56 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHPuddle of coolant on garage floor
Reported or suspected cause
crack in
Reported cause
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported cause
In that line there is a T fitting with a 1/4 inch or so hose branching off as some sort of vent line, for me it was the crack in that 1/4 inch vent line fitting.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
A word of advice to people that have coolant leaks is to buy a cheap pressure tester and pressure check the system to find the leak before assuming what the repair is and spending time and money replacing the wrong part only to wast more money buying expensive porsche coolant after what you just replaced leaks out again.
Leading evidence: 'crack in' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'crack in' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check system' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I filled the coolant back up and went for a drive, everything seems ok right now but I also have an autocross scheduled for Sunday.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
The coolant cap was replaced about a year ago so I've got that part covered.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
Well at least I replaced the coolant tank before it failed but ugh, this is the problem with replacing parts before testing.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
A word of advice to people that have coolant leaks is to buy a cheap pressure tester and pressure check the system to find the leak before assuming what the repair is and spending time and money replacing the wrong part only to wast more money buying expensive porsche coolant after what you just replaced leaks out again.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
Check system
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
A word of advice to people that have coolant leaks is to buy a cheap pressure tester and pressure check the system to find the leak before assuming what the repair is and spending time and money replacing the wrong part only to wast more money buying expensive porsche coolant after what you just replaced leaks out again.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
A word of advice to people that have coolant leaks is to buy a cheap pressure tester and pressure check the system to find the leak before assuming what the repair is and spending time and money replacing the wrong part only to wast more money buying expensive porsche coolant after what you just replaced leaks out again.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
I will never forget the PCA member who helped me replace wheel bearings late on a holiday weekend 25 years ago because I needed to get back to college.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
A word of advice to people that have coolant leaks is to buy a cheap pressure tester and pressure check the system to find the leak before assuming what the repair is and spending time and money replacing the wrong part only to wast more money buying expensive porsche coolant after what you just replaced leaks out again.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
crack in
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported cause
In that line there is a T fitting with a 1/4 inch or so hose branching off as some sort of vent line, for me it was the crack in that 1/4 inch vent line fitting.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suspected cause
That sucks about the pressure tester, I think that was the reason I went with the Blue Point one, it was the only one that came with the an adaptor compatible with the Porsche or else my Snap On dealer just included it the extra fitting when I bought it.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
56 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T033439Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Came from from the Iron Maiden show last night (yes, they rocked!) and noticed a puddle of fluid under the 996. My heart skipped a beat as I thought it was oil but when I examined it closer I found it to be coolant.
A couple of days ago I got the "low coolant level" warning but then it went away after I turned the car off and back on again. I thought it was a fluke and even in our hot temperatures the last few days the car stayed within normal engine temps when in traffic.
So I got under it and it appears the AOS has coolant on it and so does an area close to where a hose connects to the coolant tank. The fluid appears to have dripped down through an area to the right of the rear driver's side wheel but a little bit ahead of it.
I took some photos to show how things look there but as you can imagine it is tough to get a good shot.
So my question now, is this the coolant tank? Is it the AOS? A loose hose clamp? How can I tell what it is so I can address the right issue?
Well even if I wanted a tank it doesn't seem they're available in this country right now!
Called several dealers and they are out of stock. My local dealer said there was a recall on them which is why old ones were pulled off the shelf. They are doing research and will call me back.
I filled the coolant back up and went for a drive, everything seems ok right now but I also have an autocross scheduled for Sunday. Hmmm, worth taking the chance?
Charles - thanks for the offer but I guess not this weekend!
+1 This is good advise.
At any second the leak could turn into an all out rupture with total coolant loss. Not worth the risk.
It's not leaking from the coolant tank cap is it? That is another common place to find a leak.
GL
Ugh, that's not what I wanted to hear since this is my daily driver.
Any temporary fixes for this thing? I remember on my 944 the coolant bottle sprung a leak but I was able to temporarily fix it until the part came in by using some plastic epoxy.
I'm going to try to call around to some other places as I do want this fixed ASAP. Guess I'll have to see if the wife let's me use her SUV for the autocross!
Unfortunately not. The coolant cap was replaced about a year ago so I've got that part covered. That is unless it went bad again. But it appears the whole leak came from the back of the engine which really points to the tank. Any way to test the cap individually?
