I found out where my coolant went.

I posted this yesterday asking for help and now I have a little more info....and unfotunately I think it's bad news for me I knew the coolant didn't leak in my garage, but my overflow tank is empty. So, I checked the oil and it is much higher than it should be. So, I'm guessing that's where the coolant went. Help Please!

How much higher is the oil level? And is the oil discolored?

The oil level is much higher than it should be. It is registering on the metal part of the dipstick. Plus, I just took the oil fill cap off and what do I find.......coolant. I know it's coolant from the photos I've seen on this board. The only problem is that I'm not quite sure what now. I'm thinking I need a new motor, but need someone to tell me. Kinda weird that I just had it serviced recently and the car was given a clean bill of health. The only thing they could find was that it needed front brake pads. I wonder if the dealer could be held somewhat responsible for this?? Thanks in advance for any help. PS....I knew this would happen to me. It's just my luck......and within 8 months of me owning my first P car.

If your dip stick is a creamy brown color when you pull it out, then your in trouble. my 944 belw a head gasket and a new motor was needed.

Not good....

Sorry man... lots of bad news lately.

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I've noticed that...is it a full moon or something?

unfortunately the dealership or no one else can detect when these things are going to happen. they just do...hope you are still under warranty..how many miles on the car.

Keeping in mind that I don't plan to pay for a new motor and instead will just sell as is..........should I even bother with getting this thing to a dealer? (I don't live near a P dealer)

2000 C2, 60,000 miles....no warranty. Also, as much as I hate it, will be my first and only Porsche.

Although I would not recommend further operations, but how did it idle or drive? Any vapor/steam coming out from the tailpipe?

That's the thing. It still cranks and runs fine No smoke, no nothing. Of course, upon first seeing that temp. light blinking I didn't leave the driveway, but it was still running completely normal.

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You're looking at a big hit from a $$$ perspective. Maybe you should call around and see what kind of deal you can find on an engine?

You always hear about the low mile garage queen cars blowing engines. This is clearly a car that has been driven all it's life. Could bad (or no) maintenance cause this problem? Or is it still totally random? Sorry for your negative entry into Porsche ownership. Hope you can recoup your loss somehow.

Seriously do what Taylor suggested. I've been low on coolant before, in fact I just topped it off today. In addition, a couple months ago I panicked when I started the car and a big puff of white smoke came out. I open the oil fill cap and found what you found: yellow shmegma. I thought the worst but people here suggested it was water vapor mixing in with the oil caused by not letting the engine come up to full speed on short trips. It's ususally burned off. Is your oil from the dipstick clean? That is your indicator, not the oil fill.

Unfortunately I'm not the type to tolerate being burned. I guess I am somewhat like UFO was, but without the anger and hostility. Once burned, I don't go back for more. I just cut my losses and drive on. So, I guess that means in reality that I will never purchase a Porsche again, warranty or no warranty. There is no way I could/would pay for a new engine and then drive this car with anything other than disdain for it. I'm really more disappointed about this than angry, but will never put myself in the same position again. Of course, I knew this engine failure thing going into it, but I just had to have a 911 in my lifetime and pulled the trigger. This will be my last Porsche for sure.

Sorry for the poor photo. My new camera has decided not to work as wella dn I am using my ancient one. Okay, I checked it out and it's kinda hard to tell. The oil seems to have the appearance of chocolate milk and it seems diluted as it runs off the dipstick very easily. Those 2 things make me think it's mixed with coolant. But, the photo below shows the color and that seems more like just oil.

i don't blame u. trying to determine reasons why is PURE speculation and gets us no where. sorry bud but honestly think it thru. a reman engine is rock solid and a person looks over its assembly carefully with new parts.

What exactly comes with a new engine?? I need a starter as I speak and have a new one in the box in my garage. What about RMS and clutch? If that's not part of, I'm sure that would fail on me after the new engine is installed. By the way, thanks for everyone's comments. I troll this board a lot and always enjoy the good and the bad reading. The main thing I enjoy is the intelligence about these cars. I appreciate all the input!

