HELLAS59

So do you think from this test that was done today that its pretty conclusive evidence that I have a crack around one of my cylinder liners? And if so Jfp..how much does somethinf like that cost to repair? Could this also be the cause of the condensation on the back of my trunk as well as whats causing the smell while I drive the car? It seems that whatever it is, it hasnt gotten to a really severe level yet, because like I said, I can probably drive the car a few hundred miles before the coolant gets low. It doesnt just dump out coolant anymore like it used to, or overheat out of nowhere. My next question, if it is a minor crack or leak, is there anything I can out into the coolant that can possibly seal the poasible problem area that I may have? Ive seen things like that advertised all the time..do they work, or are they bs? Thabk you so much for everything. I appreciate every bit of information!

Here are the photos

Thanks for all the info JFP. I was able to stop by my mechanics today because he told me that he noticed that his head gasket testing machine had bad liquid in it the first few times he tested the car before the reservoir replacement. So I stopped by today so he can check it with the newer liquid and sure enough the liquid changed from blue to a green that was close to the blue the first time, and then when he tested a second time it changes from blue to an almost yellow color, which he told me indicates that its most likely a head gasket issue. I will post pictures to show you exactly what came up. He gave me an estimate of about 2,000 labor and another 500-1000 for parts, depending on what he finds. My question to you is, why was there no indication of this from the oil that my mechanic recently changed? Would it not show up in the color? Why when the car was pressure tested multiple times did everything come out fine? Im very depressed from hearing this news today and am literally looking for any kind of direction from anybody on here on where to go from here? Is this liquid test a clear indicator that I have a head gasket problem for sure? And why do I smell coolant when I put my windows down when driving on the highway. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

Thanks for that smoke test info. I will tell my mechanic and see if he can do that! He sent me this link for the Valve thing in the back where the engine is. Is this the correct part? My car is a 1999 and I see that the top of the website says 2000-2001-2002-2003-2004-2005. Is there a difference, just making sure. Also, is there any other place I can buy this Vapor Canister Purge Solenoid Valve (part # anyone?), I didnt realize that it would be this much, I guess it seems like a lot for a part plus the labor that Im scared may not fix the problem after spending all this money already. The Dchunking, would it cause my car to lose small amounts of coolant the way I described in my previous post (for example every 100-200 miles goes down about 3 inches in the reservoir). Also would I be smelling that smell with the windows down on the highway? Like I said, the reservoir has been pressure tested, all of them have actually (the original, the first oem & the second oem) and my mechanic said he saw a smal bit of coolant from the original leaking from the drain area...I believed him since the old original tank was yellow and crusted up. Changed to the first Oem, he said that one was leaking from the bleeder valve after a few days when I brought it back with the red light on. Now im on my second new tank, he pressure tested that as well, no leaks anywhere. There is A LOT of condensation all over the rear trunk of the car after a highway drive. Its quite a bit of condensation, but my mechanic tells me that its normal and that its just water and not pink. Im talking about dripping wet right above the reservoir tank and it goes off to the middle of the trunk. Can you tell me JFP, once and for all if that much condensation is normal even when the weather is colder out? Ive read online that even in the coldest conditions it should only be a little bit of condensation. When the car was working fine before all these problems came up, I almost never saw condensation in the rear trunk, thats why I ask. Im sorry, I dont mean to go on rambling like this but Im sure you can understand my frustration. All these problems started when I was overseas and I had my brother order me these non OEM coils for my Boxster because there was a misfire on one of the cylinders so I called him from overseas and asked him if he could replace all of them. When I got back, the misfires continued and jumped around to different cylinders on the same bank for about a month until I got a replacement from the same aftermarket place we got the coils from. I also had to have my catalytic converter welded because another mechanic I was going to must have accidentally driven it into a pothole or something he never admited to. Anyways, after all that, thats when the CEL lights for the lean condition began appearing. Then the coolant issues started appearing. The car has lost a lot of power in general I feel like. Do you think these aftermarket coils messed up my car? Im trying to think of everything I can. In the last few months Ive changed: Coils & Spark plugs Welded the drivers side Cat Replaced two cooling fan High & Low setting switches for the Radiators Replaced Engine Bay Temperature Sensor Replaced Thermostat Replaced one or two more sensors that I forget Replaced two Reservoir tanks Replaced Aos (Also had that replaced 2 years prior to latest replacement) Smoke tested both systems multiple times Pressure tested Cooling system multiple times Ive also cleaned out the Radiators Replaced Water Pump two years prior as well. What else is there left to do? How can I check if this Dchunking process has started occuring on my car. My mechanic said that he checked for leaks and checked to see if oil was mixing with coolant and there is no sign of that whatsoever. Thank you JFP for all your help...I appreciate every bit of it. I hope I can solve these issues once and for all.