Now on to a rant...Why put the coolant tank so close to the components of the car that create heat? Why not put it up front with the radiators? Oh well, can't do much about that now.
I did that and it does appear to be dry. So I think it is the tank or something leading into it.
I found one! Getting it sent out on Monday so I can't install it this weekend but I'll have one soon enough. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Just got my coolant tank in the mail today. Holy crap this thing is big!!!
You can only see a small corner of it but now I understand why he engine needs to be dropped and you need extra space to install it.
Well I'm taking this on in the next few days. And unfortunately we're hitting temperatures of over 100 degrees so that should be fun in my garage.
I'll post updates or questions...
It can be done without dropping the motor. You have to remove the airpump and a few other items and have some really small hands... TONS of beer is a big help as well
. I stopped droping the motors several years ago.
Awww man that is awful! Not the best weather to have this problem either. Well if you have to replace the AOS you might as well take care of the coolant tank at the same time.
Good luck!
Well I started the replacement of the coolant tank this morning and finished it by the afternoon. It is not at all a difficult job in terms of the skill needed but an absolutely frustrating job because you're dealing with fractions of an inch of space (or lack thereof) that makes everything a challenge.
The most intimidating part for me at first was dropping the engine. I had never done that for any car but in reality I now see it as my "go-to" move whenever I need to make more room in the engine compartment when doing a repair. It is VERY simple. Just two bolts and keep the jack in place and you're done.
But for me I still didn't have enough room when doing that so I had to also jack up the driver's side of the car a bit in order to really get some space there to pull it out.
What ended up being by far the most frustrating aspect of it was removing the right bolt on the black bracket that holds the tank. Omigosh it took me about an hour to get that stupid bolt out. And to top it off we hit a high of around 104 today so I was just pouring with sweat and couldn't have chosen a more miserable day to do it.
However at the end everything came back together again pretty easy and things look really good. No leaks now but I'm just going through the process of bleeding air out of the system. The only casualty in the whole repair was the oil filler tube which somehow (not sure what happened) cracked in half. You can see it in my picture below. I put it back together again with some "racing tape" but will be ordering a new one on Monday since I can't keep it like that for a long time. Oh and now I have some scratches on the driver's side intake manifold because of the process of forcing that tank in.
The photo below shows how much extra space I had to make in order to clear the way for this thing. But again, dropping the engine from it's mounts is so easy this is the least of your concerns when you're performing this repair.
If any questions, go ahead and ask while it's fresh in my head!
A word of advice to people that have coolant leaks is to buy a cheap pressure tester and pressure check the system to find the leak before assuming what the repair is and spending time and money replacing the wrong part only to wast more money buying expensive porsche coolant after what you just replaced leaks out again.
I had a leak from a very similar position. I was driving home and then see a cloud of smoke behind me, I smell burning coolant and realizing I was the only one around assumed I had blown a head gasket or something and was burning. Upon getting home I popped the frunk and found my engine bay was covered in coolant (well that was a plus, no head gasket, just coolant dripping onto the muffler and burning) The coolant seemed to be concentrated around the resevoir and thought that is where it was coming from. Then I read about how regularly they seemed to fail I was convinced. After getting a new resevior from the dealership and decking my car to my shop I was getting ready to replace it when i decided for s**ts and giggles to pressure test the system.
When I put the system under pressure I saw coolant pissing out of a little T fitting off a line from the resevoir right under it. Part was under $20 and was quite easy to install, with remote hose clamp pliers I did it in under 10 min
What a timely piece of advice!
I just came back from running errands and my heart sunk when I saw that I still have a leak. Not sure why it didn't happen yesterday after my test drives but it appears that coolant is still coming down from the back of the engine.
I hope it's just a line but afraid it might be the AOS. Well at least I replaced the coolant tank before it failed but ugh, this is the problem with replacing parts before testing. Great advice!
Haha I was worried about that. I have this tool
Blue Point Pressure Tester
but you can find much cheaper ones. Fill coolant, attach tool, pump up, look for leak. Very easy to use. there is a coolant line off the bottom of the resevoir nearest the back of the vehicle. In that line there is a T fitting with a 1/4 inch or so hose branching off as some sort of vent line, for me it was the crack in that 1/4 inch vent line fitting.
