Just changed my engine air filter and found this metal ‘bail’ in this upward position when I took off the engine cover. It appears to be part of the coolant tank and reservoir. My engine was cold, so as I pushed it down, horizontally, it seemed to seat itself. Pulling it back up, it felt like it was releasing a valve as there was a springy feel. I left it in the down or horizontal position as I thought that possibly I popped it up accidentally when I was taking off the engine cover. But then I came across this pic below that I took from a YouTube video of someone removing his engine cover, and lo and behold, I see that same wire clip/bail in the up position. Now I’m wondering if I should have left it the way I found it. Can anyone advise what this does, and should it be in the up, vertical or down, horizontal position in normal operation? Is it for bleeding off air when refilling the coolant system? And should I put it back the way it was?
Hello. It should be in the down position. It's placed vertically when venting/bleeding.
Thank you, I had that feeling. And I could feel the valve opening/closing as I flipped it up and down. I’ll check my coolant level in case it’s been vented all along but my temperature gauge remains at 175° and there are no drips or puddles where it’s kept in the garage.
As I read this it occurred to me that my engine cover is currently off so I went out to the garage and looked. Mine was down and flipped in the direction towards the engine. Out of curiosity I flipped it up with considerable resistance. So I doubt it could be inadvertently open. In fact, I then flipped mine all the way over to the opposite position so it faced towards the strut tower and it firmly snapped down so tightly that I had great difficulty putting it back to the original orientation. I was actually afraid I might break it.
Yes, I believe it is a release valve to bleed air in the cooling system.
Appreciate the replies. Very baffling, though. Once I removed the engine cover and saw that sticking up, I immediately figured it shouldn’t be that way. Then coincidentally when I searched YouTube and saw another owner remove his engine cover and noticed his lever flipped up, it made me wonder if that is the normal position. Although in the vented position I would assume that coolant would be gurgling up due to temperature and pressure, but surprisingly it’s not. Well, at least that mystery is solved. Thanks for the feedback my friends.
It doesn't vent the system to the outside, it basically opens the connection from a vent hose from the front to the coolant tank. Worst case if you leave it open I think you might lose a bit of cooling efficiency.
I think it opens automatically under certain operating conditions, like high RPM. If you fill the coolant using the vacuum fill tool you shouldn't need to mess with it manually. The final step of the cooling procedure is to warm up the engine and then rev in idle above 6K a few times to purge air from the system.
Do not ever believe your temperature gauges on a 987 series
Porsche
I’ve heard similar statements concerning the temperature gauge. Apparently it’s not linear and the needle just reaches a mid-point and pins there. Based on all the info here, I’m going to give the coolant system a thorough inspection. Thx.
