Cost to replace water pump + thermostat

Can anybody shed light on what an indy typically charges for service and how long it takes? Just got the bill for my job at $1500: $930 for labor, $460 for parts + taxes. I like my shop, but when I look at the 2 hour recommended job time on Pelican, I'm trying to bridge gap between that and what was performed on my vehicle. Per bill, the following was done: -remove catalytic converters -replace water pump -water pump gasket -replace low temperature thermostat -replace catalytic gaskets -fill and bleed cooling circuits -road test and inspect to confirm operation

Did you have leaky cats? why put new cat gaskets?

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I'd also replace the exhaust gaskets. that's probably $10 of his $1500 bill though. that labor charge seems very excessive. did they charge book time? I know when I called the ottawa dealer to replace my alternator, "the book" said 4 hours and at $150/hour, I wasn't willing to pay that. I got it done in 2 and I never opened the trunk of a porsche before.

2 hours seems pretty darn aggressive for DIY; on a lift with the correct tools, no surprises at all, and a few of these under your belt, sure. At home in the garage, though, the DIY gods would have to be smiling to do it in 2 hours. The time when I figured I would be able to knock out a DIY like that without finding at least two more things to fix (or breaking some 20-year-old brittle plastic fitting or wire connector) on the 996 is long gone; now I just book the weekend and assume that if I get done early, I get to start drinking that much sooner. I had to start keeping track of the "while I'm at it" repairs that need doing to try to outpace entropy.

As AWD points out, the question on something like this is always whether your mechanic goes by actual hours of labor, or by a rate book. In the past I've seen water pump/thermostat/coolant refill booked in the ballpark of 4 hours, with maybe a little more labor added on for a complete system flush-- although, as Schnell observes, it may not actually take that long for an experienced mechanic in a well equipped shop.

I didn't remove my cat when I did it myself. Took me the better part of a Saturday in my garage. I paid $150 for the LN low temperature thermostat with housing (bought it at LN when I was visiting there), and $199 for an aftermarket water pump (I think it's the OEM, can't remember now) and OEM water pump gasket. Coolant was $120 for the Permifrost stuff, which is OEM, but in a different bottle. Changed out all of the 5.5 gallons that was in there. So parts that I spent without doing the cats was about $470. That's pretty much exactly what you paid for parts.

Your indy should charge you book time, simple as that. I don't know what the book time is. Pelican parts two hour time for DIY is Bat Sheet crazzy. No fudging way anyone is getting this done in two hours start to finish including refilling the coolant. I have done this myself and it took longer than two hours. I think four - five hours or about $$400 - $550 for labor would be fair. $930 for labor seems high. I think $135 an hour for labor is premium pricing and that works out to 6.75 hours.

I just did this myself a couple weeks ago. Total time (spread out over a few days) was probably 3 hours. Not that bad of a job. And, you don't have to remove the cats.

We've gotten pretty good at doing them on Boxster's, but the engine is backwards in the 996 :P We keep the pumps in stock and also the low temp t-stat in a kit at a reasonable price, use "RENNLIST" for coupon code at checkout for 5% off. Add a serpentine belt too if yours is looking beat. https://rennpart.com/carrera/carrera...nance/cooling/

I just came back from picking up my car from my local Indy who replaced my water pump with an OEM one and did a coolant flush using Porsche brand coolant. He charged me 4 hours labor. All in was $808.00 including tax.

Just did my WP+T-Stat+Coolant flush at Local Porsche Indy and total labor cost was 4.5 hrs to replace those parts and then 1 extra hour to do the coolant flush+refill+bleed. So clearly your $930 in labor is relatively high but you can shop around and compare. Cheers,

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I bought my Porsche brand pump from these folks, it was a good price, shipped fast and they answered my questions promptly and thoroughly. No affiliation.

So I think the fact they took then entire back end off my vehicle had something to do with added time... Interesting as I've never heard or anybody removing bumper cover to pull the water pump. It came out to 6.5 hours at $142 / hr. Car is back in my garage, but I need to return to the shop as they did not install the LN thermostat I asked for and put in another brand. I will discuss the labor at that point. Thank you all for the crash course on book time as well as your personal experiences doing this job.

