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YOUR RESEARCHRadiator Cleaning
Leading reported evidence
Clean radiators this morning
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Leading evidence: 'Clean radiators this morning' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Check noisy bearings' (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.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
Replaced my hose clamps from O'Reilly, and got the coolant there too.
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That's where mine ran when I bought it with stock setup.
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Suggestion
Check for noisy bearings, and run each fan on 12V for a bit.
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43 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
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This is why I enjoy this site, was reading some older posts and found one about how many Porsche Owners overlook the cleaning of the radiators. Found a YouTube showing how easy it is to remove the front bumper to access and clean them, so had some free time today, pulled the bumper and found just how dirty the radiators were (looks like I could of been loosing about 10% of cooling capacity). Here are a few pics to show what I mean. Would recommend if you have not done this in awhile, take the time and do it. I had 54K miles on car and was told it was always garaged and pampered by original owner. Who knew!!, Only took about 2 hours.
I just bought all the clips/fasteners needed for this job. Probably will be my 3rd DIY attempt after replacing the pumpkins and spoiler bellows.
I'm starting easy...
Spend the bucks if you are that far along, take the rads out of the car, clean them with a pressure washer from the back to the front, and add the 3rd rad in the middle. once you use the pressure washer, use comp air to blow from back to front. You'll get tons more little particles out that you had no idea about. Do it a couple times.
The 3rd rad addition was the best upgrade I've seen for cars in S US. It improved not only my temp, but also the AC operation, better warm oil pressure and it seems to use a little less fuel.
Thanks for the reply docmirror, I was planning on doing a radiator flush on my 60k service. I will definitely be looking into the 3rd radiator kit. I live in Northern CA and the summers get hot, we have had a week of 100+ deg and I do see an increase in my temp (the reason I did the radiator clean-up in the first place).
No prob. It's just so much more than cooler water temps. I was pretty surprised. My fave result is ice cold AC within a few minutes of start up and it stays frigid even in slow traffic. Not really a hard job either. A couple of the fittings are hard to reach but I would rate it about a 3 or 4 on the 1-10 DIY scale. Don't rush, and clean the heck out of the rads once they are out of the car.
I'm about to do this in the morning. I need to flush the coolant because it is discolored and gunky. My radiators look just as dirty as yours did slakker. Does anyone have advice on where I can purchase this third radiator and how should I plumb it?
Thanks for any help
I just got done researching that one. Pelican has a center radiator kit that lists out all of the part #'s you need. But you can get them individually at warehouse 33 and save a hundred or two with the Rennlist discount. I would buy more from Pelican since they have such awesome information but they are usually higher. I always give them a shot though.
Not sure about the bolts because I usually source them locally from Napa.
I bought the center rad from rockauto.com(Behr). I bought the two hoses from Roger at 928sRUS. Replaced my hose clamps from O'Reilly, and got the coolant there too. I made all the braces and framing from 26Ga sheet metal.
A note for those starting this job. Although not mentioned in the pelican write up here's an important tip. When you open the box for the rad, take a sharp knife and cut two pieces of cardboard that will exactly cover the fins of the new rad. Use some packing tape and cover the fins of the rad as you remove it from the box. Leave this cardboard cover on the fragile fins until you are ready to put the bumper back on, then cut the tape, and pull the cardboard off. Your fins will still look new.
Another tip, once you have the rads and fans out, test the fans by jiggling the fan blade fore and aft from the end. Check for noisy bearings, and run each fan on 12V for a bit. I found one that was starting to get wobbly. Use comp air from the back to front of rads to blow out all the little pebbles you can. Do it several times.
Clean them again in 12 months and be prepared to be amazed at how nasty they get after one year. I've been thinking about the Zunnsport grills for some time now, but I'm not sure about how they might affect the airflow - especially during hot Texas summers.
... Or do what this guy did with gutter mesh from Home Depot:
Porsche 911 Carrera (997) diy mesh grill (no bumper removal and total cost is only $9.00) Part I - YouTube
Did you notice any improvement with the center Radiator? Would you consider putting it on your DD? I live in an area with very high temps and allot of steep grades.
My temp runs between the 8 & 0 almost all the time with it getting between center to right of 0 on 100+ deg days while driving up grades or in heavy traffic.
That's where mine ran when I bought it with stock setup. After the 160F thermo, and center rad, it now sits over or to the left of the '1' in the 180. In hot traffic it might go back up near the '0', but not much over. If I reconfigured the fan controller, I could keep it below the '8' easily.
Once I cleaned mine the needle doesn't move past the 8/0 position and usually sits right over the 8. We had ~100 F in WI a few weeks back and it didn't budge even after a hard drive and all radiators fans on.
While I'm sure the center rad is advisable, I wouldn't go that route unless you plan on tracking it or just want a fun project! I'll be doing the center rad when I replace my radiators and DIY mesh inserts on my C4S. Damn plastic tank caps. Just clean them and take her for a drive!
You should be fine, I only broke 1 rivet during the disassembly and re-used all (including the broken one). Will be buying new rivets for the next time I clean, I plan on cleaning annually or every other oil change (whichever comes first)
231F in stop and go traffic in 103F weather. Cleaning can't help you with this one. Opened Windows and sunroof to become one with my surroundings and shut off AC. Dropped to 213F eventually.
Looked into the GoPoint BT1, also lookind into and downloaded the DashCommand app since I have an Android Phone. Looks good and the $100.00 price is not bad. Does it work as explained? will it work on my 04 996? just thought I would check with you before ordering. Looking to order tonight.
Thanks
You will need the bt1a for android. It doesn't rate in the awesome category by any means but I like it for what it is. Their software keeps crashing on my iPhone 6s which is my main annoyance. But it is working flawlessly on an old 4s I've been playing with as a dedicated track app device.
It's not near as powerful as the Durametric but it is super handy to leave in the side pocket and use on the fly. My car likes to occasionally pop codes and this lets me read them and clear them right then. And it works flawlessly with Harry's if you ever decide to go to the track.
But if Harry's isn't a priority, there are a lot of $15-$20 versions that people have had good luck with:
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/810606-obd-ii-code-reader-recommendation.html
While that is high that's not a real problem.
Some years ago in southern AZ encountered 116F ambient temperature. Coolant temperature in the Boxster climbed to 226F and stayed there. Radiator fans running high speed constantly. Engine compartment fan running constantly. Intake air temperature at 135F.
Made it out of AZ and back to KC MO.
Because of what seemed to me to be quite excessive heat I stopped at the dealer to speak to the SM about the coolant temperature. He contacted the factory and the word from the factory was if no warning lights came on -- and none did -- the engine was fine. Believe it or not but the engine had 0w-40 oil in it too. Just had it changed in Sacramento, CA before I drove down to AZ.
The engine was fine. That was years ago and the engine has racked up over 200K miles since then. And once in a great while had its coolant temperature climb to 226F. The car has not been in 116F though since that one time. But an occasional triple digit summer day does happen out here.
On another matter, Porsche says that their coolant is lifetime but I have read that the water eventually steams off causing the 50/50 ratio to be off. Any comments? Anyone been told they should do regular changes? How often?
IMNSHO - 'Lifetime' from a car company means they want you to trade in and buy a new car. So, if you have a car that's > 4 years old, you should have traded in for a new one, because the 'lifetime' of that chassis has now expired.
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