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YOUR RESEARCHCoolant Flush - DIY or Dealer?
Leading reported evidence
Fill from new
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
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Read evidence and context
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
your car is filled from new with "life" coolant which never has to be replaced.
Leading evidence: 'Fill from new' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Fill from new' (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 had minimal coolant "loss" for a while after I replaced a coolant fitting that required replacing a fair amount of coolant.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I can attest that around 100k miles when I replaced my water pump, the fluid looked brand new that was coming out.
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I got freaked and took it to my mechanic who pressured tested the system to reveal no leaks and no problems.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
By the way it cost $115 in parts,3 gallons of the official P-Car coolant & 3 gallons of distilled water.Not all of it will be used though.
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Suggestion
The cooling system is pretty complex and hard to bleed, so theres a special tool that draws a vaccum on the system and then replaces all the air with coolant.
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Suggestion · Original poster
I would like to replace the coolant in my car (2003 C4) but I have heard something about "burping the system" and have not found any posted advice or instructions?
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I would like to replace the coolant in my car (2003 C4) but I have heard something about "burping the system" and have not found any posted advice or instructions?
your car is filled from new with "life" coolant which never has to be replaced. However i dont think its such a bad idea to freshen it up after 5 or so years. The cooling system is pretty complex and hard to bleed, so theres a special tool that draws a vaccum on the system and then replaces all the air with coolant. Most tool suppliers like snap-on sell similar devices that work the same as the factory tool.
dont touch it unless it need to be... when they say life time its means life time... Only do a Flush when it requires, like when doing a Waterpump or a Coolant Leak or blown hose and loss of coolant...
Otherwise its a watse of your money... besides your car is practically new...
I don't care what Porsche says,couldn't hurt to change it every 5 years/50k. Every P-Car shop in town(including Niello Porsche) said there isn't anything negative that could come from it.
Granted when I did have the coolant flushed on my 01' 996 c2 nothing changed. It's just a piece of mind.
By the way it cost $115 in parts,3 gallons of the official P-Car coolant & 3 gallons of distilled water.Not all of it will be used though.
My thought is that unless you have the special tool referenced above, and know what you are doing, this one is better left to the pros. I had minimal coolant "loss" for a while after I replaced a coolant fitting that required replacing a fair amount of coolant. I got freaked and took it to my mechanic who pressured tested the system to reveal no leaks and no problems. He speculated that it simply was not fully "burped", even though it had been about a year since my project and I had driven around with the bleeder valve up for a long time. He confirmed its really hard to properly burp the system without the proper tools.
You should change your coolant every 3 - 5 years. There is no such think as a lifetime coolant. I don't have a DIY but it can be done. It's just a time consuming process. No special tools are required.
This is really easy to do yourself and if you follow the instructions the burping of your baby is really straightforward. It was one plug to remove and filling is also simple. The bleed process is also very specific.
Yes you did.
OP:
I would like to replace the coolant in my car.
Your repsonse:
This is really easy to do yourself and if you follow the instructions the burping of your baby is really straightforward. It was one plug to remove and filling is also simple.
Don't know how it can be interpreted any differently. The poor guy would be trying to drain the entire system by removing 1 plug.
To answer the OP's question and this thread back to useful information here are the instructions for replacing the coolant. This is from the coolant tank replacement DIY and it is really clear on what needs to be done to change out the fluid as much as is possible for someone without a flush machine. Note that in the beggining of the DIY he indicates the single plug to drain the fluid. There will likely still be some remaining in the hoses that wrap around the motor but this will get most of it.
http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=8024
why not just link your thread
And i see where you are going now with running the system out with regular water first to flush then put coolant mix back in...
http://www.renntech.org/forums/index...t%20flush&st=0
That link is for my procedure to replace the coolant (not flush the system). I drain 2 gallons each time I change the oil which removes most crap from the system and puts in another 2 gallons of new coolant mixture each time. Over several oil changes, the majority of my coolant is replaced and only takes a few minutes while you're under the car for the oil plug.