Well.....that certainly gives access! I did mine in the carport with the back of the car up on Rhino Ramps.

Removing the rear bumper cover is actually pretty quick. Don't know if the easier access really saves any time but the quality of the job done has a chance of being higher.

See that flag in the pick of the lift in the upper left? There's your answer.

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Bingo! Was it their first 996 WP job?

No, they work on 996s all the time and say they're very familiar with WP job.

I'm a pretty fair shade-tree with decent set of tool. Over the span of a wknd I prolly spent just about 4 total hours on the job. Didn't take off any exhaust(loosen the center clamps, and flanges). Didn't take off the back end of the car. Do have to loosen the rear crossmember bolts, and move the plate back to get the pump out. I'd say a pro, with decent tools and a lift should be 4.5 hours roll in to roll out. This is just for water pump, thermo, and drain/fill of the coolant. Also, if they are charging $142/hr, you should expect the fastest actual hours they have, and not flag rate. Or - flag rate, at normal indy shop charge which I think is closer to $100/hr. Either way, I can't see more than $475 labor.

$142/hr is (*ahem*) interesting. Our preferred indy is owned by a Porsche specialist with a good 30 years under his belt. Their rate is $95.

I did my own, fluid and parts. Was only 3 hours time with a proper flush. You don't need to take anything off (other than the airbox to get to the belt) but removing the bumper and cross pipes would definitely help.

There is also a concept known as a quote. "How much will it cost to replace my water pump and thermostat?"

Hey guys we have another large batch of water pumps coming in, use promo code RENNLIST at checkout for 10% off your order. Contact us if you have any other needs that are not listed on our site, we are adding new products daily and are trying to find a solution to add OE diagrams as well.

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Where I am, $142/hr. is a decent rate. The "stealership" gets $180/hr. (and usually breaks something besides what you brought the car there for) and indies get anywhere from $125 - $150/hr. There may be some that are less expensive but none have been recommended.

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In the Philadelphia / NJ area: Cheapest - $90 hour Indy who works alone - Polar Automotive, Cherry Hill NJ Fancy Indy shop - $135 hour Porsche of the Main Line - $155 hour

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Sheesh, I hope our guy doesn't read this ...

Incredible numbers. Here I pay 85$/hour including (sit tight...) 21% sales tax for a reputable indy. And this being a "socialist" country (I am still trying to find out what is so socialist about government stealing >50% of my income....). Volkert

Think I'm going to move to the US and open a shop, I would do water pump and thermostat swaps all day long for $1500 a time wow, that's a lot !! The 996 is a car where you need to learn to do stuff yourself !! A lot of the jobs are pretty easy , it's not a hard car to work on and you get satisfaction from doing work on your own car, saving all of your labour cost means you can spend more on parts!!

Just had my 1999 Cabrio done. Water pump, belt, thermostat housing and coolant...$1000.

Water pump caution- Porsche or Pierburg only! Ask me how I know this- Sunday afternoon (emergency repair) O'Reillys pump lasted 27 days. Another replacement brand lasted 5 months. Pierburg has been on there over 2 years now. My wonderful indie is a bargain basement 85$ an hour. I would have no idea what Porsche of Nashville charges.

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Can you describe the failure? is it typical bearing grinding/wobble followed by leakage? I put a pierberg on mine, which had the same brown colored plastic impeller just like the one that came off, the old one was in good shape so I kept it as a spare

Chris (MA), they both started clacking and wobbling as the first indicator. No way to not know something was wrong. It was instant and immediate. The pump that was on the car when I originally got it just started with a small coolant drip that grew- never made any noise, just started seeping.

Reviving an old thread. Paid $450 labor for indy to install LN�s water pump bundle including LT thermostat etc. I purchased the bundle directly from LN and paid just labor and for the coolant. Posted labor rate is $135/hr. No complaints here. My indy also lets me purchase my own oil (DT-40) and charges just labor.

