AceLucas

Just pulled into the garage and after 20 minutes there was a small pool under the rear driver's side exhaust tip. Its coming from above and dripping onto it but I can't see from where. The fluid is a very light pink almost like a very light colored transmission fluid. It is slick like oil. What is this coming from? Engine is too hot to go searching with my hand. Seems to have slowed down. It is a manual trans.

jd02c2

Coolant.

fpb111

Search "Replacing coolant tank" and "Water pump replacement"

Hurdigurdiman

Wait until the engine is cold and check the level of the coolant tank. Oily pinkish liquid????????? Very strange. My coolant is yellowy greenish. You might want to check the oil on the dip stick for clarity in case the AOS is at fault.

thstone

Besides the coolant, check the engine mount - when the engine mounts fail they leak an oily fluid. Smell the fluid. The fluid smelled like rancid/burned cooking oil when mine failed (it was nasty smelling, that is how I knew that it wasn't coolant).

This is what my engine mounts looked like after 110,000 miles: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...ne-mounts.html

Revn29k00

If he has G12 coolant it will be pink.

DBJoe996

Agree with other posters, either coolant or motor mount. Check the coolant level in the expansion tank first. I changed out my coolant with the Porsche coolant...it is pink.

Dplus

I recenly had a similar puddle of light oil dripping onto the exhaust tip and then onto the floor. I traced it to the bumper shock absorber. I have a 993: 996's may be different.

Good luck,

D.

AceLucas

So I found the crack in the coolant tank and the part is on order. So in adding coolant, do I need to use Porsche coolant or is it the same as a less expensive brand. I only drained as much as I needed so I don't want to mix brands if possible. $46 a gallon is crazy especially when there are only a few antifreeze manufactures in the world.

fpb111

Porsche uses an OAT antifreeze as original fill. You can use any other OAT type plus most HOAT types.
http://www.recycool.net/index.php?op...acts&Itemid=10

Barn996

Thank you fbp111, you have once again dispelled a myth that 'only' Porsche coolant can be used. Good info.

trapperdog

I bought my coolant at the local VW dealer and I think it was $22 a gallon.

DBJoe996

I know I'm probably going to take some heat for this....
The basis for my thinking - my 19 year old son is "learning" about car ownership, maintenance and so on with his Honda. Back in January/February his car overheated and I asked him about checking his radiator fluid and antifreeze...he said he did, but as it turns out he neglected it (as well as not really checking the oil level). Live and learn, 3 months later his car is running horrible and finally practically gives up. I said let's get it figured out...pulled the spark plugs and ran the starter. You should have seen the water/antifreeze shooting out the cylinders! It was spectacular, but also meant he blew a head gasket and in the end, after removing the cylinder head we discovered it was cracked. He learned a hard and costly lesson in doing the required and recommended checks. In the repair process, I said use the Honda recommended antifreeze and correct ratio and showed him how to figure that out. My reasoning is that Honda, as well as other car manufacturers, test and test again their recommendations and use a basis of determining what is correct on many extensive long term analysis of engine maintenance and life.

Porsche does the same. To me, the Porsche recommended coolant, a "lifetime" product, is based on what has been determined to be the best quality and mix for the engine. I don't have the time or inclination to experiment and extensively test other coolants for a lifetime of use in a very expensive engine. I also see no reason to try and game the system and say, well this one is just like the other one blah blah blah just to save a few bucks. Accept it...you have a fantastically engineered car and it costs money to keep it up. Porsche has tested it and it works. Always use the Porsche recommended coolant, buy it, put it in your car and you will never have the question floating around in your mind...did I do the right thing?

Sun Coast Porsche Parts $35/gallon http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...96WaterCooling

99 C2, 125,500 miles, all recommended maintenance/fluids, daily driver and no problems

JMLavoie

Well spoken, DBJoe.
Any respectable VW and Audi dealers recommend/use the same G12 coolant as Porsche. All in the same family, I'm guessing.
Lesson learned last fall when my water pump impeller broke off and it started leaking profusely a few hundred meters from my home. I was lucky to coast downhill right into my garage!

Profet

AceLucas mine did the exact same thing last Thursday. I smelled the leak before I saw it. Coolant has a sweet scent that is unmistakable if you have experience. The part from my local stealership was $450 so I decided to order and wait. I got one from Sunset for a very good price and it arrived yesterday afternoon. I'm not as good as others on this site at documenting what I do but that might have something to do with previous employment at BMW where speed was the key.

I have a C4 and a couple good tricks that I learned on the way doing this job for the first time were:

- if it looks like it should come out to get the tank out, it needs to come out.
- the fuel filter and the fuel rail vent line need to come out to extract this beast
- do yourself a favor and drop the engine off the mounts to get a lot more room to work
- buy these!! Hose clamp pliers
- zip ties are your friends, use them liberally to get all the hoses out of your was so you can have a straight shot into the hole where the tank goes.
- if you don't have an updated cap get one of those while you are at it too.

All up it took me 3 hours to get the tank and all the associated parts out. After I knew how to get it apart, it took a total of 45 min to get it all back together and on the road. I also saved about a thousand dollars and learned a bit about my 'new' car at the same time.

Good luck with your project