Which coolant to use? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Does any one know what coolant is used by the factory in the 05 Boxsters? I need to add water/coolant, not sure which to use. Thanks.

How much do you need to add? If it is just a few ounces, distilled water should be fine. If more is needed, have the dealer top it off with the proper mixture of coolant & water, the car is still under warrenty. You should only use Porsche approved coolant, and I hear it is not cheap.

Hi, Porsche uses Long-Life coolant in their cars. This means, it has replaced the Phosphates usually used as anti-corrosion agents with Nitrates. Porsche claims some proprietary formula, but I don't buy it. They don't make the Coolant, just contract with another Company to make it for them. I suspect it is the equivalent of Prestone 5/150, Sierra, or any number of other such Brands, and possibly even produced by these Companies and packaged as a Vanity Brand. It may actually be the exact same stuff as the Company's own Brand. If you use a non-approved Coolant, it may Void your Warranty so far as Coolant related issues are concerned. But, it's against the Law to deny a Warranty Claim on this basis if the issue Claimed is not tied to the use of the non-approved product. A Dealer will try to tell you otherwise, but legally, they cannot void the entire warranty. BTW, NEVER mix traditional Anti-Freeze with Long-Life Coolant. A chemical reaction occurs which causes some of the chemicals to drop out of solution to form a Gel type substance. This Gel can clog cooling passages and will cause corrosion at an accelerated pace. Hope this helps... Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

Wow, great information! thanks. Btw, How do i know which coolants are Porsche approved?

In other forums there are people who have talked about tests showing the Chevron or Texaco DexCool works well and does not hurt the engine. If you only need a little, just add water. Don't add a different coolant into the existing stuff. Some people have done this and ended up with jelly. If you change coolants, empty the system and do a flush before you fill with the new stuff. Porsche approved coolants include "Porsche" brand coolant. That's it.

Hi, I think you may have misunderstood. Only Porsche Coolant is approved for use. What I am saying is that the Porsche Coolant isn't significantly any different than other Long-Life Anti-Freezes on the Market. To be sure, there are some subtle proprietary differences between Brands. But the Key here is that it needs to be Phosphate-Free . Because there are proprietary differences, a Full Ingredient List will usually be lacking. MSDS Legislation requires that all Toxic or Dangerous ingredients be listed on a Warning Label, but be aware that this is only a Partial list of the total Ingredients. The one thing which most of these Long-Life Brands will include on their labeling is the phrase - Phosphate-Free . The incidences where Gelling occurred which John (deliriousga) refers to are instances where Anti-Freezes containing Phosphates and one which are Phosphate-Free were mixed. Mixing coolants which are Phosphate-Free will not result in this Gelling . Hope this helps... Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

Thanks for clarifying. It sounds like in need to go to the dealer to buy the coolant. Glad I checked with you guys! Thanks again for the help.

You get a lot of opinions on this one....I say use only the stuff that has the Porsche label on it. it,s a lot more $$$ but it will avoid warantee issues.

I just bought a gallon of the Porsche factory coolant, $46 bucks at the dealership. Expensive Stuff. It's is made by ELF, some euro company. I read a bunch of posts all over the Internet saying not to mix and a few that said it was okay to mix the same type (even if different color). If you are just topping it off, I'd just stick with the factory coolant / antifreeze and pay the extra (or use distilled water). I heard from Tool Pants that the following 2 coolants meet the US performance requirements for Porsche (but are not technically approved by Porsche). Havoline® DEX-COOL® Extended Life Anti-Freeze/Coolant Chevron DEX-COOL® Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant I was thinking about when I would need to change the coolant in my car (it's a 99'). But there is no service interval listed. According to Porsche the coolant never needs to be changed for the life of the car. Wierd. I'd probably change it if it looked dirty or I had to replace the water pump or radiator(s) or hoses or something. Good Luck, Larez2

Hi, There is no such thing as true Lifetime coolant. The change interval s/b 5 years or 150k miles whichever comes first. You will be fine using the brands TP mentions or any of the Long-Life, Phosphate-Free Coolants. Changing at this interval allows you to drain any/all the corrosion and other contaminates as well as add a fresh quantity of anti-corrosive agents. BTW, be sure to use distilled or de-ionized water when you do. BTW, Elf is one of the premier Oil Companies in Europe. It is, in fact, the French National Oil Company. They have subsidiaries throughout the world. Like Texaco or Chevron, they produce a brand of Coolant in addition to their Gasolines and Oils. Happy Motoring...Jim'99

Update, at $50 a gallon for Porsche Antifreeze, I'm just happy that they don't also sell gasoline.

I use Pentofrost. I Forget the flavor. It's pink.

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It's "only" $35/gallon from places like Sunset Porsche and Suncoast Porsche. Probably even less (than $50) at your local VW dealership.

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Ditto. Found it at O'Reilly's. Had to clean out 3 stores to get what I needed to replace it all, but they are everywhere so it wasn't an issue.

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Yep it's $30 from my VW dealer.

I use BASF Glysantin G40. It is Si-OAT. Comes in 1.5 litres bottles and is a concentrate. It's around 9 Euros per bottle over here in Germany. You have to dilute it 50% with distilled water. The coolant system contains around 22.5 litres – if you really could everything out of it. So you need around 7 bottles or 10.5 litres of coolant and the same amount of distilled water. Coolant is 63 Euros, or approx 71 USD at the moment. If you don't use Si-OAT coolant you have to flush the complete system to get all Si-OAT out. Regards, Markus

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Which coolant do I ask for? Is it good for a 1998 986?

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Part number is on back of jug, lower left corner.

Couldn't tell from pic. Does anyone know if the VW/Audi is made by ELF or is really the same / equivalent formulation as the Porsche branded coolant? I'm sure it probably isn't critical, but would seal the deal if it is. p.s. Part of why I ask is I have an unopened jug + a little of the Porsche brand & would hesitate to mix with VW if not pretty much the same stuff.....

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Thanks. So is this the same as the Porsche coolant?