Advice Sought

[Scoobsheister]

Hi All,

Looking for some advice please.

Purchased a 996 c2 on 22nd April for top market money. Car had done 97k miles and had a full Hartech engine rebuild less than 2k miles before (in Sep21). Engine run in oil changes were all carried out.
It also had a 36 month RAC warranty.

I'd carried out an extended test drive the week before purchase and fell in love with the car. I did not get a PPI before purchase but on the grounds of how the car drove, the lack of any warning lights, quick scan of paperwork, and the fact that switchgear all seemed to be functioning I proceeded.

On the weekend of 22nd April I drove the car back from Bury to Lisburn - taking in over 415 miles - and no issues whatsoever with the car.

Car remained in a locked garage for the next week and was only taken out for a 15 mile or so drive on the bank Holiday Monday - again without issue.

Today the car was taken out for a spirited 40 mile drive and upon returning to car after parking up at one location found a coolant light warning on and a sizeable puddle underneath.
Coolant was topped up with water, RAC were called and car was driven to a friends house where the RAC would meet us. Coolant continued to slowly leak and it appeared that the added water was boiling over in the coolant.
Upon the engineer attending he checked the oil cap and found the dreaded 'mayo' around the top of the cap and the car started to smoke when the enginer was turned on. I was advised that the coolant looked like it was mixing with the oil and had been for some time.
He also advised it looked like the dipstick was fairly dry... even though the electronic oil check advised levels were fine, and the engine temp was steady at standard running temp.

I spoke to the seller who has advised he will speak to Hartech after the bank Holiday as the engine work should be under warranty.

I just don't know what to do next - do I speak to RAC warranty to get advice? or do I await the seller speaking to Hartech and coming back to me? Or is there another option?

I know if the car does end up having to go back to Hartech their Ts & Cs seem to say that they will not cover the cost of transporting the car to them... even if they do accept the fault to lie with some work they have carried out.
Is there any chance that I may be able to cover off transport costs without me being out of pocket?

Regards,

Steven

 

[Greenman986S]

Did you purchase from a dealer or privately?

if a dealer then under the Consumer Protection Act 2015 the dealer who sold you the car should fix it (no limit on cost) or take the car back and give you a full refund. It's the law.

 

[DarrenWells]

I’m sure others will be along soon with technical advice, but based on my own ownership experience, sanity can only be found by having a trusted local Porsche Indy to turn to. It’s the only way you’ll sleep at night !

 

[Scoobsheister]

Thanks for the prompt responses guys.

Purchased from a one man band trader.

Unfortunately being in Northern Ireland we're somewhat out of the way for all well established known Porsche indys.

Gutted doesn't begin to cover it.

 

[DarrenWells]

I know that feeling, but Hartech have an excellent reputation. I think the coolant tank cracking is fairly common, as is the ‘mayo’ at the end of the oil spout. i thought mine had blown a head gasket at one point (puffing like a steam train), but it was the AOS. Clearly some ailments spell big trouble, but I don’t think you’re at that point yet.

 

[Rodney Naghar]

I would take anything the RAC say with a pinch of salt.

Firstly, coolant expansion tanks readily crack and dump coolant. You might be lucky with a cap change to the most recent version, more likely you’ll need to replace the tank. Just unlucky. No one is to blame. No big deal.

Mayo can be present in the cap, I certainly had it on my 996 - no engine problems.


Smoke on start up is also a common feature of a flat crank engine.


Check the oil level yourself. Follow Porsche guidelines, as it’s not the same as other cars.



You should be worried if the engine dumped oil or sounded like a total bag of nails. It doesn’t


Hartech do a great job.

 

[Scoobsheister]

Thank you all for the responses.

I'm still in 2 minds as to if this is a catastrophic head gasket issue, or if the smoke is normal for the boxer engine. I put approx 4l of coolant in this morning and it immediately start dripping but stopped after a minimal amount accumulated in a strategically placed basin. Dripping seemed to start again once engine was started. Have attached links to a couple of photos and video clips:

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Ar9EV6NeKe_Upy-8o1Lhfsx0KRzE?e=SkgS3d

https://1drv.ms/i/s!Ar9EV6NeKe_Up0mWH8o1NH6S2A2r?e=nhL8YR

https://1drv.ms/i/s!Ar9EV6NeKe_UpzXuALZBjBKL1txk?e=bP5G22

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Ar9EV6NeKe_Upy5rKllkywwdIYfv?e=99frfY

Seller is still going to contact Hartech on Tuesday but has suggested taking it to a local mechanic to get the coolant leak checked out... wary if I should really be driving it at all.

