Lucky Day, water pump failed!

Well I noticed the other day there was a rattling noise coming from the back of the engine it got worse last night. I didn't have time this morning to switch it out for the jeep so I drove 60 miles miles mainly high way on business. I pulled it into the shop tonight and onto the hoist and just as I got in position, it starts to loose lots of coolant! perfect timing I think I need a new water pump.

Timing is everythi

Sure is, happy its a water pump

If you have lost impeller blades with the pump failure you MUST recover them. You must find them, before they find you later. This is why its important to never experience a water pump "failure".

Your 996 made a rattling noise on day 1, and on day 2, you drove it 60 miles? Not what I would have done.

No noise is a good noise being emitted from an engine.. If those impellers were being expelled during that 60 miles they will now be deep within the heads, forced there from cooling system volume and pressure.

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Looks like he has the dreaded 2000 MY too. That's how I cracked my head.

I'm at 75k gonna change mine at next oil change in 4k. Hope all goes well till then. 99 c2

Why wait till oil change ? It's not related. Do now and you will be good for another 60k with luck

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Well, for once, I have to disagree with you. My engine emits good noises on a daily basis!

When my water pump failed, it made a terrible rattling noise, so bad that I parked it and had it towed to the shop. I don't drive it unless it purrs!

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Of course it's related, you have to jack up the rear end of the car! In all seriousness, this is one of the items that should be changed out if you are already thinking about doing it. My only advise is to get a deep socket 10mm 1/4" drive socket and a 1/4" drive universal joint, you will need it to get to a couple of the bolts securing the water pump.

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WHAT? Did I read that correctly? I didn't have time this morning to switch it out for the jeep so I drove 60 miles mainly high way on business. But you found enough time to let us know that you don't know much about the workings of a car engine. Where is my wall again I think you are pulling our pissers. You cannot be that thick.

LOL my Jeep was at the office not at home so switching it out would have been going in the wrong direction It is just a car after all, don't get me wrong I love it but business and life comes first. I will let you know what I find when we tear into in. I can be pretty thick yes but you should be careful before you criticize the knowledge people you don't know

Hi Andy's-944, I do all my own work, so, I am thankful for all the folks on the board and I really enjoy learning about my machine. I am always amazed at the insults thrown at people on this forum. I take in the information offered here and I use it to the best of my ability to make the best decision I can for my car and my budget. I am not so sure why so many folks feel it is OK to be so rude to people they do not even know. Very rarely is benefit of the doubt given. For all we know, you had a business deal you had to get to that involved enough money to buy 100 996's. I am very interested in what you find when you pull it apart. I love my Porsche and I love Porsche, but, sometimes they do stuff I don't understand........plastic pump vanes that break off and can travel deep into the engine....again, there probably is a reason - I just don't know what it is. Thanks in advance for publishing your findings. Ray

Yes. please post pics of the pump after you remove it. Oh, and Hurdi, please dont mention "pissers" and "you must be thick" in the same post. Wrong forum, bro.

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If the impellers broke off where would the "volume and pressure" come from?: Jake please chill I know it would probably be smaller pieces of the impellers breaking off as it hits the 'used to be smooth' non-replaceable inner wall, engine side, of the water pump cavity.

I had a bit of impeller wear, but fortunately the tiny bits came out with the water pump. I think I damaged the impellers just taking the thing out. At least it wasn't a timing belt car like a 944...you'd be out a whole motor.

So it appears that people agree that it's OK for Andy to drive a 911 Porsche 60 bloody miles on an engine that's making all kinds of weird noises. Business to attend to or not. It took me something like 49 years to be able to afford my very first 911. I might have drove to the business had I had any other car but a 911. That is a ludicrous decision. Pissers and thick in the same sentence wasn't called for. Maybe Plonkers and Dense might have been two better words, haha. Sorry Andy but Hurdi would not be Hurdi had he agreed with your decision. Oh and something else. If I had known you, I would have not have been so gentle on you, so don't take it personally hahaha. The people who didn't reprimand you are the chickens of the board. They are the ones that ask you to post your photos so they can laugh at them and say to their wives. "Look what this guy just did". hahaha "I am glad I didn't do what he did".. But they keep quiet because they are all *** kissers. lol.

5CHN3LL You will have those engine mounts done in a couple of hours tops. I just started a good thread for the weekend . Which model has the nicest rear end?

