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YOUR RESEARCHNoticed slight overheating but questionable yellow foam in overfill?
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cylinder head
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Noticed slight overheating but questionable yellow foam in overfill?
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Leading evidence: 'cylinder head' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'cylinder head' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check coolant' (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
I paid $1100 to get my head repaired (pun not intended).
Noticed slight overheating but questionable yellow foam in overfill?
Use from 99-04
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I was told that it's common for cylinder one or two to get a crack based on the materials used from 99-04.
Noticed slight overheating but questionable yellow foam in overfill?
Check coolant
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Suggestion
First thing I am doing when I get home is checking my coolant.
Noticed slight overheating but questionable yellow foam in overfill?
Check coolant tank
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Suggestion
Have to admit this thread made me go check my coolant tank today.
Noticed slight overheating but questionable yellow foam in overfill?
Lubricate properties of the oil has been seriously compromised
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Suggestion
When you get a intermix of coolant and oil throughout the engine (not to mention the cooling lines to the radiators), it means the lubricating properties of the oil has been seriously compromised.
Noticed slight overheating but questionable yellow foam in overfill?
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105 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
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I noticed that my car was slightly overheating this evening. I pulled over to let it cool down and noticed this in the overfill. It's like a thick yellow substance. No motor oil type mixture. Is this the radiator fluid getting to hot? I noticed after it cooled down, it started breaking down to a thinner consistency. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks...
Ahsai - correct me if I am wrong. Basically this can be caused by a bad air-oil separator, a cracked head or (rarely) a bad head gasket. Hope for the bad AOS.
Well, I just checked the oil dip stick and there isn't any sign of this intermix, just regular oil. Now, I've seen when a cracked head or bad head gasket when water and oil mix, but, this seems odd. It like pancake batter, haha..
Now also if it was the head gasket when there be some type of smoke coming out of the exhaust as well? If so, there isn't.. Well I'll find out tomorrow when I take it to the shop. Crossing fingers that it isn't bad. I'll update everyone, thanks..
I'm no expert but my understanding is AOS will cause coolant in oil (when it breaks down internally). There's only oil vapor and no oil pressure in AOS. There's coolant pressure inside AOS so coolant leaks into the crankcase.
The MLS head gaskets are virtually indestructible. Oil/coolant heat exchanger is possible but also very rare. The most likely cause in this case is a cracked head since there's no coolant in oil. Oil has much higher pressure than coolant when engine is runnng so it forces itself into the coolant when there's a crack. Once the engine has stopped, oil has no pressure but the hot steamy coolant could force itself into the oil.
In my old 1999 996 I had exactly what is in your picture 3 years ago. I had no coolant in my oil either. You my friend have intermix and a cracked head. Don't drive the car......at all because that will make the fix that more expensive.
Perhaps a bit late but I'd find a good independent Porsche mechanic before taking it to the dealership. If you've already taken it there and the dealership gives you the bad news, say "thank you", pay your bill and then find a good independent Porsche mechanic.
Sorry to hear that and I feel for you.
If it's truly the head (one of the heads) and it's repairable, that should only cost 3-4k. Are you in the US? A few folks here went through head repair so hopefully they will chime in.
You have a cracked cylinder more than likely.. I tend to lean toward a cracked head when I see intermix of this color, and quantity, but those bubbles give it away.
No telling what diagnosis the dealer will give you. That said, I haven't ever seen a head gasket from an M96 fail and create this issue. Last year alone we repaired 33 cases of this (most of them were cracked heads), and none of those had failed head gaskets.
You got screwed, more than likely... The seller probably knew about this, if I had to guess. Its too ironic and too quick..
This happens to new owners all the time these days. Did you have a PPI carried out?
Wow! The dealership will take care of it?? You lucked out big time!!!!
My guess is that the previous owner knew about the cracked head, traded it in or sold it to the clueless dealer, and he sold it to you.
As Jake says, the coincidence is unlikely.
Makes me wonder if they even have a wand? And, if they do, whether it's a genuine Porsche wand (part # 996 xxx xxx xx) ? Will a generic wand work? I wonder if they have a crystal ball too
Looks like your have a cracked cylinder, looking at the amount of intermix this probably happened before you purchased this car. Engine needs to be completely rebuilt in this case.
We are currently rebuilding a 3.2l Boxster motor with cylinder head crack. Milshake is everywhere, very messy
Update...
Come to find that it was the cylinder head. Drivetrain has been dropped and heads were removed yesterday. The heads are being set off to be serviced. Check out the drain pan at the bottom. I should have her back in 2 weeks! Can't wait. More pics soon to come...
Looks great!! Glad the dealer owned up. And now you have a fresh engine!! Have to admit this thread made me go check my coolant tank today. The paranoia spreads...
You and I both. I literally had the car for 25 days when it happened. The moment that brought it back to their attention, they told me that it would be taken care of and it has. I was hoping for a much faster return but I didn't want to rush it. Can't want to have my girl back home in a few weeks...