Thanks for the info JFP. The reservoir tank & AOS are all OEM parts, my mechanic wont allow anything else to be installed. The second reservoir tank has been pressure tested and inspected multiple times and there is still no sign whatsoever of any leaks. In saying that, once I drive the car for over 15 minutes and get on the highway for instance, if I put my windows down I swear I can smell a sweet coolant smell coming in, and its not just a little bit, at times its overwhelming. Could it be that whatever leak is occuring is happening when the car reaches a certain temperature or level of performance, and if it was a problem in the rear, why would I be smelling it coming from the front (When I open the windows going 70mph for instance, Im assuming that something from the front has begun to leak due to the way air is pushing the smell into the car from my windows, I may be wrong about this, but logically thats what one would think). This coolant problem is driving me crazy, every 100-200 miles I get the red light indicating low coolant, and when I look back at the tank once the car has cooled off it looks about 3-4 inches lower than where it should be. Ive removed the bumper before changing the reservoir tank the first time and cleaned up the radiators. Everything looked good to my untrained eye. Im using the latest cap that I bought brand new for the new tank as well. Could it be a hose that has a small tear that expands & drips coolant when the car is at a certain temperature? Once I slow down from a highway ride or come to a stop, I notice the coolant temp gauge creeping a considerable amount past the middle (my cars coolant temp was always dead center before this problem started occuring). I also had the thermostat changed with an OEM one as well as the water pump a year ago with an OEM part. Got those two things rechecked and everything looks and sounds fine. Back to the vacuum leaks. When you say you cant see everything when the car isnt running, can you smoke test with the car running? No right...?? What other test can we do? I want this darn CEL light to finally go away and for the car to be running good again. Ive spent a couple thousand dollars the last few months just trying to accomplish this. The AOS was bad and was changed with an OEM one 3 years ago with a different mechanic. Recently had it changed AGAIN with my newer mechanic. Those two areas that you saw in the videos are the only two spots thag seem to have minor leaks. My mechanic swears he believes it to be the check valve that I think you are referring too as well that is faulty. Its under the intake like you said, I dont know what you mean by under the bench, but he put his electrical tool on it and at one point the readings came back messed up which made him believe that thats what is the main problem. I dont know what to do anymore. I want to fix everything so I can sell the car and maybe upgrade to a newer Boxster. Then again I have thrown and am throwing so much money into the car, not to mention that I love it so much (its my baby) that I may even keep her. I just want the car running well again. I never heard of this D-chunking before...sounds like a major problem. If coolant was mixing with oil, wouldnt I see that on the oil cap, at least thats what Ive read, and my mechanic hasnt seen any signs to suggest any engine flaws. How can we check for that? Also JFP, I wanted to ask you, where in PA are you? I would def drive up to you and have you look at the car for me, you seem to know more than anyone else. Of course I would pay you as well as buy you a couple of cold ones for your help! Im in Northern VA close to DC so if you are in southern PA I would love to come up to you to have a look, if I can make it there! Thanks for all your help and advice, I really appreciate every bit of it. I need all the help I can get at this point. Awaiting your reply to see if I could get anymore answers through the info I just provided you. Thanks!

JFP...in the second video that area where the smoke is coming out a lot is the air filter area...is that not normal? My mechanic said it was for that area. Please let me know if its not suppose to be coming out from there! Thanks. Sorry for the late reply btw, didnt notice that you had replied on the next page. Again, thank you for all your feedback, I really appreciate it! Im going nuts with the car. My mechanic has changed my resovoir tank twice already with an oem part and I STILL have a leak, tried to take it out today and the red light for low coolant came up...seems like every two weeks or every couple hundred miles it just loses coolant. Im really stressed out from that and of course these CEL lights. I got the Aos changed for a second time in 3 years as well. I just want it to run kinda normal again

Are those two leaks significant enough to cause my problem?

Thanks for the quick reply JFP in PA! A video tells a thousand words...glad I took these while my mechanic was smoke testing yesterday. Let me know what you think. Thanks in advance, appreciate it! https://sendvid.com/upe1f6ey https://sendvid.com/i1e020wf

