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YOUR RESEARCHWater Pump went bad today - need advice!
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Install mechanic strongly recommended replacing the water pump
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When I had the IMS solution installed my mechanic strongly recommended replacing the water pump which was original on my low mileage C2.
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While he was doing that, I replaced the sliding screen and glass on my front storm door of my house.
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He gets a discount from his usual supplier from everything he buys so I suspect made a nice profit.
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Suggestion
When I had the IMS solution installed my mechanic strongly recommended replacing the water pump which was original on my low mileage C2.
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Suggestion
The plastic impeller is highly recommended as well as changing the water pump every 3 years or so...
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Hey Porsche Guru's - my water pumped went bad today, but fortunately I was in my driveway when this happened. Question: my mechanic is a mile away, can I add some coolant and drive it over to him tomorrow? Or do I need to call a tow truck.
Thoughts?
Define "went bad". If we are talking about just some coolant leaking and no other issues, drive it. If we are talking ugly grinding noise, the belt broke, coolant pours out as fast as you can put it in, then tow it.
If you want to save about a thousand bucks, do it yourself in your driveway. A bad water pump can cost you an engine if the plastic bits break off the impeller. This is not something to ignore and drive.
^^^ +1
If you can't or don't want to do it yourself flat bed it to your mechanic. Not worth throwing plastic bits from the impeller into the small cavities in the heads which could cause hot spots later. Which can cause serious problems.
Yes, define "bad".
I heard the water pump making the 'failure' noise and some of the coolant came out and I turned off the car the moment I saw this happening. Overheating never occurred.
Water pump is fixed! I drove it down there in a minute (one mile) with no issues. My mechanic put in a new water pump, fresh coolant, new belt, and some new o-rings on a couple of leaky spark plug tubes for $960.00. The old impeller was perfect. Best money I ever spent, because I was not in the mood to get under the car on this dreary rainy day. While he was doing that, I replaced the sliding screen and glass on my front storm door of my house. A win-win day!
That is scary cheap. The OEM pump is about $400, not including the gasket. The coolant $60+. The belt about $35. The o-rings and tubes are cheap but the labor for all of those things should be about what you paid in total. I don't know if I'm jealous or worried.
Pelican Parts has water pumps for $217
https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_In...4aAj-wEALw_wcB
He gets a discount from his usual supplier from everything he buys so I suspect made a nice profit. I will read about the low temp thermostat. Sounds like a good option.
Not a good call at all. When my water pump failed I told my Indi no metal impeller. They ordered and a metal one showed up they called and asked if it was ok. NOPE! If it fails again it could remachine the water pump cavity and destroy the block. Not a good thing.
When I had the IMS solution installed my mechanic strongly recommended replacing the water pump which was original on my low mileage C2. He said he considers this part a routine maintenance item as the plastic impellers are submerged 24/7 and can break down over time, no matter what the mileage on the vehicle. Probably pretty good advice, although I don't know how often it should be done.
The Porsche dealer i buy all my parts from (Porsche Chandler) sells the OE pump online for 261.76. I have found they sell OE parts cheaper then Pelican and other major sites. I recently replaced my Overflow Bottle, OE Serp Belt, amd a few other odds and ends and everything was far cheaper through them then Pelican. By the way. I am in Florida and Chandler Porsche is in Arizona. Even with shipping it was cheaper. My local dealer Porsche of Orlando will not evwn sell stuff at their price.
Even so, you're still talking about around $500 in parts, without any mark-up by the mechanic. I don't know if you've every changed the water pump or spark plug tubes, but there is a lot of labor involved. If the OP got quality parts and a quality installation, then he did extremely well.
It's what i do for a living, so yupp, been there done that. Dealers love to kill customers for parts and labor. Most indy shops do the job for a resonable fee. The water pump and tstat calls for 4.5 hours. Spark plugs pay 2.2......yes i agree he got a low price. But i dont know that i agree its scary low. Most jobs like this - a good tech can do in half the time with a lift and proper tools. The shop prob had $350 in cost (shops buy at wholesale price) and walked away with a lot of profit in a short time frame. Moral of this story. OP got a great deal and the shop made great profit. Every one is happy and that is all that matters.
Too funny that somebody gets a great deal on service (or just gets a normal deal) but everyone is not suspect of the work! LOL.
If I had a lift and was a mechanic for a living, I could change the water pump in about 2 hours with the coolant flush and fill. I did it on my back in my garage in about 4 taking my time.
Glad to hear that somebody got a good deal!
Good tech for a new 996 owner here.
Coming from the BMW crowd back in the 90s it was an "upgrade" to get a water pump with a metal impeller. Glad I stumbled across this and see that plastic is preferred here for replacements.
Do all Porsche supplied water pumps come with plastic impellers?
If it is Porsche OE then it will have the plastic impeller. But there are some aftermarket water pumps with a metal impeller. If the metal impeller starts to go bad, i.e., the water pump shaft and bearing, it will ruin the block and water pump cavity.
The OE water pump is made by Pierburg. It costs roughly $175... If you want to spend an extra $100 for the same thing in a box that says Porsche on it, that's up to you...
Coming from Europe... it make me go crazy the prices for services that I am seen here (mainly the labor prices)... and even more, when the workshop see that it is a porsche...
I have also a quote for changing the water pump, serpentine belt and coolant for around 1000$ in a very professional indy... and it still looks quite expensive for me.
But I wont say that the quality of the work is related with the price of the labor... it is overpriced by much or "mucher" in any case...
Generally speaking, water pumps go bad when the shaft seal (leaking water pump) and bearing wear out so that the impeller moves back and forth, resulting in the blades touching the block in the water pump cavity. Plastic impellers just grind off some plastic bits, metal impellers grind against the block and hone down the water pump cavity, resulting in ruining the engine block. Take your pick, ruined water pump impeller or ruined engine block. I'll take the former.
No, the impeller doesn't break, but if the brass bushing fails the impeller can/will contact the face of the engine block and damage it. The plastic impeller is highly recommended as well as changing the water pump every 3 years or so... You may be able to buy one of these (cars) on the cheap, but they're still expensive to maintain - especially if you plan on bringing it to a shop
Metal boat propellers can literally disintegrate via cavitation or abrasion over time. Then there is the acidity or chemistry of the liquid itself. Not sure how that would ever apply here, or if it�s ever an issue. Acidity is one way to test for whether or not the coolant should be replaced. Just pointing out that metal can still wear out. Over time, nothing can withstand the brutal forces of water, metal, plastic, glass, pretty much anything. Grand Canyon.
