DIY failure - flatbed

So, I'm at the age where I have neither the time nor the inclination to do much DIY work, but I feel it's important to try a few minor tasks just to understand the car better. There are lots of good resources on how to clean the radiators, I thought I'd give that a try. Read Rennlist, watched some great YouTube videos, and had the Pelican book in hand as I went to remove the front bumper. I had read that jacking up the rear will lift the front, but it is quite something to see, especially with a cab. No twist in the body, but the Harbor Freight jacks were twisting, so I ended up just jacking from the front. Make a note to get a real jack later. Finally got the car up in front, and am working off all the great reference, when I start to realize, hey - this doesn't quite match my car. At all. I have a C4S, so evidently things are a bit different. Still, it mostly works, and I get my front bumper off. But that's as far as I got. I was worried I wouldn't get it back together, and the radiators looked pretty good from what I could see. I feel its a matter of degrees - if I can take it apart this far, and get it back together, the next time I can go further. So, I get it back together, and decide to take wife and son for a drive to test it out. I'm all paranoid that I didn't get the wheels back on right, or torque them up, but all is good. We get off the expressway, and into traffic, and I hear this terrible squeaking noise. I assume it is a car next to me, as my engine sounds fine. But it is there again at the next light, and then my wife sees smoke coming from my engine. I immediately pulled off. Turns out, it is not smoke, but steam. My assumption is water pump. I called my Indy, thank God he was still there, he arranged a flatbed and kept the shop open until I got there. So, I don't think it was anything I did - I'll hear back soon what exactly it is - but assuming it is the water pump, any preventative maintenance to be done at the same time? S

You can check condition of serpentine belt plus any play or stiffness of all belt guides and pulleys. Maybe the air filter. Other than that, nothing.

Let's not jump into conclusions and just wait for the diagnosis.

A little WD40 should do the trick, eh?

Forgot to mention, coolant kept slowly dumping out the whole time I was waiting for the truck. I'm actually hoping it is the water pump. It could just be internet-fueled paranoia, but I was thinking about doing that pre-emptively as 90K service. Probably by my Indy, but I've been reading about how to DIY just in case. If it is the water pump, then that was a cost I was already budgeting for. I've been reading through the archives, there are lots of questions from new and potential new owners, with a lot of great advice. One thing I would add for anybody considering a Porsche - if you can't do all the work yourself, find a trusted mechanic BEFORE you buy the car.

Hello Pugface... I am also in the Chicagoland area right off of 88 and 59. I changed my water pump and swapped to a lower thermostat just a few weeks ago... I can say it is a simple R-R job... but it’s a total pain in the @ss! I should have taken off the rear bumper to give me room to remove the cross over pipes... but after scraping my knuckles and cursing in German (A language that I don’t know) I got it all done by myself... and so could you if you wanted to! Follow the on-line DIY's and the Pelican book and you would do just fine! Let me know if you need to use any tools and if you need any help! Good Luck!

Could also be the coolant tank or hoses. Hard to say w/o inspection. If you heed to replace the water pump, it's good time to replace all the coolant and the serpentine belt as well. Title of post is short changing yourself. I vote for pure coincidence and nothing to do with your diy.

I am also from Naperville! And did my thermostat and water pump (along with IMS bearing, RMS, clutch) just about a month ago! HA! It is a DIY job, but agreed a PITA.

How did you jack it up in the rear? That's pretty coincidental nothing was wrong, you jacked up the rear, twisted your jack, and then had an issue with the water pump...not saying they couldn't be related, but it is more likely they are. As Joe mentioned, replacing the water pump is not impossible. I did it on mine, took my time, ran into one issue I was able to work around, and had it out and replaced in about 5 hours. Could do it in half as much time now as I did then having done it once, but you live you learn. Keep us posted. DS

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I seem to a bit confused. You were going to jack up the back but your Jack wasn't that great so you jacked up the front to take off your front bumper? What were you going to do after you took off the front bumper? Also you said you replaced the water pump just a month ago? Did everything get put back correctly?

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Two diff posters

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id add in this little coupler too...seems to break a bit.... https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...lant-leak.html

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Doh, this mobile screen is cryptic sometimes. But OP was taking his front bumper off to do what again? Ahsai, I think you're going to have to be my official translator.

If your stating the car was fine until you jacked it up, you need to check something. I assume you mean you were jacking it up from the side at the front jack points. Did you crush a coolant pipe with the jack. Look under the car and it will be obvious. I just dont see how it would suddenly overheat as a coincidence. Any leaks before this? Was it overheating, then dumping coolant? Maybe crushed pipe caused overheat then boil over?

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Unlikely as coolant pipes are quite far from the side jacking points http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...mall/pic05.jpg I like this guessing game

OK, thought I remembered one close to the passenger side. Must have been an AC line.

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Of course it wasn't a coincidence. He messed with a perfectly good, fully operational vehicle with no apparent problems. Let this be a lesson to us all. TC

pugface, sorry you have to go through this! Your mechanic will diagnose and fix it in no time and you'll be back on the road again enjoying your Porsche. Mark/Pelican Parts

Hi guys - thanks for all the replies, and encouragement from other Chicago owners! Mechanic called today, the water pump is bad, the bearing is shot. Hopefully I got it before any impeller blades went. At least my diagnosis was right! Since before I bought the car, I've been reading through the archives when I have time. I'm back to 2011 currently - I actually have an old post by KrazyK open in another tab. I'm learning quite a bit, and my understanding of the car and diagnostic skills have been tremendously helped by Rennlist. As to my mechanical skills, well, I'd love to be a great shadetree mechanic with a wrench in one hand and a beer in the other, but it seems my skills tend more to the beer and not so much the wrench. I'll keep trying, though! I think I was being too cute by half in my original post - combining two stories. I'm pretty sure the two events were purely coincidental. Or were they... joe-1972 - thanks for the kind offer! But I think I need to get a few oil changes under my belt before I move to the next stage. alpine003 - I was just going to clean the radiators. I got the Pelican 101 book, and that seemed like a simple project to get my feet wet and get more familiar with the car. KrazyK - No leaks, no overheating, gauge was between the 8 and the 0. I heard the bearing squeal and saw the steam, and pulled over very quickly.

Thanks this story has an easy ending. Just curious, what's your milage.

A bit over 91K (miles)

Thanks for the explanation Pugface. The thought of radiator cleaning had crossed my mind but didn't want to assume. Don't worry if you don't have the time/skill/inclination to work on your own car. It seems like you found a good Indy already and DIY isn't for everyone all the time. Another alternative is to supply the beer and hold a local wrench fest. Welcome aboard.

Beer and wrenching is a BAAAAAD combination.

Glad to hear its just the water pump... my bearing had a total failure and the pulley made some contact with the water pump housing! I replaced it and went with a low temp thermostat while I was in the same area. Please make sure that your Indy checks the impeller... if its the metal one he needs to check the block for any damage... if it the plastic one he needs to check for any damage to the impeller vanes... if they chipped off he's going to need to back flush the whole system to try and clean them out... its not a fun thing to do! Good luck! PS. Any Chicago guys going to the meet up this Saturday morning?

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True. This is what the factory workers did when hand building our cars, hence all the quality control issues.

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ROTFLMFAO!!!

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As mentioned, serpentine belt, maybe air filter, how about the thermostat? I'd let your mechanic make recommendations as well, you know, "while you're in there." Best of luck.