Coolant Tank Leak

[solan8605]

Hi my name is jon and i'm having some trouble. I have a 2002 boxster s with about 95000 car runs great except last month out of no where my coolant tank develop a crack in the tank and my car leaked all of its coolant and almost overheated had i not stop and put water in it to get me home. I had a new tank put in OEM of course and it was done about 3 weeks ago. Only the tank was replace no hose or cap was put on i dont know why but thats what i was told that i need a new tank so they only replace the tank. Well its been 3 weeks now and the yesterday my car started leaking coolant again like it did before with the old tank. I was able to make it home and check the tank. It looks like the coolant was coming from tank the top of my trunk was wet with coolant and so was the whole trunk and was wet and dripping coolant below the rear passenger tire like it had before i had the new tank replace. I live in arkansas so its hard to take the car to go looked at and it cost a bundle to get it towed to the nearest dealership. I was coming on here to see if anyone experience the same problem could it be one of the hose came loose or has a hole. Could i need a new cap because it look like it exploded out of the top . Or could i need a new water pump if anyone has any ideas or tips please let me know I filled the tank with water when i got home and moved it to see if the car would leak and it did not

[mcmike27]

Jon, welcome...what you are describing is not uncommon. If a certified Porsche shop did not do your coolant tank swap they most likely didnt use or pressure check/purge your total system. It can easily be fixed if you do not have any more leaks. There are several articles here on the subject. You most likely have a air bubble still in the system. If yes it will need to be bled.

Here is one of the easiest ways to bleed the system without having to back to the dealer.

http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/Install_3rd_Radiator_%26_Coolant_System_Bleeding_Instructions.html

Scroll down to the part about bleeding the system it's pretty straight forward.

Good luck

m2

[solan8605]

thanks mike i will definetly try this when i come home today.Sorry if my post didnt make any sense i just read it but i was freaking out ha. Hopefully this will fix it because the car runs find it doesnt leak unless i drive it around i think its from the pressure but i dont know im not a mechanic. Im still going to buy a new cap just incase as well like i said the old tank was yellow and crack everywhere the new tank is new and doesnt seem to have any leaks.

Thanks again,

Jon

[mcmike27]

Jon, adding the new cap is a good idea as it will eliminate the boil over and condensation that the old caps were prone to produce. I'm betting the system has a air bubble in it and needs to be bled. It's not a good idea to run the M96 engine with this condition as it can create a 'HOT' spot whereever the bubble (lack of coolant) is and cause allot of potential stress and damage.

Follow Pedros instructions and be carefull when it's at operating temps.

Down the road a good inexpensive upgrade is to install a 160 deg t-stat from L&N Eng and get a used Boxster 'S' type oil cooler from a salvage yard Porsche Dismantlers in LA is where I got mine. Get a new set of o-rings and when your doing the t-stat, or water pump you can do the oil cooler. It's twice as large as the stock unit and it's a direct bolt on.

M2

[Dale_K]

Another possibility is the o-rings under the bleeder valve are leaking. I assume they transferred the bleeder valve from the other tank. On my car leaking o-rings will allow the coolant to exit by the right rear tire and not into the trunk. Here's a picture of the o-rings. The other poster could well be right that air in the system is making the car overheat.