You might make more money if you drop a new engine and then sell it.... who knows maybe at that point you might want to keep it for a bit and then sell it.

unfortunately this isn't anything new, but fortunately for those of us that do go thru an engine replacement scenario, it's been done before so you have some ground to rest your weary head on (bring a pillow). i'm sure others can lend more detailed advice, but i know that if you buy a replacement engine from porsche, it'll have the latest updates which i believe the last update to the M96 was in 2005. you'll have the new IMS/RMS parts and the best part i think really is the level of attn these reman engines get since what i've come to learn is that each of these reman engines can be traced back to a single assembler porsche dude. it's absolutely rare to hear of reman engines failing. 3.4 or 3.6. you have the peace of mind knowing you've got a great new engine (i have a reman engine in my car w/ 34K miles no issues to date) and continue to drive the 911 for all its worth which is quite a lot in fun points. you may even build some pride of ownership! again, just try to clear your head and though it is certainly a sh!tty situation no one woudl wish upon any other person here, it's not the end of your porsche world. give it some thought.

Is this car typically used for short trips or is it fully warmed up at the end of every drive?

It's a blurry photo so it's hard to say. It looks like it could just be oil. When did you last change it? When was the last time you checked the level and how did that compare to now?

Well, I've only driven it for 700-800 miles. 200 of those miles were bringing it home after I bought it. I haven't driven it long distances at a time, but the motor is always up to full temp. even on my shortest drives. Then sometimes I would take it out for a while for a longer, spirited drive. I have been very easy on it though. The question is about it's previous life I guess. I do know that it was serviced perfectly....even down to the airbag service.

It was changed in the last several hundred miles. It also looks like someone added several quarts of oil to the car. The oil level comes all the way up to the very top of the uppermost little red piece on the dipstick. I think the motor's blown.

did you get a ppi, before buying?

Hahaha...I wondered when that question was going to surface. No, I didn't. The car was in great shape when I bought it and had all stamps in the service book. Plus, it was a 1 owner car. I took a chance I guess. BUT, I had the 60,000 mile service done after I bought it and a Porsche dealer checked it thoroughly. That came back with flying colors and the only thing needed was front brake pads.

From what I've seen, PPI's don't really mean that much (unless there are already tell-tale signs of engine failure, which mine didn't have) as no one can predict when these engines will let go.

Christ...not another one. Sheesh...unreal. C.

It doesn't look good. Oil with coolant mixed will feel sticky instead of slick when rubbed between your forefinger and thumb. Alas, these problems are not the exclusive domain of Porsche. Witness the milkshake that results when the oil cooler (buried in the valley under the plenum) springs a leak in a 3.0L V6 GM engine:

Othomasjr Very sorry to hear this, there has been a wave of **** lately Nobody likes to get burned twice, I agree w/you here. The thing is you are not fully burned as BC stated, game not over yet. Take a little time, that will not cost you further. You have taken an unfortunate financial hit regardless of the direction you take, as you know, sad but true. I would suggest you do some research, like calling the dealer asking for any assistance, quotes, etc... Once you get all the numbers crunched make your move on if it is worth it to you or not Very understandable which ever way you go, tough call GL to you

Thank you. I really appreciate your kind thoughts and words.

Well, surprisingly, I put some on my fingers and it did not feel sticky.

Had you ever checked the oil level since you bought the car before this time? I'm sorry, but everyone is jumping straight to the new engine conclusion and I'm not convinced. You may have a situation that your oil was over filled. There can be lot's of reasons why your water level is low other than catastrophic failure. Get the car towed to the dealer in the morning and have them tell you what it is.

Yes, I've checked it several times since it's been changed. It was always right on the button on the dipstick, even though the gauge on the speedo sometimes said it was a touch low. Now, it is MUCH higher than it ever has been.

Do what Deckman said "I've been low on coolant before, in fact I just topped it off today. In addition, a couple months ago I panicked when I started the car and a big puff of white smoke came out. I open the oil fill cap and found what you found: yellow shmegma. I thought the worst but people here suggested it was water vapor mixing in with the oil caused by not letting the engine come up to full speed on short trips. It's ususally burned off. " it is a terrible photo but your dipstick oil looks okay, I think you are over reacting, at least take it to a shop and get a proper diagnosis,

Also, it almost drips off the dipstick before I can remove it from the engine compartment to wipe it clean.

