When I swapped out my coolant reservoir after it failed, the recommendation I heard was to use the VW coolant (the pink stuff). That's what I've used and three years later it still runs like a champ. Just thought I'd add this to the comments in case it helps someone else. It's not inexpensive (nor an easy job), but it's treated me well and VW dealers are somewhat more common.
Just be aware that only VAG G12 and G12+ is OAT, G12++ and G13 is HOAT. But - found this, which says it's Porsche approved :o www.glysantin.de/en/products/g30.html And also available in my country for 10€/1,5l :)
Thanks Ben for all the great video's I just picked up a 2000 boxster base, all black nice color choice BTW, and have watched a ton of your video's. Thanks again!!!!
2 years on, how is it for you? Prestone told me their coolant is 100% compatible with even mixing with Porsche red stuff. I had my plastic pipes go on my Cayenne S and I used Prestone, I did it as a complete drain, flush and fill and its been all ok for me. I can of a very hot day still smell coolant though which is probably still in the V.
You won't have a problem for several years; You can get away with using a number of things that aren't engineered for the application, for some period of time, but when you start having failures, you'll find out it wasn't worth it. Read my comment on why it's a terrible idea, and switch to the correct coolant as soon as you can.
Porsche does not make any lubricants, greases, brake fluids and coolants. I find it incredible that the Porsche Owner's Manual does not specify "SPECIFICATIONS" for the fluid being used. They list fuel type and oil type specifications and that is it. I guess Porsche does not expect Porsche owners to maintain their own cars.
After seeing your vid on fans, I just went out and started the car, turned on the AC, and nothing on either side. Looked on eBay and they were surprisingly cheap. Is it crazy to order non OEM fans?
Awesome! Glad you caught it now instead of realizing the problem when it starts overheating in traffic! I don't think it's crazy to buy non OEM fans. They might not last as long, but that's not a big deal. They're pretty easy to test and swap out when they go bad.
beware of made in china. If its a 5 hour job just to change fans, is it really worth the money saved if you have to replace them again a year down the road?
Turns out, the fans will not go on with the AC unless the car is at running temp. Since I am taking my 2000 2.7 on a 1000mi road trip to Colorado next week, decided to have the cooling system checked top to bottom. To my utter amazement, there was not a thing wrong with it. Coolant fine, Fan kicks in later than I imagined, backside of the '0' in '180'. Once in Colorado, am having the clutch and IMS done. Debating whether to do the RMS and oil separator while there. Thoughts?
This is great I noticed a few days ago that my coolant levels are just below minimum in my 996 and was wondering what I should do, I'll add some distilled water and keep an eye on it. Cheers!
Carlos Orue what happened to that coolant prob ? I looked at my reservoir and it looks sorta empty ...does that happen when you drive it?im not too sure bout this porsches
Do not use water, or water-based coolants. Drain and evacuate the system, and refill with Porsche or Evans coolant. This is not an area people should be playing amateur engineers!
Ben, you mentioned buying a coolant vacuum filler to fill the Porsche Boxster cooling systeem the easier way. I can't find the video in which you show the brand you bought and the process of filling the system. Did you upload a video about the subject? Great vids! Regards, Chris
Any OAT Antifreeze is fine, and Prestone is OAT. Some Antifreeze's last longer than the 5 year Prestone's rating but if you like you car and plan on keeping it for a long time, always change your oil, brake, trans, diff, antifreeze, etc. at or before the recommended interval. And don't believe all the hype with "lifetime" fluids. No such thing!
I get stranded because my water pump gave up, it was leaking and I had to refill the cooling fluid reservoir. Small Gas station didn't had other then Prest..., the leak went worth, had to refill it 2 times, no choice, until I arrived at the shop. For everybody, my waterpump had 108000 miles, changed it before 100000 miles even if its not leaking. Preventive.
typical drill for all VW's I have had in last 30 years.beware "rebuilt" water pumps.. which may have a piece of sheet metal crap instead of a real cast impeller. VW coolant.. me love you long time
Definitely! I'm sure pentofrost sf would work well! I didn't consider it because it is still priced quite high, but I would have no reservations about quality and suitability.
Of course you have to. According to the manufacturer's specifications. I think blinker fluid is the only exception, you can use aftermarket blinker fluid. Joke aside, as long as you refill with same type coolant, you're okay.
