Boxster Coolant Leak

Ok, obviously we are having a glitch in the system.  This is the 2nd time I have created an entire post, only to hit Publish, and it posts a blank entry and deletes my written post.  Grrrrr…..

 

This Boxster came in this week with a slow coolant leak the owner couldn't find.  The coolant expansion tanks in the 996 and Boxsters are known for cracking and causing a slow leak.  On the 996, it will leak down off the left tailpipe, but in the Boxster, it will collect in the trunk where the tank is housed, and if bad enough, come out by the passenger rear tire. While it was here, we decided to tackle the 105k service as well.

 

Opening the trunk, the sweet smell of coolant made it obvious what the issue was.  Pulling back the carpet confirmed the coolant leak.

 

So first thing to do was to drain the existing coolant that was in the tank so we could remove it.

 

Pulling the carpet out completely, and you can see the slow leak has been here awhile.

 

And the tank out of the trunk.  This requires a host of pliers, hose clamp pliers, etc to get the tank out.  Working between the engine bay and the trunk makes it a pretty tough job if the hose clamps are rotated enough so you can't get on them.  Plan on a minimum of 4 hours for this job. 

 

And out of the car you can see the bottom of the tank where the crack is.

 

And the oil fill tube transferred over to the new tank and ready for installation.

 

And installed in the car.  Not a real fun job by any means.

Boxstercoolant tankDoc Wilen RacingExpansionPorscheRennsportKC