Hello all,

I got my 2001 TT (unmodified, 21K miles) out of winter storage and almost immediately it gave me a low coolant warning. This is the first time I've had one, I bought the car almost a year ago and used it through to November up here in Minnesota. Previously, it had been down in Arizona.

I topped it up with distilled water, as I have heard of VWs doing the same thing when exposed to a cold climate for the first time, and no leakages existed. However I got the warning again and the level had gone down to exactly where it was previously.

I parked it overnight on a clean floor and found what looks almost certain to be coolant by the driver's side wheel. Feeling around, I found it dripping off the bottom off a hose, so I think this is our problem.

I wrote to a local Porsche specialist asking for a quote to replace that side rad, assuming that's the problem and not just a leaking o-ring. Their response was a bit strange I thought, and wondered what you guys think.

They said that, assuming it's one of the side radiators (surely it could only be one side, i.e. the side it's dripping on?) that I was looking at about $1300 parts and labor. He mentioned that there is also a center radiator as well and it would be slightly cheaper to replace if it was leaking - but if it was, would it leak at the same place? They then said that they haven't seen a lot of issues with radiators leaking 996 TTs, so they would have to take a look at it and see what is bad before going ahead. I've read around forums and it seems to me that this isn't an uncommon problem?

There's something a bit offputting about that response and I'm not sure if it's just poor communication or me.

Thoughts? TIA!

 

Well the only way to really know is to remove the bumper and have a look, it could be an O ring or a small hole in one of the hoses, or for that matter the hose has come loose. $1300 seems a tad high since the radiator itself is $385 - $420, that would leave about 7 hours to install?
As far as the center radiator, have a look yourself, some were not fitted with them. I most certainly would get a second opinion from an indy.
Also, take a high power flash lite and look for yourself, with the car running, you may see the problem.

 

Thanks! I think you're right, I'm going to have to take the bumper off myself and look. It doesn't seem like a huge effort to get the bumper off. I've read that it's a good idea anyway from time to time to clean out the area around the rad as all kinds of crud can gather up there.

I'll let you all know what I find when I do. How long does it take to get the bumper off and on again, any idea?

 

Shouldn't take too long, before you do, go to youtube and watch the tutorial, it's very good and detailed. Just make sure you have someone to help you and have pleanty of soft mats so you don't scratch it. You're right, you should take it off once and awhile to clean out the debris! Since you're there, you might consider replacing the slatted intakes with mesh screen, Rennline has them and also a good video on installation.

 

I just went back out to take a look at it and I guess I didn't put enough distilled water in it yesterday, I did it in poor light and thought it was up to the minimum level line, but it couldn't have been. So I put more in until it got to the Min line, and it was about 1/3 of a gallon... now that seems a lot... but feeling around under there, it's wet on the bottom of the hose but not further up. So I'm hoping it's the hose has come loose or something, and that's it.

EDIT: Just went back to check it and it's all dripping back out, so something under the wing has let go... sigh... oh well.

 

Talk to me here, you say under the wing? Is the leak in the front end area or rear? If it's in the rear it could be the tank has a small leak, very common problem and easy fix. If it's front I still bet it's a loose connection or bad hose.

 

Hey, thanks for the reply It's in the front... I think (hope?) you're right. It just suddenly started when I took it out of winter storage... so maybe the contraction of a fitting and then thawing loosened it... is my abiding hope. I hadn't driven it anywhere when it started, and it's leaking badly. So a hole seems unlikely... well, maybe I'm convincing myself here!

I guess dropping the bumper is the only way to find out?

 

Well, take off the bumper (don't forget to look at the video) and have a look. Turn the engine on and look as well, seems odd it leaks without pressure, this would tell me it's something other than the radiator. With the engine on if it's the radiator you'll see it.

 

To be honest, I don't know if it's leaking without pressure or whether the dripping I'm seeing after the engine has cooled is just run-off from the leaking. I'm going to put a clean piece of toweling under it shortly without turning the engine on to make sure. I think it's leaking more when the engine's running, for sure.

 

OK, I just started her and ran until it was warm. It was dry when before that, so it's only leaking when it's running. It seems to be coming from the union in the photo shown, but of course it could be running down that hose from somewhere else? I don't think I could feel any moisture further up the pipe but I'm not 100% sure. It had also gathered in the rubber underside opposite, it seems that if you rev it, it spurts out into there? I won't know until I take the bumper off this weekend but I'm 90% sure it's coming from the union in the photo. Would that indicate an o-ring failure? If so, what parts do I need?

Thanks in advance - the advice is really appreciated!

 

You know it could be the clamp is not holding tightly, or a small crack in the rubber hose. Looking at it you'll best know when the bumper is off, at this point though I would say it's a minor fix. I don't believe there are O rings at this location as the hose fits over the connection point.

http://dcauto.gotdns.com/illustration/index/463918605

 

Thanks again! Is replacing hoses a DIY job? Seems to me like a coolant flush would be needed at the same time.

 

Yes it's a DIY but it's also a PITA As far as a "flush" well there's a lot of piping but it could be done, I had my dealer do it at $100.00.

 

I took it to a local Porsche specialist as it was clear that either the rad or the pipe (or both) were bad. It seems that there was a split in the rad and the pipe wasn't in the best shape and both were replaced.

On top of that, I had a complete coolant flush, a brake system flush and a replacement of the A/C compressor that was leaking (I knew about that, I had a PPI check at a Porsche dealer when I bought it, they said the A/C fluid level was low and suspected a leak) and it came to $1700... which didn't sound too bad to me.

One thing that was mentioned was that one of the radiator access panels was missing and the other broken... I'm not even sure what they would be... anything to worry about?