I actually just ran to a local auto parts store and rented one. Now I have to wait for the car to cool off then I'll test it.
Yeah it's not a total waste as with 113k miles it was bound to fail sooner or later but still, I was hoping to not have the smell of burnt coolant in my garage anymore.
Hey who knows, you and I may be the AOS replacement experts here shortly.
Question, where does the overflow hose go? It's the hose on the front of the coolant tank. I would post a pic, but I'm lost as to how to attach a pic from the iPad
It just goes straight down so if it were to leak it would come from the front of the engine.
My leak is coming from the back so it's either a hose or the AOS.
My bad, I should have been a little clearer. I'm putting my tank back in and I dont recall where the hose belongs.
I was able to see my leak from underneath using an inspection mirror. The AOS was wet and covered with oil and grim.
I am to lazy to pull my airbox out and start taking pictures so I will just borrow these pics I found on the interweb the first pic shows the coolant reservoir installed , you can see where the hose at the bottom of the reservoir has been removed and the fitting is pointing towards the back of the car. Follow the line off that one and you will see a fitting similar to the second picture it was that small branch off that cracked on me and started leaking. Being such a small piece and that it had not completely broke off would have made it next to impossible to see unless there was coolant in the system and it was under pressure , then the fitting would spread apart and start pissing.
Sorry Pics for second one wouldnt load here is the attached part listing on pelican, the small T'ed piece at the top of the pic is what cracked
Radiator Return to Expansion tank Hose
Just my luck...The pressure tester I got from the auto store doesn't fit. It included five adapters but none worked for my car.
Guess I'll have to do this the old fashion way - a flashlight, mirror, and the car's engine on while it's jacked up in the air.
That sucks about the pressure tester, I think that was the reason I went with the Blue Point one, it was the only one that came with the an adaptor compatible with the Porsche or else my Snap On dealer just included it the extra fitting when I bought it.
maybe try and it with the car running so that there is a little pressure in the system and probably cause it to leak worse making it easier to find the source of you problem
Dropped the car off at the dealer this morning. Just got the diagnosis...It's the air-oil separator (AOS) which is leaking.
Now the question...do it myself or have them do it for me?
Well, I asked myself that same question on Friday.....it's Monday am Im 100% sure I would do it again. It was fun!!!!!
I'm now flushing the entire coolant system and repalcing worn hoses.
I vote you go for it!!!
I just started this evening at about 7:30pm. Now I'm working to take the alternator off.
I had to take a break and go buy a 24mm wrench because I didn't have one to take the belt off. So take took an hour off my time to work on it. But so far so good, I'm heading back to work now!
Alternator is out and now I'm to the point of starting to remove the coolant tank again. This all seems so familiar since I just did it two weeks ago!
Hopefully this part should be much easier this time around and I'll have plenty of room to do the AOS.
But heading to bed now. Will continue tomorrow night.
Well I got it all removed!
I started a bit late and finished up about 45 minutes ago. Three things took me a long time:
- Believe it or not, one of the engine mount bolts! I torqued it but for some reason it was not moving. I had a breaker bar but it had a 1/2" shaft while my sockets are 3/8". So after trying to figure out a workaround for an hour I ran out to by an adapter and in seconds loosened the bolt.
- The "sixth" bolt on the intake manifold. Ugh! The AOS is tightly fitted up against it so you can't put a socket in there. I had to use a socket wrench and could only get about 1/8th of a turn each time.
- The second AOS bolt. This is an allen head bolt and it sits close to the intake manifold as well. Because of all the other stuff in there like fuel lines, etc. it's just difficult to get to.
But surprisingly I got the coolant tank out in maybe 10 minutes.
Now the fun part is putting it all back together again tomorrow. I feel like I just took half my engine apart, which I guess if you look at the garage floor I probably did.
Oh and I also found the source of my leak. On the top of the AOS is a thin coolant line. When I remove it the plastic just cracked in half. So it must have been cracked and leaking from there and when I put pressure on it, it just broke.
As i did my AOS a few months ago...
While you are in there don't forget to replaced all the intake O'ring...o'ring filler tube,water pump and gasket and all the other gasket you can see.They are not expensive and if you don't, believe me you will soon regret it....
