Hi all, just wanted to share some information I figured out when repairing my coolant leak.
I encountered a somewhat aggressive coolant leak on my 2012 987
Cayman
.
After searching around, I found this
thread for the 981 C
(with which the .2s share the 9A1 engine).
Turns out my pump inlet tube had also cracked in the exact same way shown in the photos on that post.
For the 987.2 the part number for this tube is 9A1-106-025-31, which I got from Pelican Parts (my first part with the Porsche brand tape on it lol). I also ordered the "kluberplus" (thermostat housing) grease for the coolant system from
Suncoast
. I applied this to the mating faces of the pipe before install.
It was not a difficult fix, but I did need the thinner E10 Torx socket that the OP from the 981 post recommended. I drained the leaking pipe before removing it using the phillips style drain on the side. I would recommend using a plastic pry tool with a flat edge to open the drain, but I used a Phillips head screwdriver. It tore up the soft plastic of the drain plugb but it was getting removed anyway so it didn't matter.
The pipe replacement was easy, but I then completely drained the coolant system (to get rid of the distilled water and 7/11 brand coolant I had to use to get the car home). I used the drain plug on the water pump (M6 Allen key I think) and the pipes from the front radiators in the middle of the car to drain.
The refill process was tedious and took much longer than expected, but I used the bleed valve on the expansion tank in the engine bay.
This is what I did to refill the system:
Open the bleeder valve
Fill coolant to the Max line at the coolant fill in the trunk. Only able to pour 1 gallon in.
Close the cap on the coolant fill point. The system must be under pressure to use the bleeder valve.
Start the car and let it idle. Turn the heat on and rev occasionally.
Monitor the engine temperature. Continue idling until the front radiators turn on. The engine must become warm enough to start circulating the coolant and pull from the expansion tank in the engine bay (where the coolant fill point leads to).
Once the engine is up to temp and circulating the coolant, continue to let it idle.
Once the engine begins heating past the operating temperature or you get a low coolant warning, turn the engine off. Otherwise turn off the engine after about 5 minutes of it idling with the radiators on.
Once the engine is off, wait ~5 minutes for the coolant to cool down. You can monitor this by occasionally checking the engine temperature via an OBD2 reader. The coolant should be about 96 degrees C or lower before you open the fill point to check the level.
After the engine has cooled to the point that you can check the coolant level, open the fill point and see where the coolant sits. If the coolant hasn’t gone down from your earlier fill to the Max line, it may need a few minutes to drain into the engine with the fill cap off. (The cap provides a seal that can hold the coolant at the same level). If the coolant hasn’t lowered and didn’t drain down into the engine, close the cap and run the engine again.
If the coolant level has lowered, put more coolant into the engine, pouring slowly and making sure not to overfill.
Repeat steps 4-10 once or twice more, but while the engine is on, hold the RPMs at 2500. This helps circulate the coolant and push the air introduced during the draining out of the system.
Repeat steps 4-10 one more time. This time hold the RPMs at 2500, but rev to 5000 every 30 seconds for 5 minutes.
Again let the coolant cool after running the engine (it may take 10 minutes for it to cool).
Check the coolant level at the fill cap and add more fluid if needed.
Repeat steps 12-14 until the coolant level is stable at the Max line.
Check the coolant level of the next few days. It may need to be topped off periodically.
Here's some more info/guides I used when researching this.
Hoping no one else has to use this info but this coolant pipe on the 9A1s seems to have a consistent weak point.
I'd suggest before tackling the cooling system again, you visit
Harbor Freight
. They have a vacuum lift setup for about $70 that works marvelously well. You need an air compressor (everyone has one right?) It makes filling the coolant on a drained system about a 5 minute project.
When I did a 60k service on mine where I included a new waterpump (which wasn't actually needed.. but I'm old school about that part..) My mechanic friend whose was "doing" the work with my assistance had never used one before. I gifted him the one I bought because it saved me several hours of billable time for my mechanic. I saved a considerable amount of time by buying it, even if I gave it away (but I know where it is..) He's commented to me on using it on cars like Aston-Martins where the cooling system is really complex and hard to drain/fill. He loves it now.
Unfortunately I don't have an air compressor.
But I would recommend buying the vacuum lift tool to anyone who does. This will make it the job a lot easier.
