2007 Cayman S
Auto
Last December i noticed steam coming out of the rear end on a mountain drive (less than a mile from home) so i coasted it home). The porsche sat until today. So swapped the water pump, the thermostat is on the way. Thinking id just put the old thermo in to see what else is leaking. and i started to fill it and heard a waterfall under. Now this:
from below:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/84JXFZH7jCs8ijAq8
from the front:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5Qf32qLBQmeeAtNJ9
i dont even know what this part is. I pulled the large hose and looked at the o ring and re seated it and the leak is definitely coming from above.
i saw a reddit post about changing it out and saw the gasket that had goofed but what do you think? this is a major leak.
said reddit post:
It's a little difficult to see exactly what part that is - and where the leak is occurring. I did a screen capture from your video..
It appears to be flowing from somewhere around where the arrow is pointing, but that could just be the point the liquid detached from the plumbing, the leak may be somewhere above that..
Then the video showed:
I'm guessing this is below the area in the first photo? Coolant hitting this junction on it's way to ground?
This shows coolant on the way to ground - coming off two points on the engine. That almost guarantees the actual leak is above that.
This - which is at about 16 seconds into your video, clearly shows fluid coming out from somewhere that's within the circle, and it's coming out with a fair amount of force. It then attaches for a bit to the pipe, runs down it until it gets to the piece sticking out of the pipe, detaches and drops down to the junction of some coolant pipes below it.
Gravity sucks. Meaning - look upward for the source of the leak. This is a case where one of the USB video probes might be quite useful. You want to look above the pipe it's detaching from, and see above it to where the leak actually is.
WAG (and REALLY a WAG) - I have heard of a "freeze plug" (which they aren't - they're actually seals in casting openings) have come out on the .1 engines.
Whatever is leaking is leaking a LOT. Major leak. With the video probe chasing it back to where it started from shouldn't be difficult. Fixing it might be another story.
From your other video at around 5 seconds:
Water is streaming from where the arrow points to. Where is it coming from?
A few suggestions:
Video / endoscope:
Endoscope with Light, 1920P HD Borescope with 8 Adjustable LED Lights, Semi-Rigid Snake Camera, IP67 Waterproof Inspection Tool (16.4ft, Black + Dual Lens Wiring Harness): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
- you can have this delivered tomorrow. $22.00
alldatadiy.com
- I haven't looked at the coverage for a 987.1 - but the coverage on the 987.2 is excellent. They have different length plans - including some cheap short term ones. If you're serious about DIY on these cars, a 1 or 2 year subscription is a bargain in terms of the money saved by DIY.
Vacuum "coolant-lift":
Amazon.com: DAYUAN Cooling System Vacuum Purge Radiator Coolant Refill Tool Kit | Automotive Pneumatic Coolant Vacuum Refill Kit, 4 Adapter Sizes, Air Purge Cooling System, Fits Most Vehicles, Storage Case : Automotive
- again - if you're serious about DIY - this is $26 well spent. You wouldn't have bothered trying to fill the system since with a leak that size there is no way you could pull the needed vacuum on it (so it works to detect leaks with a dry system).. it needs an air-compressor to work, I'm going to assume you have one. If not - there's probably a Harbor Freight not that far from you.
Let us know how it goes..
Further research shows that its definitely coming from the
Porsche Coolant Pipe Assembly
. like this guy:
the arrow of your first image is one of the ridges below the sensor. which looks to be the most close area to where its leaking from.
this drawing looks like the right orientation. so maybe on that upper seal or the unit itself is cracked.
reading the suggested threads is not making me happy about doing this repair myself. but hoping to get a little reassurance that this kind of leak is possible with this assembly. seems likely to me.
i do have an endscope and the compressor coolant lifter device (as i thought i was just doing the water pump) thanks for the info.. invaluable (as usual)
A small suggestion.. while you have it apart, it might be a prudent thing to replace ALL the O-rings on the coolant pipes, especially the ones up near the radiators. When they start to weep it's not instantly obvious. and the coolant has the ability to harden into a rock-like substance, making replacement then become replacing the entire hose. The O-rings are available from Porsche, and IIRC there is only one or two sizes used for those clip-together fittings. These would also be a good target for some silicone grease, worked into the O-ring with your fingers, leaving only a very thin coating on the rubber. The silicone grease will greatly extend their life. The hoses themselves seem to last about forever, it's the connections that cause issues. I do carry a spare in my trunk.. just to prevent any from ever going bad on the road (Eilenberger's Law #2 - You never need the part you have..)
thanks for the idea. do you have a diagram of where are the o-rings are? i obviously know the big one i just looked at but where else?
