43 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHIs coolant coming out of my exhaust?
Reported or suspected cause
check engine light
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.
Leading evidence: 'check engine light' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'check engine light' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check dipstick the oil filler cap' (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.
Inspect second time at automotive techniques just last week
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
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 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
It passed an inspection at Porsche of Delaware, but when I drove it home to Michigan, I had it inspected a second time at Automotive Techniques just last week.
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
My mechanic told me that there was no proof that an LN beering had been installed by Porsche of Delaware because the sump hadn't been dropped, and there wasn't a LN bard code on the car.
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'm not so certain that it has a crack in it, but it probably needed to be replaced anyways.
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.
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 · Original poster
He told me that even though bearing was said to have been replaced that I should clean any debris that could be in there to keep it from recirculating.
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
As Pete said, you need to remove the MAF from the intake - there are two security Torx screws holding it in - in order to try to clean the sensor element.
Inspect second time at automotive techniques just last week
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
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
It passed an inspection at Porsche of Delaware, but when I drove it home to Michigan, I had it inspected a second time at Automotive Techniques just last week.
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
My mechanic told me that there was no proof that an LN beering had been installed by Porsche of Delaware because the sump hadn't been dropped, and there wasn't a LN bard code on the car.
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.
43 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: 20261026T161109Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
I purchased a 1999 996 a few weeks ago. It passed an inspection at Porsche of Delaware, but when I drove it home to Michigan, I had it inspected a second time at Automotive Techniques just last week. AT said that there was a slight coolant leak out of the water pump. I have since topped off the coolant to the minimum level 2x, and it didn't take much.
Today I drove the car 100 miles, and halfway through the journey the check engine light came on for the first time. When I got home and parked the car I saw for the first time a puddle of coolant under the driver side exhaust tip. I looked under the car saw a drip of coolant in the area below the coolant tank.
What seriously concerns me is that the marks that the coolant left on the exterior of the exhaust are also in the exhaust. The inside of the passenger side exhaust is entirely black, but the inside of the driver side exhaust have that same white cloudyness that's on the top surface of the exterior of the exhaust. Also, the puddle location looks to be positioned as if it came out of the exhaust as opposed to falling directly below the coolant tank.
What do you guys think? I won't start the car again until I get some solid feedback.
dscf1217.jpg
dscf1218.jpg
dscf1219.jpg
dscf1221.jpg
No, it's coolant dripping down all over your driver-side exhaust, including the tip.
You probably did not tighten the cap sufficiently when you added coolant, or your cap is worn out and now that you've loosened it, you need to replace it. The coolant tank, which leaks coolant in this exact location when it cracks, may also be the culprit - the original tanks are brittle, and cranking around on it to remove the cap and tighten it again may have cracked it.
See how the coolant is all over the exhaust pipe behind the tip? If it was coming from the exhaust, and not leaking onto the exhaust, you would not have residue all over the top of the pipe. You can also see coolant pooling on the bottom of the surface above the pipe - I don't think there's any way you could draw enough coolant back under the car to cause that pooling if the coolant was in your exhaust.
This is not the catastrophic failure you're looking for.
HOWEVER, coolant leaking from the water pump means the bearing in the pump is probably compromised. If you keep driving it this way, you will eventually get enough play in the pump to shear the impeller blades off, and they'll float around in your cooling system and engine block, potentially causing hot spots and cracking your block. It's time to replace the water pump and the coolant cap, and possibly the coolant tank as well - but still much cheaper than a cracked head.
Water is a product of combustion gases going through a cold catalytic converter (and there is often moisture in the oil that gets burned off when the car is started and warming up) - so if you decide to start the car, your exhaust WILL have water in it (condensate, not coolant) - again, no freaking out. This part is normal.
Why do I see oxidation in the driver exhaust, but all black on the passenger exhaust though? Isn't it possible the tank is cracked, or the old style 00 cap is leaking AND coolant is coming out of exhaust?
Sure, and your IMSB might be falling apart, and your bores might be scored. Chains may be a-slapping, and your guides might be shedding material. You could have a D-chunk right on the verge of...um...chunking, too.
If the question is: "Did my head crack
AND
my coolant tank/coolant cap fail on the same day," the answer is "probably not."
The color inside the driver-side tip is normal - oxidized steel. If the inside of the passenger tip is black with soot, that's the abnormal side, not the driver side.
Not AOS, you would know because you would get clouds of white smoke coming out and then go away. Looks like cracked tank (similar to mine). If you were in the LA area I would send you to European Car Specialist in Newport Beach. - Fast Frank
IMS was already replaced by Porsche of Delaware.
I'll make a thread on that shortly, because the sump was never dropped and the LN bearing was never registered....
