29 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHHOW DO I KNOW MY WATER PUMP IS SHOT??
Reported or suspected cause
last of 7 bolts
Reported cause
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
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Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
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Leading evidence: 'last of 7 bolts' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'last of 7 bolts' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check /' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Discussions that report identifying a cause
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Reported cause
But yea for me it was the sound that made me check it out.
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Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
Lest anyone think I'm off on some space-cadet expedition, I have checked my own water pump.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
It's a factory Porsche part, and appears to be the one installed by the factory when the engine was built in 1999.
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Discussions that suspect a cause
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Suspected cause
While you are in there , its probably a good idea to replace the thermostat with a low temp (160 deg F) ~ $50 at warehouse33auto.com (looks like you got one already) Also you will need 3 gallons of Porsche unicorn semen better known as coolant.
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Suggestion
For those who look for a telltale spot of coolant on the ground under the engine once in a while, this is a good time to check where it's from and if from the weep hole, stop driving and have it serviced.
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Suggestion
However, I suspect the water pump was the pre-cursor to the actual failure mode, which would likely be the chap kept driving after the water pump failed, and then didn't backflush/clean the engine prior to running it again(as noted prev).
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Suspected cause
While you are in there , its probably a good idea to replace the thermostat with a low temp (160 deg F) ~ $50 at warehouse33auto.com (looks like you got one already) Also you will need 3 gallons of Porsche unicorn semen better known as coolant.
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Suspected cause
However, I suspect the water pump was the pre-cursor to the actual failure mode, which would likely be the chap kept driving after the water pump failed, and then didn't backflush/clean the engine prior to running it again(as noted prev).
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
29 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
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1 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Outcome without a verified action link
It's there to advise you when the seal, or the bearing cartridge begin to fail so that you can get it fixed before it comes to grief.
HELLO EVERYONE,
I just ordered a Peirburg water pump, but now I'm questioning whether my current one is bad or not.
What is definitive proof mine is bad? A bearing that feels sketchy? Leaks? But where specifically would the pump leak besides from the seal? Have you ever experienced coolant leaking from one of the bolts that secure the pump to the motor??
Any insight would be very much appreciated on this. I will send the pump back if I have to!
Thank you!
Recommend by some to replace every 3 years regardless. Cheap part, easy to replace, when it goes out it can take the engine with it. Make sure and get the composite impellers. I think the Peirburgs are metal.
Definitive? A large puddle of coolant under the rear of your car and dripping from your water pump, loss of coolant, screeching noise from a bad bearing, overheating due to loss of your impellers. Take off the serpentine belt and grasp water pump pulley. Any movement other than spin...bad water pump. Yep, about a 50,000 mile/3 year replacement part. There should be no coolant leaking from the bolts, or if you do, gasket is shot. Replace both and move on! And while you're at it, and the coolant is drained out, replace your thermostat.
Ok, loud and clear. The Pierburg model I got has the composite impeller. I also bought an LN low temp thermostat to replace the old.
Tackling the project tomorrow.
This is great advice. Thanks all!
If you know how your engine sounds normally, then when your water pump is bad you can hear a change in the sound. Use a automotive stethoscope to hear if the noise is coming from the pump. This is what I did recently, also after removing the water pump there was some play. But yea for me it was the sound that made me check it out.
And now for something really different.
Most water pumps have a weep hole between the bearing cartridge and the seal. It's there to advise you when the seal, or the bearing cartridge begin to fail so that you can get it fixed before it comes to grief. For those who look for a telltale spot of coolant on the ground under the engine once in a while, this is a good time to check where it's from and if from the weep hole, stop driving and have it serviced.
A water pump that is driven by a timing belt can fail and destroy an engine quite rapidly. The 996 family of engines have a water pump driven by the serpentine belt which also services other aux systems. If one pays moderate attention to the temp gauge, the chances of a failing or failed water pump damaging an engine is somewhat remote. As the temp rises, or the coolant spews out the hose/pipe/casting, one pulls the car over and turns off the engine, the chance of engine damage is almost unheard of(this goes for pretty much any water cooled engine). Again, if the temp gauge is pegged to the top, and a person just gotta keep driving - well, they get what they deserve.
On the off chance that the original pump sheds it's vanes into the engine, causing the temp to rise, once again it pays to stop the engine and investigate. No weeping, it's still smart to pay attention to the gauge. The bits could be backflushed from the engine, or in worst case some disassemby of the engine to remove the coolant blockage before assembly and putting back into service is warranted.
There is a well-known engineering principle regarding infant mortality of new parts. It might be useful to google the 'bathtub failure curve' and have a look at that before deciding that the water pump is a consumable item that should be replaced with a non-factory part every X years/miles.
Lest anyone think I'm off on some space-cadet expedition, I have checked my own water pump. It's a factory Porsche part, and appears to be the one installed by the factory when the engine was built in 1999. Going on 15 years, and 86k miles. I expect it to last another 5-8 years, and 30k miles.