I got to know a certified Porsche tech. I decided to tackle swapping out the ignition. I asked him how long it took him for the same job. He said about and hour. Armed with a ton of reading and a bunch of videos I figured 2 hours 3 tops....lol 9 hours later and with the help,of my cousin I got it done...lol a water pump.....for me, diy.....I better take vacation time...lol

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$95/hour is extremely cheap. The average rate for an indy in Colorado is $138. We are at $135 at our store and are low compared to competitors. Most that are german specialists are around $150, local OPC is $205/hour.

And as far as labor guides as discussed the book time is 3.4 hours for the water pump and 2.3 for the cat. If they did the usual rounding off of numbers then 6.5 is high but well within reality, although I would certainly offer some labor overlap to my customer as the cats are very easily accessed while doing the water pump. I would say 5.0 hours would be a fair number. No shop will ever charge based on work time as there would be no incentive for a technician to be productive.

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You mean 9 hours for ignition coils? That is a little slow.

I figure for my not exactly well stocked garage, 9 hours includes finding the right combination of sockets and extenders to do the job and maybe one or two trips to store to get it, whining and cursing at whatever fastener I dropped, lost or broke, possibly a trip or two to fridge for another IPA... and so on. If I got it done correctly and didn't expand the scope of the job because of something else I broke along the way, the extra time is ok.

I've only had my 996 for about three years, and haven't yet taken it to a repair shop - I've only added about 3,500 miles to it. My water pump gave out a week ago - I misdiagnosed the problem, thinking it was the alternator, and kept driving it; the pump gave out 200 yards from home, ripping the belt to shreds. I was lucky; the grooved-thing that the belt goes around broke off, and not the impellor. I would guess I'm up to at least three or four hours, so far, to replace it, but that's spread over a couple of days. I have a minimal set of tools, and might've cut the time a bit with a proper set, however; there is one bolt of the seven that I found very difficult to remove, and now nearly impossible to reinstall. It's tucked into a very small crevice; the wrench won't fit in the space, and I don't have a ratchet small enough to fit either. I'll likely have to buy one tomorrow. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to torque it properly; does a torque wrench that small even exist? I guess it has to. BTW, I also had difficulty aligning the gasket, and getting the bolts to "take", while reinstalling the pump. Last thing; I didn't see any "How-to" videos or guides that suggested removing the rear bumper, when I was doing my research, but wow, looking at that picture, it sure would have solved my bolt-space problem! Thanks -

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There isn�t a Pelican Parts how-to article on replacing the water pump?

get yourself 1/4 drive 10mm socket and the proper size extension and also 1/4 in drive torque wrench, when trying to install the pump and gasket, get to 2 same size bolts same lenght of water pump bolts and cut the heads off and use them as a guide for install of gasket and pump. makes the job so much easier, no need to remove the bumper.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart...eplacement.htm

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200/hour in san jose

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Where average rent for a shop runs well into tens of thousands of dollars, and an average 3 bedroom house costs over $1,000,000, you expect the hourly charge to be $150 or more. I was standing in line of the In-Out burger joint, and the help wanted sign says "starting wage $19.00" That is for a high school junior with zero experience flipping burger. For an automotive technician, with 10 years of experience working on Porsches, owning his own tools, you would expect him / her to make 3 or 4 times that. And then double that amount to have some profit after overheads. That will bring it to $150 easy. At the Palo Alto Porsche dealer, the hourly charge is $245.

Porsche dealers here in Chicagoland are charging over $200/hr, except the 996 is considered vintage, and they charge 996 owners $150/hr.

Over here anywhere from $125 to $200 per hour. Some shops will quote discounted rate. Smaller operators cash deals and a bunch of times allow you to bring your own parts.

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Just for laughs, if you extrapolate that $245/hour out to a yearly salary, it comes out to $470k/year. So what does a Bay area Porsche mechanic make per year, maybe $100k on average? Not the best mechanic but the average salary across the shop. He probably does not even make $100k but let's assume he does. That means the burdened rate is at least 4.7x the actual salary which is insanely high. I work in the defense industry and even with our $500 hammers we'd be embarrassed to claim that kind of overhead. Pile on top of that the wildly inflated part costs. So either Porsche dealership service departments are the most inefficiently run businesses in the world, or they are blatant rip-offs. I lean strongly toward the latter but either way one would be well advised to take their business elsewhere.

