Hi guys,

I washed my new 911 turbo today. I noticed when I was drying it that the airbox was soaked, water had accumulated in the metal lip right under the oil fitler and the oil cap. I dried everthing off that i could see. Then after I turned it on, it gave a squeal (which I read in some posts is due to the belt getting wet). When I drove it after the wash, the check engine light came on! This can't be the sequence of events everytime you wash your car?!

I have to ask, is this a really poor engineering design by Porsche?? Everytime you wash your car, the engine compartment is going to get wet? How are you supposed to drive it in the rain? It rains a lot in Germany so I have to imagine this design is supposed to work. I've done tons of internet searches on proper technique to wash the car with no luck getting a conclusive answer. Do you open the engine cover and stuff towels everywhere before you wash? Do you just not ever spray any water around the engine grill?? Do you just let the engine get wet???

Any help would be appreciated at this point

Thanks!

 

Before I used this I had the problem (I would lay a towel over the airbox and gently close the lid) - but this stuff eliminated the problem, no hoses no spraying. Never have any problem in rain - water from hose different than rain fall.

http://optimumcarcare.com/

 

[quote=MK23;3192652]Hi guys,

I washed my new 911 turbo today. I noticed when I was drying it that the airbox was soaked, water had accumulated in the metal lip right under the oil fitler and the oil cap. I dried everthing off that i could see. Then after I turned it on, it gave a squeal (which I read in some posts is due to the belt getting wet). When I drove it after the wash, the check engine light came on! This can't be the sequence of events everytime you wash your car?!

I have to ask, is this a really poor engineering design by Porsche?? Everytime you wash your car, the engine compartment is going to get wet? How are you supposed to drive it in the rain? It rains a lot in Germany so I have to imagine this design is supposed to work. I've done tons of internet searches on proper technique to wash the car with no luck getting a conclusive answer. Do you open the engine cover and stuff towels everywhere before you wash? Do you just not ever spray any water around the engine grill?? Do you just let the engine get wet???

Any help would be appreciated at this point

You can tell you're a first owner of a turbo Porsche. Yes, years and years or refusing (poor engineering) to address rain/wash water in engine compartment. I had this problem and dealers call it "factory squeak." Could find nothing about it. Wrote porsche mags and they were all in denial. Just a massive cover-up All rear engine porsches' even water cooled have retained the vented engine compartment for extra cooling. I guess these cars are for the racetrack and when racing the water is blown away, Heavy Florida rain when car is parked is worse. I had one fan belt replaced but I know the pain-in-butt-issue.
I have a rubber floor mat cut to exactly fit over the open fins that I use when washing the turbo and when parking for long periods of time when there is a chance of rain. This rubber mat covering is a pain but keeps the "factory squeal" at bay. Lowes has a bunch of them but a regular house mat won't work because too narrow. Need to buy a huge one ($15) and cut to size. Caution: not a good idea to forget mat is there, however, being in a hurry coming out of work. Since this mat thing, no more "factory squeaky" belts. For the squeak once there and won't go away even with a lot of highway driving, you can use CRC belt dressing which works too. Incidentally, my mass air sensor crashed which caused tremendous agony and found out reason these trash is because water is allowed to run over them.

 

Thanks for the advice,

I just still can't believe they would engineer the car like that! I will look into the mats (or maybe just stuff towels in the air intake ports before I wash the car) and try to dry the belts after washing or a hard rain.

 

Now you are sliding into denial as well. Drying belt or places in engine compartent is wasted motion. Just cover the vents across the back with a rubber mat. Amazingly, even with this cover, a few H20 droplets seem to creep into the engine compartment, maybe by my carelessly removing the rubber mat.
Porsche has never corrected this.....when you find out why not, let me know. It is a racing machine and all cooling tricks are mandatory I think is reason.
Also the entire engine underside is bare to road depris...I guess here too, racing cars have no problem with crap in the road that can fly up and destroy hoses or whatever they hit. Porsche does this for better cooling, but this, not like the upper engine H2O issue, is understandable..

 

I've washed my new turbo a 6-8 times and haven't noticed this. Where exactly is the water getting into?

 

I just use a leaf blower to blow out the engine after I wash it. I use it to also blow the body crevices before the final wipe down of the rest of the car. Works great. Just ignore the crazy looks the neighbors give.

 

After washing/drying the beast, just open the hood and see the water on the engine.

 

I know EXACTLY what you mean.

 

Yeah.. just a few drips. I haven't heard one thing. I have been washing it once or twice a week since April.

 

funny - i use a leaf blower to get snow off - they come in handy for more than just leaves!

 

Maybe you've been lucky. But everytime that I've washed my car so far, I've noticed water in the engine compartment, pooled in the airbox, the oil filter...Looks like you have a turbo s? Maybe they got wise and redesigned the air intake ports on your model??

 

What are you supposed to do when it rains (when it pours)?? I think I'm gonna call Porsche USA tomorrow and get some info..

 

My car must've been built on the same day as yours. Other than the odd drop here from not being fast enough to get the towel over the engine when ive lifted the lid straight after hosing it I've never had such issues. After washing the car its best to pop the rear lid...dont open it. Lift about 1 inch and then quickly slide a towel over the engine as quickly as you lift the lid a bit to catch the inevitable. Possibly a lot of the water you guys are refering to is dumped on the engine from lifting the lid straight up? I've parked mine in torrential rain and havent had an issue, but then i havent gone straight to the engine lid and opened it either.....its usually still raining....so i just get in start up and drive. If the belts squeak a little so what. Only a little bit of water will cause that anyway so just drive it off. Dont worry so much.

 

Nothing to worry about, goes away in seconds. I put two thin towels under deck lid when washing, does the trick.