I just checked and the gauge on the speedo now says the oil is completely full.

One way to check is to drain your oil and drop the oil pan... if its not like your fill tube... then you might be fine.

How about putting some coolant in it and driving the hell out of it?? Not really, but that's what I feel like doing.

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No offense intended here, but do you have enough information (and experience) to accurately conclude that the engine is blown. I'm hearing that the oil level seems high but you're not sure if the oil has coolant in it. If you're not sure the engine is blown, how can you make decisions about selling the car? If it isn't blown, and you sell the car thinking it is, aren't you make a huge mistake? Don't you think at least an inspection (and diagnosis) by a mechanic is called for?

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I tend to agree. A PPI will catch existing problems; however, it is not a predictive process.

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This is a good point. The hit you would take on selling the car without an engine would certainly justify having the car inspected.

Would it make sense to have your oil analized to verify that it contains coolant, before you conclude engine failure? Lots of helpful advice on this board. None of us want another engine failure post since we all share Porsche ownership. Hope it turns out to be something else. GL.

I'm sorry. I think my writing wasn't giving a true idea of what I plan to do. I have a good dealer that will pick cars up and trailer them for service. I FULLY intend to have it checked out before I go off half-cocked and sell it. I just know the history with these motors and was venting a little I guess. I will have it checked by my P dealer and then go from there.....probably will choose not to replace engine if that is indeed the culprit. Will just sell it instead. Thanks!

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Oh, yeah? Where were all your checkbooks when MY engine went south and had to be replaced?

Ooooops!!!!

I told a friend of mine about my dilemma. He asked why not just replace the head gasket or head, depending on which one broke. Why is that not possible?? Just curious why the motor has to be replaced. It seems that if it's a rebuilt motor, then someone should be able to "rebuild" the head or gasket by replacing with a new one.

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That is what I would do if in fact it was toast. Sorry for your possible loss, I can't view the pics at work to see what you describe.

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I'm just happy you didn't pull the air cooled card, thanks

All of this engine failure talk makes me nervous. My car doesn't have 10k miles on it yet, but I do exercise it regularly.

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That's been discussed quite a bit over the years. It is apparently cheaper (and easier) to buy a remanufactured engine from Porsche. AutoFarm in the UK rebuilds 996 engines but I don't think parts are available in the US for a DIY. Does anyone know if this is the case?

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+1 Do an oil change. Flushed the oil into a clear container. Oil/water don't mix so it will separate once it settles. Top of the coolant. Hopefully you just prematurely came to an conclusion it is a blown engine.

As a casual observer, it sure appears that the cars that live the lives of garage-queens (those that come out on weekends and have less than 10k on their tickers) are the cars that are having most of the problems. Am I dreaming this? Anyone else see this trend? C.

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He has a 2000 w/60K miles. I have read and know of many that never got a chance to be a garage queens before the engine let go during a period wee the miles were low giving an impressions of yet another low mileage 996 goes down. The more you drive them the better, no argument on that w/any car Hard not to reach for something in the quest for solutions. It would be great to be able to come up with a list of don�ts and eliminate your risk, problem solved. No such thing It starts with a good purchase followed by good driving/good maintenance. Then you hope for the best. To worry takes away from the enjoyment w/nothing good to gain, easier said than done

We need better pics. 1st pic looks bad but the 2nd looks fine, but it is hard to tell. There is no doubt when I have had coolant in the oil of other cars, it was a light brown or tan color. I personally would run the car for at least 30 minutes to an hour (hard and high RPM) and see if all that condensation burns off the oil filler tube. If it does it is fine.

This post is getting funny, the guy hasn't even bothered to properly analize the problem, and he won't listen to anyones advice .. very odd if you ask me ....

The picture of the oil filler tube looks like many do after a winter season without extended driving periods. Water vapor, condensation, etc. gets in the oil and never gets totally evaporated off. You need to drive a car for an extended period, 30 minutes or more at full temp to "burn off" the water. Both my car and my business partners car had similar looking "sludge" when we changed the oil this week, but the engines were fine. Now the fact that the oil level went up is somewhat suspect. It will be interesting to see what happens. Also, take a look at the coolant in the tank to see it is contaminated.

