Coolant ratio to water

Hello all. I had cooling system flush performed on the CS. Porsche dealer only put in one (3.79 liter) container of coolant. Isn't the ratio 50-50? Your thoughts please. I have a call into the dealer now for an explination. Thanks.

With a capacity of approximately 6 gallons and a 50:50 mix according to the shop manual that seems a bit low. You might not need the -35°C freezing point there in Texas but the increased boiling point wouldn't hurt.

Thanks for the response Greywolf. That's what I thought. Since the dealer has not returned my call(s) today it looks like I get to stop and see them AGAIN on the way home. By the way, I noticed you are in Indiana. I will be taking the CS to Evansville at the end of the month! Perhaps a Cayman sighting in Southern Indiana?

There are a few Cayman around here but not many. At least you don't see them often. I don't know what it is with at least some Porsche dealers. All in my experience anyway have been less then what you'd expect given the price of entry and the sophistication of the cars. If the CS hadn't been so gorgeous and handled so well I seriously doubt I would have bought another car from this guy. I just hope I don't need any warranty work. The next closest dealer is another couple hours drive. Their sales staff is excellent, the parts folks seem to be slipping from what used to be a great bunch, and I'm told service has improved. Then again starting at dismal they had no where else to go. Don't know why this is. My local BMW dealer seems to be willing to do anything to keep me happy. Sorry you had to find another p-car dealer like mine. Enjoy the trip.

Greywolf- I know what you mean. After my visit about the invoice for one gallon of Porsche coolant I got a phone call from the shop foreman. He said that four gallons of coolant were issued to the technician and that the technician confirms he used them all. The problem is being chalked up to a billing error in my favor. No choice but to take them at their word. Honestly, no one in their right mind would only use one gallon in a complete system flush and fill. Anyway, I got that behind me and them got hit by a huge rock this morning while on the way back from a client meeting. Back to the dealer tomorrow to see if they can fix the star crack without putting in a new windshield. Good luck to you and go Hoosiers! (unless you are Boilermaker, Sycamore, etc.!)

You can always get an antifreeze checker (couple of dollars at a car parts store) and check the temperature it will protect down to. If it's not around -30 degF than they didn't put in 50/50 and I'd go back. If it is, then their explanation is correct.

I topped off the system this morning with distilled water only (per the dealers instructions) and it only took about 1 to 2 cups to fill it up to the max tab. I will buy an antifreeze checker this weekend and see if I can get the tube to reach into the filler nozzle. Hoping for a good reading!

Purchased antifreeze tester at Pep Boys and 12" of 3/8" hose to attach to the end. Could not find a way to get the hose past the plastic tabs (min./max) so that enough coolant could be drawn out of the system. Has anyone else been able to do this? If you have a solution I would love to hear from you.

I thought about this after I responded to your post. The only way I can think of to do this easily is for you to find and open the block drain on the engine a little bit, and drain some coolant into a catch basin. I can't even tell you where the drain is, but I'm pretty sure it's there. Perhaps someone else can, if you're interested.

If you remove the top cover from the engine there's a plain old radiator cap on the top of the expansion tank. The cap that's on the fill port doesn't have a pressure relief valve. You will probably be able to check the coolant mix there. Of course it takes a half hour instead of 30 seconds... The only drain I've seen referenced in the shop manual is pulling a hose off. Not the best way to catch an ounce or two.

Agreed, if pulling a hose is necessary. The technical section of the PCA website implies there is a block drain, which is where I got the information. Good catch on the second cooling system cap. I didn't know it was there. That would be my choice for getting the coolant sample.

+1 to blueone and Greywolf. I will investigate.

There could well be a block drain. I was skimming the manual as opposed to really reading it when I noticed they talked about pulling a hose off to drain the system. Seems to be the way many are going to save the cost of a valve or plug. That the proscribed method of filling after the drain was a vacuum fill was rather interesting to find though. Guess it's a way to minimize air trapped in what has to be rather convoluted plumbing.