Last friday I picked up a gen 2 997 C4s, registered in March 09 with 274 miles on the clock. Love the car but on Monday I checked the coolant level and it was just below the minimum mark so I topped up on Tuesday to the midway point but this morning it has dropped again. The level is just about on the minimum so I have not added yet and will wait till I get home tonight. There is no visible sign of leaks so it is either leaking onto the engine somewhere and evoporating or its internal.
If internal is it generally considered to be game over for the engine?
I am up to the 10th of this month in a very good position in that I paid the deposit by credit card and financed a relatively small amount with lombard who have paid the dealer the whole amount and they are due to take the deposit from me on the 10th. The car is in tommorrow and if there is any sniff of new engines I will stop payment and reject.
Im assumming the worst but wondered if my reasoning and actions were on the money or do I need to be careful.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

The car should be covered by the OEM warranty at that age.

In which case at least you shouldn't have to worry about repair costs.

Coolant can leak from a myriad of places without the leak point being a terminal engine failure point. I'd get the car back to the dealer and get them to pressure check the coolant system. It might be something as simple as a lose expansion bottle cap or weeping joint on a hose or it might be something more serious but a pressure check will tell the dealer if it has a leak or not.

You will get some variation in coolant level dependent on engine/coolant temperature though. Without knowing the detail of a 911 coolant system how much coolant did it take to top the level up to the midpoint?

 

Seems reasonable to me - fit for purpose

Even if they say it is OK I would be inclined to get an independent inspection.

 

Thanks.
I understand re the warranty but if it turns out to be something internal I am not prepared to mess around waiting for new engines etc. Sooner reject and move on.
Im sure it will be okay but I have come to realise that decisive action is the best way to go and more often than not you cant make a silk purse out of a friday afternoon car.
BTW the level was checked both times first thing in the morning in the garage.

 

Pressure check required then.

 

It is a pressurised header tank (unlike the Hondas) so it might hust have been expelling air from the system.

Could be a craked plastic tank (my X-1/9 did that).

Could be head gasket failure. Don't some Porsches have leaky water pumps, or did I dream that?

I if it's an OPC, they'd be far happier to sort it out rather than face rejection. (not in a cod psychology way).

 

I know what you mean about this, you don't really want that sort of hassle with such a new car.

I'd get it checked by them, and if it's anything iffy like new engine required, then hand it back. I imagine Posche are quite good to deal with though.

But best to tell them ASAP in case it drags on.

 

Its booked in tommorrow so if its an easy fix it will be back in the evening. If its kept over the weekend then the alarm bells will start to ring.

 

(ahhh written this while you posted about it going in)

I would say go see the dealers. My Cayman S is due in next week for 2 days for a minor oil leak picked up during its first service (2 years of ownership). Its a very small leak that blows oil into the bay, never dropped any of the garage floor.

Also the car only used 1/2 litre of oil in 2 years.

Anyway I am getting a Cayman as a courtesy car and they need it in for 2 days so I am glad its being done under warranty because of their labour costs!

Getting a new set of rubber at the same time, first time after 17000 miles and 5 track days, the brake pads are 50% worn at rear and 75% worn on the fronts. Yes I know I am not a loon on the track but I still go quite quick, anyway I am more of a smooth driver than see if I can drift it round the corner.

All in been a fabulous 2 years of ownership so far and many more to come I hope.

 

Nick, you say its pressurised, does that mean that the system builds pressure as it heats or does it mean that the entire sytem is filled then pressurised. Im no mechanic but if the latter then would that mean the system has to be re pressurissed once the expansion cap is removed from cold? The manual just says top up when cold and equalise coolant to water ratio asap.