My TDI beetle and my BMW K bike want proprietary coolant, and even power steering fluid. Some of the reasons have to do with metallurgy, some to do with plastic/syntetics compatibility or lubrication, and some have to do with the primary function of the fluid. If you really want to know what is in this stuff. you have to run it through a gas chromatograph or mass spectrometer.. and that just opens up the puzzle so you have to buy more beer for your chemist friends.. and then they can blue sky about what it means along with the motorheads.
Great video, I went with Zerex G40(SI-OAT) on my 997T and 958T. I did find the pricing to be similar just available locally.Change every 5 years old 150K Not sure whos lifetime there talking about.
Interesting information / Sidebar: Ferdinan's last name is pronounced in two sylables............. "Poor Sha" I know this because my significant other has a tee shirt that states this fact. the beauty of the tee shirt is the location of the two syllables guarantees that every man reading her chest will learn from the experience. Ha!
Just topped off my 996 c4s with about 3/4 of a bottle of pre-mixed extended life coolant from Walmart. Said no phosphates, silicates, nitrates etc so should be good. Thanks for the advice. It also said "for all foreign and domestics cars and trucks"
Coolant is the tricky one. There's two different types of coolants on the market. And they are NOT compatible. When mixed, they will form gooey residue in the radiator. You do need to check which type coolant is in your car already, and you must refill with the same type
Lol, don't get me started with what people do with my name! Your vids are spectacular. Just bought a 2000 base Boxster. Your vids address everything I've thought about doing.
I call it a "Porsh". Seems common in the UK amongst even the specialists. The Germans probably prounounce it differently but in the UK we don't pronounce Nike correctly either :-). I'm sure it won't stop the Sun from rising tomorrow :-)
@Jose Luis Hurtado That's incorrect. The Germans pronounce both the family name and the car poor-sha (actually closer to par-sha). This is straight from the company: ua-cam.com/video/Im2eYuGdmfY/v-deo.html
Porsche was not necessarily a NAZI. He was a man without a choice trying to survive in Hitler's world. If he had refused Hitler’s offers, he would have been imprisoned in a concentration camp or worst. This would have resulted into him not achieving anything. Porsche was only interested in making cars. Also after Porsche died, his son took over the company and created Porsche 911 and all the other Porsche cars were made by a man who had ZERO ties to Hitler.
So what’s funny to me is that Porsche installs a 30k mile water pump but provides a lifetime coolant. Seems to me like this is a bad German joke on us Americans because I wonder what they consider as “lifetime.” Is it the lifetime of the car or the coolant system. I venture to speculate that it’s the later....30k miles.
Well duh.. there are several types of anti-freeze glycol phosphate, polyethelyene glycol, and some others. You would AT MINIMUM.. want to ascertain which type the Porsche Product Is... ( try to read ingredients, research an MSDS ( material safety data sheet) or even poison control center info... Before just Plunking some random shit called anti-freeze into your aluminum and magnesium baby.
Do the coolant every 10,000 miles. These aren’t Toyota Corollas where you change the oil every 7 thousand miles and it goes 180,000 miles and dies. These engines are compact, and tight fitting. Keep clean, lubricating new coolant in it. Dirty coolant that’s losing its ability to cool will allow the engine to run hot and slowly make the internal parts work harder. Spend the money!!!
@@mr.terwilliger5728 The automotive engineers are and the service life is either 5 or 10 years depending on which Prestone formulation you are using. If you're using Prestone from 2004-2014, that is 5 years. 2014 and beyond is 10 years.
@@coolantkid3428 5 years is way too long. MAYBE if you drive 2000 or less miles a year and keep the car garaged. Now I understand why so many cars have these coolant issues, owners thing they can go a decade without cleaning and flushing the system
@@mr.terwilliger5728 You sir, are ignorant. I have used Prestone and other universal extended life coolants 5 years and longer with no issues at all. I examine the water pump and coolant passages when doing a timing belt job and everything is pristine and like new.
