HELP~~~~~~

My 2009 997.2 C4S (4000km) seems to leak coolant as I can smell that manky heavy coolant smell everywhere. There's no messages/lights on the dash and the temperature seems to hold normally AND I SWEAR I DID NOT DRIVE ANYWHERE NEAR THE LIMIT !!!!!!!!!

This started yesterday and I was praying that it went away when I went to bed last night but same smell this morning as I was driving to work.

I've booked time with the OPC this saturday but am fearful that they just brush it off as "oh it must have overheated - that's normal for a sportscar" ****... I understand that it's probably not a big deal but I just hate that smell - especially in a new car.

Any advice?

 

Turn the car on, and run the engine at idle, pop the decklid, and see if you can see smoke rising from anywhere. If there is a leak in the back, the coolant will drop onto hot parts, causing it turn into a vapor, and become steam- which you can see. If you can see steam, and find the source of it, look above where it's coming from, (a leak can only drip down), and there's your leak.

If you don't see any steam, but still there's a link, it could be elsewhere in the coolant lines, anywhere from the front radiators all the way to the engine bay. You can easily remove all the underpanels, and see if you find any drips.

But since it's a new car, just go to the dealership and have them do the work- it's under warrantee.
CATTMAN

 

Thanks CATTMAN

Do you know how this could have happened ? I really did not push the car at all and weather's been kind these past few weeks.

And as I said, I just don't want the OPC to brush it off too lightly... any pointers on what to replace should I need to point out what to do to these guys?

Thanks again

 

u are sure the odor is coolant?

perhaps what u r smelling is the cosmoline..?

 

Yes. pretty much... The smell is pungent coolant... I've had my coolant tank burst in my old boxster before (that one I drove real hard and all the time) and know the smell. But don't know what a cosmoline is...

 

Not to doubt your sense of smell, but to keep things objective:

If you have a leak, you should see both:
-fluid loss somewhere on the ground where you park
-coolant level going down to the min level in the rear fill reservoir

Are you experiencing both of these symptoms?
CATTMAN

 

Thanks CATTMAN, Let me check after work tonight and let you know. When I checked yesterday night, coolant level seemed to be fine.

 

If there are no leaks on the garage floor and the gauge is sitting in the right spot and doesnt fluctuate then thats odd. Maybe one of your front radiators has picked up a tiny stone puncture and the coolant smell is venting inside the car.

 

I haven't checked the floor nor apparent leaks inside the boot yet but what you say make sense a little... hmm.. because it doesn't actually smell when I open the back trunk but smells strong inside the car while driving.

Now if this is true and there's a small crack in the radiator could I somehow get this replaced under warranty?

 

Let it stand overnight and move the car and check. The leak may very small and is resting in the undertrays and evaporating. Logically is from the front given the cabin venting. If youve got access to a hoist take of the front undertrays and check the hoses and fittings. It is likely to be something very simple. Remove plastic covers at top in side boot, check around the battery and the clutch master too. may be a heater hose fitting is leaking a tiny bit in that area.

 

Go to the dealer, they have to pressure test whole system. It may be easily micro leak from radiators - when they get hot it may leak a bit and as radiators are quite hot coolant will evaporate. Who knows. Micro leaks may be quite difficult to detect. What is your coolant level? Did you check if it reduced after been topped off?

PS. Such posts contantly remind me - I need to put protective grids in front of radiators, it is plain stupid to have em so low and close to the ground and exposed to rocks and other crap from the road. The very first nail from under wheels of car in front of you at 80mph will penetrate radiator like a bullet. Gotta put some protection there...

 

It could be something minor in which the manafacturer over filled the coolant tank and its coming out the overflow. This has happened a few times. Either way, don't sweat it just take it to the dealer.

Dave

 

i agree.

it happened to me.. and scared the hell out of me when i saw the big puddle of coolant in my garage.

BTW can u tell me how to put a protective grid in front of the radiator?

i am constantly worried about it, now..

 

It's pretty funny, but the coolant overflow line is just a simple black rubber hose T'd off of the fill reservoir in the rear, that goes down and out the bottom of the car. It essentially just dangles there, and if there's an overflow, it would run to the ground. Very simple.

Regardless, it's a new car, take it to the dealer.
CATTMAN

 

My 2009 just had a leaking cooling system fixed.. a $10 gasket was leaking at a point in the cooling system behind the water pump.. took the dealer some time to get to it and replace it (lots of disassembly and reassembly as the part was way in there). I had seen coolant drip and collect at the bottom of my waterpump (the brownish, non-water substance that I rubbed between my fingers and sniffed, while I was down there during my oil change at 6200 miles.

That said, if it smells very strong INSIDE the car, then its not in the engine but in the heating system that the coolant is likely leaking, specifically the heater core region. The heater operates on the same principles as a radiator, hot coolant heats a device with fins, through which the fan blows the air, which then gets hot.. if the fittings/seals/heat exchanger have a leak, then the hot coolant vapor enters the cabin air system and viola. It will become more obvious as time goes by or when the defroster starts blowing water vapor that condenses on the windscreen on those cold winter days and nights. (I had an 98 VW Jetta with a defective heater core that did this.. so I'm attuned to the smell of coolant ever since 1989. VW later issued a recall as lots of those cores ended up failing.)