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I called Porsche dealership. Gave them my car vin number. Next service. $687 plus tax, so like $725. it included oil and filter change, ac filter and wiper blades. That was using Mobil one, if I wanted the classic oil (bullsht) another $50. I got a deal at advance auto , 5 qts Mobil one 0w40 , one oil filter, one cabin air filter, $39.99, i got the other 5 qts and another oil filter for $34.99. My wipers are fine. Same bs at a bunch of othet shops that work on p cars.

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yes our government pays over $100 for toilet seats and uses 3 people to change a light 💡 bulb. All get pensions and full benefits.

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That $39.99 price for an oil change with oil filter and cabin air filter is called a "loss leader." It is meant to lure you in for other things because it makes no money for the shop, or even a loss. Secondly, if you only got 5 qrts during an oil change, don't go back. Your car needs 7.5 quarts. When I visited my daughter who is away for college, her Audi A3 needed an oil change so I took it to Jiffy Lube and gladly paid them $100 for an oil change with filter. The grease monkey under the car needs to get paid a fair wage. No shops, pro or dealer or anyone else, can exist long term if all customers come in and only buy the loss leaders. Therefore, you should not expect that all shops should charge the same prices for the loss leader you got some place else.

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The guy under the car doesn't get a percentage of what the oil change costs. He's either making an hourly wage or he's getting paid a flat rate per oil change. I made three tenths of an hour to change oil when I was grease monkeying. Didn't matter if it was a $30 oil change on a Grand Marquis or a $150 oil change on a diesel truck.

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OK, let's see what goes into that $245 per hour charge: $100 to the mechanic $30 for his medical benefits, sick leave, vacation, holiday pays, 401K matching, and profit sharing $10 per hour for amortizing the cost of the lift, special equipment, that the dealer has to invest in $5 per hour for the annual training that Porsche provides for each new model $7.50 hourly rent for the 100 square feet of space that the mechanic is using up in the shop $25 for the service advisor who took in the job, plus his benefits $5 for the secretary who answers the phone $5 for the janitor who cleans up at night $5 a wild guess for liability insurance by the dealer $10 a wild guess for the bathroom, supplies, coffee, tissues, water fountains, morning donuts, So we are up to $202.50 per hour as costs for the $245 revenue. That is about 18% Gross Margin. Any business needs marketing costs. Ads, promotions, socialization programs, social networking, etc... Normally that comes up to 10% of revenues. That bring net profit to $20 per hour. Take 1/3 of that out for income taxes, and we are down to about $13 per hour profit. I am not trying to justify dealer prices, but they get expensive for a reason. You don't have to take your car there. But don't always assume that it is a rip off. I will refrain from making any comments on $20,000 toilet seats and $100 screws on a $2B airplane.

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sold to all the autozone stores in mexico 🇲🇽, I believe 150. I also sold to Walmart, yes there is training and different set of rules when you sell to them. All I was trying to say for less than $100, i got 10 quarts Mobil one 0W40 European formula, two oil filters and a cabin air filter. I used to run a $50 million per year international sales business, yes lubricants, loss leaders in this industries are not any different than the 98 cents dozen of eggs, or 99 cent half gallon of milk that the supermarkets run every week to get you to come in, i only buy on sale, avoid impulse buying or while I�m in there buying and you�ll do great with your money.

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Like I said, they are either incredibly inefficient or a blatant rip-off. I think it's the latter, you make a strong case for it being the former. First off, the mechanic doesn't make $100/hour so your entire premise is off. I don't care where the dealership is located, $100/hour is a salary of $192k/year without any overtime . And that's the average salary , not the highest paid guy. Any shop paying average mechanics a base salary of $192k/year deserve to go out of business. But they don't pay them anywhere near that so it's a moot point and your entire comparison is invalid. People think just because they are privledged enough to make a fortune as lawyers or real estate agents (or whatever) then everyone else does to. They don't. Most folks that punch a clock don't get paid that well unless they start their own business. Regarding all the little odds and ends, good shops control those costs through decent management. That's why businesses have a burdened rate that is a multiplier of of the base pay. Well-run organizations keep that multiplier close to 2x, but under 3x is ok. Assuming an average mechanic salary of $100k/year (which is still probably too high but better than the absurd $192k above) that's a multiplier of 4.7x which is ridiculously high. Decent indy's don't charge anywhere near that. (Edit: see next comment for mechanic salary references in San Jose.) As to the ad hominem it speaks for itself. I put out a reasoned argument that attempts to explain why $245/hour is ridiculous and you respond with $20,000 toilet seats. How is that relevant? I'm not trying to defend the cost of an F-35 fighter. If people want to take their cars to the Porsche dealership for "peace of mind" or the excellent Cafe Latte bar than that's their right, it's not coming out of my pocket. But $245/hour labor rates are indefensible.