One of the worst cars ever! It happened out of a sudden and twice with my panamera 4 and my cayen s...both stopped working due to coolant leakage. Costed me over 1.5 thousands dollars to fix. I'll never buy porsche anymore 😪 😕
LiveItLiveNow I speak from experience, wow you save 100 dollars with your cheap coolant the electrolysis happens and now you need a 2500 to 8000 dollar engine, don't skimp on coolant guys! Same with all fluids. So he goes, hey I feel ripped off when I spend 100 dollars more for the right coolant, well you are going to feel a lot shittier when you ruin your engine and need to spend thousands. And for compelling, we'll how about the chemistry that he and you mention! Porsche isn't tying to rip you off, use the right coolant. I'm not saying better, it actually requires this specific waterless coolant! This is called saving a penny but losing a dollar.
Among your many videos.. this is certainly the least well informed.The advice about distilled water and bleeding are important. The Reason to not use tap water is both Minerals.. which do coat metals and restrict heat transfer.. but also Chloriine.. which is highly corrosive ! However.. you are really in the Ignorant Zone..when you say Any Type of Coolant is going to be ok. I don't mean this to insult.. but simply to say.. You Don't Know What You Don't Know.
DON'T DO IT!!! READ THIS: The Porsche coolant is a waterless coolant...and that doesn't mean it's just straight Prestone. Waterless coolant has a MUCH HIGHER BOILING POINT, this means your relief valve is not designed to "blow-off steam", which is what you'll get if you use water-based coolants. The other thing is water, distilled or not, is highly di-polar, and corrodes metals, which creates more problems. There are other water-less coolants, and they're all about $35 per gallon, so don't be a fool, use the right coolant. I'd go even further, if you have a decent car, switch to waterless coolant to save your engine, pump & hoses from corrosion and high pressures. You much COMPLETELY ELIMINATE the water in the system, which means removing the thermostat and running a leaf-blower overnight through the radiator hoses to completely dry out the engine, radiator, hoses & reservoir.
Christopher Barber Was wondering the same, the system is half filled with distilled water anyway when all is said and done. I bought Prestone already and was going to start upgrading pipes on my Cayenne but now I'm doubtful again, any clarification?
Last at time I checked Porsche weren't in the business of making coolants, just adding the special Porsche uplift on the cost of selling them. Aftermarket coolants will be fine imo.
Not correct. For most Porsches after 97, you want to use coolant that is rated G12++ or G13 (G-40/GG-40, TL 774 G/J). These are HOAT water-based coolants, rated for 150,000 miles/5 years and have better anti-corrosion properties than the OAT coolant used in this video.
When I swapped out my coolant reservoir after it failed, the recommendation I heard was to use the VW coolant (the pink stuff). That's what I've used and three years later it still runs like a champ. Just thought I'd add this to the comments in case it helps someone else. It's not inexpensive (nor an easy job), but it's treated me well and VW dealers are somewhat more common.
Thanks! I also heard the VW coolant was the same, but it's nice to hear from someone with firsthand experience. Thanks!
Just be aware that only VAG G12 and G12+ is OAT, G12++ and G13 is HOAT. But - found this, which says it's Porsche approved :o www.glysantin.de/en/products/g30.html
And also available in my country for 10€/1,5l :)
Good place to start ! And if you have a combined VW/Porsche dealership.. they are in a better position to talk to you about compatibility.
Hello,
i drive the motul g13 ultra... i‘m come from the near of the Nürburgring and the most Porsche drivers have the motul in there cars
Thanks Ben for all the great video's I just picked up a 2000 boxster base, all black nice color choice BTW, and have watched a ton of your video's. Thanks again!!!!
Place a link to a bleeding system you got from amazon. I might need it.
Really appreciate you taking the time with this debate among us all. Keep it up!
2 years on, how is it for you? Prestone told me their coolant is 100% compatible with even mixing with Porsche red stuff.
I had my plastic pipes go on my Cayenne S and I used Prestone, I did it as a complete drain, flush and fill and its been all ok for me. I can of a very hot day still smell coolant though which is probably still in the V.
You could have said all this in 2 minutes…
Yes! While I appreciate the effort, the amount of time to make points was painful. I watched at 2x speed and it was still too verbose.
How can u properly bleed my porsche panamera?its really giving me issue
Peak Global LifeTime. It's a OAT like Prestone\Dexcool however omits 2 -EH that caused head gasket issues in some cars.
I used Prestone on my 1999 Boxster also added Water Wetter its been in for 1 yr with no problems
You won't have a problem for several years; You can get away with using a number of things that aren't engineered for the application, for some period of time, but when you start having failures, you'll find out it wasn't worth it. Read my comment on why it's a terrible idea, and switch to the correct coolant as soon as you can.
