Boxster overheating

[donjuan143]

whenever i drive my Boxster for more than an hour the temp goes up to more than the half as you can see in the picture. the coolant level is ok. if i turn off the air conditioner the temp goes back to normal (ie. half). i live in a very hot country and these days the temp is around 120 Fahrenheit (50 celsius).

the specs are as follows:-

boxster (2.7) model 2000

tiptronic

US specs

60k kilometers

so please let me know if this is normal or there is something wrong?

if something is wrong what can be the cause?

thanks.

[geza]

whenever i drive my Boxster for more than an hour the temp goes up to more than the half as you can see in the picture. the coolant level is ok. if i turn off the air conditioner the temp goes back to normal (ie. half). i live in a very hot country and these days the temp is around 120 Fahrenheit (50 celsius).

the specs are as follows:-

boxster (2.7) model 2000

tiptronic

US specs

60k kilometers

so please let me know if this is normal or there is something wrong?

if something is wrong what can be the cause?

thanks.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The air conditioner gas coils are located in front of your engine coolant radiators. As such, the air flowing through the front of your car has to get through the air conditioner gas coils, then to the engine radiators. Any heat picked up through the aircon coils gets passed through the engine radiators. This is partly the reason for hotter engine temperature gauge readings after you switch the air conditioner on.

In addition, there may be (I am not sure if these are fitted to the Boxster) a transmission oil cooling coil within the engine radiators on a separate curcuit - which is contributing as well to your water temperature. Since you live in a very hot environment - you may well be seeing a normal temperature reading.

Do you see this high reading when your weather cools down later in the season? If your high temperature reading follows the hot weather season where you live, all may be completely normal.

You may also want to check to see if there are any dead leaves or other rubbish caught in the entry to your cooling radiators - a build up of dirt, dust & trash can really plug the airflow - resulting in the same types of high heat readings. Start with a good spray of water in through the front of the air entry nostrils and then see if you can remove any plastic grilles - get your hand in there and feel around for any foreign matter.

[donjuan143]

i forgot to mention that in my country the weather is also very humid.

so is it ok for me to drive my car with a temperature reaching above the middle?

what kind of an effect will it have on the car?

thanks

[geza]

If you check everything, and it is all OK - humid or not, that is as good as you can expect - most likely. Maybe you should have a Porsche service center check it out - or ask other people with your same type of car if they experience the same situations in your country..........

[perry]

I'm not certain but it looks to me like this is a problem with all the Boxsters with Triptronic's. In my case if I turn on the AC unit I can drive almost 5 miles before the temp. redlines and the car chokes out and stops. I've checked everything, cleaned out the radiator vents, replaced all the fuses, just about everything I can think of. Where I live the afternoon temp. gets over a 100F. For me this is so serious a problem my car now sits in a Porsche shop awaiting complete and detail analysis.

:angry:

[donjuan143]

let me know about the result when they finish analyzing your car

thanks

[ar38070]

I'm not certain but it looks to me like this is a problem with all the Boxsters with Triptronic's. In my case if I turn on the AC unit I can drive almost 5 miles before the temp. redlines and the car chokes out and stops. I've checked everything, cleaned out the radiator vents, replaced all the fuses, just about everything I can think of. Where I live the afternoon temp. gets over a 100F. For me this is so serious a problem my car now sits in a Porsche shop awaiting complete and detail analysis.

:angry:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Something is definitely wrong with your car.

A friend has a 2000 tip and the only time it would over heat was at the track in 95+ degree weather. He solved his problem by adding the third S radiator and an S bumper cover.

[donjuan143]

How can i add a third S radiator? will it fit into my car? and where will it be placed?

how much does it cost?

does anyone have pictures of the third radiator? and its cover?

[ar38070]

If that is your car in the picture then you can buy the parts from a dealer. Since you have already changed your front bumper to one that has the middle radiator openning, adding the third radiator should be straight forward. All you need are the parts that are already included in an "S". (The "S" has the third radiator installed from the factory.)

[adsach]

If that is your car in the picture then you can buy the parts from a dealer.  Since you have already changed your front bumper to one that has the middle radiator openning, adding the third radiator should be straight forward.  All you need are the parts that are already included in an "S".  (The "S" has the third radiator installed from the factory.)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

just a thought - The big turbo bumper cover openings without a 3rd radiator might actually reduce the airflow through the side radiators. If it were me I would remove the front bumper cover and totally clean the radiators. One link is at http://www.realtime.net/~rentner/ - then click Sklyer's Boxster - then click accessing the radiators.

If cleaning the radiators doesn't help, and you have to add a 3rd radiator - the work involved appears to relatively straightforward for the home do-it-yourselfer.

I have the standard transmission S (includes the center radiator) and have never seen the temperature creep above normal - including 105F track day and 1 hour average speed over 100mph at around 95 degrees. The comparison isn't that good since these were in the low humidity deserts of Arizona and New Mexico.

