2004 Porsche 911 GT3 Problems

THE CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN WHEN SUDDENLY THE COOLANT SYSTEM FAILED AND COOLANT SPILLED FROM UNDER THE ENGINE CAUSING MY CAR TO SKID OUT OF CONTROL. THE COOLANT ALSO POSED A HAZARD TO OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD DUE TO THE EXTREMELY SLIPPERY NATURE OF THE LIQUID. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE COOLANT LINES HAD TO BE REPLACED AND WELDED RATHER THAN THE EPOXY GLUE THAT WAS USED IN THE ORIGINAL COOLANT FITTINGS. PORSCHE DEALERSHIPS WOULD ONLY USE EPOXY TO SEAL THE FITTINGS WHICH WOULD ONLY EVENTUALLY LEAD TO ANOTHER FAILURE.

ON VERY HOT DAY, OVER 100 DEGREES F, AFTER HAVING JUST EXITED A FREEWAY ONTO A CITY STREET, WHILE ACCELERATING FROM RED LIGHT, A GLUED-IN WATER COOLANT PIPE/TUBE POPPED OUT FROM ITS CAST HOUSING, CAUSING CATASTROPHIC LOSS OF ALL COOLING FLUIDS WHICH SPILLED ONTO THE ROADWAY, IMMEDIATE INCREASE IN ENGINE TEMPERATURE FROM 185 TO OVER 260 DEGREES F, AND LOSS OF POWER. CAR NEEDED TO BE TOWED TO REPAIR SHOP.

I WAS DRIVING AROUND A CORNER ABOUT 40 MPH WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY SPUN AROUND. I THEN SAW STEAM COMING FROM THE ENGINE. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION THERE WAS COOLANT ON THE GROUND. ONE OF THE COOLANT FITTINGS HAD COME COMPLETELY LOOSE, AND ALL THE COOLANT HAD LEAKED OUT. THE ONLY REAL FIX IS TO WELD ALL THE COOLANT FITTINGS. THERE ARE 9 OF THEM AND THE ENGINE HAS TO BE REMOVED TO DO THE WELDING. IT COST ME $2500 TO FIX THIS DEFECT. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS I WAS LUCKY I DID NOT HIT ANY ONE OR ANY THING. JUST PURE LUCK. WHEN YOU DUMP LARGE QUANTITIES OF SLIPPERY COOLANT ON TO THE REAR TIRES IT IS JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED. THIS PROBLEM IS SO PREVALENT THAT MOST RACE TRACKS WON'T ALLOW A 996 OR 997 GT3, GT2 OR TURBO ON THE TRACK UNTIL THE COOLANT LINES ARE FIXED.

I WAS DRIVING AT MILLER MOTORSPORTS IN TOOELE UTAH IN DRIVERS EDUCATION EVENT WHEN MY ENGINE TEMPERATURE GAUGE STARTED TO INCREASE FROM 180 DEGREES UP PAST 200 DEGREES. AS THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE WENT TO 250 DEGREES, A COOLANT FAILURE LIGHT CAME ON. I PULLED OFF THE TRACK AND SHUT DOWN THE CAR WITHIN 2 MINUTES OF THE FAILURE LIGHT AND I HAD TO BE TOWED OFF THE MILLER MOTORSPORTS TRACK. I HAD LOST ALL OF MY COOLANT FROM THE CAR. THE NEXT MORNING (SUNDAY) I TOOK A RENTAL CAR BACK TO MILLER MOTORSPORTS ALONG WITH 9 GALLONS OF DISTILLED WATER. I POURED 2 GALLONS OF DISTILLED WATER INTO THE CAR, AND THEN STARTED IT. ABOUT SEVEN MINUTES LATER, WATER STARTED SPURTING FROM AN ALUMINUM COOLANT LINE ATTACHMENT THAT HAD COME UNGLUED. THIS ALUMINUM ATTACHMENT WAS IN A PLACE ON THE TOP OF THE ENGINE THAT WAS READILY DETERMINABLE AS THE WATER WAS SHOOTING STRAIGHT UP FROM WHERE THE FITTING HAD COME UNGLUED AND SLIPPED OFF. I DO NOT CURRENTLY KNOW WHETHER I GOT THE CAR STOPPED IN TIME FOR THE ENGINE TO BE OK. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE IT BEFORE I GET ALL OF THE ALUMINUM FITTINGS REGLUED OR WELDED. BECAUSE THIS HAPPENED ON THE TOP OF THE ENGINE, THE COOLANT DID NOT CREATE A SITUATION THAT WAS A SAFETY RISK TO ME, BUT IF IT HAD BEEN A DIFFERENT ALUMINUM COOLANT ATTACHMENT THAT LET LOOSE, I COULD HAVE CRASHED AT 115 MPH DUE TO COOLANT ON THE TIRES OR SOMEONE BEHIND ME COULD HAVE CRASHED. THE MILLER MOTORSPORT PERSONNEL SAID THEY NOTICED A PLUME OF STEAM AT THE END OF THE FRONT STRAIGHT. AT THE END OF THE FRONT STRAIGHT, I HAD SLOWED TO 115 MPH. I AM THE ORIGINAL PURCHASER OF THIS CAR AND DID NOT THINK I WAS AT RISK FOR THIS TYPE OF SAFETY ISSUE ON A CAR THAT IS NOT DRIVEN IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. IT ALSO ONLY HAS A LITTLE OVER 28,000 MILES. *LN UPDATED 1/8/2013 *JS

A COOLANT LINE CAME LOOSE THEN I WAS DRIVING THE CAR. I WAS VERY LUCKY I DID NOT SPIN IN THE COOLANT, AND GET IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. THE LINES WERE ORIGINALLY "GLUED" IN FROM THE FACTORY. THIS WAS A POOR DESIGN AND IS A WEAKNESS OF THE CAR WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC IN TERMS OF DESTROYING THE ENGINE, AND GETTING IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. IN ORDER TO PROPERLY ADDRESS THE DESIGN ISSUE I WAS QUOTED OVER $3,000 TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. THIS INVOLVES TAKING THE ENGINE OUT AND WELDING THE LINES. I BELIEVE PORSCHE SHOULD PAY FOR THE REPAIR. *TR