Couldn't you use the VW AUDI pink coolant?
There are several coolants like Peak and Zerex that actually say they are Porsche compatible. That’s proof enough.
Thanx again
Update after 2 years later? I am in the same shoes.
Be specific! Which Zerex? G40, G05 and there are many other Zerex products. Porsche 2010 and up uses the G40.
THANX
Would it not be a friggin concept for Porsche to list the specifications for the coolant. Especially since they do not make the product.
Porsche does not make any lubricants, greases, brake fluids and coolants. I find it incredible that the Porsche Owner's Manual does not specify "SPECIFICATIONS" for the fluid being used. They list fuel type and oil type specifications and that is it. I guess Porsche does not expect Porsche owners to maintain their own cars.
Exactly!
After seeing your vid on fans, I just went out and started the car, turned on the AC, and nothing on either side. Looked on eBay and they were surprisingly cheap. Is it crazy to order non OEM fans?
Awesome! Glad you caught it now instead of realizing the problem when it starts overheating in traffic! I don't think it's crazy to buy non OEM fans. They might not last as long, but that's not a big deal. They're pretty easy to test and swap out when they go bad.
beware of made in china. If its a 5 hour job just to change fans, is it really worth the money saved if you have to replace them again a year down the road?
Turns out, the fans will not go on with the AC unless the car is at running temp. Since I am taking my 2000 2.7 on a 1000mi road trip to Colorado next week, decided to have the cooling system checked top to bottom. To my utter amazement, there was not a thing wrong with it. Coolant fine, Fan kicks in later than I imagined, backside of the '0' in '180'.
Once in Colorado, am having the clutch and IMS done. Debating whether to do the RMS and oil separator while there. Thoughts?
If you need to do the air/oil separator, the time to do it is when the transmission is out of the way. It's way easier to get at it from underneath.
This is great I noticed a few days ago that my coolant levels are just below minimum in my 996 and was wondering what I should do, I'll add some distilled water and keep an eye on it. Cheers!
Carlos Orue what happened to that coolant prob ? I looked at my reservoir and it looks sorta empty ...does that happen when you drive it?im not too sure bout this porsches
Do not use water, or water-based coolants. Drain and evacuate the system, and refill with Porsche or Evans coolant. This is not an area people should be playing amateur engineers!
Any OAT coolant is ok. Get the Zerex stuff
Ben, you mentioned buying a coolant vacuum filler to fill the Porsche Boxster cooling systeem the easier way. I can't find the video in which you show the brand you bought and the process of filling the system. Did you upload a video about the subject? Great vids! Regards, Chris
Any OAT Antifreeze is fine, and Prestone is OAT. Some Antifreeze's last longer than the 5 year Prestone's rating but if you like you car and plan on keeping it for a long time, always change your oil, brake, trans, diff, antifreeze, etc. at or before the recommended interval. And don't believe all the hype with "lifetime" fluids. No such thing!
I get stranded because my water pump gave up, it was leaking and I had to refill the cooling fluid reservoir. Small Gas station didn't had other then Prest..., the leak went worth, had to refill it 2 times, no choice, until I arrived at the shop.
For everybody, my waterpump had 108000 miles, changed it before 100000 miles even if its not leaking. Preventive.
typical drill for all VW's I have had in last 30 years.beware "rebuilt" water pumps.. which may have a piece of sheet metal crap instead of a real cast impeller. VW coolant.. me love you long time
If the porshe anti freeze is silicon free than any silicone free truck anti freeze will work silicone turns to glass and ruins seals
What about pentofrost sf?
Definitely! I'm sure pentofrost sf would work well! I didn't consider it because it is still priced quite high, but I would have no reservations about quality and suitability.
Of course you have to. According to the manufacturer's specifications.
I think blinker fluid is the only exception, you can use aftermarket blinker fluid.
Joke aside, as long as you refill with same type coolant, you're okay.
My TDI beetle and my BMW K bike want proprietary coolant, and even power steering fluid. Some of the reasons have to do with metallurgy, some to do with plastic/syntetics compatibility or lubrication, and some have to do with the primary function of the fluid. If you really want to know what is in this stuff. you have to run it through a gas chromatograph or mass spectrometer.. and that just opens up the puzzle so you have to buy more beer for your chemist friends.. and then they can blue sky about what it means along with the motorheads.
