Low Water Coolant and Sludge in Oil

[BrianJ]

That sounds like a blown head gasket to me. If it is only 7 months old it should be covered under warranty but if "the garage" is the Porsche Centre I'm surprised they didn't tell you not to drive it arrange for it to be recovered to them to be fixed. Bad luck - I have personally not heard of a Gen II car blowing a head gasket. Or alternatively.... You don't say where you found the yellow sludge and how much. I guess it is possible that you have two entirely separate and completely unconnected symptoms. If you have only done 5k miles in 7 months (mainly winter), you may find small amounts of yellow sludgy deposits on the inside of the oil filler cap. That is normal. And the loss of coolant may be the water filler cap not being done up tightly (which is why it loses pressure slowly) or it could be leaking slightly. My Cayman S either wasn't quite filled up properly from new (required about a litre first time I looked!)or loses a tiny bit this way - if there are dry water deposits in the rubber area round the filler cap, that would be a good guide to where it is losing water. I am about to get a new filler cap to see if it fixes my problem. Try making sure that the water filler cap is on tightly as a first check (mine is quite stiff).

 

[Diggit]

Thanks Brian, the sludge is on the filler cap covering about 1/3 of the it and I can't see any dry deposits of water anywhere and the coolant cap was very tight so I don't think it been a loose cap. The car sounds fine when driving and there is now loss of perfomance as of yet, I will get the car to the garage tomorrow as I expect as you say they two things are unrealated. Cheers Diane

 

[Diggit]

My 7 month old Cayman PDK with 5k on the clock was making a hissing noise through the air vents on the dash on Friday when I turned the car off and it slowly went away, after checking the water coolant there was none evident at the minimum level indicator and it took over a litre of water to fill up which was worrying. The other thing which I noticed or should say my better half did as he was doing all of this for me which is equally worrying is a yellow sludge in the oil indicating a mix of water and oil.

Can anyone advise whether both of these are normal for such a young car and should I be driving it the 30 miles to work tomorrow? I have spoken with the garage and they thought the coolant level was a concern but said the sludge in the oil is something they have seen before and best to get them both checked out. I will be getting the car to the garage ASAP tomorrow after work, does anyone recommend driving it tomorrow or should I get the car picked up and taken straight there.

Thanks
Diane

 

[Motorhead]

Diane, I agree with Brian entirely. The car's warrantied and covered by Porsche breakdown assistance, so just call them now and get it recovered - and ask for a replacement vehicle too. That's what they're there for and you've paid enough for the service..! Good luck. Jeff

 

[Diggit]

Thanks for the advice, the car went to the garage today and they didn't identify any problems with the coolant or the oil. They possibly think the coolant wasn't full when I picked the car up and as I only do short trips that might have added to the reduction in water. They have identified something is not quite right with the Air Con which they need to investigate but they didn't elaborate, I think they were referring to the noise coming from the air vents; so the car is booked in later in April. Diane

 

[Marksearle]

My S just hit 8 months and 6000 miles so not too far off where your Cayman is. As Brian mentioned earlier I also did have cause to add just under a litre of coolant a little while ago (once I finally remembered to check after parking on a flat surface with the engine cold – I have slight incline on the driveway at home so can’t get an accurate reading there so the level may have been low for a while but the temp gauge has never gone past 80c). From all that I have read on other forums I have concluded that it’s not unusual for the coolant not to have been 100% filled at the factory.... As for sludge I would be fairly confident in concluding that the key to this is ‘short journeys’ made worse being combined with cooler winter temperatures; repeated short trips will mean that the oil gradually becomes diluted with fuel and also moisture – both these elements will evaporate out when the car is driven at high speeds and on longer journeys. Bear in mind that it takes longer for the oil to heat up properly than the engine coolant. Do a few longer runs and hopefully you will see the yellow sludge disappear. For this reason I try to always get in about a ten mile drive as a minimum, wherever possible, and have yet to see any signs of sludge. (I have advised my wife that the local petrol station seems to have moved and is no longer 1 mile away...... [] ). In tandem with the burning off of any fuel/moisture that has collected you need to bear in mind that it is possible that when you do do a long run it’s possible that your oil level may appeared to have dropped as a result making it then appear that oil is excessively consumed after driving at high speeds. Best of luck in getting the A/C issue resolved as quickly as possible. Mark

 

[hanhams81]

Hi, White sludge is an accurate indicator of water or heavy condesation within the engine. A regular problem with cars in the olden days but should have been banished in a modern engine with sophisticated electronic control systems for rapid warm up. If most journeys are under ten miles you can expect sludge which is the oil additives doing their protective best. But after a while the specific additive can be exhausted and corrosion in the engine will take hold. Not good for longevity. Solutions are, more regular oil changes to ensure additives work 100% of the time, change driving habit if journeys are predominately under 10 miles, have a water system compression test to establish if a leak is present. If so find source and if internal seek help before the motor gives up the ghost. Hanhams81

 

[Diggit]

Hi, I thought I should give you an update on the car. The car went back to the garage to have the air con looked at (not that I had noticed anything wrong) but the technician when looking at the coolant thought it might not be full gassed! Anyway, I got them to check the coolant again and they did further tests and I have assured there is nothing wrong. All I can do know is keep an eye on the coolant level and if it starts to reduce again is to top it up and see how much water it takes over a period of time and then go back to the garage. Having spoken with the technicians at the Boxster launch they said the car has some 17 litres of coolant and it is probably because my driving pattern of approx 30 miles round trip a day is not allowing the car to have a good run. Thanks for everyone’s advice and I will keep you posted. Just another thought does anyone have an idea when the new model is due for release. [/b] Diane

 

[Motorhead]

Glad you've got things sorted Diane. I must say that I'm surprised that such a new car would need an aircon re-gass - maybe there's a very slight leak (the source of your hissing noise through the air vents?). They can put a dye in the coolant to check for leaks and it may be worth keeping an eye on things now that the weather is improving (?!) and the aircon is more heavily utilised. I was talking recently to Gary Sorrel from the Cambridge OPC and he said they are expecting the new Cayman to be released in Q4 this year, but whether or not we'll be seeing it here before 2013 remains to be seen. Jeff

 

[chrisH]

Jeff, I think he is right but expect some announcement over the next 2 months as MY 2013 cars will be produced from Sept onwards after the summer break.