I noticed my coolant level was low about a week ago and topped it up with a mixture of antifreeze and water.
I checked the level again yesterday and while it is still above the minimum, the level appears to have dropped quite a bit. In conjunction with this i have noticed for some time a strange smell coming from the engine when it is warmed up. car has nearly 20k miles so whatever the protectant that Porsche applies has burnt of long ago.
So my question is, is it possible that I have a coolant leak somewhere that is then coming into contact with the engine and burning of?
I have not noticed any leaks on garage floor. car is still under warranty for 4 months.

thanks a lot

 

If there's a leak between the engine and the radiators you probably won't see anything on the garage floor since the plastic undercovers will capture it.

 

mine wasn't noticeably lower, but I kept smelling coolant. temp gauge was fine - called Roadside Assistance and told them about the smell. They sent out a wrecker, the water pump was just starting to leak, got it replaced under warranty. Service Manager said it's not an uncommon occurance for them to go out. Mine's a 2008, 30K miles.

 

Thank you very much. That may be the problem, i will get it looked at
cheers

 

Mine was one of the spring-type hose clamps that failed. It didn't make itself really noticed until the fluids were topped off and the weather got warmer. The smell was a spicy, sweet odor not anything like a burning oil smell. My mechanic said that a 1/2" low on the reservoir is actually close to a gallon of fluid. Definitely get it pressure checked before the summer is fully upon you!

 

Check your coolant cap for any leaks or crust build up around the base of the cap.

 

I had a similar problem. The coolant tank was chronically slightly low no matter how many times I topped it off. The dealer pressure tested it and it was fine. Finally after reading on Rennlist I replaced the coolant cap. Cost less than $20. I haven't had a problem since. The caps are known to be defective and should be replaced with the most recent version if you are having this type of issue.

 

The car is booked in at the dealer on Thursday.
I did check the coolant cap, no residue but i will get the new one while at the dealer.
Also noticed today that the horn is very wimpy, something isnt working on that either so they can check that out
thanks for all the replies

cheers

 

The new cap's part # ends in .04. The .03 cap never made it to the parts bin.

 

Limey, this risks hijacking the thread, but my horn is one tone, too. I think I've read that the bumper cover has to be removed on some cars to access the 2 horns. There is a great pictorial step by step archived here somewhere.

 

thank you very much. Im assuming that the dealer will take care of this under the warranty.
I hardly ever use the horn, but someone tried to merge into me the other day and when i hit it it sounded like my dog had just farted.....
i will let you know

cheers

 

One or both horns going bad on the 997.1 is a relatively common occurance.

 

Coolant system pressure checked no problems. I have it on my file now so if something does go wrong shortly after the warranty expires im hoping i will be good.
Horn fixed, all is well

cheers

 

Sounds like a bad cap, as it is replaced during the test and therefore it will find no fault.

Had both the cap and horn issues with my 2005.

 

Reviving an old thread to avoid making a new one, hope it helps.

Anyhow, was out on a drive today, had done about 70 miles of highway speeds, just cruising through the countryside, ambient temp about 65-70°, trying to exit the interstate and get back on two-lane and had to sit it an extended traffic backup.

It was stop & go, 10-15 feet at a time, for nearly 30 minutes. My car had already come up to normal temperature before hitting the backup and had run flawlessly throughout the two hours or so prior. As I stared at my dashboard in a traffic daze I noticed my oil temp a bit higher than normal, probably 230-240° and appearing to climb. Before I could form a thought I saw that my coolant temp, which I’ve never seen other than pegged at 175° (I know, it’s a dummy gauge) was at nearly 250°!

For a brief moment I observed the dash warning light for engine temperature, I immediately pulled out of the traffic backup and out onto the interstate to get the car moving. I happened to have my Foxwell scanner in the glovebox so I plugged it in and set it to real-time engine coolant data. The dash light almost immediately went off as the temperature dropped, settling at 210° or so. I drove like this, not exceeding 3000 RPM, for about twenty minutes before I exited the interstate right into more traffic.

I crawled along for a few minutes and when the temp climbed to 230° I pulled into a parking lot, **** down the engine and opened the deck lid. Upon doing so I found dried cool and seemingly sprayed on the engine mount, the side of the expansion tank, and on the adjacent hoses and wires. Some dried coolant was also present on the underside of the deck lid, directly above the coolant tank.


I got under the car and saw only a couple areas of moisture, all seeming to come from
above and none actively dripping. Then I saw what made my heart sink:


Coolant coming out of my exhaust can only mean bad, bad news, and there was coolant on the bumper as well.

I stayed parked for about 30 minutes. During this time I watched for coolant drips and found none. The level, visible on the tank, was 1/2” below the minimum level after this period, and the coolant temperature had dropped to 176°. Traffic had dissipated but I was nowhere near a Porsche indy and about an hour’s drive from home. With the Foxwell feeding me temp data I set off, hopeful but very worried.

The next 60 miles were completely uneventful with coolant temperature fluctuating between 181-210 degrees, oil temperature staying in a range of 200-215, oil pressures normal and throughout, both before and after the coolant spike, no misfires, no hesitation, no smoke, and no rough idle.

I made it home, sitting at 190°, opened the deck lid, and found no new evidence of coolant leakage. The bumper, tail pipe, and interior of the driver’s side engine compartment looked no different than an hour before and completely dry. In the hour since I’ve observed no drips or puddles and the side of the expansion tank, to the extent I can get my hand in to feel, is dry.

I checked my maintenance log spreadsheet and it shows I last topped up coolant/water 50/50 in July of last year. I added about 300mL from a bottle on my shelf and an equal measure of distilled water just now and this has brought the level in the tank up to the minimum fill line.

I’ve talked myself off of the intermix ledge but I’m quite unsettled by these events. I’m hopeful @Petza914 and others in the 997.1 brain trust can shine some light on this incident. Should I add more coolant? Should I keep from driving until I can fully diagnose the cause? Am I overlooking something simple and obvious?