There are a number of them up in the front of the car, connecting the coolant pipes from the engine to the radiators. I don't have a diagram for your model (mine is limited to my subscription for a 987.2 car) but I bet
AllData
has one for your car. Since it appears you're going to DIY - that's a small investment to make in equipping yourself to do a job correctly.
Finally got this wrapped up this weekend. I had already replaced the water pump and thermostat so tackling this was really just adding the removal of the motor mounts which is straight forward. 2 long bolts and the two top bolts that just need to be loosened to wiggle the motor mount away (jack on the motor/trans joint for support) once you remove that piece all the bolts are fairly straight forward. Id say easier than the hardest to reach thermostat bolt. I would have liked to take more photos but its been damn hot in so cal and i was not in the mood since i was working on this outside. Anyhow some tips: for all of those a components a universal joint set and the flexible socket extension bar (the one that looks like a spring) was useful for getting bolts started. I did use the vacuum coolant kit from Harbour Freight Tools. it was the cheaper of the two and only had one valve . I can see why you may want the version with two valves to keep the suction through the compressor lines cut off, although it did still work fine. It took me a while to get the coolant drained after i refilled with water to test it. I also realized that i could vacuum test it with the kit but this was my first time using it and wasnt confident in it or my connection on the expansion tank. I ended up driving it with water to check for leaks but no coolant was making it to the heater core (air bubble). So it looked like there were no leaks so i drained the coolant at the thermostat and water pump. I was able to get the most out by jacking up the front right and left corners a few times each until coolant stopped draining from the pipes. After doing that i was finally able to pull a decent -20 vacuum on the guage and was holding. Although it probably only took around 2 gallons from my 5 gallon bucket initially on the vacuum fill. I then filled the coolant tube in the trunk area which took quite a bit more and few drive cycles 3 total seems to be holding at the max level. all in all i think i used roughly 3.5 -4 gallons of my coolant mix.
some photos:
not mine, photo from ebay:
the only challenging bolts are 8,5,6 the rest are easy to get to. I cant remember but i think there were 4 longer bolts so keep track.
I ended up breaking the clip that holds the coolant temp sensor in place so im going to need to buy a new harness for it but its staying on for now. Also one of the articles had mentioned that the wire clips attached to firewall would get in the way of the removal (underneath) and that was true. i popped it off with a screwdriver but it broke the tabs to keep it held back on so i also need to come up with a fix for that too. Here is a photo from inside the cabin:
I loosened this bolt to move the belt guide away from the coolant assembly. as you can see those 4 bolts are easy to access once you take the panel off behind the seats. I did end up jacking up the motor a bit to get at bolt 5 from above.
Here is a shot after you remove the motor mount:
you can see bolt 8 is finally exposed and also you have to remove the green circled bolt. I think this will drain quite a bit of oil from your system and will keep dripping.I used the opportunity to do a full oil change too.
I havnt taken a photo yet, but when i inspected the old assembly the gasket had expanded in size and folded onto itself within its groove. The inner lip of the gasket track was also badly coming apart. Im not 100% sure if this is from me struggling to get it out and scraping it on removal, i have a feeling its both wear and the removal however. it looked pretty bad. ill take a shot of the older one later tonight and post it. It was leaking from both gaskets though.
another shot towards the water pump and thermostat:
i need to get the coolant temp harness and firewall clip dealt with before calling this done but the heater was finally blowing hot and the coolant max level looks stable.
Cant see the look on his face but after we finished we got some gas and let my son give it the beans..
https://photos.app.goo.gl/CGCQxMJ1SKgfvR7K6
I was able to clear the codes and they didnt immediately come back yet. But i do have a System Fault - visit workshop message that still hasnt cleared. I dont remember what that means. Im dealing with a low battery now too since it sat since Dec.
Photos of the old part: you can see where the gasket folded onto itself.
inner walls are broken and look really broken down, kinda fiberous and brittle.
