[BigL2U]

It's a beautiful day today here in MD. So I decided to dust of the 968 and let it out of the garage for some fresh air. On the way to work everything was fine until I pulled into the parking lot. There was a semi-loud pop and then radiator fluid and steam were everywhere.



I only live four miles from work so I was going to get a couple of gallons of water and try to limp home. Is this a bad idea or should I just call a tow truck?

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[sp4149]

I limped home after an empty radiator much farther (due to a blown head gasket) by adding a gallon of coolant and as much water as I could. I didn't realize I had a problem until the temperature gauge shot up, the water in the system had slowly been drained into the cylinder and there wasn't enough left to cool the system. If you have a major leak, you may not be able to get the water to stay in the system. If it just runs on the ground, don't bother driving it.

BTW when I had the head gasket replaced, the machine shop had to regrind the head which was very slightly warped and also replaced 7 of the 16 valves. Warped heads are the risk you take take when the cooling system isn't functioning. Fortunately in my case the water and new coolant stayed in the system on the way home, keeping temps normal, but the damage had already been done.

-sp4149

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[TheMirror]

I'll go with bad idea. Call a truck and get it to where you need it towed. A cooling system lacking integrity and pressure can create all sorts of problems down the road....like the above mentioned warped head. Much better safe than sorry, considering how much it costs to have engine work on these cars.



Was it the heater control valve?

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[Bob Kovacs]

I also go with bad idea. A tow is inconvenient but cheap compared to the damage you will almost certainly do to the engine without proper coolant.



Am I the only one who finds it embarrassing to have my Porsche towed? I can just imagine the trail of snickers left in the wake of the tow truck. When the roll-off truck got to my driveway (after my heater control valve burst), a bratty neighborhood kid watched and asked smirkingly, "Did your car break down?" No, you pointless waste of chromosomes, I tow my car everywhere to get great gas mileage! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Anyway, don't give into a sense of embarrasement and drive your car without coolant. Unless you intend to part out the interior and suspension.



--Bob

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[BigL2U]

Well, I went the Tow truck route.. Better safe than sorry..

Now the patient is resting comfortably under its cover in the garage. I haven't investigated the cause of the spill yet but I suspect (hope) it's a hose.



After eleven years, most of the hoses on the car look like they could use some freshening so that's were I'll start .



More to come..

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[ds968]

[quote name='Bob Kovacs' date='Jun 13 2006, 09:55 AM']No, you pointless waste of chromosomes, I tow my car everywhere to get great gas mileage! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

--Bob

[right][post="22747"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]





<img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



just entered into "the book of classic lines" to use when needed <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

particularly the pointless waste of chromosomes part - he, I typically use " victim of genetic betrayal ", but I like this one better <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />





BTW, I also think the tow truck was a wiser choice - hey, if the car was a '70s Ford taking risks driving it without effective cooling would be a no-brainer, but it's well worth being overly cautious with these cars..



Would be great if it was a hose - keeping fingers crossed...

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[S_Cal968]

yep that's right up there with "you waste of skin..."



I love sarcasm <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[josephsc]

If it was just the heater control valve, could one just plug it up and go without any consequences? (assuming you had enough parts and stuff to plug it up.....)

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[TheMirror]

Theoretically I suppose, but usually when those things split open its pretty dramatic...and the time spent patching it together would be well spent just putting a new one in.



Its relatively hard to get to for a quick patch job.

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[bob blackwell]

When my heatercontrol valve burst at the track I did not have a spare so I disconnected the hoses on each side of the valve and plugged them up with some plugs sawed off of track flag handles. Using some borrowed hose clamps it all held together very well until I finished the track event and drove 185 miles back home and got a new one. (the metal Audi 5000 valve which is still working fine after three years). Good luck, hope it is just the hose, if it is, replace all of them, so you don't have an encore! Bob Blackwell.

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[Renalicious]

If it makes you feel any better, I had to get my car towed into town from a race track 75KM away, my water pump had seized. Total cost (plus the required membership) was over $300.



A story about my cooling problems. I got the water pump replaced (plus all the roller, and front seals, AND belts = $$$ ), the problems with cooling weren't over. A week after I got my car back, I was driving home from work and suddenly the warning light came on. It was a bit of a shock, at first I thought it was the oil level warning as I had seen it a couple times before, but then I noticed that the oil temp gauge light was also on, indicating very high temps. I immediatly put it in neutral, coasted into a side street (to get some air flowing over the engine), turned it off and poped the hood. I noticed a stream of coolant running down from under the engine bay... and the resevoir was empty. Bah! Not only that, but I wasn't in the best part of town.