 

[DarrenWells]

Again, I’m no mechanic, but from personal experience the Mayo seems to be a trait of the engine, so no biggy.

They can smoke from start up, but yours is pumping out quite a bit and reminds me of when my AOS went, so I’d be more inclined to lean towards that than the head gasket. Mine would bellow out white smoke at any touch of the throttle.

And if your coolant tank is split, it’s going to leak.

Deep breath, it’s gong to cost a bit, but hopefully not a kings ransom.

I think there’s always additional cost with new ownership and the value I had from my Indy was that he broke it down into - must do now / review at next service / refresh when money available.

And once everything is sorted (which may take a few years), you have a car you know and you can enjoy for many years to come.


I expect I’ll need an engine rebuild at some point and there’s only one place I’d take it, Hartech.
Good luck.

 

[tim92gts]

Can confirm that ours has always had a bit of mayo under the oil filler, it's a condensation issue due to the long filler neck.

Always ensure the coolant is at least 1/3 antifreeze, topping up with water will lower the boiling point and make it blow out.

Check the oil after it's been standing for a while iirc, double check in the manual, the oil will look different if it has a lot of water in and level will rise!

Check the Hartech invoice for water pump replacement, the customer could have told them to put the old ancillary back on.

 

[andywill]

From where you've placed the bowl, I would say it's the water pump, there may be a second problem though? possibly aos.

 

[Scoobsheister]

Thanks all, going to see about getting it over to local mechanics tomorrow.

Did a short run today and oil level seems good - both on computer and dipstick - and oil on dipstick looks clean. Initial smoke on start cleared fairly quickly, did seem to smoke a bit for the first couple of accelerations but looked clear after that.
Coolant, however, did seem to be boiling over again on stop. Tank was above minimum before drive but after journey... and the boiling stopped... seemed to be down slightly. Coolant seemed to be sitting outside cap but cap was on tight. It also nearly looked brown in the tank... however after cooldown seems to have returned to pink.

Hopefully will get mind put at ease tomorrow

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

Unfortunately being in Northern Ireland we're somewhat out of the way for all well established known Porsche indys.

These guys have a good reputation: https://mcmillanspecialistcars.com/

 

[Scoobsheister]

Thanks Richard,

Yeah they were recommended to me by the local garage... who won't touch it themselves due to it being a Porsche.

Gave them a call at beginning of week - they did put my mind at ease somewhat - but, unfortunately, they're booked up till end of June [&:]. Matter of a waiting game now.

 

[jamesekirby]

Grrrr... mine is now dripping from the same place - no smoke on engine start (or at all tbf). Coolant tank has obviously emptied over time as I put 4L in on Sunday (that was when I got the "check coolant" warning). Immediately was dripping when engine was warm and when coolant being filled. Home and left for 24 hrs and no dripping at all - but tank sitting just above Min.

Add more coolant and dripping resumes from the same spot. Spoke to my Indy (Northway) as it's booked in for brake discs/pads in early June. They said from my feedback and where the dripping is coming from that it's most likely the water pump.

Frustratingly, it means I now can't make Simply Porsche as I'm not sure I should drive down (albeit only 50 miles ish) and refill the coolant before heading home. Thoughts? Alternatively, if anyone wants some Simply Porsche tickets for Sun 4th June at Beaulieu please DM me.

 

[andywill]

Grrrr..Frustratingly, it means I now can't make Simply Porsche as I'm not sure I should drive down (albeit only 50 miles ish) and refill the coolant before heading home. Thoughts?

James
You’re thoughts are correct, The first sign (if your lucky) of water pump failure is as slight or medium leak. If that happens get it sorted and don’t risk travelling unless you are a very short distance from home etc. Shame about missing the event, try to catch a passenger seat from someone if you can.
Good luck

 

[jamesekirby]

Thanks Andy...

Whilst I'd really like to attend Simply Porsche, it's not worth the risk of doing it in my car :-(

It's going in on the 8th/9th for a few days of TLC at Northway and the coolant leak is also added to the list. Going to be an expensive few days!

I'll stick a post up re SP tickets.

 

[jamesekirby]

Grrrr... mine is now dripping from the same place - no smoke on engine start (or at all tbf). Coolant tank has obviously emptied over time as I put 4L in on Sunday (that was when I got the "check coolant" warning). Immediately was dripping when engine was warm and when coolant being filled. Home and left for 24 hrs and no dripping at all - but tank sitting just above Min.

Add more coolant and dripping resumes from the same spot. Spoke to my Indy (Northway) as it's booked in for brake discs/pads in early June. They said from my feedback and where the dripping is coming from that it's most likely the water pump.

Update on mine - was definitely the water pump. Hopefully nothing else untoward on the coolant side thankfully.