Oil in the coolant!

[GREGG R.]

I just replaced the heater core in my 2000 Boxter S.  A treat, easy to do and not expensive.  BUT when I began to add coolant after the install, I noticed oil in the coolant.

I am new to Porsche, so I need some advice.  Where to start looking, oil cooler head gaskets?  There is no coolant in the oil, Just oil in the coolant.  I was down about a litre of oil.

[JFP in PA]

8 hours ago, GREGG R. said:

I just replaced the heater core in my 2000 Boxter S.  A treat, easy to do and not expensive.  BUT when I began to add coolant after the install, I noticed oil in the coolant.

I am new to Porsche, so I need some advice.  Where to start looking, oil cooler head gaskets?  There is no coolant in the oil, Just oil in the coolant.  I was down about a litre of oil.

 

Welcome to RennTech 

 

First of all, these engines never blow head gaskets as the gaskets are multi layer steel and actually stronger than the engine castings.

 

The most common failure points that could cause this are an oil cooler failure, or a cracked cylinder head, so you have some diagnostic work ahead.  The cooler can be pulled and pressure tested, obviously the cylinder head would require digging deeper.  I would start with a pressure test of the cooling system to see if it holds; if it does not, you need to start digging further.

 

Good luck.

[GREGG R.]

Thanks JFP.  Good advice.  Interesting, I just looked at the oil cooler and found that it is relatively new. there is actually a date on the oil cooler which indicates it was replaced within the last year.  Sooooo, did they replace the oil cooler and not flush the system well enough or is there another problem???  Back to the pressure test I think.

[Pigsypo]

agree with JFP that you need to do a pressure test of the cooling system. It's a simple thing to do and you can rent the pressure gauge from autozone or other parts stores.

 

the other thing to check is to see if coolant is in engine oil by taking out dipstick and have one of two drops of engine oil on a hot exhaust. If it turns to be in white color, there might be coolant in the engine oil.

 

did you try to use scan tool to see if there is any DTC code?

[Schnell Gelb]

Hint - don't go wild with the pressure because the coolant tank in the trunk can be a little fragile. If you pump up pressure to 13 psi, that should be plenty to find a leak. If the system will not hold that pressure and you can't find where the leak is .report back your results here and we'll try to help more. It is possible that someone put oil in the wrong 'hole' -easily dome by a novice.

[JFP in PA]

11 hours ago, Schnell Gelb said:

Hint - don't go wild with the pressure because the coolant tank in the trunk can be a little fragile. If you pump up pressure to 13 psi, that should be plenty to find a leak. If the system will not hold that pressure and you can't find where the leak is .report back your results here and we'll try to help more. It is possible that someone put oil in the wrong 'hole' -easily dome by a novice.

 

Take the system up to at least 18 PISG, that is where it normally runs, so if anything is gong to fail at that pressure, might as well be in the shop.

[Schnell Gelb]

Thanks for the correction - I'm too timid .:-)

Edited April 19, 2019 by Schnell Gelb

[Skullbiker]

 For 986 boxsters -  Has anyone got or has put together a list of water/coolant pumps  by brand showing which have metal and which have plastic impellers  ?  It would be useful as  so many here are saying don’t get a replacement with metal impeller . 

 

Thanks 

[Ahsai]

Just get a genuine or Pierburg (OEM). Both use composite blades.