dim33

1 hour ago, eob said:

Are they not supposed to have the coolant filled under vacuum?

It probably precisely because no one bothers with the vacuum approach that there are the burping issues.

I have had 2 similar experiences to the OP.

After an engine rebuild I had to add almost 2 litres of coolant over about 3 or so top-ups until the level stabilised. The indy told me to expect this but it was still a surprise.

After I had the cross over pipes changed at the front, I had to add just over 3 litres of coolant over 3 top-ups until it was sorted. These cars seem to trap air easily and are hard to completely burp without running them.

After the crossover pipes were done, I had a very low level coolant loss. It turns out one of the clips where the rubber pipes connect to the main metal pipes (under the middle of the car) was not properly secured. After clipping it properly the low level loss ceased.

I had an interesting discussion with indy ePorsch in the summer when having my car serviced regarding the IMS bearing.

I also have the bigger bearing in my 3.4S and my understanding was that this cannot be changed without engine disassembly. However I was informed by ePorsch that they can change the larger bearing without disassembly. They machine the casing so that the opening is large enough to replace the larger bearing and then fit a larger bearing cover. They also make sure that the inside of the engine itself is under pressure so that the flecks created by the machining process are blown outward.

This is good to know. However, I don't recall reading anywhere about catastrophic failure of the larger bearing. So any fear regarding this larger bearing failing is not proportional to the actual risk.

Furthermore, they explained that when the IMS bearing starts to properly fail, you can clearly hear an alarming rattling sound and any enthusiast owner will get this looked into before catastrophic failure. 

I too went through Porsche paranoia when I bought mine in 2018, so I get where the OP is coming from. 

2 hours ago, Menoporsche said:

At 2k per year, as some do here, an owner could ignore that…

Indeed. I didn't as I wanted to have redress with the dealer if there was an issue. I got it scoped one month after buying it and got a big shock with the result. By all accounts it was a car that had been looked after.

3 hours ago, Araf said:

My commiserations.  How much oil was it using?

I've just checked a spreadsheet that I kept at the time.

Before the rebuild it was using approximately 600ml of oil for 1000 miles.

After the rebuild it has used around 600mil of oil for 3300 miles.

On 5/11/2022 at 1:09 PM, Bike Loon said:

What he said.

 

On the 987.1 3.4 Boxsters bore score is relatively rare. I think I have only seen 2 or 3 cases of it on this forum.

 

I'm guessing I'm one of the unlucky 3. 

Having gone through the pain of the rebuild, I would definitely have the cylinders scoped if I bought another.

Not a reason to not buy, but the downside is large if you're dead unlucky as I was.

When the engine was in pieces the ims bearing was checked and it was fine. It had the later larger bearing.

After parking up a few weeks ago my car was making a really odd pulsing sound. Can't really describe it other than to say it was a repetitive whining sound. 

As I stood outside listening to it, I realised it was coming from the front. As a last resort I undid the fuel filler cap and there was a reasonably loud hiss and then the pulsing sound stopped.

So could yours be pressure within the tank somehow equalising?

I was surprised to see that my 987.1 3.4 doesn't have to pay a ULEZ charge.

When I checked my old CBR600 motorcycle (600cc as the name suggests) it has to pay £12.50.

I do not see how a 600cc motorcycle can pollute more than a 3.4 litre car.

2 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

Not sure if that route is drain hole or some protective plastic that gets dislodged, I hope someone else can illustrate.

Before I removed the offending blockage from the sink hole, the drip tray was filling up like a sink with the plug in. The front top of the sink tray is up by the seat belt so I'm guessing this is where the water came from.

By protective plastic, do you mean the drip tray? This is what Porsche apparently call the plastic/rubber sink that drains into the hole.

It is taking ages to dry.

In the attached pic the ringed area is on the back wall behind the seat (just under the inspection hatch carpet and above the floor). I put my hand up there and the foam behind was still really quite wet, even though the floor carpet is now almost dry.

There is still some wet foam at the front most point of the carpet under the seat. I have wedged absorbent paper there and under the back wall carpet to absorb the water in the sponges.

After a good feel the water ingress followed the arrow so it was related to the blocked drain hole.  I am keeping the floor carpet raised with the metal file to allow air to move around.

I just had the car jet washed and there is no evidence of any more water entering the cabin.

I had to really compress the photo as I was only allowed to upload 150kb - yesterday the limit was higher - not sure how it works or what the restrictions are.

