997.1 Coolant problem
Discussion
I have a 2007 997.1 C2 Tiptronic. The car has just had all the coolant pipes (front to back) replaced & LTT fitted. On picking the car up, after 5 miles a red light flashed and read Temp. Gauge Failure. I immediately took the car back & they topped up the system with coolant.
I got the car home, the next day I checked the coolant level, it was fine. I took the car out & 6 miles down the road the same warning light flashed.
I got the car home & phoned an Indy closer to home.. took the car to him, he said it would be an airlock & booked it in. He drained & refilled (vacuum) the system…. £150 by the way.
The next day I took the car out.. 8 miles down the road, the temp. gauge failure warning came on again. I got the car home & plugged in my diagnostics tool. TBH I am not too familiar with the tool & the instruction booklet has microscopic font ffs! I will post photos below. If anyone can shed any light on the problem I would be grateful or next stop is OPC
££££££
I got the car home, the next day I checked the coolant level, it was fine. I took the car out & 6 miles down the road the same warning light flashed.
I got the car home & phoned an Indy closer to home.. took the car to him, he said it would be an airlock & booked it in. He drained & refilled (vacuum) the system…. £150 by the way.
The next day I took the car out.. 8 miles down the road, the temp. gauge failure warning came on again. I got the car home & plugged in my diagnostics tool. TBH I am not too familiar with the tool & the instruction booklet has microscopic font ffs! I will post photos below. If anyone can shed any light on the problem I would be grateful or next stop is OPC
££££££Discombobulate said:
No idea about the code. But having been where you are: 1. air locks are v common and almost impossible to completely eliminate so be prepared to check and top up over next hundred miles. 2. My next stop would be new reservoir cap if not changed. Not expensive.
I’ve had the car almost 7 years… not a problem until they renewed these coolant pipes & fitted LTT. 2nd LTT I’ve had fitted.. had one put in 6 years ago. Coolant level not dropping. It doesn’t seem to be circulating as if a valve may not be working. Cars seems fine up to about 7 miles into journey. Since the work, the oil temp goes up very slowly, the water temp will go up then after about 7 miles will red light warning starts flashing, needle drops to zero & indicates Temp Guage Failure on Rev Counter display. Coolant in expansion tank barely warm after 10 miles. A bit worried about driving it now. OPC only 5 miles from me, that might have to be the option if my Indy doesn’t know! 
I will go & check the heater now but won’t be taking car out tonight.
I will go & check the heater now but won’t be taking car out tonight.
Edited by Mariosbt on Tuesday 16th November 16:34
Sublime said:
Have you checked that the replacement thermostat isn't faulty? To me from what you've described if the system is properly bled and you've not got an airlock I'd be suspecting that the part was DOA?
How would I check the LTT?The heater is blowing warm air onto the screen.
Sublime said:
Mariosbt said:
How would I check the LTT?
You'd need to remove it and drop it in a pan of water that you bring up to boil to see if it actuates. However you'll need to drain some coolant first to do that (and then top back up). That said I'd have hoped the Indy after you took it back the first time would have tested that they'd fixed the problem when they drained and re-filled it. At which point they'd have realised it wasn't working. So next thing is they should have fitted a known working thermostat to rule that out in my opinion.The guy that did the drain & refill of the coolant system is having a look at the next opportunity. The car won’t be going out in a hurry in this sh!tty weather , so no immediate rush to sort it!
I will keep you posted on the outcome.. pretty certain this is not the first time this problem has occurred.
I will keep you posted on the outcome.. pretty certain this is not the first time this problem has occurred.
stevemcs said:
I know these are a pain to bleed but the one thing i struggle with is the charge of £150 for a drain and bleed after they drained the coolant in the first place, I wouldn't dream of charging the customer for that.
No, it was a different indie that drained it the 2nd time.stevemcs said:
Mariosbt said:
No, it was a different indie that drained it the 2nd time.
Ah, that’s ok then,He then drained & refilled the system. 7 miles later .. the warning light reappeared. I text him, he text back saying he would sort it. Never heard from him again. He clearly didn’t know what it was!
SO NO.. ITS NOT OK.
That’s why the car is now at an OPC. Hopefully they will have the technology to get to the bottom of it.
Got a video from OPC today.. been all over the car like a rash. Pointing out aftermarket parts fitted & telling me the tyres were 6 years old & should be changed 
.. Porsche guide lines must be different to ministry of transport. Even pointed out the battery wasn’t a Porsche recommended battery.. ffs, it’s been on the car 6 years & never let me down, unlike the original Porsche battery!
Still not got to the root of the problem. Waiting for the phone call!
Im pretty sure I don’t need them to go under my car with a camera to tell me I have had aftermarket exhaust boxes fitted! A bit like a trip to Quickfit I had once to fix a puncture on a 6 week old escort van. They went all over it trying to find something that made it unroadworthy to get more money out of me!
