997 Turbo: steam coming out of engine behind air intake
#1
Cruisin'
Thread Starter
997 Turbo: steam coming out of engine behind air intake
I was driving my 997 Turbo Cab on a 50 MPH road and on a stoplight the car started pushing out a lot of steam through the vents on the engine lid. I had to drive a bit more to a gas station watching my temperature. It stayed normal under 200.
i get to the station and the spoiler had a mist of - coolant! I open the lid and steam was coming from behind the intake filter. I checked the coolant level on reservoir and it still seems to be the same.
Thoughts? Any guidance is appreciated.
i get to the station and the spoiler had a mist of - coolant! I open the lid and steam was coming from behind the intake filter. I checked the coolant level on reservoir and it still seems to be the same.
Thoughts? Any guidance is appreciated.
#2
these are the beginnings of coolant leak problems. Prepare your self for the unavoidable full engine drop. These cars are notorious for coolant leaks etc. Once the “culprits” many of them are fixed, you will have a great car. They will repeat themselves in another 10 to 12 years. Kind of like Hemorrhoids, the fix them and they are back again in 7-8 years. It is what it is.
#3
FYI, there is a hose that’s situated in the exact place you are describing. To fix it do the following. Remove complete air cleaner and assembly. Remover the belt. Remove the A/C compressor. Then you shall see the defective hose from the coolant housing to engine. Hose is $32. It actually hooks to one of the plastic elbows. I will attach a diagram for you.
#7
That’s how my coolant leak began. Then it got worse but what I mean worse it’s the smell! I hate that coolant smell. That hose when it leaks it will drip down the middle of your engine towards the exhaust. I never did have steam coming out. I presume the hose is leaking and hitting the exhaust in your particular case. What happens I believe is this; Porsche uses two types of clamps within the hoses. First we will address the most common which are the stainless Valterra type. They have a tightening nut. The other a metal constant grip type. I believe that the valterra type are more prone to leak since the original grip around the hose is set once. As time passes, the hose begins to lose its rubber consistency and essentially the hose leaks at the ends. This is very apparent by looking with a borescope tool and you should see coolant residue at the ends. I have seen this on my hoses. It’s basically leaks slowly kind of like a small mist spray. White reside sweet to the taste. If you see white, this is occurring. The other hose clamp almost never has that problem. It’s a constant tension grip and always does this even after the rubber deteriorations are occurring. Guess what? All the plastic elbows use the screw nut type. Best solution is to replace all of the hoses. Purchase the Sharkwerks stainless CNC elbows and do the job right. I did this on my car and leaks began next at the water pump. So far no more issues. I do not use the 50/50 mix. I live in South Florida and use 70/30 distilled water with the Porsche coolant. Good luck.
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#8
Rennlist Member
I had the steam episode, but knew it was coming, and was on my way to the dealer.
Engine out, Sharkwerks the works, pin all, replace water pump, bunch of other stuff due anyway with the 90K miles service.
atcbi5, are you saying your fix was in lieu of the drop engine and pin etc, and still holding up?
How many miles when yours happened, and how many since? Thanks.
Engine out, Sharkwerks the works, pin all, replace water pump, bunch of other stuff due anyway with the 90K miles service.
atcbi5, are you saying your fix was in lieu of the drop engine and pin etc, and still holding up?
How many miles when yours happened, and how many since? Thanks.
#12
Rennlist Member
Nice set up atcbi5. Now I feel better.
#14
Rennlist Member
There are quite a number of places that can be the source of the coolant leak. Still best to drop the motor, pin the coolant fittings, install sharkwerks pipes, and replace the water pump while you’re at it.
#15