Hi guys, I've had the water pump go and replaced that, and one of the coolant lines blow and replaced 2 of them, and the coolant reservoir crack and replaced that. However, ever since I put it back together I've got a smell of coolant when I drive for a short while but no drips of coolant. Thus, I'm thinking I have a very minor leak. It there an additive that I can use to help me find this? Thanks

It's getting irritating to have so many coolant issues and honestly have made me not enjoy this car very much.

 

I’ve had the same issue with my 996TT. I get a whiff of sweet coolant every once in a while. No drops & have replaced most items including the 3 radiators. Arghhh frustrating.

 

Get a snake light and do some searching. These cars really should all have the coolant lines done. If it isn't the radiator it is probably another fitting loose.

 

A couple of questions:
1. Is there an additive that will help find the leak?
2. Another post suggested that of the coolant lines that are typically pinned (8 of them in total I believe), 3 of these are the most problematic and these can be done with the engine in the car. I would like to try to do these myself but don'e know where to get started. I really don't want to pay 2 to 3K to take the engine out

 

There is no such potion that will find the leak, just a flash light, maybe a camera could help. You start by removing the air box actually. The coolant line thing really sucks. Porsche dropped the ball on this one.

 

Try using a "black light" UV flashlight. The coolant will glow just a bit.
You would need to do this with a clean engine and in a dark area.

 

I am in the middle of this myself. I just replaced the water pump only to discover that one of the overly engineered hoses (metal glued to ends with O rings) is leaking, it won't seat any longer. The replacement arrived yesterday and I'll tackle it this weekend.

I too have smelled coolant, but assumed that I found all the leaks. I'll know soon enough.

I will say that any leak for the past year or so has been very minor with very little coolant lost in the system.

It doesn't help that it is 150 degrees here in Houston already.

Chris

 

Thanks guys. I'll try taking out the airbox this weekend, cleaning whatever I can, and trying the blacklight.trick after running it for a bit.

I don't know where to start with the pinning but I'd like to do whatever I can myself as I try to do my own work.

Gadangit, I'm in Houston too. Where are you located and do you go to the GTG?

 

I am down in San Leon. Not many TTs down this way.
I'm not sure what GTG is/was?

 

I'm in Spring. I was interested in taking a look at these glued in coolant pipes and what it takes to replace or pin it. I've heard lots of talk about them but having a tough time figuring out where to get started. I've done some work on mine so far but haven't seen where these pipe connections are.

The Lone Star Porsche Club GTG (Get Togethers) happen on Saturday mornings.

 

There is a great rennlist thread that details the pinning. Lots of great pictures that make sense once you get the airbox off and start poking around.

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-gt2-...he-car-10.html

I'll be working on the car on Sunday, PM me if you'd like to make a road trip to Sunny San Leon. I'm also putting in the new DVs that should be arriving on Saturday.

Chris

 

I noticed the same thing that led me to remove my front bumper and find that my radiators were about to go with some seepage coming out of the radiators but not a leak. I replaced them all but smelled a slight smell of coolant. Doing some research, it seems that the clips and o rings to the hoses can be slightly different. I haven't adjusted mine yet since I am going through a build on my engine but here is the link to that thread
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-radiator.html

 

Thanks to all for the help. I was able to track it down to a leaky reservoir cap, thankfully. I had used the original reservoir cap when I put in the new OEM reservoir. The overflow tube was bunched up and dripping directly onto the exhaust. New OEM cap on order. $40 from Pelican Parts.

 

Glad you figured it out and it was a relatively simple fix. Mine was simple too, but frustrating as well.

The retainer spring was the wrong size and the hose just pulled right out. Some genius decided that silicone was the solution instead of figuring out why the hose pulled out. Took me 2 minutes to see the problem.

I don't believe this was leaking much, if any, prior to the new water pump. New hose installed, waiting for the $4 spring with $9.50 shipping.

 

That's great, gadangit, still not fun wrangling those short pipes out and getting them back in but glad it was an easy find. It kills me that those clips are different sizes on each end of the pipe. Thankfully one of the guys on here let me know before I made an error putting it back together. Good luck with the fix.