Coolant leak on 2003 911 996 C4S
Discussion
I know this issue has been posted many times. Sorry for the repeat but I could not find anything that meets my exact problem. I'm new to Porsches and just bought a 2003 996 C4S about 3 weeks ago. Whilst driving in slow traffic, the coolant warning light came on and went after a while. When checked the coolant level was below minimum. So topped it up and went for a drive and noticed a pink puddle of coolant under the car and the coolant level was again showing as below minimum but the warning light has not come on again. Now I notice a slow trickle/drops of water not over the tailpipe but from the middle of the rear when parked. Is there a pipe that could have come loose or leaked?
Could this be anything other than a leaky tank or pipes. The tank looks white and fairly new and the cap is blue and looks okay. I did not notice any white residue on the tailpipes as others have mentioned in threads here. Any help would be much appreciated. Please excuse any forum etiquettes I may have overstepped.
Also can anyone recommend a Porsche specialist in East of London that I can take the car for a check-up to please.
May thanks in advance.
Could this be anything other than a leaky tank or pipes. The tank looks white and fairly new and the cap is blue and looks okay. I did not notice any white residue on the tailpipes as others have mentioned in threads here. Any help would be much appreciated. Please excuse any forum etiquettes I may have overstepped.
Also can anyone recommend a Porsche specialist in East of London that I can take the car for a check-up to please.
May thanks in advance.
Without stating the obvious,If you Have a puddle of pink coolant,then you will only have a coolant leak escaping from somewhere,Best not to drive it until you have found someone to look further, as you could end up in trouble if it overheats or you get an airlock if the coolant gets too low,not sure about specialists in your area though,maybe a good local garage if it becomes an emergency.
It sounds like you need to get it to a garage to get it looked at. Can you not take it back to the garage you bought it from?
A blue cap means nothing as they are all blue. It is the last 2 numbers on the part number printed on the cap which is important. But if you are seeing coolant in the floor at the rear of the car then it is unlikely to be the cap.
Sorry to hear your news but it is likely to be just a faulty hose and not too expensive to fix.
Do come back and let us know how you get on.
A blue cap means nothing as they are all blue. It is the last 2 numbers on the part number printed on the cap which is important. But if you are seeing coolant in the floor at the rear of the car then it is unlikely to be the cap.
Sorry to hear your news but it is likely to be just a faulty hose and not too expensive to fix.
Do come back and let us know how you get on.
Thanks guys for the reply. Really appreciated.
The coolant on the floor was pretty much the colour of the stuff I topped up with (pink) and as the engine cooled down, it was just a slow trickle. I suppose the coolant was low by then so little pressure.
I have topped it up with de-ionised water to mix with coolant and ran the engine up to see if it starts leaking out again.
I warmed up the engine idling and the coolant temperature is now just over 80. There is no leak. I can’t see any dripping of water anywhere under the car or on the floor. Perhaps it needs to be at higher pressure when driving. I will take it for a run and see.
One thing I noticed was that the engine oil was low however the pressure is at 2, when is idling hot and coolant temp showing just over 80.
I will take it to my local garage whom I have used for other cars to see if they notice anything. Would you advise using them to replace a hosepipe it it is just a leaking pipe of lose pipe or shoudl I take it to a specialist. The nearest one is about 9 miles away in Hainult and the neares main dealer is about a mile away.
Many thanks again.
The coolant on the floor was pretty much the colour of the stuff I topped up with (pink) and as the engine cooled down, it was just a slow trickle. I suppose the coolant was low by then so little pressure.
I have topped it up with de-ionised water to mix with coolant and ran the engine up to see if it starts leaking out again.
I warmed up the engine idling and the coolant temperature is now just over 80. There is no leak. I can’t see any dripping of water anywhere under the car or on the floor. Perhaps it needs to be at higher pressure when driving. I will take it for a run and see.
One thing I noticed was that the engine oil was low however the pressure is at 2, when is idling hot and coolant temp showing just over 80.
I will take it to my local garage whom I have used for other cars to see if they notice anything. Would you advise using them to replace a hosepipe it it is just a leaking pipe of lose pipe or shoudl I take it to a specialist. The nearest one is about 9 miles away in Hainult and the neares main dealer is about a mile away.
Many thanks again.
It can't do any harm to take it to your local garage and have them get it up in the air for a good look, and if it is something as simple as a loose or split hose, get them to fix it. Its possible, however, that the system will require to be bled and that should be untertaken by someone whith Porsche experience.
I've just had a coolant rad replaced and all new cooling system pipework fitted to my 997.1 turbo. On the way back from the garage, luckily about 200yds from home I felt something pop under the car. Looked in my mirror and there was a stream of coolant pouring out. Got home and had a look under. It is leaked from the area around the front diff. Coolant has all gone. The rear tyres are absolutely soaked in the stuff. Is there a danger of the coolant degrading the tyres? I know pipes are often made from rubber, however there are many many different compounds which perform in so many different parameters. Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts?
OP are you able to get a digital camera with a half decent flash underneath the car to take some photos.
Do you have a tiptronic gearbox?
As has been suggested previously high probability of a coolant reservoir or a water pump leak.
The reason why I asked about the tiptronic gearbox is a friends 996 split it's ATF heat exchanger, the result was very little coolant loss when cold and stationary but under pressure and heat it would loose considerable lay more and trigger the low coolant warning.
Do you have a tiptronic gearbox?
As has been suggested previously high probability of a coolant reservoir or a water pump leak.
The reason why I asked about the tiptronic gearbox is a friends 996 split it's ATF heat exchanger, the result was very little coolant loss when cold and stationary but under pressure and heat it would loose considerable lay more and trigger the low coolant warning.
If it's a small leak it'll be hard to identify
Just take it to a decent local garage (or a Specialists if you insist) and they can pressure test the cooling system and the cap
That will easily indentify where the leak is coming from and should be able to bleed the system if need be (again don't know why you need someone with only Porsche experience to do this)
These cars are not complicated despite what you what might think and pretty easy to work on and not a lot more different or technical when you compare them with your usual Audi's, BMW, Merc's etc....
Any decent garage should able to solve this for you
Best of luck
Just take it to a decent local garage (or a Specialists if you insist) and they can pressure test the cooling system and the cap
That will easily indentify where the leak is coming from and should be able to bleed the system if need be (again don't know why you need someone with only Porsche experience to do this)
These cars are not complicated despite what you what might think and pretty easy to work on and not a lot more different or technical when you compare them with your usual Audi's, BMW, Merc's etc....
Any decent garage should able to solve this for you
Best of luck
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