By the way a also like to do this job...lot easier then i thought
Good luck
Here to write the final chapter in this book.
First off, I'd like to preface by saying I'm not a mechanic and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express before starting. But I'm always up for a challenge so I gave this one a shot.
When deciding to replace the AOS I figured while I was in there I would also do the water pump, thermostat, oil filler tube, and oil pressure sending unit. I think if I would have just done the AOS, things probably would have gone faster for me, but combining all of these at once was quite a job.
So I "started" on Thursday night but in reality didn't do much. Then Friday I got a late start and even had to run out to grab a tool I needed so not much happened there. Therefore Saturday was the day to really hit the books.
Everything actually went pretty well as I got to the AOS and removed it without much difficulty. Where I started running into problems was with the water pump. Since I have PSE and the Fabspeed cats, I had to remove them in order to get enough room to remove the pump. But what gave me the most trouble were the stupid hoses. It took me quite some time to get them off even with the clamps already loosened or off - they just wouldn't budge!
Eventually I got them off and started replacing everything. So far so good right? Well not so fast. I then start to put the intake manifold back together and lose two bolts because I accidentally bumped them when I had them sitting in the engine bay. They got lodged in a crevice that was almost impossible to get to. And of course my magnetic pickup tool broke during my coolant tank replacement. So I had to get my wife to run to Wal-Mart to get one. Once she got back I was ready to go again.
Now when installing the intake manifold I started having trouble with the final bolt in the back. Then that bolt gets lost. This one was completely GONE and I tried for what seems like forever to locate it. By now it's getting late and I'm so close to finishing but I'm not quite there yet. Out of nowhere I hear panting heading towards me. I thought it was a dream but I see three dogs heading my way! I run into my home and close the door because if my dog sees this he will go nuts. He doesn't wake up so the dogs slobber all over my things and eventually leave. Strange but true...I found out a neighbor had lost her dogs that night but they went back home in the morning.
Anyway, Sunday comes along. Still can't find the intake manifold bolt so I figure 5 of 6 is going to have to do it for now! I get the manifold on, coolant tank goes in no problem so now time for the alternator. That was a pain and took a lot of time and added to frustration. And then there are the vacuum hoses...I should have taken a photo as I completely forgot how they go.
Since I have PSE I have extra lines and couldn't make heads or tails of it. I figured at this point I'll just guess and go from there.
Get to a point where I can start the car and after a couple of cranks it starts! But it's idling like crap so I know the vacuum lines are suspect. But I figured let me let the car warm up and see if there are any leaks. I let the car run for a while and no leaks! But then at about the 15 minute mark it starts. It's just some drips but it's starting.
Now I just decide to throw the towel in. I'm done and taking it to the dealer the next day!
I take it in, ask them to clean my mess and get the diagnosis...I had a couple of hose clamps that were loose and of course the vacuum lines not routed correctly! While there they also found a fuel line fitting that was loose and they got rid of my PSE extra vacuum lines since I never intend to use the sport exhaust's "quiet" mode.
In terms of cost for approximately $450 in parts and $600 for the dealer to clean it up. It cost me a better part of my weekend too. Would I do it again? Well while I was looking for my lost bolts I was telling myself, "never again" but now that my car is working perfectly and I got all of that done for a little over $1k maybe I'd reconsider. With a little better preparation and more skill, this is really not a tough job - just frustrating because there is so much to remove and there are no shortcuts.
In the end, I'm loving my car again and look forward to many more miles with it. Basically at this point almost everything except the block is new so I should be good for quite some time!
Thanks for the update. Sometimes it is important to know when to say "when." I usually take a break from the project for a day or so, read up on all that I can, and then hit it again with a fresh outlook. This is not just for Porsche DIYs, but other projects as well.
Congrats on making a great attempt yourself. Don't be afraid to track down a Rennlister or PCA member for help if you get stuck on a project. I will never forget the PCA member who helped me replace wheel bearings late on a holiday weekend 25 years ago because I needed to get back to college. What a guy!
I did have an offer for help but just thought I could do this all by myself (thanks Kazual99!) By the time I realized I was too deep in I figured it would be a better ideal just to send it off to the pros. Yeah if I would have taken my time I probably could have finished up but I was waving the white flag at that point!
