Good Morning/Evening gang,

Was at the track a few weeks back, and my Engine Overheating light came on. Was only on my 4th lap when this occurred. I had never paid much attention to the oil temperature given the car is new to me, but the local mechanic said if it hits 250, get off the track. It did, but the coolant/water temp was normal at 175. Took it to my dealer, and three weeks later, they still do not have the problem corrected.

The first thing they did was replace the coolant cap, charged me $200, and sent me on my way. On the drive home, sure enough, I hit 250 degrees without driving overly aggressive.

They claim they have reached out to Porsche, but this was 1.5 weeks ago and my car is still there. The issues I have had with this dealer warrant another thread, but I wanted to seek the collective wisdom of the board as to what could be the problem.

Only changes prior to this happening was SW bypass, and I put gaffers tape on the car for the track. I didn't find any of the tape in the intakes.

Maybe the issue was always there, it just took aggressive track driving to manifest itself. My thoughts are oil cooler, oil temp sensor, radiator issues, or a coolant flush is in order. But 3 weeks and no resolution is unacceptable...

Thanks, and all the best.

Tim

 

Coolant temp gauge displays false value. Oil temp gauge is fairly accurate. Need to read actual coolant temp to determine if it's coolant or oil cooling issue. Usually it's coolant.
Could be a lot of things, including water pump, thermostat, or even a slipping belt. Only guessing without being there to diagnose

 

The coolant temp gauge will display 175 from 175 to 200-some degrees. The oil is cooled by coolant via the heat exchanger. It's possible the heat exchanger can be clogged, but unlikely. In my experience the it more likely for the radiators to be clogged.

 

Just got a call from the dealer, per PNA the guidance is to replace the oil temp gauge. Even if faulty, why would the Engine Overheating indicator come on?

Tom, thanks for chiming in, much appreciated!

Tim

 

That cannot be right - the sensor would send the data to the gauge and to CAN - I wouldn't pay for them to do the gauge

 

What is the CAN (sorry)? They are also doing this for free, they claimed 500 bucks, but thats another story as to why... This is per guidance from PNA.

 

Can is the computer network running the car - oil temp is captured there and one output is to gauge

If your getting overheat warning the computer thinks car is hot doesn't matter what gauge says - either it is in fact hot or the oil temp sensor is busted

Gauge doesn't play a role in that I wouldn't imagine

I'd be swapping out sensor and doing Toms trouble shooting above after if it were me doing the work

 

Pretty sure a dealer master tech can do a calibration of the gauges using a PIWIS.
Audipwr1 is correct about CAN(Control Area Network), a PIWIS will display actual numeric values.

 

So the dealer put the temp sensor on, but during the test drive still spiked to 250-255. Never threw the overheat warning. According to them, Porsche doesn't provide a standard expected oil temp, although it seems most of you run in the 220 range.

My only options left at this point are to change the oil or coolant, but at this point a month later, I don't want this dealer touching my car anymore.

Not sure where I go at this point given the other dealer in STL just closed. Major concern is when I actually drive the car hard, it will peg over 250 and eventually the engine overheat light will come on, and I wasted a month having my car at the dealer...

 

Seems like something is still wrong. Are your radiators free of any blockage? My car runs 200 or so on the street and maxes at 240 on track (oil temp), it never sees 250 or above.

 

They claim the radiators are free of any debris.

I hate to have such a negative tone re this dealer, but my car has been there a month and it seems like I am directing them on what to look at.

For example, just told them the oil cooler is another area of concern, and after talking to their tech, he agreed that its another box to check off as they troubleshoot.

My only other p-dealer is 100 miles away, the one indie in town is air-cooled specialization, certainly not GT3.

 

what are your coolant temps? the entire time is your coolant around the middle mark (i think that's 175)?

in northern California during normal driving i'm under the 200F (oil) needle in my car. if it's 100F out with the A/C on then it'll go a tick over 200F. On track for near 30min sessions I'm at 220-225F maximum with about 80F ambient.

Many cars are okay with oil temp around 220-230F for oil, but the GT3 runs lower b/c it's designed for track usage more so.

 

Coolant is stuck at 175, but I have read you cannot trust that gauge all the time.

Oil cooler is the next item to troubleshoot, but I can't believe that I am advising the techs on how to troubleshoot...

 

could oil cooler thermostat have failed, the most recent Excellence just had an article and states they often fail. Although, I don't know if they fail open or closed. can you get a temp off your oil cooler with hot oil supposedly coursing thru it?

maybe.....

all the best.....

 

I believe you are right, they mentioned they cant get the temp off the cooler because when they stop driving, the temp decreases almost immediately.

Its baffling, almost a month and still without my new to me GT3 and the weather could not be finer