Macster,
I've checked the coolant in my reservoir and at least checked my dipstick. No signs of oil in the coolant an no signs of coolant in the oil. I'm going to drop my oil filter tonight or tomorrow to get a better look at the oil. The issue with checking the plugs will be that I just replaced all plugs and coils. This was actually the first drive after doing so, so I doulbt I have any dirty plugs to be able to see which one is clean.

 

Two gallons is SPECTACULARLY low. The low coolant warning is triggered when the tank is low - but that should only be a pint or so.

How's the water pump bearing (can you wiggle the shaft when the belt's off)? This is a potential point of departure for coolant when the car is running and hot, but you may not see much under the car when it's parked.

 

5CHN3LL...I haven't checked the water pump yet...I'm going to jack it up tonight and see if I can see anything further...

 

Part of using the UView is to pull ~25" of vacuum and see if the system holds it for a couple of minutes. That checks the integrity of the cooling system. if it loses vacuum there is a leak somewhere.

Once, when I was doing leak down on a Honda Accord, I pressurized a cylinder to 100 psi and the radiator overflow peed on my foot, found the reason it was down on power, blown head gasket.

 

Unless the newer models are different both times when the low coolant warning light came on in my Boxster the level was a gallon or so low.

 

Wow. Thanks, Macster. I don't recall it taking anywhere near that much for either my 986 or 996. Regardless, 2 gallons is a lot of coolant to have go missing.

 

A head gasket leak may/might only let coolant into the cylinder when it's under vacuum, no coolant anywhere but in the exhaust.

 

Agree. 2 gallons is a lot. I was surprised it took a gallon to top up the fluid level. It had never needed topping up before. Also, it didn't take long -- IIRC less than a month -- for it to go low again.

 

I ordered the Uview...supposed to arrive Friday. I was able to jack the car up and check a few things today...I didn't feel any play in the water pump and didn't see any visible leaks or spots on the garage floor so I'm thinking this really is a leak that only shows up under pressure. Didn't remove the bumper yet to check the radiators, but visual inspection produced no indication of leak either. I did notice one thing however, there was a drop of coolant stuck in between the motor mounted muffler bracket and the muffler mounted part of that bracket. This is leading more toward a cracked reservoir as I think that is about where it would be dripping....once I get the UView I will hopefully know more and be able to report back..

Oh and the hopefully really good news is there is still no sign of any oil in my coolant and no sign of coolant in my oil so fingers are crossed...

 

Was this on the driver side, towards the rear part of the engine?

 

Imo000...yes it was exactly drivers side toward the rear part of the engine...

 

nymart, if its a leak, you should be able to smell coolant when the engine is hot. If its the coolant tank, oh boy its fun to change on an 02+. If I were you I would condsider dropping the engine. I pulled my old tank before engine drop just to see how hard it was. It sucked. I put in the new tank while my engine was dropped and it was very easy!

 

KK you're killing me...I would love to drop my engine for a number of reasons, but I have to be honest...I'm not comfortable enough yet doing that. I took a look at it while I was checking things out this evening and I could see that it's going to be a "fun" job...but for me it's baby steps until I really get to know my way around this car before I do a full drop

 

Of course its easier when the engine is out but Jeebus...all that work just to make it easier. Started drinking early tonight?

Sounds like the leak is coming from the tank. If the leak is from the drain tube then the leak is around the filler cap.

 

I got the UView today. Hooked it up and followed all of the directions, but I couldn't get it up to 25 psi. It would peak there and then sputter a bit and start spitting coolant out the tube, and back down to 20 psi. It seemed to hold the 20 psi though so I'm still searching for a leak...

Anyway I filled everything up with the Uview and let the car run for a little while in the driveway. No issues, so I decided to take it for a quick ride. Again, no issues and the coolant level looked OK when I got home. Operating temperature was normal but the trip was only about 5 miles.

I did pull some of the coolant out of the reservoir and took the attached picture. Seems everyone else's coolant pictures that I have seen are crystal clear. Mine is anything but as there is capital "A" written in black sharpie behind the glass and you can't see it through the coolant. Now I know the color is due to older green/yellow Porsche coolant mixed with the new pink, but the cloudiness has me concerned. Could this be a sign that it's just time for flush or something more ominous? Tomorrow I'm dropping the oil filter to check the oil more fully. Will likely send off what I pour out of the filter to Blackstone for analysis.