How do you fill up a
2007 Cayman S
, I have the 101 Projects for your
Porsche Boxster
. I have changed coolant before but in a 1995 Nissan, what is different in this process? I have been told I need a special system to "burp" the system. Is that necessary? The book doesn't state that it is needed but everyone I have talked to says that I need a closed system to bleed the coolant.
What is the deal?
Should I do this maintenance myself or pay a local small European shop 185-200 dollars to do it? I have done all maintenance myself thus far.
The issue, as well as the difference between your
Porsche
and your Nissan, is that your mid-engined
Porsche
has its radiators located in the nose of the car with a very lengthy run of coolant pipe running from the rads to the engine. Very difficult to burp the air from the system without a vacuum bleeder. Like you, I do most maintenance myself. I paid my independent Euro dealer $180 to flush and fill my system.
I DIY'ed my
981
when I had to replace a coolant recirculation pipe at the engine. I didn't have the vacuum bleeder. I filled the radiator. Started the car, brought it up to temp by driving a short distance up my street. You have to pay very close attention to the temp gauge, because it will rise from cold to hot in the blink of an eye when an air pocket passes through the system. Stopped the car, and let it sit for 2-3 hours (DO NOT OPEN HOT!!), then opened the cap and topped it off. Repeat a a couple times until the temp stays in range and the system doesn't take any more coolant. You have to be extremely careful with this method.. I don't necessarily recommend it, but it is do-able.
Harbor Freight has an excellent vacuum fill system - about $80. I bought one for my independent mechanic since it would have taken him about $120 worth of his time to bleed it the old fashioned gravity way, and with the vacuum fill system, it took about 5 minutes. Worth every penny.
BTW - you do need a source of compressed air (like from an air-compressor) - but not especially high volume so a $150 one will probably work just fine. Funny thing - the checkout guy at Harbor Freight made a real point of telling me "You can return that for 90 days.." when I bought the vacuum system. I'm guessing they might do better renting them out. I didn't return the one I bought.
How straight forward was it? How does it work?
Thank you and yea that's my big worry is I would have to use the vacuum and mess something up.
The purge system of choice is the AirLift, which you can find from any number of sources. I haven't done my
Cayman
yet, but with other vehicles it's very simple once you understand how it's done. The workshop manual says that you may need to add fluid to top the system off after finishing with the AirLift, also after an initial test drive. Good luck!