Average mechanic salary in San Jose, Ca = $59,219/ year. 90th percentile is $66,186 ($35/hour). https://www.salary.com/tools/salary-...-i/san-jose-ca Edit: Adding in a technical certification ups it to $64,624/year average and 90th percentile of $79,822 ($42/hour). https://www.salary.com/tools/salary-...DLEV2&pfm=PR03

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I have established a contact at a local Porsche dealership in the parts department. He actually gives me shop prices. Anyway last time I was there he put the parts in this niece bag. The bag almost looks like something you would get at Loui Vitton. Yes while I was waiting I drank free Coke Zero and took another for the road, most people that where waiting in there were drinking the $5 lattes (comparing that to Starbucks). This experience is just at about the same at the MB dealership, at MB they have donuts, brownies, cinnamon rolls, cookies. This dealership actually washes our car for free, they also vacuum it and wipe down the interior. Around this area that�s probably a $20 car wash that we can get for free whenever we want. Yes this dealership rates are at $175/hour. I�ll need a service A the Mercedes before the end of the year, but I ain�t going to pay almost $500 for it. Loui Vitton, Rolex type bag provided at the dealership.

What are you guys seeing in 2024 for Water Pump, oem thermostat, and 2 main hoses? I just got a quote for $2,600

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You can buy a set of quick jacks for 1500. The parts including Lns low temp thermo, new hard and soft hoses, oem pump, coolant, a vacuum siphon AND an air compressor for like $1000. And do the work yourself, save $100, learn a bunch, and then have quick jacks for free basically which i've grown to LOVE I never worked more than an oil change on a car before. There are excellent step by step videos to do the complete job.

Pelican Parts is having a sale on QuickJacks right now. https://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog...pak-detail.htm

Thanks guys I am aware of doing my own work on my 996, at this time I dont have the room. So I am in the pay to play mode at the moment and the car was getting an oil change at the Indy and I advised him that it started leaking a week ago. I just had the coolant tank and fuel pump and guide replaced at a cost of $2,200 not too long ago...so I am aware of the Porsche $$$

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That may be on the high side but in the ballpark if it includes the factory pump and parts. Oem replacement pump is quite a bit cheapet. If a blade is missing they will need to do a flush. I just replaced mine earlier this year.

About $500-$1000 parts and a day.

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Thanks Its at the shop, so it is getting done and parts ordered on Tuesday and not getting done till this coming week since it was dropped off before the Thanksgiving weekend. I assume these are the Factory parts for the pump and hoses. I am aware of the Oem Pierburg being the same item in a sense as the factory part with no metal blades. I am well aware of the upcharges on these parts, but since I dont have the room at the moment, I have to pay the indy prices. The waterpump seal was starting to go bad, so it was caught in time before it totally died. The car was dropped off to get a oil change and than the small leaks started to happen 2 weeks before hand.

Yeah, it's not a cheap procedure but you gotta do it. I'm pretty good at grouping procedures together to save a couple of bucks in service costs, but didn't think to replace my water pump 2 years ago when my indy had my engine out when refreshing a bunch of parts and then realized it was time earlier this year. Good news for you is it will be done!

Never ASSUME about the parts. Make sure otherwise a waste of money and doing it again.

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Agreed. They are all going to fail someday. Always good to upgrade/replace the three most important parts on the M96 engine to keep it running: IMSB, AOS, Water Pump. Sure, they may never fail. But I doubt it.