Broken Coolant tank/Alternator belt

Picked up my car today from my local OPC. They were trying to diagnose a problem with my tip' gearbox sometimes sticking in 3rd, until the engine is switched off, then it behaves normally.....until it sticks again.......told them it's probably the multi function switch, but they don't know for sure as no error report has been logged in the computer. So drove the car back home as I need it tomorrow, planning to bring it back later on in the week. On the way back, stuck in heavy traffic, I'm told by a motorist that there is fluid leaking from my car.....I drove to the nearest petrol station, and saw coolant leaking from the centre rear of the car. I thought cracked coolant tank. So I bought some coolant and topped the car up and drove the remainder of the journey home. 10 minutes later I hear a gurgling sound and a screeching from the engine (rev related)....a few minutes later I get an error report 'Warning battery/generator', the power steering died, and the temp quickly rose to 120c! I opened the engine lid and saw the alternator belt had snapped, but the coolant level was still high. Porsche assist towed the car back to my house. Do I get assist to take the car to an indi tomorrow (if they allow that?) or to my OPC? I have the Porsche extended warranty. Is the belt covered under PEW as I know the tank isn't? If it is, I would be better off taking the car to an OPC as anything I'd save on the tank being done at an Indi (£2-300) would be somewhat offset by having the belt done for free at the OPC. Is the alternator and tank issue related? I just had another look at the coolant tank 4 hours later, still almost full of coolant....I would have expected it to have dumped the lot on my garage floor? Maybe the coolant tank hasn't cracked? Help![&o]

Just called Porsche Assist, they only tow cars to Porsche centres. I have my pants dropped in anticipation.

All this happened straight after you picked it up from the OPC and you are okay about that?

Crazy I know, but I can't go accusing them of tampering with the alternator and cracking the expansion tank whilst checking for the gearbox issue? They shouldn't have been anywhere near the engine AFAIK. I'll try and push for a goodwill gesture on the tank, but I don't see what else can be done? I've had the car for 3 months (bought privately with full OPC service history and 111 point inspection that passed with no issues) and have already had 4 problems (fuel sender entangled in the fuel pipe, tip problem, alternator break,expansion tank crack), which the warranty will only pay out on 1 or 2 of. [ ]

As the car was being towed away by the RAC low-loader, I saw coolant spurting out of the left exhaust. Coolant in the engine? Looks like it could be terminal.[ ]

sorry to hear about your problems. My coolant tank went the other week, and the coolant does tend to run down the left side exhaust, are you sure it was coming from inside the exhaust. I never got any coolant leaking from the middle of the engine though. I acually changed it myself and there was a small crack at the rear of the tank. It's quite tight in there !! Hopefully the high temp could just be an airlock somewhere in the system, fingers crossed.

Thanks for the kind words Ben. You may have a point. If the coolant managed somehow to drip just inside the exhaust overnight it may have just been purging it today.....[:-] I think the high temp was the alternator cable ripping, and so the ancillarys such as pumps etc also stopped running, hence the power steering dying too...the engine was probably not getting any water to cool so it overheated. I may be wrong. Either way, I'm very glad I've been reading this forum for years, and have benefitted from being scared into getting an Extended Warranty.....I hope they don't try and say none of the work required is covered. Fingers crossed.......

The V-belt powers the alternator, water pump, a/c and power steering pump - from your sequence of events it looks like the belt broke - meaning that the water pump stopped meaning your engine coolant boiled over (as it wasn't being cooled by the rads), alternator light should have come on immediately (no charge to the battery) and as you have said, the power steering would have got extremly heavy. When was your belt last changed and was it done by an OPC ? Was the belt dry when it snapped - or was it covered in fluid (ATF for example ?) ...

Thanks Adrian! Unfortunately Richard my service book is in the glove box, so I can't check when the belt was last replaced (the OPC keeps calling it the fan belt!), but the car has covered 58k so I'm sure it was done at the 48k service around 1.5 years ago, and it's always been serviced by an OPC and all work done to it has been (AFAIK) by an OPC as it's always been under Porsche warranty throught it's life. I did check to see if the belt was dry, and it was, no coolant or ATF splashed over it as far as I could tell. (which I gueess may have reduced the belt's elasticity) I just find it strange that the two events coincided, therefore I'm not too sure if it is simply a cracked coolant tank and belt. Porsche have had the car for 2 days now, no updates so far. They were supposed to call me at 2:30 today, but I just called them and the engineer working on it has gone home, so has the service adviser.......I'm supposed to know tomorrow.[&o]

If the belt was dry, the I would imagine something has seized meaning lots of friction on the belt causing it to deteriorate and then snap. Could be any one of the components on it's path ... the fact the engine boiled over first suggests to me that the water pump has gone .... anyway - keep us informed ! Cheers ... Richard.

Good news! Just picked up the car. The water pump gasket failed (hence the coolant leak). This failure led to the 'V' belt being slightly dislodged from the pump, and under load, came off. This in turn led to the power steering/water pump and alternator to have no power.....hence the 'Warning battery/generator' error and the consequent overheating. The water pump (located immediately in front and above the left exhaust back box) was replaced and so was the belt. The coolant was also replaced. All covered under warranty! A great result all round. Thanks to everyone for all your help. You may now uncross your fingers! [ ]

Excellent news!

Good news indeed - Strange that a leaking water pump gasket would make the belt slip off - but hey it's all resolved now !

True. He was trying to explain to me that the gasket 'collapsing' was a really physical event, in that the whole pump moved inwards towards the gasket as a result, pulling the pump away from the belt. Who knows...it's better than a terminal engine![ ]

I can feel your relief from here !! Well done.