nerdnic

09 C2 82k miles

I haven't noticed any leaks or that sweat sweat coolant smell since I've owned the car (2k miles). My tank has no visible cracks that I can see and it appears to be the original that came with the car. I replaced my blue coolant cap last month as preventative maintenance after reading that it can fail, but i didn't have any failing symptoms (that I know of).

Is my bleeder valve failing?

Floyd540

The bleeder valve has not failed, it is just starting weep a bit. No real harm there. However , since the car is 12 years old and in Texas, I highly recommend you consider replacing the coolant tank, It comes with a new bleeder valve) . They are not expansive, $119 at a friendly dealer and a DIY project.

rtl5009

have you wiped it and it came back? some people that do not have the proper tools pop that up to get the system to bleed and that can cause that

Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S 174K miles

Bleed Valve

Years ago, my indy (ex-Porsche shop foreman) saw that on my 2000 Boxster S (I'll bet they are still using the same part!!!) and recommended replacement. I don't know why.... $50 alt-Porsche from Pelican up to $80 for Porsche labeled part. Make sure you get the O rings. The cap part number is 99610634702 but confirm all this.. I didn't confirm these numbers.

The tanks are common failures but these tanks on the .2 models appear way more robust... Check the tank for stress lines that go up and down... you will see as they look whitish... and check for leaks or residue on the underside of the tank. I am not sure if I would replace the tank or not. If there no stress lines up and down... I am not sure I would do the replacement... have to think about that.

Here is a thread by doclouie that shows the common stress line in a 997.2 tank: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...ank-crack.html

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

Petza914

Bleeder valve isn't failing, it's working. Likely that coolant cap you replaced wasn't holding pressure as well as it should and now that it is, excess pressure is coming out through the bleeder valve. As long as your coolant level isn't above the max line and level not going down, you should be fine. Wipe it off and see if it keeps doing it.

nerdnic

Thanks everyone. I cleaned it off and will monitor. A new tank is on my list of planned maintenance, but that probably won't happen for a few more months. So, I'm happy that it doesn't look like that needs to be expedited.

nerdnic

I went for a drive after cleaning the residue. Temps got to about 225 for a 30 min drive. Residue is now back.

Is this just normal? My coolant level is at min when cold.

CAVU

Unless you are reading coolant temp with a PIWIS, the cockpit gauge should be sitting at 175F because Porsche decided that we should not know the true temperature until some "number". If you have 225F at the gauge your engine is overheating. That problem needs to be addressed, not the valve. It could be air in the system, bad thermostat, bad pump impeller

Petza914

No, not normal. I run my cold coolant level at max on both my 997s don't do that.

nerdnic

I just had an mini heart attack reading this. But then I realized I shared my OIL temps and not my coolant temps in the last post.

I'm sitting at 175 on the coolant gauge.

MarkinMD

My 2010 997.2 coolant tank had a small leak at 11 years with 50K miles. The only evidence was a small trail of residue accumulating on the side of the tank. It never lost a measurable amount of coolant. After replacement with a new tank and cap, I had a small amount of coolant dripping below the tank. The new cap wasn't fully tightened, a quarter turn solved the problem.

CAVU

Take a look at the attached picture of my relief valve. It looks like yours is open (the vertical plunger looks much higher than mine). The metal clip, really a lever, should be resting flat on the top of the valve. Try pushing the plunger down until the clip is flat against the top

Floyd540

Good call on the "looks like" the plunger is not down all the way. Never mix up coolant temp and oil temp readings. Like already said, coolant gauge is conrolled by the marketing guys . Years ago when everyone had the "idiot " gauges (which work perfectly), no one had a problem. with cars adding back a temp gauge, users had no idea what it meant. People would complain that their car was overheating when the gauge moved slightly up when pulling a long grade in the summer. (Perfectly normal operation actually). So to minimized the complaints, manufacturers had the computer set the reading at normal and only when it was too hot then the gague would move toward HOT which by then was too late. Many warped heads are a result of this practice. For our cars, the oil temp is the real value and since it is so important, we get the real data and we need to be smart enough to use it.
As to the MIN and MAX lines on the coolant tank. The difference between the two lines is designed to be exactly the expansion of the coolant system between "cold" and "hot". If properly filled to the MIN level when cold, then the tank will always show a level between the two marks regardless of the temp when read. This is designed to again minimize the complaints from the unknowing . You can calculate this easily or just look at the tank. If filled to the MIN mark when cold, it will show MAX when hot. Since it is in the range, no complaints.
997 (actually a 996 carryover) coolant tanks have a finite life based on time/temp/miles before they will all fail. 10 years, 80,000 miles or some number of operating hours and they are suspect. Fortunately they do not fail catastrophically but develop small tell tale leaks. Best to replace them on your time in your garage rather than in the middle of nowhere. $120 and DIY

MrMoose

The bleeder valve shouldn't be weeping or releasing pressure, no. The other cap (blue in the photo above) is what controls pressure. The bleeder valve should only open when you pull the lever.

Anyway, there's a couple o-rings in there that can wear out, it's probably just starting to fail, and if there's any question you should replace it. Porsche OEM part is like $80, aftermarket is $50, should be pretty easy to swap out.

nerdnic

This is interesting. When cold mine is down and flush, but when hot it's pushed up. It seems to be responding to the pressure changes.

I'm gonna order a new tank this week and swap it out.