I'm finding this thread Kinda funny. I have to agree running any machine when you aware of a potential problem is not good for it. As too smart or stupid every decision in business is (or should be) cost benefit. My business is consulting / design engineering, to variety of business including automotive. Over the years I've worked with Porsche on 3 separate car programs, from 944 and 2 different 962 projects. Believe me I understand engines and I know the risk. If I'd gone and switched to the Jeep I'd have been late and I don't do late. Thanks Ray I think you get it unfortunately I won't be posting picks as I don't have the time this weekend to do it myself and our tech is busy doing what he's paid for early next week so I had the local Dealer ship, come and tow it. And before somebody wines about that, if I work instead of doing it myself I'll save money. I enjoy working on my own car when I have time but it doesn't always make sense. I like owning the 996 its a great and reliable car and I like driving it so hopefully it doesn't need a complete rebuild because of pesky little bits of plastic but if it does I'll have it towed back and we will rebuild the motor here. I'll let you know if I dodged a bullet or have been impaled on my own sword I don't spend much time on this forum but I like it, and most of you seem to be decent chaps and especially the 944 guys have been very helpful I'll let you know if I dodged a bullet or have been impaled on my own sword

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Well that explains a couple things. lol. j/k. TGIF.

its just that im a ferry ride away from my indy and was going to get him to do both at the same time. i may consider doing it myself, ive seen the how to vid and read some diy's doesn't look to hard

Holy S#$%! Your responsible for that POS and you admit it? Just kidding, of course.

Karl, I love the 944 need to get another sometime. But I can't claim responsibility for any of it. I did some weight reduction studies on the front suspension.

I got her back from the Dealer today running like a dream I've attached pics of the failed water pump bearing is shot, two blades show bits missing some recovered, dealer wasn't worried lol. Bottom line its a 125k engine worth the risk of not rebuilding until there's a problem, time will tell ! Incidentally I had them fit my new engine mounts while they had the brace off only an extra $115, makes a hell of a difference Only down side I got pulled over for speeding after leaving the dealer on the highway but the very nice Sheriff gave me a warning

question, why are parts of the blades missing, was the bearing so bad that the pump was so loose that the blades were hitting something ? thanks

yeah the bearing collapsed hence the leak may be 1/8" radial play so yes I assume they hit the block, since I didn't do the work I can't say if the block was marked.

This is an instance where its a very good thing NOT to have a metal impeller outfitted pump! The plastic impeller blades may distribute throughout the cooling system, but at least the impeller doesn't chew into the crankcase like metal does.

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I'm a bit surprised at this response since Flat6(Jake, or the "new" guy. ?) left out the part where plastic bits could end up blocking coolant passages and potentially creating hot spots. Is there not enough of the plastic impeller to have any adverse affects in this case?

DSCN0456.jpg This is the impeller after it came apart 300 meters away from home a yr ago. Coasted home (downhill) and parked. Towed to indie. Will never be sure if all bits came out after pump was removed but so far all is well.

Andy, is that the original water pump at 125k?

Yes its the original water pump!

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You're a brave man

I have a question.....I will be doing this job in 15000 miles - at 60K. If the big problem here is fragments of the composite material breaking off and causing hot spots leading to cracked heads, why would I not use this pump from Parts Geek - part number: 83-05114631 ? It has a metal impeller.

I've owned it for 14 months and put 25k miles prior to my ownership it was exclusively serviced by two Porsche dealerships and a Indy Porsche specialist. After I purchased it I had the Porsche dealer here in town go over it (they have extensive history with it) and they advised no work.

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See post #29 above

Sorry......read the whole chain before making a comment...got it.

Surely you know better. JR covered that on the first page.

I've had my 996 for three weeks now, just took it down to fill up the tank and put it away for the winter and heard this rattling noise. I was hoping someone with some knowledge can take a listen and tell me what they think it is. The file is rather large, so here's a link: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BytN...Wms/edit?pli=1

I sure hope that's a loose exhaust part - I'd shut it off and tap the various exhaust parts with a rubber mallet. I hope this turns out to be something minor.

I love the adverse selection that this site inherently brings...Umm..taking a stab in the dark here, but with no other information to go off of (miles, any major maintenance done lately, how old is the water pump, ever had the idler pulley replaced, any exhaust work done, etc. etc.)guessing your water pump is going, if you're lucky..if you're really lucky, it's like Schnell suggested and you either have a bad muffler, muffler bracket, cat, etc. and you can replicate it by poking around up there when the car is off. I certainly wouldn't run my car for long with that noise coming from it, but that's just me. Also, you can test the water pump by removing the serp belt and starting the car and letting it run for just a minute...if the sound is not there, I'm thinking water pump or idler pulley...if it is, it's either exhaust or something internally. GL, and report back with your findings. DS

I had the car floated to my indy for the repairs, turns out it was the Cat. (one of the baffles in the passenger side came loose). Ended up putting in a aftermarket replacement, hope it will pass the enviro test when it comes due!