HELP! Intermix problem in 996 C4, any suggestions?

I bought a '99 996 C4 in 2003 and I love it. It is my first porsche and I was planning on upgrading to a Turbo sometime soon. However in Jan. my coolant light came on and I took it in and my mechanic (non porsche but very good) found it to be an intermix problem. I took it into a Porsche dealer recently to have them give me a 2nd opinion and they told me pretty much the same. Its at 83K miles and past original warranty but I also have Heritage Warranty for an extended warranty to 100K miles. The warranty company wants me to tear down the engine before they say anything and they don't seem like they will replace the engine. I wrote a letter to the Porsche Rep who just said Porsche won't offer any assistance due to the mileage and age of the car. I am trying to meet him in person tomorrow. I really love my car and I don't want to have to sell it for something else, does anyone have any help they can offer me? I am new to rennlist so if there are other places I should look that you know of I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks so much!

Well.....I had a 99 C4 that had the same issue at around 75K.....Luckily mine was under warranty from Porsche. They replaced the engine. I think your beef is with the warranty company. Why won't they replace the engine? That is what Porsche recomends. In fact, the dealer wont tear down the engine....Porsche says to them, replece it and send the motor back to Germany. Period. PCNA may offer some help, bu maybe splitting the motor cost with you, or even godwilling you an engine if you pay the labor. For this I suggest you have the records for the car handy so you can show it was maintained proplerly. Also was it serviced by them? If not you will have a harder battle. I would lean very hard on your warranty company, they need to fix this because its covered under their warranty...thats why you bought it.

Where are you located? I also have a 99 C4 that needed a motor, but at 53K miles. Good luck meeting with your Porshce Rep - those guys will not even answer the phone much less meet in So Cal. And as for getting them to good will a motor or repair, they basically told me they don't care about my loyalty because I was not the original owner of the car. Great service history, etc, but too bad. Your best hope is the warranty company. Newport is correct that a dealer is not "allowed" to tear down an engine to see what the real problem is - but I know a shop in Newport/Costa Mesa where they do rebuild them. PM me if you want the name and number. He is very knowledgable and gets about $5500 for a rebuild I believe. Still ugly, but better than the $12-14K the dealer will get you after all the ups and extras. Do a search for Engine Replacement I-V and you can read many posts and opinions about the topic. Good luck!

Aside from your coolant light coming on, were there any other indications of this problem? My coolant level seems to drop ever so slightly after 4-5 drives....but it ads up over time until I get lower and lower and finally below the min. I don't see any leaks underneath however, and have the new coolant cap. (Original tank though). Did you note the rate of your coolant loss? Any white smoke, etc?

I had no indications.....my car had tons of power, no overheating issues, no smoke, noise, nothing....I got that flashing light...went to add coolant and saw brown gunk in the coolant tank..it looked like wet peanut butter....The oil spout also had brown stuff in it.....took it to the dealer, they kept the car and got an approval to put an engine in it....2 days later, I was all set with a new engine...

wow, this sounds like a common problem.. good luck.