I have a 2006
Boxster S
, which seems to have issues with coolant in oil. The engine starts and runs, but rough.
When i got it, one of the long coolant lines that went from the back to the front of the car had a crack in it, so I replaced it. There was traces of oil in the coolant pipe. I tried to pressurize the coolant system by adding water, midway through filling the tank, I saw water dripping/pouring out of the oil drain
plug
hole.
I just removed the oil cooler to see if that could be the potential issue.
-What is the correct procedure to test the oil cooler?
-Is there a way to pressurize the cooling system to find the leak inside the engine. Trying to figure out if its a cracked head/gasket, or a crack in the block.
-Would the engine starting and running, rule out a cracked block?
Hello and sorry to hear of your engine issues. Unfortunately I think you likely have a crack in the engine block somewhere. The clue is the cracked metal coolant pipe with oil residue in it. Seems that at some point in time there was not a proper coolant ratio to water so the pipe froze and probably a channel in the block as well... I suppose it may be possible that the issue is just the oil/coolant heat exchanger you mentioned. I'd remove it and take it to a shop that professionally cleans radiators to do a pressure test in both circuits, hopefully they find a leak there and that ends up being the only leak, then you will need to buy a new one. Flush the engine and cooling system, put in fresh oil and coolant and cross your fingers. You could also pressure test the cooling system and If you hear the hiss of air with the oil
cap
off after you replace the exchanger then you have other problems. If that solve your problems then move on to the
spark plugs
and replace them, they've been exposed to the oil/water contamination and are probably fouled. Hopefully the piston rings haven started to rust as that will accelerate bore scoring..
Good Luck!
I don't know about our oil coolers, but a few MB models can mix oil and water just from a failed oil cooler gasket.
If you have shop air you should be able to use positive pressure to test the cooler. Also with shop air you can use a vacuum lift device to apply a vacuum to the cooling system and then observe the system holding vacuum. I'm a bit dense and it's unclear to me how you got water out of the oil drain port.
So a quick few updates,
1. Took the sump cover off, and it looks like one of the freeze plugs is almost popped out. The oil cooler seems to be functioning correctly, so that is not the issue. Checked the oil filter and the pickup tube, did not see any shiny material, or pieces of block
2. I retested the coolant leak, and looks like the water is still pouring through the block at a very high rate. Could it be possible that a freeze
plug
in the head might have popped off?
3. Is it possible to remove the valve covers without a timing lock kit?
4. Any other tests you would recommend prior to dropping the engine/scrapping the car?
Is that a water galley
plug
?
Is there a chance the engine froze with low coolant concentration?
Other thought is the oil/water cross over allowed the oil pump to over pressurize the cooling system.
What is the condition of the car (other then engine issues)?
If normal for years and miles, (or better), I wouldn't scrap it, but would simply search for a suitable used engine, and/or pull this one for a full inspection and rebuild.
Until you know where the cooling and oil system crossed, you don't know if it is a scrap block, or just a blown head gasket.
Yes, thats what it looks like. One of them is almost popped off, and the other one isn't as recessed as I've seen in some engine disassembly videos.
I'm not sure if the engine froze since I got it from an auction, clearly didn't do my research 😂
Its got 80k miles, but the condition isn't the best. Its going to take some decent amount of elbow grease to get the car back on the road
Also, is a 2004
boxster S
engine a direct replacement for this 06
Boxster S
? I might be able to get one locally for an okay price if there is a crack in the block
