when the engine is hot and the coolant is under pressure. Also it could have been a lower fill and the colder weather contracted the fluid a bit?

Fullyield

I add 12 - 16 oz. coolant to my 981S every six months to get the red float to bob again. No leaks, puddles or smell. I think it is just overflowing a little at a time when under pressure.

TMc993

Thanks, guys. I've always been hands on about checking tire pressure, belts, hoses, and fluid levels but the nature of the 981 doesn't encourage that type of thing. I have it serviced at intervals shorter than factory spec and I know my shop does a good job of laying eyes on everything on the car but I'll be a more vigilant regarding coolant from now on.

Regards,
Terry

absoluteczech

coolant levels always tend to drop in the winter

toma nova

Remember that the coolant tank is open to atmosphere so coolant will evaporate. Smart to look at everything every six months, you're ahead of the idiot lights. With total capacity around 6 gallons, a quart is not really that much to add.

I just checked mine and added 24oz, thanks for the reminder!

TMc993

This is the critical point of reference I was lacking...Thanks!

ledbette

There is definite coolant evaporation in a 981. Seems like most people get a low coolant light around 4 years, 40K miles.

Really high temp driving, especially on the track will also cause a bit of coolant overflow, evidenced by crusty residue in the fill cap area.

Coolant cap warping is also a common issue. I had to replace mine because it got so tight I couldn't fully seal it without a pair of long pliers. It was visually indistinguishable from the new one, but the new one screwed back in without effort. I suspect the warpage was due to hot coolant overflow on the track.

TMc993

I noticed my cap was somewhat difficult to get off and on. I'll take a look at it as well.

Thanks,
Terry

KBell

Thanks for bring up this question.
Great thread.
Also, I was wandering why a 981 owner had to be Arnold Schwarzenegger to get the coolant cap off.
Time to replace that coolant cap.

okie981

In a 981 car? With the expansion tank cap installed, the bleed valve closed, and the fill cap installed? Where is the free flowing and open path to atmosphere?

TMc993

Just to "close the loop" on this...There have been no odors, drips, or puddles since the original post. I have a new cap on the way and will install it when it arrives. Since the oil was changed about a month ago, I checked with my shop and they indicate that they specifically check the water pump area (as well as other areas) when they change the oil and the technician's notes indicated it was "dry." I'll just assume it just needed topping up and will watch it more closely from now on.

Thanks again for the replies.

Terry

toma nova

IMHO, the cap in the trunk is not pressurized (or not significantly) - just like the oil cap on the other side. I'm not surprised that coolant is evaporating from that cap, especially in hot climates or track driving (both for me).

If the system is sealed and there are no leaks or coolant in the oil, where is the coolant going??

Racer Boy

If the cap wasn't meant to hold pressure, it would leak coolant every time the car reached operating temperature. You would also smell antifreeze in the passenger compartment.

The same goes for the oil cap, you'd smell oil fumes. Our cars are unusual in that both the coolant and oil caps are in the passenger compartment. Sure, there is a little cover over them, but I don't think it can seal well enough to keep the fumes from escaping.