[donjuan143]

I think the problem is with the heat generated by the air conditioner, I drove my car for about three hours and this time I didn’t choose the air conditioner’s temp to be set to 'low' instead I chose 20º C and the A/C air flow I set it just 2 levels up.

This way my cars temp remained in the half.

I know if I had turned the A/C to low temp and increased the air flow of the A/C again my car's temp will increase.

But this is not a solution as in such a hot weather we all need the A/C to be freezing.

[ar38070]

Sounds like you need more cooling capacity --> add the third radiator.

Another thought, you might want to be sure that your radiator fans are working properly.

[donjuan143]

how can i self check if the cooling fan is workiog properly?

[ar38070]

They are quite loud when running. If the car is sitting and running the fans should be cycling on and off.

When the car is cold start the car, the fans wont be running. Note the sound level. Drive the car. When you stop, note the sound level. If it is the same okay. Let the car sit while idling, assuming it is pretty warm, 80+ degrees F, then after a few minutes of idling the fans should turn on.

[deliriousga]

how can i self check if the cooling fan is workiog properly?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You can feel them sucking the air in the front intakes too when parked and feel wind coming from underneath behind the front tires when they are working properly and the car temp is above 180F. If you are on a gravel road or parking lot you can see dust flying everywhere. Also check your engine compartment fan. It takes more heat to turn it on, but you should feel it sucking air in from the right (passenger) rear intake.

One way to tell if you are going to be dropping a fan soon is if you hear it whining when it turns off. The bearings are going bad and it will eventually make it too hard for the electric motor to turn the fan and burn out.

My engine compartment sensor fritzed so the rear fan didn't work, caused an over heat and a blown coolant reservoir. Whatever it is, get it fixed asap to avoid any further damage. ;)

[perry]

:unsure: I need to add the 3rd radiator. Story: At 55K miles the engine in my 97 Boxster failed. Still under Porsche warrantee, Porsche replaced the engine. What they neglected to tell me was the engine they installed was a 3.1S engine. The engine is bigger, and needs more cooling. The cost of a 3rd radiator is so close to replacing the engine with the correct size I'm letting the car sit while I ponder my choices.

[donjuan143]

I have called Porsche service center regarding adding a third radiator to my Boxster and they said it will cost me around $800 ! is it reasonable?

They guy whom I spoke to said that the temp shouldn’t go up, even when the weather is hot. So he is assuming that something is wrong with my car.

So shall I install the third radiator or I let them check the car first?

One more thing, if I buy the radiator and the parts will it be easy to install it myself?

[ar38070]

$800 is not bad. I believe it is $300-$500 in parts.

Depending on how much they want to check out the car then by all means let them see if there is something else wrong first.

The install is not difficult if you have experience working on cars. If you put on the turbo bumper cover you should be able to do it.

[deliriousga]

Unless you've replaced the engine with a bigger one, you should not be having cooling trouble unless something is wrong.

How is your coolant level? Check it one morning, drive it that day then check it the next morning and see if it's going down. You could have the infamous cracked reservoir with a mystery leak you can't see. Lift your trunk carpet and see if there's any coolant under it or any signs of dried coolant. If the tank is cracked, even though it may not leak to below the minimum mark, it messes up the pressure so the flow is not as strong as it should be. Just did that in mine and everything is back to normal, even on the 95F+ days the engine stays at around 195-200F. :clapping:

The A/C compressor does generate a ton of heat and the engine compartment fan is what cools it. Any time your engine temp is above 180F the engine compartment fan should be on when the A/C compressor is on.

Check and make sure none of your vents are clogged with leaves, etc. too.

Also, check the water pump and make sure it's working properly.

Even if you add the third radiator because of the heat in your area, you need to find the problem or it will just get worse.

Edited August 9, 2005 by deliriousga

[donjuan143]

regarding my boxster overheating, i've just noticed that the left side radiator fan has a higher sound than the right side. and i've tested the air sucking power(by putting a tissue paper infront of the front vents) and noticed that the left side with higher sound is sucking the air very well but the right side radiator has no Noticeable sucking power but yet it has some sound coming out of it but not as loud as the left one.

is that normal?(i mean do both the fans operate together? or its possible one at a time?)

and if something is wrong then what could it be?

do i need to change the fan? or it has to do something with the electrical part?

whats the estimate cost of changing the fan?

please anyone who had the same problem can share their opinion with me.

[deliriousga]

Changing the fan yourself is about $150 w/ shipping from Sunset Imports if you're in the US and not in Oregon or Washington State.

My right fan is going out too. I can hear a worn bearing whine when I turn the car off and the fans wind down. They still blow about the same, but as the bearings wear it will eventually burn out the motor.

I'll do the tissue test and see if they blow the same and let you know.

[donjuan143]

My overheating problem finally ended,

one of my radiator fan was dead!

I took it to the dealer they changed the fan for usd 400

and now everything is ok :)

thanks for all of you who tried to help