Confounded by another coolant leak.......

[PKN]

I replaced the main coolant pipes last summer and the 2006 TT has been running great since then. Today the low coolant light came on but the engine is rock steady at its normal temp range. I looked under the car to see a steady stream of orange coolant. Without taking the under car panels off it is very diificult to tell where it is coming from. After removing the passenger side headlight and all plastic trim, I can see no evidence of the leak around the water pump or coolant expansion tank BUT when I refilled the expansion tank with plain water, the steady trickle of coolant turned colorless which I am thinking indicates either a hose from the reservoir or the reservoir itself. The engine temp is steady even when drivling. My big fear is the coolant lines at the back of the engine which I could not get to when I replaced the main pipes under the manifold.

So....can anybody tell me where the pipes go from the coolant reservoir and offer any sage advice? If the car was at home, I could put her on the lift, take oof the underbody panels and poke around with a worklight but I am getting a little old to be crawling under the old girl...I have ordered a new coolant tank just as cheap insurance,

Steve

[royxaxa]

I am not sure you could get a direct visual of the "T" from above or under the car.

I replaced my T after same incident as you described. the part number is p/n: 955-106-323-50

good luck.

[voodoocat]

That is the t pipes. The rubber deteriorated so at low speed, coolant won't leak but as water pump pumps more fluid, will leak the coolant at the crack. There's two t pieces replace both. You can see it with inspection camera deep into drivers side firewall. if you changed coolant pipes you will see the right one will lead to the two ts.

You can look up from bottom, but you don't want to be under your car when running.

If you are going to pull the manifold, while out exchange the cam position sensors, that is bound to fail.

[PKN]

I was kind of afraid it might be the T pipe. I have a new reservoir on its way and will change it out first. The only reason I think it might be the culprit is that I refilled the reservoir with water and when it leaked again, almost clean water came out. Also the car is not overheating at all which is wierd. I have one of the T pipes already. I bought it when I did the main coolant pipes but didnt put it in because I couldnt get my hand down the back to where it was. Its a good excuse to buy a borescope which I have been itching to do. Harbor freight has a couple of likely looking candidates. Then I can plan some robotic surgery if I need to !

I can also use it to inspect the inside of the A and B pillars and sills on my MGA's.

Steve

[Patrick Manning]

Sorry to hijack this thread folks, but I have been really trying to find a DIY to replace my leaky coolant expansion tank on my 05 Cayenne Turbo but I can`t find it anywhere... is this something that is not for the faint of heart or is it pretty straight forward... any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

[PKN]

Patrick

This should do it for you

Steve

http://www.lxomega.com/ftplxomega/Share/1aj=&asiasana897-22aG8sjk/Cars/2006PorscheCayenneTurboS/index.html

[Patrick Manning]

Patrick

This should do it for you

Steve

http://www.lxomega.c...rboS/index.html

This is fantastic, thanks so much!!

[Patrick Manning]

Patrick

This should do it for you

Steve

http://www.lxomega.c...rboS/index.html

One last thing, As the tank has been leaking slowly, I have been topping up with the pink coolant I found at Walmart (Zerex) that says on the back is is Porsche approved for Porsche cars since 2000. Is there any reason why I should use the $50/gallon Porsche approved stuff over the stuff at Walmart?

[PKN]

Fixed.....it was the coolant reservoir and easy to do. It took less than 30 minutes to swap in the new one. cannot see any obvious problem with the old reservoir other than some white staining around the joint. I have a suspicion that the coolant was being pushed out of the overflow pipe because there was no obvious sign of running coolant either through the headlamp aperture or around the passenger side inner fender but it was running like a faucet under the car. I filled the new reservoir and ran her up to temp and no more leak.

One interesting note, with discount from my local Porsche dealer the coolant was $59. The new reservoir from Sunset Porsche was the same price. I did look at Walmart for the Zerex Patrick mentioned but they didnt have it.

So I can still look forward to changing the T pipes in my future. After changing out the coolant pipes, reservoir, coil packs, Cardan Shaft, rear struts, A/C blower headlamp cluster refit, maybe its time to trade in for a Range Rover before the engine starts making a noise. In 2006 this car was listed at $120K. She has not yet covered 80K miles. I love driving the car but with retirement just around the corner, I dont think my nerves can stand it...

Steve

Edited November 30, 2012 by PKN

[PKN]

I was wrong. The engine got up to speed and the leak started again. Turned out to be the water pump. My trusty Harbor Freight borescope showed it up nicely. A quick trip to my friendly dealer for the new pump with gasket and $200 later I was stripping the front of the engine. Not too bad of a job but getting the pulley screws off was a PITA as my torx sockets were a bit too long but got it done. I lost one of the water pump screws which dropped in the bowels of the engine (outside). I located it with the borescope but in my attempts to reach it knocked it somewhere I couldnt find it. I "borrowed" a screw from the cylinder head near the oil filler until I can get a replacement and got it all back together. I am still a bit worried that it didnt take enough coolant but will cycle the engine a few times to get any bubbles out

Steve