Is this vid in slow motion or there is something wrong with my phone?!
That being said, it’s a loose loose, loose some extra money for the correct oem coolant o4 loose your engine with the wrong coolaid 🙏
lose, lose, lose . . . lose
If it's oat then you can use truck antifreeze
what's the results after six months?
Absolutely no problems. Coolant looks fine and the car runs and cools well!
I did it and my porsche has no problems yet, thank you!
Awesome! Glad I could help.
Vacuum filler... Great idea. I just learned something. Thanks.
They sure make the job easier!
Great video, I went with Zerex G40(SI-OAT) on my 997T and 958T. I did find the pricing to be similar just available locally.Change every 5 years old 150K
Not sure whos lifetime there talking about.
My knees are hurting watching this video.
Interesting information / Sidebar: Ferdinan's last name is pronounced in two sylables............. "Poor Sha" I know this because my significant other has a tee shirt that states this fact. the beauty of the tee shirt is the location of the two syllables guarantees that every man reading her chest will learn from the experience. Ha!
Just topped off my 996 c4s with about 3/4 of a bottle of pre-mixed extended life coolant from Walmart. Said no phosphates, silicates, nitrates etc so should be good. Thanks for the advice.
It also said "for all foreign and domestics cars and trucks"
Coolant is the tricky one. There's two different types of coolants on the market. And they are NOT compatible. When mixed, they will form gooey residue in the radiator. You do need to check which type coolant is in your car already, and you must refill with the same type
Its for an aluminum engine so the other coolant will turn the block into paper mache. So save 30 dollars destroy a 23 thousand dollar engine.
This absolutely proves it. Porsche is the Apple of car makers.
Lol, don't get me started with what people do with my name! Your vids are spectacular. Just bought a 2000 base Boxster. Your vids address everything I've thought about doing.
Haha! Oh, I can imagine! Congrats on the new Boxster! I'm glad I could help. I look forward to hearing more about your projects.
Poor-sha not porsh.
Yeah, yeah. I know. And my name is Benjamin not Ben, but you don't hear me bitching about it all over the internet 😜
Only in the USA people say poor-sha... its actually a german last name and germans say porsche ...
I call it a "Porsh". Seems common in the UK amongst even the specialists. The Germans probably prounounce it differently but in the UK we don't pronounce Nike correctly either :-). I'm sure it won't stop the Sun from rising tomorrow :-)
@Jose Luis Hurtado That's incorrect. The Germans pronounce both the family name and the car poor-sha (actually closer to par-sha). This is straight from the company: ua-cam.com/video/Im2eYuGdmfY/v-deo.html
Porsche was not necessarily a NAZI. He was a man without a choice trying to survive in Hitler's world. If he had refused Hitler’s offers, he would have been imprisoned in a concentration camp or worst. This would have resulted into him not achieving anything. Porsche was only interested in making cars. Also after Porsche died, his son took over the company and created Porsche 911 and all the other Porsche cars were made by a man who had ZERO ties to Hitler.
So what’s funny to me is that Porsche installs a 30k mile water pump but provides a lifetime coolant. Seems to me like this is a bad German joke on us Americans because I wonder what they consider as “lifetime.” Is it the lifetime of the car or the coolant system. I venture to speculate that it’s the later....30k miles.
Well duh.. there are several types of anti-freeze glycol phosphate, polyethelyene glycol, and some others. You would AT MINIMUM.. want to ascertain which type the Porsche Product Is... ( try to read ingredients, research an MSDS ( material safety data sheet) or even poison control center info... Before just Plunking some random shit called anti-freeze into your aluminum and magnesium baby.
Pentosin pentafrost obviously because Germany
VW coolant is made to the same spec as Porsche coolant……same company.
Do the coolant every 10,000 miles. These aren’t Toyota Corollas where you change the oil every 7 thousand miles and it goes 180,000 miles and dies. These engines are compact, and tight fitting. Keep clean, lubricating new coolant in it. Dirty coolant that’s losing its ability to cool will allow the engine to run hot and slowly make the internal parts work harder. Spend the money!!!
That is ridiculous and totally unnecessary. The Prestone can easily go it's recommended service life and even more.
@@coolantkid3428 who is making these recommendations? What is the service life? 30 years? 20 years? 50 years?
@@mr.terwilliger5728 The automotive engineers are and the service life is either 5 or 10 years depending on which Prestone formulation you are using. If you're using Prestone from 2004-2014, that is 5 years. 2014 and beyond is 10 years.
@@coolantkid3428 5 years is way too long. MAYBE if you drive 2000 or less miles a year and keep the car garaged. Now I understand why so many cars have these coolant issues, owners thing they can go a decade without cleaning and flushing the system
@@mr.terwilliger5728 You sir, are ignorant. I have used Prestone and other universal extended life coolants 5 years and longer with no issues at all. I examine the water pump and coolant passages when doing a timing belt job and everything is pristine and like new.
too bad you didn't show the car
Yeah. This was just a quick video. I have many other videos that do, however!
One of the worst cars ever! It happened out of a sudden and twice with my panamera 4 and my cayen s...both stopped working due to coolant leakage. Costed me over 1.5 thousands dollars to fix. I'll never buy porsche anymore 😪 😕
There is no secret sauce in Porsche fluids.
Use a “waterless” type of coolant.
Just buy the Porsche brand. Or Evans life time...cheaper then a new engine!
READ MY NOTE SOMEWHERE IN THESE COMMENTS TO UNDERSTAND WHY BRANDON BENTLEY IS CORRECT!
LiveItLiveNow I speak from experience, wow you save 100 dollars with your cheap coolant the electrolysis happens and now you need a 2500 to 8000 dollar engine, don't skimp on coolant guys! Same with all fluids. So he goes, hey I feel ripped off when I spend 100 dollars more for the right coolant, well you are going to feel a lot shittier when you ruin your engine and need to spend thousands. And for compelling, we'll how about the chemistry that he and you mention! Porsche isn't tying to rip you off, use the right coolant. I'm not saying better, it actually requires this specific waterless coolant! This is called saving a penny but losing a dollar.
Another PORSH...... It's Porsche!!! Rosetta Stone is on sale ....
Among your many videos.. this is certainly the least well informed.The advice about distilled water and bleeding are important. The Reason to not use tap water is both Minerals.. which do coat metals and restrict heat transfer.. but also Chloriine.. which is highly corrosive ! However.. you are really in the Ignorant Zone..when you say Any Type of Coolant is going to be ok. I don't mean this to insult.. but simply to say.. You Don't Know What You Don't Know.
to much bla bla bland mo help
DON'T DO IT!!! READ THIS: The Porsche coolant is a waterless coolant...and that doesn't mean it's just straight Prestone. Waterless coolant has a MUCH HIGHER BOILING POINT, this means your relief valve is not designed to "blow-off steam", which is what you'll get if you use water-based coolants. The other thing is water, distilled or not, is highly di-polar, and corrodes metals, which creates more problems. There are other water-less coolants, and they're all about $35 per gallon, so don't be a fool, use the right coolant. I'd go even further, if you have a decent car, switch to waterless coolant to save your engine, pump & hoses from corrosion and high pressures. You much COMPLETELY ELIMINATE the water in the system, which means removing the thermostat and running a leaf-blower overnight through the radiator hoses to completely dry out the engine, radiator, hoses & reservoir.
LiveItLiveNow it’s water less, but then you mix it 50/50 with distilled water, so am I missing something?
Christopher Barber Was wondering the same, the system is half filled with distilled water anyway when all is said and done. I bought Prestone already and was going to start upgrading pipes on my Cayenne but now I'm doubtful again, any clarification?
Utter nonsense! The Porsche manual clearly states that the coolant is mixed 50/50 with distilled water!
Last at time I checked Porsche weren't in the business of making coolants, just adding the special Porsche uplift on the cost of selling them. Aftermarket coolants will be fine imo.
Not correct. For most Porsches after 97, you want to use coolant that is rated G12++ or G13 (G-40/GG-40, TL 774 G/J). These are HOAT water-based coolants, rated for 150,000 miles/5 years and have better anti-corrosion properties than the OAT coolant used in this video.
When you cannot pronounce the name of the brand, it's tough to hear anything else you say.
Porsche coolant is not that expensive... If it's Porsche car is too expensive for you.