Psup4s

Hello folks, I recently purchase a CPO 07 997.1T and about 3 weeks ago i started smelling coolant inside my garage. Had the car towed to the dealer and they droped the engine to change oil cooler lines. Drove the car back home last week and the next day more coolant was leaking from under the engine. Car is currently at the dealer again and waiting to see if they need to drop the motor again.

My question is it normal is it to smell coolant in these cars? Service advisor said its normal but i dont think it is.

Thanks everyone

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robhamster

Normal, no. Occasionally yes. and from what I have learned, it is a problem. There are several hose connections that are "glued" into position on the water pump and elsewhere. This glue can fail, but what I have been told is that is usually is a catastrophic failure rather than a slight leak. I noticed a small puddle of cooland underneath the front part of the engine bay on my 07 TT this winter when the temperature in the garage dropped close to 0 d F.d. In speaking with the two dealers in my area, one recommended having the Porsche approved fix, which involves more glue, as if there ever is a class action lawsuit, I have done what Porsche has suggested as a fix.

Given that you have a CPO, make them fix all the glued connections with new glue, which is what they will do. Hopefully that fix will outlast your ownership of the vehicle.

Psup4s

Thanks so much for your input. I was not aware of the glue issue. I asked the service manager if would be ok for them to install sharkwerks ss coolant pipes and he said no problem. I will look into that as soon as I find out if they need to drop the motor again

Boeing 717

Yea they'll do it........ then deny any warranty work later because your car was "modded".

Psup4s

I see your point. I'll ask them about the glue tomorrow. I have two full yrs of warranty so maybe I'll just hold off on the ss pipes. Meanwhile, I'll just enjoy it and let them pay for any damages

Steamboat

That's probably incorrect. If a dealer deny's warranty work for this mod, take it to another dealer. It is a passive fix.......it does nothing, more or less, than fix an adhesive problem. No reason to re-glue it; that will eventually fail so you might as well get it done properly, especially if your dealer will deal with SW or another recognized vendor. If you ever plan to track your car, this is a Must improvement.
Best,

Psup4s

Thank you. This was also my impression but I will def discuss it with manager before ordering any aftermarket part.

I thought this was an issue with gt3 only. Anyone else with a 07 997t having this problem?

ljpviper

I just got an 07 a few weeks ago, also smell coolant. Drove for an hour yesterday, temp solid 175 no higher. I added a bit of coolant on Saturday night. Checked yesterday no loss.

Mine car had the elbows replaced at 40k miles, now has 44k.

I will keep an eye on mine but if it's not loosing water or getting hot while driving, I am not going to loose sleep over it.

Larry

Psup4s

Agreed no need to lose sleep over it.

Still not as bad as 991 GT3s catching fire

Boeing 717

Well you darn well better get it in writing then. The dealer sold my car exactly as it sits now with aftermarket exhaust and tune AND certified it that way then denied me any coverage because it was "modded". Their all friggin slime *****.

Steamboat

No need to lose sleep. In the event a coolant pipe fitting fails, it will all be over in a matter of seconds and the tow driver will be in charge. The only qualitative difference is if you are on the track and the coolant (i) sprays over your rear tires, you'll end up in the weeds and (ii) if the guy(s) behind you hits the slime, he'll be right next to you. You can use your imagination of how that translates to the streets. That can be avoided by welding/pinning the fixtures. Whatever you think you might be smelling though at present, a cooling pipe fixture failure is probably not the culprit. Best,

Psup4s

tuned and exhaust and certified? you lucked out man
I will def ask to have it ok in writing if I end up going that route

Macster

The only time I have smelt anti-freeze from my 996 Turbo the water pump was found to have a leak and was replaced.

The only time I have smelt anti-freeze from my Boxster the coolant tank had a crack in it and eventually it split and gushed hot coolant out all over the ground.

Smelling anti-freeze is bad enough but you also report coolant under the car and that's not right at all.

There is a leak. Water pump maybe. Could be the coolant pipes that are epoxied into the engine.

Doesn't matter it is not right.

The engine can suffer damage from a leaking cooling system. The system doesn't hold pressure and hot spots develop steam pockets which leads to localized overheating which leads to a head gasket leak or worse.

Tell the SA because of the leak and the concern you have you have lost all enjoyment of the car and can't drive it for fear it will break down and leave you stranded.

Remind the SA you were told the dealer had superior service department to promptly take care of any issues that arise.

That this is being blown off makes you feel you have been misled and are thus a victim of consumer fraud and if the SA balks at getting the car in and having it properly dealt with you will be forced to file a fraud complaint with the county division of consumer fraud.

If the SA doesn't want to listen go over his head and talk to the GM.

Psup4s

Macster, the dealer is currently working on getting the issue resolved. If the problem persist I will def raise hell. I do have to say the car never overheated in fact it was never driven. The leaks appeared on my garage floor after days of being parked.

Macster

With a cooling system compromised and unable to hold pressure the system may not show any overheating sign. The lack of pressure allows the hot coolant (sometimes above 212F and I've seen coolant temps at least in my Boxster reach 226F) to flash to steam at the hottest places in the engine. The steam blocks coolant from flowing over these hot spots and removing the heat. The coolant is effectively insulated from the hot spots. In severe cases the coolant can be blocked from flowing through certain passages altogether. Thus the temperature gage does not reflect any rise in coolant temperature but the engine suffers from overheating at the local level nonetheless. This severe difference in temperature gradient can cause head gaskets to fail, can even have a head crack, even a block crack.

It is critical the engine cooling system be able to hold pressure hot. Any coolant leak represents a possible pressure leak and as I covered above a pressure leak in the cooling system can be a quick route to serious engine trouble.