Low Coolant Warning -- Leaking Head Gasket Situation (987S)

Hey, everyone. I just got my 987S less than a month ago (one of those fools that did not request a PPI). I had my reasons for not requesting the PPI as the owner had extensive service documentation, Black Stone analysis for every oil change, and the car was incredibly clean. Yea, that's pretty much my best defense, not a great one. Fast forward to a week ago, and I randomly get a low coolant level warning on the dash as I'm putting my way to the gas station. Oddly, it very quickly cleared itself before I drove away from the redlight. The ambient temps were in the 40s that night--markedly the coolest it has been here in a long time. Anyways, I immediately went home and parked it. The next day I topped off the coolant, and it was about 1 3/4 qts. low (yikes). My good friend is a certified mechanic at a local Euro shop, so I made an appointment to let him take a look. This morning, everything was going incredibly well during his inspection. He was reporting in along the way, claiming how impressed he was with the state of the car. UNTIL, I received a nightmare picture from him: My post isn't a sob story, but more of an inquiry. This is a coolant leak coming from the bank 2 head of the motor where it meets the block. I contacted the original owner, and he swears he had no idea about it. On to to the details.: 1. ALL of the oil analysis was very, very clean. No metal particulates and, especially, no sign at all of coolant in the oil. Oil was change every 3500-5000 miles according to the vehicle history. 2. The car has NEVER exhausted white smoke on me, and my mechanic drained the oil that was in the motor and said it looks completely clean (i.e., no milky consistency to the oil). 3. Since I topped it off, it appears the coolant level has not changed at all (Yes, I checked it while it was cold after sitting overnight). I drove it sparingly between the day that light appeared and dropping it off this morning. I have pretty much only taken the car over 6k RPMs 4-5 times since getting the car, and those were all before the coolant warning. Given all of this, how likely is it that the motor is trashed (cylinder head damage, etc)? Either way, I am aware that the gasket is likely to need a replacement, which is probably going to cost about $6k-$10k.

Before you panic - go to the nearest NAPA autoparts store, (or even some of the big box autoparts stores) and ask for the "Corvette cooling system pellets". Apparently GM had an issue keeping coolant in some series of Corvette engines. I believe there were some porous castings. Their fix for this was a cellulose pellet that was dropped in the coolant reservoir, where it dissolved and little wood fibers started circulating with the coolant. The dissolved fibers were too small to get caught up in things like a radiator, and they only stopped circulating when they saw air. They saw air as they were squeezed through the porous casting. When they saw air and had some heat, they hardened up.. eventually plugging up the leak(s). It's worth a shot. I'd start with one pellet, and see what happens. You need to add it to the system via the reservoir, not the fill tube in the trunk, so it might be good while the mechanic has it to try to get him to add it. Lots of BMWs had what were evaporative leaks around where their coolant hoses were clamped onto aluminum fittings on the engines. Tiny leaks, almost no coolant loss, but the clue it was happening was the hardened up residual crud from the coolant evaporating - just like what you're showing in the photo. One tablet was all it took to make those BMWs leak free. Never had to add a second one. In this case - since you're already talking about dropping the engine and disassembly to replace a head gasket (with an external leak and no sign of an internal leak*) - it really can't hurt to try the $5 cure first. I think we might like to hear from @Boristhespyder since I suspect with his experience, and his father's experience fixing cars, he might just have something useful to add.. * = I'd also suggest you ask the mechanic to scope the cylinders, not necessarily for bore-scoring (although he could look out for that too) - but to see if coolant is getting into a cylinder. The clue that coolant is getting into a cylinder is - that cylinder will be sparkly clean inside, no carbon on the piston head - the water blasts it off when it turns to steam. If that's the case - the engine has to come apart. The coolant might have softened the rings by cooling them when they're hot, then they get hot again, drawing the temper right out of them (a friend had this happen, the mechanic showed him the compression ring could be bent like a pretzel and not break..) Boris - what say you?

I say, I am humbled by the depth of your knowledge. I am confident in my skills Don, but you know a lot, just because you weren’t raised in the Esso does not diminish that fact .These pellets which sound like new age stop leak albeit in a more modern and sophisticated form, are unknown to me but your advice to try them first sounds right. Angel am I correct in understanding that the car runs fine? Also, does the engine sound fine? Is the genesis of your worry entirely dependent on this photo? If so, I would run it a little more before I jumped to conclusions. If it eventually needs a head gasket, running this strategy first should not complicate the repair path forward or cause collateral repairs. I would liken it to potentially needing knee surgery and trying physical therapy first, but you will need to be on your game more fastidiously, knowledge is power. I would clean that area the best I could that way you can gauge the severity of the leak going forward and monitor the efficacy of the pellet solution. I would frequently check both the oil level, and the coolant, observing whether the coolant remains clean and at level. I would only drive it in close proximity to your home or maybe even your buddies repair center for a while. But after it’s warmed up, and you’ve put some miles on after the addition of the treatment; I would drive it as normal, even push it a little. I’m sure the previous owner not being aware of it was doing that exact thing with no treatment, and if the prescription here failed and you were to blow the head gasket more formally, you really haven’t lost anything for the attempt to repair it. You will definitely wanna keep an eye on the temperature, if it elevates shut the car off and let it cool, consider a tow. Because one thing that could become of this would be to warp the head and you don’t want that to happen. You didn’t state whether it was overheating, if it’s not that may bode well in your favor. Another positive in your favor is the previous owner being completely oblivious and enjoying the car without issue. Lastly, don’t feel like you are alone in this level of worry. I had just completed a lot of factory maintenance on my car about a year ago and the service light came on on my second drive I about lost my, well you know what I lost. I remember coming on this site and saying something to Don who calmed me down. It turned out to be a gas cap. Keep the faith angel, work the solution. And if it needs a head gasket, perhaps reach out to your friend maybe you can work something out. ☮

Wouldn't a coolant system pressure test help determine the extent of the leak? OP, do you know if the coolant pump has been replaced? Good luck

Yes on the pressure test, also there is a special dye that you can add to the cooling system that will show you the source of the leak under UV light. PS: The head gaskets don't fail, on these engines as they are made of steel that is way stronger than the aluminum heads

Honestly, based on the service history, I find it so hard to believe that it's leaking at the head. It had multiple fluid level checks all the way up to 62k miles. I would think if it were leaking, it would have been found by then? There is zero service history about low coolant levels. I am just not sure how else coolant would end up in that spot. It seems pretty definitive based on the location in that picture that it's leaking from the head, yea? I suppose it could have started between 62k and the 88k I bought it at, but it just seems odd. The engine runs great, honestly. It makes great power, and there are no odd, concerning sounds coming from it. I have never seen the temp gauge go past 175, either. Temps always seem fine to me. I am attaching CarFax and sharing a imgur album for images of all BlackStone oil analyses (and DME readings).

When you’re on “ normal guy” wages, it’s easy to worry about a Porsche like your own health. IMO, it’s one of the reasons we band together here to help each other. Having said that, this is one of those times I’m going to write what I’ve written in the past and so has Don. Go enjoy your car, go run it. Make sure the fluids are correct and go enjoy it. That’s what you bought it for.

motor has stretched head studs. engine needs to come out and heads need to come off to see if warped also. have seen this on few cars. the head gaskets don't leak on these cars because they are metal