So is this a Porsche Dealer? They gave you a warranty on a 99 -996?? That you bought from them. This is almost unbelievable, that they would stand behind that old of a car.
Who are they? Good dealers like this need to be identified.
Thanks
I bought it from Apple Sport Import in Austin, TX. They're not a Porsche dealership but sell BMW's, Lexus, etc. They've been a pleasure to work with so far..
I'm glad the dealership is stepping up for you. Can I ask how the exhaust sounded the short time you had it? It looks like it was altered, sort of like a Fister mod.
When you get a intermix of coolant and oil throughout the engine (not to mention the cooling lines to the radiators), it means the lubricating properties of the oil has been seriously compromised. You may not hear/notice it right away while the car is running, but there is damage being done to the crankshaft bearings, the camshaft bearings etc...
I don't think that something as significant as the head cracking would have no collateral effects on the engine. What's their repair process? JB Weld that bad boy and bolt it back together?
If I remember right the OP had oil in his coolant and not coolant in his oil.....exactly what I had a few years ago. The main thing for my situation was to make sure the coolant lines / hoses were flushed several times. A tip from Flat6 was to use a couple bottles of shout detergent and real hot water to remove the milk shake residue with in the coolant system. Then flush with several rounds of clean water. The AirView tool, Ashai's coolant flush DIY and several 5 gallon pales will do the trick. If the coolant system is not flushed completely the oil will eat at the hoses.
Yes, everything is getting flushed from the lines down the radiators at the front. I'm sure they know what they're doing and just not service the heads not thinking about flushing the whole entire system. Give me a little sign of hope here guys, haha..
Anybody wonder what happen to this guy? Did he take the buyback the dealer offered?
Was the car unfixable? Did the repaired head not solve the problem? Is he riding around enjoying his Porsche?
Would be nice to hear the end of this story.
Man, so sorry for the delay in reply. The drivers side head was indeed cracked and couldn't be repaired. So, a new head was ordered to replace it. Damn head was $3k directly from Porsche in Germany. That was only main issue besides having to evacuate and clear out all lines from the intermix. Apparently from what I've been reading, it's always the drivers side that always cracks. The newer replacement heads are supposed to be made from a much better cast to eliminate this issue.
I'll bet I had a virgin head, we have hundreds.
Don't drink the Kool aid, I have seen brand new heads crack. Usually an underlying condition is the fault.
I wanted to inform everyone that I'm back on the road after a drivers-side replacement cylinder head, water pump, couple of new hoses, and entire flush. I went ahead and had the passenger-side cylinder head resurfaced and revalved, all new gaskets, new coilpacks, and spark plugs replace for preventive maintenance as well. I'm very happy w/ the turnout even though it took almost 3 months to complete.
Hey,
Just read the whole saga. I have a '99 also so I'm always interested in the issues we have. It was nice to see you stay positive through the whole thing. Really glad it all got sorted.
Believe it or not, it wasn't. I was told that it's common for cylinder one or two to get a crack based on the materials used from 99-04. The new head that was purchased was manufactured three years ago w/ stronger material. They also told me that's very rare that the passenger-side head cracks.
That's a great story... very rare that any dealership would repair the damage on a used vehicle after the sale, especially on a 911.
Did you have to pay anything out of pocket or did the dealership pay for everything? Based on your last comment, it looks like you decided to pay for the full replacement of the head instead of repair.
^ I assume that pic was taken at the repair shop and that blue 928 isn't yours. If it is yours, man that's a gorgeous car. Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I think I actually like that cobalt blue type color more than guards red. I still think about this 996TT that I was in the process of buying when my current car popped up for sale:
But, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Your car looks great and the black rims with the silver ring work really well.
Just re-read the entire thread and noticed that you said this was your first Porsche ever.
Anyhow, you might want to give a shout out again to that dealer who sold you the car and then stepped up to the plate to repair it. Frankly, that's rare these days. You might want to say who it was you worked with on the deal to make things right.
$3K for a new head is not bad. I paid $1100 to get my head repaired (pun not intended). But I did everything else - plus a bunch of other stuff too while I had the engine out Have fun these are great cars!
So after this entire saga, is the hypothesis that some previous owner had this problem, flushed the system, then traded/sold it to an unknowing dealer?
It seems too coincidental (and just plain unfair) it happened on its own right after you purchased it...right?
I've had my fun with the 996, but, it's time for me to sell her. I've been thru a lot with this ol' girl and I'm happy to see her back on the road and driving strong! She now has a little over 98k miles.
http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/5727186300.html
I'm open to offers but I'm not going to reduce it much for my asking price. I have all of the maintenance records on hand and it's 100% transferable. 1 year or 12k miles, warranty from 04/01/16 - 04/01/17. $18k obo..... If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
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