Would you advise I order a new cap/reservoir/water pump to remedy this?
Was the check engine light blinking? Blinking means "bad stuff about to happen to your emissions equipment. Stop!" On (not blinking) means a diagnostic code exists that needs to be interpreted. If the light at the right side of the temp gauge was the one that lit up, that is the low coolant indicator. Add coolant.
Troubleshooting: start it up and see where it's leaking from, or, if freaked out, pressure test your cooling system with the car off. If the latter, get an OBD-II scanner and read the diagnostic code.
I advise you to do what's going to make you feel comfortable. For me, this would involve troubleshooting the tank/cap, and ordering a water pump. For you, it might mean a trip to the mechanic - I don't know your tolerance for dealing with this on your own.
The check engine light was not blinking. Before I saw the coolant leak under the driver exhaust, I thought maybe the engine light went on because I had gassed up and likely didn't close the gas cap till it clicked.
I'm not a mechanic, but I'm a good diy'er, and have seen videos on the water pump and feel comfortable tackling it, plus I have all the equipment to do the job.
Pelican Parts and Suncoast are favorites. Mine is the former. Lots of DIYs on the site that link directly to parts needed - what's not to like about that?
Right, I'm really loving this forum.
Another thing. I stopped at advanced auto parts on my way home when I saw the check engine light. They used an obdII scanner, and nothing came up. I forget what they called it, but they pretty much said no code is coming up. Does that mean my plug is faulty?
Nope, you wouldn't be able to connect to the car and get a "no messages" message if the OBD-II port was faulty. You'd get a connection failure error instead.
Was it the check engine light, or was it the light at the far side of the temp gauge? If the check engine light was on, there should be a diagnostic code stored in the computer. I edited my post about the meaning of the light (blinking, not blinking, and the light at the right side of the temp gauge) in post 7 to fix a typo.
When the cap on my 986 Boxster (same motor as the 996, just less displacement/power) failed, the car barfed at least half a gallon onto pre-grid at the autocross. Poor form, certainly. However, it's much easier to see on the Boxster where the liquid originated.
How does under the engine cover look? Is there coolant all around the cap and/or the tank? If so, you can suspect the cap. If not, there may be a crack on the back side of the tank.
It was the check engine light. It was not in the temperature gauge.
The car is at 30,260 miles.... I was thinking maybe I just went over 30,000 miles and that caused the light to go on, but it looks like that's not the case.
No, there's not light I know of telling you it's time for the 30K service. Since that's the "crap yourself" light, it isn't (and shouldn't) be used for many random things...
If your cap ends in a number lower than 04 replace it. Early caps failed often. It is hard to see cracks in the tank because they are usually on the fender side. Look on the "frame rail" under the tank for signs of leakage.
It probably means it is a Porsche proprietary code. Emissions and safety codes are standard. Other code can be manufacturer specific. Buy a Durametric reader. It will save you $$ in the long run.
http://www.durametric.com/
+1 ... I just replaced my tank and cap.
OP, it sounds to me as though you're probably in the market for a water pump, regardless of what you decide to do with the tank and cap. You might want to search the forum for threads about water pumps -- replacement pumps can have either a steel or composite impeller. Consensus generally favors a pump with a composite impeller, but you might want to read up on the pros/cons of composite vs steel.
If you are worried about coolant in your oil check the dipstick the oil filler cap .... No milky stuff ?
As others said - probably bad water pump - replace before driving again - mine failed in a similar way after a hard drive - do themostat and any brittle looking hoses while at it - and pressure test coolant tank for leak - cap is cheap to replace
Thank's so much to everyone that participated in this thread.
I've just ordered:
Coolant Tank and Cap
Water Pump with Composite Impeller and gasket
Thermostat with Cover and Gasket
LN Engine Oil Drain Plug (18 X 1.5 mm) and washer
LN Spin-On Oil Filter Adapter
LN Oil Filter, for Spin-On Oil Filter Adapter
Drei Bond "Type 1209" 30 ml for sump plate clean out which was never done when the LN bearing was installed
The serpentine belt looks good. I haven't ordered any replacement hoses or screws, but maybe I should. If anyone sees something that I might want to add to the list, please let me know.
Looking forward to learning some new mechanical skills, as I've not done any of this before.
Are you sure you need to pull the sump plate? Yes, you'll get the peace of mind knowing there's nothing there, but it's easy to goober sealant all over the place and block the oil pickup.
I'd also add ECS Tuning to the list of companies with great Porsche prices and service. I got my water pump from them since they had the best price.
Replacing the water pump is a bit of a PITA due to clearance but it is pretty straightforward. Remember to use a small torque wrench since the bolts have very low torque specs.
