I noticed a couple of drops beneath the front of the driver's side front wheel well - appeared to be clear in colour. Car has been stored since mid Dec. and drops appeared in the last 24 - 48 hours. Thoughts?

 

How cold has your garage been, could it be ice melting?

 

Garage is attached to the house and I don't believe has ever gotten below the freezing point (at least the beverages that I store in there have never frozen to the best of my knowledge).

 

You got a dog?

If the fluid water or something else?

There is no clear liquid in the car unless you run clear water in the windshield washer. Does the car have Xenon headlights with high pressure washers? If so this could be source of fluid.

Hard to believe it could be left over water from when you last washed the car. However, check the front drains: Open the front trunk and remove the plastic covers on either side of the battery. You'll need a Torx bit size escapes me.

While you're thinking about it check the drains on either side of the rear portion of the top. Open top like you were going to access engine cover and engine compartment -- I just keep top open button pressed until clamshell fully open -- then look on either side of rear portion of top. There are two -- one each side -- styrofoam basins with a hole/tube the carries water down through car to ground.

My thinking is if it is water perhaps drains blocked and there's considerable water and well, as I type it it does sound err read sort of sillly, it is a long shot, but that's all I got.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

There are two sources of clear fluid in the front left wheel well:

1) Radiator hoses for the driver side radiator

2) Power steering hoses for the steering rack

You can see the radiator hoses if you remove the left front tire. To see them past the frame rail, you'd need to pop the plastic belly cover off (same with the power steering hoses). Sometimes wiping off all the areas and dusting things with baby power might help find the leak after a warm-up drive. Good luck.

 

I have just noticed the same thing on my 2005...it appears (smells like and tastes like) to be coolant. I'm heading to the dealer tomorrow to have them check it out but I suspect it's a leak from the radiator on that side (or a hose leading to it...I hope).

 

Coolant is easy to identify when the car is warm/hot, because when you're stopped, you can smell the "sweetness" of ethylene glycol...

 

I have now concluded that my leak is definitely windshield washer fluid and must be coming from the plumbing going to the driver side headlight washer. The leak is directly in front of the driver side front tire dripping from the tray right in front of the small air dam there.

Any ideas of how big of a job this might be to fix (costly?) or if this is something that can be tackled myself with some simple tools. I realize it's hard to estimate the cost until I know exaclty what is wrong but...how hard is it to access this area of the car?
Thanks!

 

Probably something you can tackle yourself if you have some automechanic skills and tools.

First be sure the headlights are fully seated. If they are not the washer fluid can leak. (Also, my experience is the headlight washer will not work right cause the headlight hose connector is not fully seated in the mating connector and the fluid does not flow properly.)

Feel around the headlight to make sure the gap/fit is the same as the other side. If there's a difference the headlight's not inserted in the mounting plate correctly.

If the headlight is ok, then you will need to remove the front cowl covers to expose the tank and the tubing. The leak might be at the tank or close by and the water runs down the line and then collects and drops off near the headlight.

You will need to remove the front bumper cover. Take pics, make sketches to ensure you get all the screws/fasteners back where they belong. Also, the way the bumper cover and the under body panels at teh front of the car fit together is very important. The rubber ducting that is the radiator ducts also needs to be watched to ensure when the bumper reinstalled these line up and "seal" against the bumper to ensure air flows into the radiator and not into the bumper.

There are several good DIY instructions on removing the front bumper of a Boxster. Check out Mike Focke's web pages or visit Pedro's Garage's web site for DIY instructions. And there are I'm sure others around.

Once you get the bumper cover off you expose the hoses. In my Turbo the hose runs from the driver's side headlight across the front of the car -- held in place by soft hose clamps -- then to the other headlight.

Remove the headlight on the corner that is leaking. Check the hose connector for any signs of cracking, tearing, or it being folded or creased.

Check the hose for any cracks. Find some way to clamp off the hose as close to the headlight connector as possible and have someone work the headlight washer and see if you can spot the leak.

You probably can find a suitable hose at a good hardware or automotive parts store, unless the hose has special molded on ends/connectors which require you buy one from a Porsche parts department.

Before you remove anything, take pics so you have a reference for how things go back together, how the hoses and any wiring are routed. This is important cause it keeps the hose/wiring from moving about which will lead to chafing and ultimately a leak or a short.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

Wow...thanks for the detailed instructions and explanation Macster! I appreciate the help and will post results to the forum to hopefully benefit another owner in the future.