rbatt

My 2003 Cayenne V8 S has a minor coolant leak. I got a "check coolant level" warning and immediately thought that it must be my time for the plastic coolant pipe upgrade (117,000). I took the car to a North London Porsche independent who said that it was definitely the plastic coolant pipes and replaced them at a cost of £1,000.

One month later and I've still got a minor coolant leak. There is a small, but regular drip under the engine and I have to top up the coolant with about 2 pints of water every 1,000 miles. The water temp is rock steady at 90 degrees even in a London stop-start commute.

So, where shall I look next? Water pump leaking? Expansion reservoir?

I'm not really inclined to go back to the Indy who diagnosed the most expensive (and ultimately unsuccessful) repair so I thought that I might try a bit of DIY.

Any suggestions of what to check next gratefully received.

Adonay

It may very well be the waterpump.

rbatt

Is this something that I can check without having to remove it?

If so, how?

Thanks

hahnmgh63

Can you narrow down where under the engine it's coming from? Front? right side frame rail? Rear from the Bell housing? Right side fraim rail would indicate the expansion tank.
Look at it this way, even if the plastic cooling lines weren't needed now they would be very soon, at least they'll have been done at your convenience rather than possibly leaving you stranded somewhere.

Orantes

Water pump can lose coolant suddenly, just like your coolant pipes. I'd scope it out more to see if that's where your leak is at. Give the water pump wheel a jiggle to see if it has play too.

r6bruin

Would it be possible if you take the car back and claim it's an issue as a result of their repair? I would say if they do a pressure test this can be identified easily.

Good luck!

r6bruin

Also, at this age and mile, expansion tank, hose (hose cramp), water pump, and oil separator could be source of issue as well.

FYI, my friend's 996 with same mile had a leak at 110k miles, and turned out one of the hose cramp got loose. Tighten one bolt that holds the cramp solves the issue, no new parts needed. Hope this is what you running into as well.

Good luck!

seankrider

So I know this is 6 monhts old... but any luck from the OP on a resolution? I find myself hunting down a similar leak. Already replaced the expansion tank. Water pump is next on the hit list, unless any of you find sleuths know which hoses and/or clamps are likely culprits.

I would hate to break down and take it in. ; )

deilenberger

Just a FWIW - took 2 years of visits - but my friendly local dealer finally tracked a leak I had down (level rarely changed, but I could smell it in the drivers/port side wheel well..) I did the coolant pipes prophylactically before taking an 8,000 mile cross-country trip.. and I still had the leak. Dealer did several hoses that hooked to the back of the cooling pipes, and I still had the leak.

Finally - it leaked enough to leave a small puddle on the driveway - and I got the truck up on a lift, and marked with a crayon where the leak was dripping.

That gave the mechanic a clue. He used a fiberscope to check behind the crossover casting that bolts to the back of the two cylinder heads, and found a drip from a blind plug going into the casting. They tried replacing the plug and the copper washer-gasket - the leak got worse. Turns out the casting had a small defect in it which got worse when the plug was tightened up. So - they replaced the casting. This was done with the engine in place (how I have NO idea..)

Leak gone - 1 day before my CPO was up.

Just a FWIW - it's a complex cooling system, with cooling pipes/hoses running all over the place. It will take patience and a good mechanic to track down this sort of leak, but it can be done if the mechanic sticks to it long enough.

Sahaj Jhingan

Hi forum

thought about sharing this since I couldn't find the issues with 2011 Porsche Cayenne.

I own 2011 cayenne v6 with approximately 170k Kms on it.

few days back I could see some coolant drops on the floor which I kind of ignored for the first few days and then suddenly the temp gauge started to fluctuate around 120 and back to 90 with red check coolant level warning . Oops !!

pulled over and waited for the SUV to cool down and checked the coolant reservoir and found it was nearly empty so I bought the 50 50 premix and filled till the level as per manual, drove for a while and the temp gauge this time stayed at 90 for a day but after a day I could see lot of coolant leak this time . Now for sure something is not right took it to my Porsche mechanic and found the issue was with the slow leak from water pump gasket which over period of time got worse and it was leaking all over from it . Bought the water pump with pulley and gasket and 3 bolt nuts I can share the parts number if anyone needs it , all cost around 400$ cad.

just to let everyone know the 2011 cooling system has been upgraded with aluminium pipes instead of plastic pipes which connects from the rear of the engine .So don't spend any money on the cooling upgrade kit
that issue is with only with the older models 2003-2010 cayenne.

thanks

deilenberger

Hi and thanks. That issue was only with the 955 model V8's - from 2003-2006.