14 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHHoping for the best, fearing the worst!!!
Reported or suspected cause
broken pipe clip
Reported cause
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported cause
It ultimately turned out to be a broken pipe clip on a coolant pipe which when under load was spritzing the engine block with coolant resulting in the smoke.
Leading evidence: 'broken pipe clip' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'broken pipe clip' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check oil cap and it was dry and clear' (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.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
It's also worth noting that I checked the oil cap and it was dry and clear, so no mayonnaise.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
Keeping everything crossed that it is a disconnected pipe.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
On my Boxster, I ended up replacing both heads with good second hand ones, still expensive but not quite so crippling.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
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Suggestion
Definitely worth having a good look underneath to see if you can spot any disconnected pipes as it could be a cheap fix.
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Suggestion · Original poster
I looked in the engine bay and the coolant tank was empty and looking under the off-side area of the engine a could see a half inch pipe had disconnected which I promptly re-connected.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
broken pipe clip
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported cause
It ultimately turned out to be a broken pipe clip on a coolant pipe which when under load was spritzing the engine block with coolant resulting in the smoke.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
14 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
911uk: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
1 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Outcome without a verified action link
Got the car back yesterday and after topping up the coolant everything is back to normal.
So I took my 2001 C4S (92k on the clock) out for a drive yesterday and everything was fine until I pulled away from some lights. I looked in the rear view and there was a huge plume of white smoke which continued for the rest of the drive. I also noticed that the red temp light was slowly blinking on and off and the temp eventually went up to 120!. I managed to limp back to the local village and parked the car. I looked in the engine bay and the coolant tank was empty and looking under the off-side area of the engine a could see a half inch pipe had disconnected which I promptly re-connected.
I called the garage where I got the car from and he asked me to drop it over ASAP. I went to the local shop got a 5L bottle of water and topped up the coolant. Luckily the garage was only 2 miles away and during the drive over the car drove fine, no lack of power (even though I kept it around 2k revs) and no strange sounds from the engine, and no smoke, but when I pulled onto the forecourt the coolant emptied again all over the entire engine with huge amounts of steam/white smoke everywhere, much to the amusement of a passing chav in the crappy old Golf GTI ( :x ).
So i'm thinking is the above symptomatic of a failed water pump, more concerning a failed head gasket or potentially a disastrous cracked head?
It's also worth noting that I checked the oil cap and it was dry and clear, so no mayonnaise.
From what you have described it would point to the cylinder head gasket as white smoke and pressure build up popping a coolant hose.
Good luck with sorting it.
This is what happened to me on the motorway. Got a low coolant alarm and pulled over straight away. Doesn’t seem to have caused any lasting damage but didn’t ever register a high engine temperature.
To be fair it did take quite a while to get to max temp, probably around 8 very panicked minutes as I drove to the nearest village . If I'd have pulled over straight away the temp gauge wouldn't have had time to move.
Keeping everything crossed that it is a disconnected pipe.
Good luck, been there done that, hope it's just a hose. Sometimes the hose pops because it's old, other times it pops because it's being pressurised due to something else wrong. Hope it's just old!
On my Boxster, I ended up replacing both heads with good second hand ones, still expensive but not quite so crippling.
For future, I'd stop driving as soon as something like this happens. Once the coolant starts escaping, your temp gauge is probably wrong as it has nothing to measure, and the engine could be incredibly hot - just get it turned off quick.
I'm coming at this from a 997 perspective but could still be useful to you.
I had an issue where under heavier load I would see a great big cloud of white smoke/steam coming from the back. It ultimately turned out to be a broken pipe clip on a coolant pipe which when under load was spritzing the engine block with coolant resulting in the smoke. A jubilee clip later and all was well.
Your case sounds more severe given that it is emptying the coolant onto the engine block even at standstill. Definitely worth having a good look underneath to see if you can spot any disconnected pipes as it could be a cheap fix.
Good luck!
Interesting that you should say that. When I got back home I noticed a line of marks on the drive which followed the line of my car as I'd have reversed off, so maybe a pipe had been leaking and I'd just not noticed. It was only when I pulled away from the lights with some gusto that the smoke started, up until then there had been no signs of any issues at all. So hopefully it was a leaking pipe which finally disconnected under much more load.
No point second guessing though. I'll just have to see what the garage says.
I had exactly that experience with my old 996 - when I got towed back I found the drips coming out of my driveway from when I'd left!
Did the car get hot on the previous run? On that occasion, I had been stuck in a jam on the M25 for quite a while the previous day but didn't notice an issue. Next time I drove it, it managed five miles before steam started coming out the rear end. I suspect the hose had let go at the end of the journey the previous day, or perhaps even when the engine heat soaked once parked on my drive.
Good luck with the diagnosis!
Got the car back yesterday and after topping up the coolant everything is back to normal. Looks like my praying at the alter of the Porker Gods worked :worship: :worship:
