Water pump failure

I had a coolant warning light come on during my 15 mile commute home from work 2 wks ago. Took car to the dealer where they found the water pump had failed. Car has 20K miles. The pump was replaced under warranty. Immediately after I got the car back I noticed a powder residue in the exhaust (see pic). I thought this was probably coolant that found it's way into the combustion chamber. I was concerned about oil contamination and asked the dealer if we should do an oil change. They said there is no way for coolant to get into oil. Does anyone have any experience with this? The only other thing I can think of is that the coolant vapor was sucked into the air intake where it became this powder. I dont know what this powder could be if not coolant - I had never seen anything like this before. Thoughts?

They may be unrelated and just happened at the same time as well, but nope I've never seen anything like this. Dealer should be able to determine if something is up, but a waterpump replacement shouldn't affect anything related to oil or allow water into oil or vice versa as the waterpumps are pretty much just bolt on the lower front of the motor as far as I remember there are no oil passages there.

Maybe it's detergent residue from the last car wash, especially if the dealer washed th car after service.

A leaking head gasket could allow coolant into the combustion chamber, and into the oil, but I've never heard of a Cayman 's head gasket leaking. Burning coolant would not leave white residue in your exhaust. Nothing to worry about.

I agree, strange......but nothing to worry about at this time if the car seems tip-top now.....

Please help him !! ....Leak of coolant My friend has RS 60 spider, the special Boxter as you know. He has an experience of unknown leak of coolant now. One day he has found the decrease of coolant ,the amount of unknown loss is 130cc! To make matters worse, he was shocked to encounter the picture of the engine room as attachments here he took. It looks as if somone scattered the coolant in the engine bay. The mechanic of Porsche service center couldn't find out the crack of subtank nor the loosening of pipes concerned. It is misterious . He is still annoyng and quitely depreseed now. Does anyone help him and explain why leak?

Re: Please help him !! ....Leak of coolant When I changed my Air Filter (At 1,200 miles) for a BMC one, when the 'Yellow Peril' was New - I found exactly the same thing.......... The only thing I noted, was the fact that I could turn the Blue Cap shown in the photos about an 1/8th of a turn more to be fully tight - I cleaned the engine bay up - and since then have no more issues. I believe that the Blue Cap, was not closed completely - and under pressure the fluid spurted out past the seal.............

Cat failure.

+1 Pulverized cat material. That was my first thought, also.

Re: Please help him !! ....Leak of coolant had a rattling noise for a couple of weeks i think and then it failed at around 20k

Its official: 997-106-011-02 Aux heat water pump 997-106-340-00 Gasket water pump 996-102-151-66 Ribbed V-belt Performed cooling system pressure test verified customer concern. Coolant leaking from coolant pump shaft & noise due to failed shaft bearing. R&R coolant pump. Found drive belt frayed due to failed shaft bearing. Replaced drive belt... Did you know that PCNA's policy is to capture coolant drained for repairs and to put it back (the old coolant) when the repair is done? (as opposed to replacing the coolant -- because it is a "lifetime" component. I'm happy to have had mine replaced with new... Can anyone confirm the part number for the water pump and let me know if the one above is the original part number for 2007 MY? I'm curious to know if the part has been updated since its such a "high risk part" (for failure) according to the tech.

for my 2006, same part numbers for water pump and gasket. in my case, they also added 000-o43-301-05 antifreeze (3.79 L) 996-106-447-01 water tank cap failed shaft bearing

So I just had a water pump failure at 28,700 miles on my '06 CS. Interesting experience. All was fine, and driving home from work Monday last week I thought the noises coming from behind my right ear had changed- there was the addition of the unmistakable sound of metal against metal, like when an alternator bearing starts to fail. I cycled the A/C a few times to see if that was the culprit, and the sound seemed to subside when the compressor was off. So I thought I would monitor it for a few days. Tuesday the sound did not appear until I was nearly complete with my 42 mile commute to work, so again I switched off the A/C and the noise seemed to subside. On the way home, it got worse, masking the wonderful engine sounds. So I parked it for Wednesday and called my service dept. (Tischer Porsche ), explained that I thought it was either A/C compressor or idler, or possibly alternator, and they were very accommodating and gave me an appointment for the next day. Trip to Tischer Porsche service is about 10 miles from home. By the time I got to Tischer the noise was really nasty, and at idle it sounded like there was a juice can full of rocks rumbling around back there. I left awaiting word on what the damage was. A few hours later I called to see what the scoop was. They asked me if I had seen any leaking coolant. I told them I check my garage floor EVERY time I pull out because I'm paranoid about the RMS problems these cars have, and have never seen a drop of anything. They told me that when the mechanic pulled the car from the space where I dropped it, it left a trail of coolant, and the water pump was bad. Talk about timing. I got it there just before it completely yacked. I would never have expected a water pump failure at such low mileage- my experience with cars is that a water pump is something that fails in the 80-90k mile range. That is why I thought it to be an idler or A/C.:crazy: Fortunately, I have three more months left on the warranty, so the replacement was no cost, and there was no collateral damage (it was checked thoroughly). Tischer even washed the car and managed to get my floor mats cleaner than I can.:banana: So nice on the way home to hear only that beautiful engine sound again.:burnout: So the lesson here is threefold: 1.pay attention to those noises your car makes, and if you hear that shuussching sound coming from behind you, get it checked immediately. 2. don't assume that an unlikely failure can't happen. 3.Find a great service department like I have. Hope others find the info from this experience helpful. Michael

Add my 05 BS to the list of water pump failures @35K. Towed to dealer under warranty. Sheesh.

Water pump failure @ 50,400 on my 2007 Cayman S . $1,200 was the original bill. I begged for mercy and got $400 discount.

Sudden rattle on my 05 Boxster S @49k turned out to be water pump. When replaced under warranty the technician heard another rattle and replaced the oil pump too. Then hearing a 3rd noise he replaced the crankshaft pulley! RMS and IMS were previously fixed under warranty. Thank God for Porsche Approved.....

Re: Please help him !! ....Leak of coolant Had a noise coming and going for two months, complained, and got the waterpump replaced at 10k km

Water pump rattle and slight loss of coolant (never saw where it went), 2006 CS @ 35000 mi. $900 original bill, also $800 after a mercy coupon ! Amazing how the same job can cost different amounts out there, at the dealer !

Had mine replace today at 48,660. Got a message indicating that I needed to add coolant. I wasn't too far from home so I kept driving and watched my temperature gauge to make sure it didn't get hotter. Got to my exit and stopped at the light. Looked back and saw a bunch of steamy white smoke and got the smell of coolant. I pulled over as soon as I could. Turned off the engine and got out to find a steady flow of coolant on the ground. Call Porsche Roadside assistance and had them tow it to my Dealer, Hoehn Porsche in Carlsbad. They had the part in stock and installed it in a few hours. Glad it was still under warranty!

Just had mine replaced at 28,800 and would have paid $930 but thanks to an extended warranty = $0

Just replaced mine at 50,116 miles. I heard all the screeching from the bearing failure, then lost all the coolant. One thing to mention is that an oem Porsche pump should be used, stay clear of the other aftermarkets, including the Laso German pump! The impeller on the Laso pumps are poorly pressed in and also have a weak housing that deforms when torquing down. Also, if you're doing it yourself, be sure to have an airlift vacuum-coolant recharger.

Where is the water pump located in the Cayman ? If mine fails during the dead of winter will I be okay driving it 20 miles to the dealer or is something that when it fails you need a tow? Will a warning light come on when it fails or do I have to listen for noises? :thanks:

Mine was just leaking and I was able to drive 300 miles without a problem. You will need a tow if the bearings freeze.

Last week my water pump failed at 12.5 years and a little over 45K miles. Had it replaced with an OEM unit.