41 minutes ago, domb84 said:

Did the same thing to dry it out. I’ll see if I can find the drip tray you mentioned and have another go at the drainage pipes. Not noticed any dampness on door carpet. It’s pretty frustrating! 

The drip tray is the rubber/plastic that surrounds the drain hole. It's made of a single piece or material and should not have any tears. For example it can be torn if one of the roof struts becomes detached when operating the roof.

55 minutes ago, domb84 said:

I’ve found the exact same issue. Went to Wales and the carpet on the drivers side on the floor behind the seat was soaked. Took days to dry. Cleaned the drainage holes but no obvious blockage. Drove in the rain again recently and there’s still some moisture getting in. Almost like condensation and only noticeable under the carpet but doesn’t appear passenger side. Doesn’t seem to happen if it’s just parked though. Did your thourough clean stop the problem? I’ll have another go tomorrow at the drainage holes tomorrow in case I missed one.

I don't know if it's been successful yet as I only did it this morning and the car has not been out of the garage. Mine did have an obvious blockage though.

I placed a load of absorbent paper under the carpet and stood on it to help get the water out. I've left it with the windows open for the last 2 days and also wedged the carpet up so that it can breath underneath. It is now almost dry.

Check to see if the drip tray itself is torn, cracked or punctured in some way. If it is water will get through even if the holes are not blocked.

Also feel the very bottom of the door carpet to see if it's damp. If it is you have an issue with the door membrane seal.

4 minutes ago, Paul P said:

Did you go in from the top or the bottom? - I assume the brush is long enough to go all the way but probably easier to push crud back up the pipe rather than all the way down 

Top to bottom. Didn't occur to me to go the other way.

Yes the pipe came out at the bottom with length to spare. You can see from the pic above that the brush is pretty much the width of the boot near the hood.

Job done! The brush linked to my map above is perfect and really I'd say a must have. It is shear luck that it was the right side that got blocked and not the left. From now on I will check the holes regularly.

There was a stone wrapped in crud that was blocking the drain hole but it was a couple of inches in and not visible when inspecting the hole from above. Up until now I have only checked that the holes themselves we not obstructed. Lesson learned.

Attached are some pics of the brush against the car to show the size.

Whereas the water was dribbling out at the bottom now it's Niagara Falls.

3 hours ago, Menoporsche said:

I think with the door, the test is to take the door card off, then pour a jug of water over the window gap from the outside and watch what happens on the inside.

I just spent some time trying to see where the problem is. Removing the door card is not so hard. I got the indy to show me how when I had the regulator changed. But since the problem is on the right/non critical side I poured a watering can onto the window as you suggested and had a good feel of the bottom of the door carpet for dampness but nothing. Even yesterday when the carpet behind the seat was soaked through the door carpet was bone dry.

The driver's side clam shell drainage hole however is certainly quite blocked. Pouring a glass of water into the drip tray confirmed that the hole is partially blocked. The water drained away very slowly and in my collection bowl underneath the water just dripped out. By contrast the left hole cleared the water quickly and came out under the car as quickly as I poured it in.

I'm now waiting for my trombone brush to arrive from Amazon.

2 hours ago, map said:

Following a recommendation on this forum I got hold of one of these  >> Amazon Link << - it's a Trombone Brush and works really well.  

Having dodged a bullet with blocked drains early last year I use it during the Autumn/Winter to make sure they're clear - it's a zero fuss job with this.

Trombone brush ordered! It looks perfect for the job. Thanks.

Am really hoping it's nothing to do with the recent window regulator repair. I've read that the membrane not being properly reattached can also cause a wet carpet. The door pocket and carpet are both dry though.

1 hour ago, Menoporsche said:

Not sure you should use a coat hanger, at least in some places there are membranes or plastic involved that you could puncture and make things worse. 

I think you're probably right. I found a diagram of the drain pipes and they are curved.

I will try some compressed air and also some electrical cable which will follow the bends of the drain pipe.

I did read elsewhere that the same problem can be caused by a faulty door membrane. I did recently have the electric window mechanism repaired, However apparently in these cases the door carpet is also wet, which mine doesn't seem to be. I will try and check this too.

I just noticed after driving in the rain for 2 days that the carpet if wet under the driver's seat. Fortunately it's not the side where the electronics are stored which is dry.

I part opened the hood and the drain hole does not appear blocked but on sticking my little finger down the hole I can feel loads of crud.

I'm guessing this is the culprit and will get a coat hanger tomorrow and try and clean it out.

Is there anything else I need to check whilst I'm at it?