I can attest that around 100k miles when I replaced my water pump, the fluid looked brand new that was coming out. Also, all of the aluminum components had a shiny luster to them. The lifetime stuff holds up well and so does the aluminum parts that are exposed to it.
I am not sure I trust the "lifetime promise" for the coolant. I live in Texas, and it's hot, so I have always paid very close attention to coolant and lubrication.
1999Porsche911, this being only my 2nd post, don't have access to the messaging system as of yet, and I hate to openly post my e-mail for fear of getting a ton of spam. I really appreciate the offer. Is there another way?
I got this car about a year ago and have put about 5K on it. (at 25K now) I saw the mainatince history at the dealer the other day and thought it might be time to freshen the coolant, oil and filter.
I am searching for a good place to get a new oil filter and oil. (my Walmart does not carry the right oil.)
Thanks for all the replies.
Ya'll a little touchy about the oil thing? Every fourm has that one "subject" that has been, over debated. I thought it would have been the "watercooled" thing.
What do you say guys, instant ban?
Wait - i see he edited his post per suggestion... He can stay. You can get the oil at any Advanced Auto or other similar store. I get my filters right from the dealer though. You can order the kits via mail from Suncoastporshe.com as well for close to cost, but its only a marginal amount more to start building a relationship with the parts counter. Comes in handy for expensive items. For the coolant, there is this very recent thread on coolant but at 25k miles you can leave that alone imho. How is your coolant tank? Is it yellow yet? How about some pics of your car BTW - that is also mandated and you can get banned for that too
You'll sleep better at night if you know its done right.
I just got my 02 done at a shop that specializes on porsches.
I was just going to top mine off when I found out that the new porsche coolant is now red/pink. I had the green in the car's coolling sys. So I decided to just to drain out old green from the car. Besides, that green kind that was in the car was now 6 years old.
I stayed with the shop owner/mech/friend the entire process. They have to use the coolling sys vacuum to get air out. We openned the drain fitting in the rear bottom of the engine, the two hoses beside it, the 2 big rigid hoses just forward of the gearbox(as they connect to the flex hoses) and a couple more small bleeder hoses. I cant imagine doing DIY with all the fluid that came out with pressure. I would have made a big mess in the garage. He( the mech) had a huge drip pan(approx 3X4 ft) and just the gravity pulling the coolant, still squirted out everywhere.
In a nut shell, the steps were:
-let the car cool down
-open all those hoses(mentioned above) to drain(with the bleeder pull clip in up position)
-pour the initial mixture of coolant and RO/DI(reversed osmosis/de-ionized) water
-hook up the vacuum fitting and draw in the initial fill.
-Let the vacumm suck in the remainder of the needed 6 gals (3 gal coolant & 3 gal RO/DI water.
The entire work took under two hours(not accounting for the wait for the car to cool down).
In my opinion, I would have a shop do this.
Now I could sleep better knowing I have fresh porsche collant in the system.
It's all a misreading of the manual. When Porsche says "Lifetime Coolant" they really do not mean the coolant will last forever, nor for the lifetime of the car, nor the lifetime of even the engine. What they REALLY mean is when the life of the coolant overflow tank comes to an abrupt end you will be refilling the coolant after it leaks out of the engine. The life expectancy is probably on par with a hamster; mine expired (RIP) after about 5 years.
I believe the transmission fluid is also labeled "Lifetime".
I just don't understand why people are so down on Porsches. I think it's thoughtful and brilliant engineering that the car barfs up its coolant when it's time to change it. Some guys just don't appreciate German engineering.
Or British. My Rover has self-changing oil.
Ah, British motoring, I remember my Range Rover fondly. It was so energy efficient it would shut off all the electrical systems spontaneously while I was driving. Sort of like a bizarro Prius.
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