997 Turbo / GT2 2006–2012 Turbo discussion on the 997 model Porsche 911 Twin Turbo.
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Front radiator leak AKA The nasty show....Clean your radiators before it's too late!

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Old 03-25-2017, 07:47 PM
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Front radiator leak AKA The nasty show....Clean your radiators before it's too late!

I was not expecting this... Clean your radiators before it's too late, rotten leaves, cigarettes and other stuff are killing them. I can't believe such expensive cars were not built with better protection!









 
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Old 03-25-2017, 09:56 PM
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Wow, unbelievable how much dirts and debris buildup over the years, good to know. Thanks ks
 
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Old 03-26-2017, 10:27 AM
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This is a part of dealer maintenance while under warranty. People mostly forget unit it's too late. You should power wash both while the bumper is off.
 
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Old 03-26-2017, 10:34 AM
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Originally Posted by Ms4cd
This is a part of dealer maintenance while under warranty. People mostly forget unit it's too late. You should power wash both while the bumper is off.
Both sides are leaking so I ordered two new radiators, but yes I will clean everything else and also install bumper grilles!
 
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Old 03-26-2017, 11:00 AM
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Clean the radiator ducts out every once in awhile is good advice and good auto hygiene.

The chances are though the leaks were not due the collection of trash but due to simply the (lousy) quality of the radiators.

I have kept the radiator ducts of my 996 Turbo clean of any build up over the years but after nearly 4 weeks spent in the mid-west a few winters ago all 3 radiators leaking in my Turbo. The extreme temperature swings: from a low of near 0F to nearly 200F after the engine was run for a while then cooling back down again over and over again; I suspect did the radiators in. Service manager at a mid-west Porsche dealer where I took the car to get the radiators replaced told me Porsche radiator failure is quite common in the area between 100K and 125K miles. My Turbo had 130K miles on it.

However, I believe had I remained in CA with its much milder climate the radiators would probably still be ok. The ones in my 2002/310K mile Boxster are ok.
 
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Old 03-27-2017, 06:09 PM
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Funny we didn't have this problem pre 1999��
I picked up a dryer vent lint vacume adapter at Bed Bath and Beyondfor my shop vac...works great quick and easy...use When dry.
 

Last edited by maverick997; 03-27-2017 at 06:12 PM.
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Old 03-28-2017, 12:26 PM
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I'm sorry that this happened Carlitos Way. I cannot stress the importance or taking off the bumpers to clean it properly. My car was exclusively dealer maintained and they routinely " cleaned it out". What they actually did was stick a vacuum connection in there and bent a whole bunch of my condenser fins. I'm not happy at all about it. I have raised my concerns to my dealer. I won't be asking them to do this service ever again. Use caution!! On top of all of this, doing it this way didn't remove the majority of the dirt. I have since used a dental pick to clean the fins individually and straighten what I can.





 

Last edited by Edgemonty007; 03-28-2017 at 12:33 PM.
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Old 03-29-2017, 11:41 AM
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Mesh installed in the front bumper helps a lot to reduce this.
 
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Last edited by nzskater; 03-29-2017 at 11:44 AM.
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Old 03-29-2017, 04:31 PM
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My dealer charged me for full removal of bumper and complete clean out by hand. Upgraded my horns to some new part number as well
 
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Old 03-29-2017, 08:05 PM
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so pulling front bumper gives full access ?
 
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Old 03-29-2017, 09:52 PM
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Originally Posted by bigrpowr
so pulling front bumper gives full access ?
To the 3 front radiators? Yes.
 
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Old 03-30-2017, 06:24 AM
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Originally Posted by bigrpowr
so pulling front bumper gives full access ?
You still have to remove the radiator ducting (2 screws each side). I also remove the 4 screws on the AC condensers so you can get between the radiators and condensers, but the majority of the job is done once the bumper is removed.
 



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