No clue on the engine light though. I'd recommend picking up a $15 USB obd reader. But if the mechanic didn't see a code that probably means you wouldn't either. I thought that any reader should be able to read a code that is enough to trip the CEL.
OP mentioned that he had auto parts store scan for codes after seeing the check-engine light. As FPB111 suggested, OBD-II won't show codes for stuff like Litronics and the other manufacturer-specific (non-OBD-II-standard) items.
My mechanic told me that there was no proof that an LN beering had been installed by Porsche of Delaware because the sump hadn't been dropped, and there wasn't a LN bard code on the car. Mechanic told me that LN calls for dropping the sump plate as step one in diagnosing whether or not bearing needs to be replaced. He told me that even though bearing was said to have been replaced that I should clean any debris that could be in there to keep it from recirculating.
Porsche of Delaware service manager said sump plate didn't need to be dropped/cleaned out.
What do you think?
And is the durametric the only tool that will read a code for me? I see a couple on ebay for 220 with 2 vins left on them. I don't have a regular computer though. Just a chromebook and a samsung galaxy 3.
You're mechanic looks to be thorough by doing a prequalification to play it safe where as the dealer didn't do a prequalification.
Now a days with aftermarket IMS bearing failures, it is highly recommended to do a prequalification so you know what you're working with and to determine if it's even worth it to retrofit with newer IMS bearing.
Ok, so this is simply a prequalification which is NOT necessary as the bearing was already replaced.
Is my mechanic right that there could potentially be metal shavings in the sump which are continuing to recirculate with the oil? Or is it assumed that the filter would catch these shavings, and dropping the sump at this point is a waste of time.
Unless you drop the sump plate you will never know if there is anything there that should not be, including sealant blocking the oil pickup screen. Be sure to clean the mounting surfaces throughly & it's very easy to reseal. Torque bolts to 7.5 ft/lbs.
My point (if I had one?) was that nailing down the existing problems is probably more pressing than exploratory surgery on the sump. OP sounds level-headed, but there have been more than a few people roll through here, freak out, and start burning money.
I changed out my coolant tank yesterday evening. I'm not so certain that it has a crack in it, but it probably needed to be replaced anyways. I was worried that I might damage some of the hoses while pulling the old tank out. I did bust a clip on the electrical connect that plugs into the coolant level sensor. The new tank went in pretty easily.
The reason I don't think the tank had a crack in it is because it still had pressure in the system when I took the cap off, and the coolant was just below the minimum level. I think I simply had excess coolant in the system and it was coming out of the overflow hose. I never opened the pressure relief valve when I added coolant.
I still have to put coolant back in the car. The guy I bought it from had flushed the coolant and replaced it with green Prestone coolant when he purchased the vehicle. My mechanic said that that's not the type of coolant I want to use. Can't remember what the reasoning was....
Should I flush the green out, or can I just add back another coolant that will likely be compatible with whatever green is left in the system? I know Porsche coolant doesn't mix with other coolants.
I added back the 3 or so gallons of coolant that I emptied out of the car. I lifted the pressure relief clip and turned on the vehicle. A light at the end of temperature gauge started to blink, so I turned the car off.
Do I need to get one of those vacuum deals to get whatever air might be in the system?
There are several threads for bleeding the system using an inclined surface (driveway) if you don't want to wait around for the AirLift to show up...
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-question.html
The manual bleed seemed to work. At first, when the oil cap was off and the dip stick was out and the coolant cap was off, it started to rough idle a little. I turned the car off and put everything back on. When I turned the car back on the coolant light was off. Car was on an incline at base of my driveway.
I drove it around with the bleeder valve open, and it's still open. Took it to another car place to see if they could pick up a code.
The code is p1123.
I asked him to erase the code, because I feel like maybe it went on because I didn't have the gas cap tightened all the way. I'm going to keep driving it to see if the CEL comes back on.
P1123 is over-rich on cylinders 1-3. I don't think the gas cap should cause this issue, but driving more to see if it comes back shouldn't be a problem.
Make sure all of the lines to the SAI (smog) pump are properly connected...
Hey 5CHN3LL. I saw a thread where you replaced the maf sensor. Quick question. Are these two parts the only ones that I have to spray with the contact cleaner? Not sure if I can open this up some more or not. Maybe you didn't try cleaning it first, but if you know the answer I'd appreciate your insight.
30k miles, the air filter looked like total ****, so glad to have replaced it.
As Pete said, you need to remove the MAF from the intake - there are two security Torx screws holding it in - in order to try to clean the sensor element. Your photos show the connector for the MAF, not the MAF itself.