*Boxster CEL Light Info* Purge valve rear in engine Hello JFP in PA and to everyone else. I was gone for a little while and wasnt driving my boxster. Ive been back for a month now and had some work done on the car. Replaced coolant expansion tank with oem part, hasnt solved my cooling problem fully...never the less this thread is about the evap cannister and lean condition codes so ill keep to that and greatly appreciate your guys' input because this problem is driving me crazy. So my mechanic recently changed my Aos, said it was completely gone and saw it smoking a lot during the smoke test. So obviously thats the major leak area that needs to be fixed. He installs a new oem part and the car is running better, no hard starts, idle has become more normal, and generally the car runs better...great. So on the drive back home (30 mins away) my CEL light comes back on (I stopped for gas btw on the way home) and when I get to the house I read the codes and sure enough they are p0446 p1124 & p1126. Evap code & Lean condition on both banks (Im sick of these codes). I go the next day and was a little late so we didnt have time to diagnose the car and the problem so we remove MAF so that I may drive the car around for two days to see if maybe it will help the car reset. Meanwhile the car is developing a few hard starts and turns off every so often when running, idle is becoming a little more shaky, and my nerves are outta control while watching all these things occur. I reinstall MAF two days later, reset codes and take the car back and my mechanic does a 3 hour diagnostic with me by his side. CEL has not come back on yet. My mechanic uses his diagnostic tool and noticed a two codes through his machine that read: 96) Shutoff Valve, Activated Charcoal Filter (Final Stage) No Signal 98) Tank Vent Valve No Signal He is a really good mechanic with experience on Porsches Bmws Audis and German cars in general. I asked him about pushing compressed air through one of the evap lines and he has never heard about that being done and doesnt know how good it could be for the car. Can someone put an arrow on the diagram to show me exactly which line needs compressed air to be run through so that it could clear any possible blockages? I would like to know exactly so I can show it to my mechanic. Isn't compressed air through that line part of the porsche diagnostic protocol when dealing with an evap system problem with a p0446 code? Next time I go I would like to show him exactly. Anyways, he spent 3 hours doing diagnostic work. Took out front right wheel and liner and exposed evap system. Took out the valve and tested it, and said it was fine, then he tested the valve in the rear compartment, which apparently stays closed except when it does a test with every ignition start, it starts clicking open and closed he told me..is this correct guys? While doing these diagnostics the car shut off, we had it running on the lift, we restarted the car and my mechanic quickly went over to the gas cap (which is also oem new) opened it, and listened for suction, sure enough there was a loud sucking noise in the gas filler area. So he told me the problem is intermittent, its hard to detect because it is intermittent. He really believes that changing both Valves would be a great idea as they may be getting stuck every so often and causing this problem, but he told me that he really has a hunch that it is the one in the rear engine bay area. Should I shotgun replace the valve in the back and see if that will solve the problem? Ive spent so much money on the car and would just like this problem to go away once and for all. During the smoke test, there were really small leaks of smoke coming out, one on the J hook style line that connects from the Aos to the engine, and another small amount of smoke from the actual end of the line/hose that runs from the engine all the way to the front of the evap cannister. He told me those two small leaks are not significant enough to be causing the current problems. So let me know guys. If you need pictures or have more questions/clarification feel free to ask me...I really need all the help I can get. Thanks in advance to all of you and God Bless you!!

How did you know that the check valve needed to be replaced, and on which line did you blow compressed air?

Also JFP...if possible....do you think you can point me towards which "valves" I should purchase so that I can replace or maybe give me a part number. Again, I have '99 Base model auto. Do you think I would need to buy the entire Evap Cannister itself? Ive read that its located in the front passengers side wheel well, is that where the valves in question are located as well? Also, is the purge line in question connected to the actual Evap cannister? And would blowing air from an air compressor be a sufficient way to clear the line in question. Any detailed information would be greatly appreciated as I will try to do this sometime soon. I have changed my Air filter and am thinking of cleaning my Maf as well, but it looks very clean, even though my Air filter was filthy, do you think it would be a good idea to go ahead and spray it with Maf Cleaner either way and let it dry...heard u have to be exteemely careful with those things as they are very sensitive. And while Im gonna have the engine engine panel removed, is there any advice on what I should look out for as far as any vacuum leaks may be concerned etc...or any method to diagnose the hoses there? Im basically trying to do some basic troubleshooting before I get to the Evap issue. Again, thank you so much for all your help !!

Thank you so much JFP !! I really appreciate all your help. What is your opinion on the crankshaft position sensor that he said needs to be replaced?

Thank you so much JFP for the quick reply. I may need to complain to him about the route he chose on diagnosing these problems. He seems to be a very reputable mechanic that works on a lot of Germanics as well. Nevertheless, I received the complete writeup from my mechanic and a Diagnosis Bill of $150 so that he could tell me about my P0446 P1124 P1126 CEL codes with written descriptions of each code. (Things I had already looked up online). He listed the parts that need to be replaced which were: *Converter, Exhaust Catalytic (Drivers Side). *Sensor, Crankshaft Position NOTE: No smoke tests were performed for Vacuum leaks. The Evap Canister was only mentioned in the writeup as one of the codes (P0446) that showed up and was listed as being: "Below Limit". He also mentioned that the Drivers Side Cat seems to have been welded around the area that it has currently broken from, something that the previous owner must have done. (It lasted 7 years whatever he did). A total of $1700 for the Bill...way too much I believe, especially for things that may not actually fix the root of the CEL codes problems. Did I just get ripped off? What should my course of action be? Please my friends...any advice would be greatly appreciated !! God Bless you all.

Hello Everyone. I have a 1999 Boxster Tiptronic Base Model with the EXACT same codes. I am not very Mech Savvy which is why I am asking for you good folks to give me some guidance on these problems. I recently took the car to a nearby mechanic and he told me that I need to replace the Catalytic Converter (I ve had a really loud rattle for some time now) as well as a crank sensor that I am not familiar with. I guess my question is: can these codes P0446 P1124 P1126 be caused by the problems mentioned by my mechanic? Ive read that those codes most likely indicate an Air Leak, a bad AOS, dirty fuel injectors, and a few other reasons. I was quoted a bill of over $1700 to fix both problems. And if my Cat is rattling, does it necessarily mean that I need to replace the whole thing? If so, I have read online that the best route would be to buy used OEM. Any feedback/help would be greatly appreciated my brothers.

^^^Thank YOU Loren !! You are the BEST !!!!!