rob delorenzo

2002 Boxster Base 144k new water pump, aos, plugs, tubes, low temp thermostat, motor mount (to name a few)

But......yesterday as I was driving home things went bad. Real bad.
The temp gauge maxxed out, red light blinking, all lights on dash blinking ( I thought it was a short of some kind), power steering went out. No loud sounds or squealing at all. Engine was running ok (or so I thought)
Steam started to spew out the passenger side. I made it home as there was no safe place to park.

This morning when I opened up the engine cover I saw that the alternator pulley had sheared off. Gone. The belt was intact but not connected to anything.
Oil looks clean. I poured in distilled water and it immediately leaked out from what appears to be the center of the engine somewhere.
Called my indie. He said to try and start the car briefly. It started fine and was idling a bit high. I shut it down and tried again. Again it started right up but was kind of "sluggish" or "underpowered" no noises, no mechanical sounds.

He says that he would need to replace the alternator, and then track down the leak before even attempting to assess what further damage I caused.
That's going to cost at least 1k (I'm guessing)
Is it EVEN worth it on a car with 144k?
He said the fact that it starts is a good sign, but how likely is permanent catastrophic damage?

From what I can gather, worst case is the engine is cracked, warped, or damaged beyond repair from overheating.
Best case, a new alternator and a hose blew.
Is this accurate? Can anyone with more experience and knowledge help me out here?
I realize it can't be diagnosed over the internet, but I can't tell if I blew up the engine or not. Is there any other way to assess the damage?

Macster

Oh gee golly maybe resume driving the car?

My 2002 base has around 315K miles.

Still on its 1st replacement water pump (installed at 172K miles) and its 3rd replacement AOS. This AOS was replaced sometime in Sept/Oct. of 2014 which might have been right around the 300K mile mark.

rob delorenzo

The alternator is shot and I can't determine where the coolant leak is before I can consider driving it.
I love the car and want to keep it if at all possible.
I'm encouraged by your high mileage, though!

Macster

For a bad alternator -- which admittedly I've never had to deal with -- there are several ways you can go.

A new one purchased from a dealer parts counter. (With a PCA membership you can get some discount: 10%? 15%?)

A new one purchased from a Porsche parts business. Pelican Parts maybe, I believe can be had for less money.

Or some have bought what they have claimed is the same alternator new but without the "Porsche tax". I don't have any details to offer but a thread search here should turn up the info.

Some owners claim it is not the alternator but the voltage regulator. If the alternator is otherwise quiet just not putting out the juice it could very well be just the voltage regulator. Again I have no details on this but a search should turn up enough details for you.

There is also the used/salvage path. I've bought 2 exhaust manifolds (with the integral converter) and an instrument cluster for my Boxster. I use Parts Heaven because it is so close to where I work but there are others around maybe closer to you. Check ads in Excellence and Panorama magazines for businesses that deal in used Porsche parts.

For the coolant leak, if you can run the engine top up the coolant tank with distilled water. Don't over fill but bring the level up to close to the full/max line. Be sure the coolant cap is on securely.

Then start the engine and let the engine run until the coolant gets hot enough to cause the radiator fans to run. If you want to speed the process up of course drive the car around the neighborhood. Or once the coolant is pretty warm raise the RPMs to say 1200 or thereabouts and hold until the radiator fans come on. Then turn off the engine and wait.

The heat load will raise the coolant temperature -- with the radiator fans on the coolant temperature is at least up to 212F already -- and a coolant leak that is hard to impossible to spot with the engine cold can make itself known sometimes with rather striking effect. I had a coolant tank gush hot coolant when I did the above. At other times the tank was coolant tight. (In fact, I let the car cool overnight, that the next morning topped up the tank and with no signs of any leaks started the engine and still with no leak signs drove the car a couple of miles to the dealer for a new coolant tank. The tank never leaked a drop the whole time.)

extanker

again the short version.....tow it to a mechanic that you trust have them find out where/what is leaking BEFORE they install an alternator......if it is a [ha ha] minor leak repair go forward

rob delorenzo

That makes the most sense. The "Ha-Ha" part is what doesn't sound good.
I can't imagine it will be that simple or even worth repairing, but who knows?

extanker

if it is coolant tank or hose that aint TOO bad .....i bet it is not major [read cracked block] ....calm until the phone call ....mean time make a sacrifice of a virgin to the fire gods...can't hurt

rob delorenzo

Let's hope so. I just had a new coolant tank put in about a month ago.
Going to tow it to the mechanic in the am.
I'm just worried that I drove it like an idiot too far while overheating.
I've got a good mechanic too.

extanker

i bet it is fixable ....and not too bad.......lets know

rob delorenzo

I certainly hope so and I'll let you know.
I love that little car.

Macster

It is a great car. Love my 2002 base.

I didn't recall seeing all the details of your first post. I think what happened was as I was composing my response you came in and added to your post.

Had they been there I would have certainly addressed the specifics then.

At 144K miles the car could have considerable service life left.

Schnell Gelb

Listen to exTanker. He (like me) has dirty hands from years of M96 tinkering - find a competent ,honest M96 mechanic. He will save you $$$ and worry.
If the leak is inexpensive to fix, the best alternator replacement is the upgraded Bosch unit from Amazon. See some of the 996 posts on this issue by Ahsai. But reaserch ll the while you are in there issues =w/p, idler pullies,belt etc.

rob delorenzo

I like what I'm hearing here. Thanks.
While poking around yesterday I found a broken rubber coated metal hose on top of the engine and one that has that weird clip like on the AOS hoses broken as well. I am pretty sure that's where the leaks are from.
The biggest problem is $$ as I don't have enough at the moment to have the indie do both jobs. Should I do the alternator myself and then have him fix the hoses? I think one of them is from the coolant bottle and I'm not sure about the other one.

rob delorenzo

Ok. From what I have just seen, one of the hoses comes from the top of the oil cooler. The engine still has oil, though. It does not appear to be mixed. There is no coolant in the tank, but all of what I saw on the floor was pinkish in color too. What does it mean when this line is broken?
This hose is in the center of the second photo and kind of out of focus.

The other hose comes from the newly installed coolant tank and looks like it broke off at the firewall, but I am not sure.
This is the one that has the connector on the end of it where it blew up.

The pulley from the alternator is gone. Sheared off.

I have attached photos.

Can anyone attempt to assess how badly damaged the engine may be? Or, does the fact that it started and ran briefly on a low battery yesterday mean good things and there's a chance I'll be ok?

I spoke to the indie he said an alternator is about $800 installed and the hoses may just need to be clamped back on. He said there's no way to know how much damage has been done until those things are repaired and it's run and brought back up to temp. I only paid $5500 for the car and have put about 3k into it in parts. It does have 144k needs some suspension work (front control arms and a chain tensioner- prior to all this) My problem is do I put in another 1k to find out, try to do it myself? (I know I cant get those clamps on the firewall for the coolant tank.) What do I do? He also said that it's possible that it will run fine and then warp in 5000 miles, there's no way to know. Or it might be ok. Or I can sell it as is and walk away. Any advice is welcome. Especially the more experienced guys. He told me he's never seen an alternator pulley shear off or the hose from the top of the oil cooler break.

He's a 3rd generation indie Porsche mechanic that I trust!


Please let me know, this board has some VERY knowledgeable people!

extanker

that broken plastic hose connection can be replace by a metal one sourced from home depot and using screw hose clamps. IIRC just touching the alternator results in breaking the oil filler tube ? you will need to purge the cooling system,make sure you check all the pulleys ......no hands on experience just from reading here