I did put tons of miles in a month to'compare what i did in pervious months. Now car sits even more ones every other week i put 120 miles to visit my parents and take the car out. I miss driving it. Well yesterday i went around and inspected oil levels and fluids. Noticed i'need to add coolant. Car never was'low on coolant i remember when they changed my clutch few months back that it may be low on coolant and it needs to be added. As far i remember it was on the mark. But fist thing what ive noticed car still uses original coolant cap marked 01 last digits ive noticed some white spots around the cap and i believe sometimes i wondered why its a bit wet around the drain hole. So i got new cap and i hope that fixes the problem. Also old cap seems to be stuck when you touch center plastic and seal'looks worn

Now to top it off can i just add distilled water?

 

buy a new cap, get some audi/vw g13 coolant and 50/50 mix with distilled. only mess up the fill with only using distilled if you can't keep it 50/50.

 

I had old cap # and replaced when I noticed my coolant was slightly low has been full since.

 

Signs point to a cap leak. I've had the one in my Boxster leak, as well as the one in my Turbo.

Buy a new cap. With the engine cold clean the tank area where the cap screws on.

You can top up the coolant fluid level with distilled water. The cap only allows water vapor to escape so the antifreeze remains behind. Adding water just brings the antifreeze to water ratio back to spec.

Be sure you note the fluid level with the engine cold and then keep an eye on this over the next week or two just to make sure the fluid level is holding steady.

Wouldn't be a bad idea to at some point with the engine up to operating temperature to get the car on a rack and check from underneath for any coolant leaks from the radiators, water pump, and the coolant hose fittings at the block.

 

so we check the coolant level / reservoir when engine is cold? also manual says to use Porsche coolant, I'm going to purchase one.... Temp are cold now in chicago and i dont want to use just distilled water to top it off.

 

A 50/50 mixture is best but if only adding a small amount distilled water is fine it will mix.

 

Check the coolant level any time you want but dead cold is best because this will give you the most consistent results. Check the level after letting the car sit unused overnight -- 12 hours or so -- and ideally in the same location to eliminate any variation arising from the change in levelness of the car.

If you check the coolant level "hot" what is hot? If there is some variation in temperature the level can vary because of this yet it might be taken as a leak if the level is down from what it was observed to be previously when the coolant was warmer or if the level was up as perhaps a sign a bubble has developed in the cooling system.

If you are concerned about adding just distilled water you should check the coolant for its resistance to freezing and adjust this with more (Porsche) anti-freeze if the concentration of anti-freeze is too weak or distilled water if the anti-freeze concentration is too strong.

 

Porsche/audi/vw g13 which superceded the older g12 is EXACTLY the same fluid. if you want the Porsche branded label with additional cost, have at it. the g13 also happens to be factory fill for the R8. I'm sure it will be sufficient for your 996 turbo as it is for any other.


the old caps are known to crack and leak, hence my suggestion to replace.


topping off with distilled water is fine but not optimal as it changes the 50/50 mix that Porsche insists upon for good reason.

 

I noticed crap/junk all over my old cap and got a new one when I bought the car as well....however, my coolant/heat issues didn't go away, even with a new coolant tank.

I finally gave in and took it to the dealer....the crap NEW cap wouldn't hold pressure. They gave me another new one and no more issues. Both new caps were the same part number.

 

Those things happen sometimes but rarely, I have bought new parts that were bad out of the box. I'm **** so I bought OEM from Porsche so far good.

 

only time i ever have overflow from the breather portion of the cap is after a rad change or something involving adding coolant. like i dunno, a rad change lol
didn't know there was an option other than oem for the cap! new one to me

 

Same thing just came from Porsche in plastic bag with Porsche on it= I leave nothing to chance lol. If you look on vender sites there are different colors blue/black don't know the difference?

 

Where can i pickup g13 locally ? Vw dealer? Or even local auto parts store ?

 

VW dealer for sure and probably some local auto stores= check online for someone near you for availability.

 

i would not steer you wrong brother, it is the exact same stuff. as rmc says any vw dealership or audi. though it might even cost more at audi stores, it is ALL the same pink stuff. vw/porsche/audi. 100% certainty as long as it says G13 you're good.

for that matter ANY OAT technology coolant WOULD suffice but it comforts me to know that the specifically g13 is made specifically for ours cars and vw/audi. its just cheaper at VW!