Thankfully I was driving my friend home (carpool), and he lived a few minutes up the road. We decided that I'd stay with the car, he'd run to his place and get some bottles of water for me. A few minutes later he was back and I poured in a bunch of liters of water into the resevoir. Started the car back up, and looked around... nothing! I decided to drive it home slowly. Everything looked ok. Got home and checked the coolant level, and it was only slightly lower than at my friend's place. Saddly it was easter weekend, so I knew all the shops would be closed for the next 4 or 5 days.



Anyways, the next day before I went anywhere I checked the coolant, it was good. Started it up and drove to a gas station a few blocks away, popped the hood and there was coolant splashed everywhere on the front side of the engine. Looks like the engine had a leak while it was warming up, but not once it was hot. I traveled around with some water bottles, filling up the resevoir every day untill I took it to the shop.



As it turned out, it was a bad or malformed clamp on the hose leading to the waterpump that was causing the leak. It was replaced at no charge, and it looked like the engine didn't suffer any damage (hopefully!).



After thinking about this I realized that the reason why my water pump might have seized (other than age) was due to lack of coolant. I went back and looked at some engine bay pictures before the breakdown and noticed that there wasn't any coolant in the resevoir. At the time I thought it may have been an overflow tank, not an actual functual resevoir so didn't bother putting anything in there. Now I check my coolant level and oil everytime I fuel up. I've had a slow decline in coolant, and add some water to it every month or so to keep it topped up.

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[BigL2U]

Well I finally found the cause of my baby hurling antifreeze all over the parking lot at work.



After reading many post about the Heater Control Valve, I bought the metal Audi HCV from NAPA for only $25 (Thanks for the info guys). The HCV is very easy to get to from the top of the car after the air box is removed. But the plastic HCV in my car seems to be intact.. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/dry.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> So I started squeezing my radiator hoses and the bottom hose has a large tear in it. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/ohmy.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



This repair is going to be a PITA compared to the HCV. I have to jack the car, crawl underneath, remove the bottom cover, remove the hose (and hope antifreeze doesn't pour all over me), and then reassemble everything. I hate working on my back under the car but it's better than having a more serious problem.



I'm now saving this repair for a weekend job so that I can identify and change as many hoses as I can. Is there anything else I should look into while I'm at it. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/blink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Oh and a line I read in a book once "If he had only used a tissue, your father could have saved the world from such human debris".

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[flash]

we're going to start seeing a lot more of this kind of failure - hoses wear out - good idea to change them all - good on ya



as long as you're down there, i'd give everything a good look - bushings, belts, other leaks, yada yada - this is a really good time to get a bunch of spray cleaner in there everywhere and take all the gunk off your motor and make it all shiny (makes keeping an eye on it much easier)

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[bob blackwell]

Agree with Flash, good opportunity to change all those old hoses and clean up under there. I have left the under engine covers off to facilitate oil changes and cleaning up. don't leave the front cover off since it protects the engine oil cooler from debris (they are pretty fragile when something hard strikes them at speed). I would check the power steering pump mounts to make sure they are tight, I have had the nuts work loose and the vibration causes the bolt and stud to break. While you have the coolant drained to replace the hoses, go ahead and change out the heater control valve, it will save you the time and trouble of doing it in a less comfortable environment in the future. Good luck, Bob Blackwell.

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[BigL2U]

Thanks guys,

Major cleanup, bolt tightening, bonding, and TLC service has now been scheduled. I was always surprised by the amount of crud that still got up under those covers..



Looks like my anticipated ten minute HCV repair job just turned into a full morning under a shade tree... <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

it's a love thing - enjoy it - in these situations, i have found that a $10 box of latex gloves makes life much better

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[BigL2U]

[quote name='flash' date='Jun 15 2006, 03:08 PM']it's a love thing - enjoy it - in these situations, i have found that a $10 box of latex gloves makes life much better

[right][post="22848"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]



Kinky,

I have a $15 box... Pre talc'd... <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

a 6 pack and you're good to go - have fun

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[BigL2U]

Well, I've changed four hoses that looked suspect (including the one that tore) and replaced the HCV with the metal NAPA part.



Since I had the bottom covers and the oil filter off, I decided to changed the oil and filter. Then I cleaned the top, bottom, left, and right of the engine. Next I checked every bolt and screw I could easily get to. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/tongue.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



I was going to flush and fill the radiator but was afraid of introducing a new leak. So I decided to just top it off for now. But then I noticed a sticker under the hood that states you should loosen the air-release screw before refilling cooling system. Does anyone know where air-release screw is located?? The picture on the sticker is worthless.. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/blink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



NEVER mind!!



I found a post by Harvey that described how to get the air out of the system...



I wonder how people used to keep their P-Cars on the road before we had these cool forums? <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/cool.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

cool - wasn't it sort of fun, in a twisted car geek sort of way?



just make sure you use phosphate free coolant, and distilled or de-ionized water (NOT tap water)

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