Given the loss of coolant, the rise in oil level, and the choc looking gunk, it's an intermix failure. Then you look at the MY of the block, and you have the design/QC issues from that era that have been seen, again and again, to give a higher than acceptable rate of exactly this sort of failure. It's nothing to do with how it was driven - it's a design and factory QC issue on the M96 from that era. Do the research and go after Porsche if you have the stomach for a fight - people have been given new engines out of warranty, given that they present their case well, and are informed as to the 'know issues'. Other than that, you're looking at a new motor - if this diagnosis plays out. There is no way I'd put my $$$ behind a pre 3.6 motor - just too much risk.

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Garage queens and RMS failure - good case Garage queens and intermix - no case what so ever, it's a design/factory QC issue pure and simple. You bought a time bomb and it eventually went off.

wxseed, you sound like an idiot to me. You're gonna come on here as a User and post that crap when I am in the throws of "possible" engine failure?? I just found out about this thing around 48 hours ago. How in the hell am I going to "not take someone's advice" in that time. I'm still trying to digest all of this info. Hell, I haven't even had a chance to get an appointment with my P dealer yet. All I can do is let them diagnose it for me. I'm not a mechanic and I don't change my own oil, so I don't plan to attempt to do what I expect my dealer to do for me. The main reason for the thread is because this is a very common problem and the people who reside here know more than anyone else about this problem. I was in search for as much consoling as I was info. Let's just see how you feel and how your posts go when your engine blows up. Karma has a way of catching up with you, so you should be very careful of how you pass judgement on others you've never even met. It's funny, a guys engine blew back on 3-15-08 and I posted how nervous it made me feel because my car was the same year and same miles. A month and a half later I am possibly facing the same. Who knows, maybe next month it will be yours!!

fair enough .. but i didn't pass judgement, ( but obviously you did on me calling me an idiot) i just said it's odd that you are expecting the worst when it could be something very simple. and at no point did you respond to anyone " hey that's a good idea i think I'll try it" good luck mate, looks like karma just bit you ...

I just call them as I see them dude. I won't lose any sleep over it.

During ththis last winter I stopped by the local (and only) dealer in my area. I was chatting with one of the employees that seemed well versed in RMS, IMS, etc... He let me know that he has only known of on local 996 engine failure. The local dealership and owner worked together with Porsche making a case for a new engine, the car was out of warranty. He told me that Porsche decline the free replacement but did agree to pay about 60% of the replacement cost (can't remember the exact number) This guy was letting me know that Porsche works on a case by case basis and one never knows how it will go. It is worth putting out a the effort towards assistance Please keep us posted as you get further along this thing... GL

For all the people that speculate it is the garage-queened cars that have these problems, let me add another possibility into the mix. Assuming these engine failures are caused by manufacturing defects in a small % of cars, we'd expect the problem to display itself as premature engine failure. Let's say the mean failure rate for defective cars is 10K engine-hrs, by logical extension the garage queened cars would take a longer period of time to hit 10K hrs than the cars that are frequently driven. While the average mileage 911 would see the failure in the first year of ownership, the garage queened cars may see it in the 4th or 5th year of ownership. Thus, one cannot conclude that low-mileage cars have a higher rate of failures.

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I believe this to be 100% correct. No need to assume the root cause of engine failures is due to manufacturing short comings. It is just that. All garage queen cars, not just P-cars, have higher risks of other well know issues, engine failures not being one of them.

Thanks Is911. I am making an appt. monday morning with Porsche and will try to be as nice as possible. I will hope upon hopes that they will assist me in some way. The service dept I deal with is exceptional and the prices they charge are more reasonable than most. I will update as soon as I know the problem/prognosis.

disregard

Any updates on this one?

He posted in another thread that he is buying a new engine...

New motor.......2 year warranty. $12,777.00 out the door

I'm curious. Did you ask if you could have put an X50 engine, or any other upgrade in, and how much? Glad you decided to keep the car, BTW. Sorry about your earlier experience, but I am sure you will eventually be glad you kept the car.