YMMV, contents have settled, objects in mirror, and may cause **** leakage.
Winner on the first try.
Ours went 14 years and 70k, but i won't wait that long again. I don't know about 3 years, but definitely much more frequently than last time!
I agree that you should stick with OE pump. Everything else comes across as arrogance....
Other cars blow head gaskets, 996's blow engines. Nobody "deserves" a 20k repair bill.
Your anecdotal experience of 1 car hardly refutes the recommendations of those who have seen many many engine failures and analyzed the root cause of every single one.
But your participation is always appreciated.
The Pierburg WP is the same as the Porsche branded one as Pierburg makes the WP for Porsche. They do not have metal impellers, they are composite.
The one I bought from warehouse33auto.com at a big discount (cheap shameless plug
) had the Porsche part number on it
I would suggest having a 1/4" torque wrench as the bolts are torqued to 7.5 ftlbs. I had a bad bolt and torqued the head off at 7.5 ftlbs. Of course it was the last of 7 bolts! Fortunately it left enough sticking out of the block that I could easily remove it
While you are in there , its probably a good idea to replace the thermostat with a low temp (160 deg F) ~ $50 at warehouse33auto.com (looks like you got one already) Also you will need 3 gallons of Porsche unicorn semen better known as coolant. Its around $40/gal
don't forget to replace the gasket as well. It is metal, not cardboard or fiber
Ok, didn't know about Peirburg. Gref and geba are metal.
Old Indian trick. If your coolant is reasonably fresh, use a 55 micron filter in a 5 gal bucket to reuse it. (Ok, it was actually Ahsai who told me that one.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00QS...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
"The Pierburg WP is the same as the Porsche branded one as Pierburg makes the WP for Porsche. They do not have metal impellers, they are composite."
According to one of our fellow members in Germany, this is not necessarily the case.He commented on this specific issue recently in another thread. The issue IIRC is the quality of the composite plastic vanes on the Pierburg.
Ectually, I have owned over 130 cars, most of them water cooled. However, I did own a 1928 Franklin with an air cooled engine. Hardly anecdotal since the water pump engineers designed a weep hole specifically for this purpose, and to keep coolant from the bearing cartridge. The worst case I had was a 1970 Fiat 850 coupe which had an integrated water pump and cooling fan for the radiator, and would regularly slip due to a sketchy belt drive system. I admit, I let it get a bit too hot once and warped the head causing a slow leak.
It's a measure of alternative methods and the probability of failure depending on the choice made. Of course, when you have root cause that a water pump failure was the actual 'root cause' of an engine failure, that's good info. However, I suspect the water pump was the pre-cursor to the actual failure mode, which would likely be the chap kept driving after the water pump failed, and then didn't backflush/clean the engine prior to running it again(as noted prev). I suppose one would call that a root cause, but really - it's not because the engine would still run with proper/timely remediation.
But, thanks for participating. If you have that root cause info, links would be useful.
Agree with the comments about this DIY. Make note during water pump removal where the 2 long bolts go, the other 5 are shorter. I found it easier to jack up the rear on jack stands and remove the water pump from below. Sometimes requires a good hit with a rubber mallet to free it from the block.
http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-p...section=105-00
Just did my WP and thermostat yesterday. Took about 4 hours including going out to grab the distilled water to mix with the coolant. Hardest part was getting the engine mounting cross beam back in the right place. The 10mm bolt didn't line back up. Definitely wasn't prepared for the 3 gallons of coolant spewing out, so made a nice mess on the driveway.
Lol, congrats on a successful job. At least coolant is fairly easy to cleanup. Keep checking your coolant level for a few days and topping it off when the engine is cooled down. It seems to take awhile to get all the bubbles out and makes you wonder if there's maybe a leak.
My WP has over 80K miles and 16 years on it. Guess I should replace it soon. No indications of any issues. Sometimes I wonder if they used better parts in '99s (like the dual-row IMSB).
So far, my WP/S-stat show no sign of leaks yet or weird sounds but I worry about the wear and fatigue of the impellers inside after 16 years. I will first pull the belt off and check the bearing sound first with a stethoscope for any dry/rough sounds when spun... I already have all the parts necessary ready for this DIY :-)
cost to change a VERY OLD water pump (+coolant, t-stat, serp belt, tank, cap, etc.) cost me under $500 via my local indy (easily much less if DIY). One less KNOWN problem you do not have to worry about? Yes, please
cost if WP craps out in the worst time and place, specially if it goes without warming and takes your engine out with it????
I'd like to think the choice is a no-brainer....but that's just me
Is is possible to replace the water pump and thermostat with out removing the catalytic converters? The nuts/bolts holding them to the exhaust manifold are rusted nicely..