.. Porsche guide lines must be different to ministry of transport. Even pointed out the battery wasn’t a Porsche recommended battery.. ffs, it’s been on the car 6 years & never let me down, unlike the original Porsche battery!Still not got to the root of the problem. Waiting for the phone call!
Im pretty sure I don’t need them to go under my car with a camera to tell me I have had aftermarket exhaust boxes fitted! A bit like a trip to Quickfit I had once to fix a puncture on a 6 week old escort van. They went all over it trying to find something that made it unroadworthy to get more money out of me!
Edited by Mariosbt on Thursday 2nd December 23:35
Got a call last night from OPC saying that the technician would not continue with the investigation unless I had a genuine Porsche thermostat fitted (£350)
Only just had the aftermarket LTT fitted about 6 weeks ago (£85) reasonable in my opinion.
Technician even complained that I had put none OEM wheel nuts on. That was only because the Porsches wheel nuts had rusted and the alloy radius seats had started to crumble!
The aftermarket back boxes I had installed are IMO far better quality than the OEM units
Not sure where I stand now. Do I just go back, pay whatever for their inspection costs & bring the car home?
£600 road tax is due before I drive it back home ……
)Only just had the aftermarket LTT fitted about 6 weeks ago (£85) reasonable in my opinion.
Technician even complained that I had put none OEM wheel nuts on. That was only because the Porsches wheel nuts had rusted and the alloy radius seats had started to crumble!
The aftermarket back boxes I had installed are IMO far better quality than the OEM units
Not sure where I stand now. Do I just go back, pay whatever for their inspection costs & bring the car home?
£600 road tax is due before I drive it back home ……
Edited by Mariosbt on Saturday 4th December 12:40
pete.g said:
An OPC is the wrong place for an older car, unless you have a bottomless wallet. What they are saying is not unreasonable; they have specs for the car based on OE values and a LTT will change some of these. I think you’ll be getting a bill from them for looking at the car regardless, but I’d get it out of there.
What I don’t understand is why you did not go back to the place that did all the work - 50 miles seems a small inconvenience compared to going to another garage and then to an OPC, paying out more money each time. Having spent 7k with them they might have been inclined to help out gratis, as it seems the problem arose after their work.
I also don’t feel you’re being fair to the place that did the bleed, as you say you didn’t hear from them - if they texted saying it would be sorted, then the next message or contact should be from you, to book the car in, etc.
A Porsche specialist will be able to read codes and clear the warning - sometimes that’s all that is needed.
I contacted the indie that did the £7K work, told them the problem but they never replied. I have been reluctant to ‘name names’ as yet.. but f*ck me I am close!
The 2nd indie who is only 4 miles from me , I didn’t know existed until later. I took the car to him & he pointed out it was almost certainly an air lock. He then drained & refilled.. 8 miles down the road same thing! The car isn’t overheating, so really I can drive it anywhere than can ‘sort her out’ …. Simples 
What I don’t understand is why you did not go back to the place that did all the work - 50 miles seems a small inconvenience compared to going to another garage and then to an OPC, paying out more money each time. Having spent 7k with them they might have been inclined to help out gratis, as it seems the problem arose after their work.
I also don’t feel you’re being fair to the place that did the bleed, as you say you didn’t hear from them - if they texted saying it would be sorted, then the next message or contact should be from you, to book the car in, etc.
A Porsche specialist will be able to read codes and clear the warning - sometimes that’s all that is needed.
I contacted the indie that did the £7K work, told them the problem but they never replied. I have been reluctant to ‘name names’ as yet.. but f*ck me I am close!
The 2nd indie who is only 4 miles from me , I didn’t know existed until later. I took the car to him & he pointed out it was almost certainly an air lock. He then drained & refilled.. 8 miles down the road
same thing! The car isn’t overheating, so really I can drive it anywhere than can ‘sort her out’ …. Simples RJ5560 said:
If I were you I would copy & paste Pope’s comments to your Service Rep at the OPC. IMO it is worth them working through these suggestions before doing anything else. The right person at the OPC will know what they are doing…
Also I do think your original Indie should have taken responsibility and sorted this out - I am not sure I would be going back there…
I have pretty much decided which Indie it will be going to in future. Unfortunately I only found out about them after I had taken the car to OPC. Also I do think your original Indie should have taken responsibility and sorted this out - I am not sure I would be going back there…
Live & Learn!Yes. The car went from OPC to ‘Unique Porsche’ in Westhoughton, the fella there, Darren, put it on his ramp/lift and immediately spotted something disconnected at the side of the Tiptronic gearbox. He literally had the car sorted in 15 minutes. That’s where it will be going in future.
Can highly recommend Unique Porsche for anything 986/987, 996/997. He knows them inside out.
Can highly recommend Unique Porsche for anything 986/987, 996/997. He knows them inside out.
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