Mezger coolant line fix

Has anyone done the coolant line fix on their Mezger motor? It seems to be a huge deal on the US forums but not so much in Australia, the two guys I know who track GT3s aren't even aware of the issue, is it even really a problem?

I pulled my motor down and they were leaking so I did the fix using sharkwerks coolant pipes. Working well so far... Car had 80k+ on the odo

I had mine pinned when motor was rebuilt.  Peter Fitzgerald indicated he had seen little evidence of the issue locally and questioned if it was needed.  I did it simply because the engine was out.  I wouldn't have bothered otherwise based on his advice and experience.

I have only read about it in the U.S forums and only know two people who have done it here in OZ when they have had and engine out on heavily tracked cars ,,,they just did it because it is easier with the engine out as a precaution measure but had no prior problems ,,both went the full weld option ,,,,,,I don,t know why there is so much hype around it in the U.S ,,,,,seems to be a none issue in Australia ,,,??

Gahhh , I conquered the IMS worry...now this....what can I do ? Aircooled is the new IMS solution.

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Actually air-cooled is the old IMS solution

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I can only speak of the 996tt's.  I had a  US tuner ask me what was I going to do with my coolant pipes.  He was of the strong view that I should weld 5 and pin 2 coolant pipes when the engine is dropped to install his upgraded clutch kit and some of his custom pieces of work and all the other bits and bobs to get the best out of his supplied parts. Apparently the two smaller coolant pipes  are hard to weld, eg get too much heat into them (may still leak after welding) and hence why he recommends pinning those two.  He has seen a few cars come into his workshop with coolant pipe leak.  I think its a US vs Oz numbers game. In the case of 996tt''s,  how many cars are running above your stock setup  or tune / exhaust. setup.   Said tuner explained to me once  you go over a tune / exhaust setup (I got the impression based on a quick chat I had with Peter Fitzgerald that that setup was plenty to call it a day at, eg circa 500hp for a 996tt)  and start running upgrading turbo's etc and the boost is closer to double what your running on stock 996 turbo's, you are running a bit more heat in the engine even with much bigger intercoolers and that extra heat, two dissimilar metals, combined with circa 15 year old epoxy isn't the best combination for SOME cars.   Now how many 996's TT's are sporting non stock turbo's and circa / over 1.3 bar of boost in Australia compared to the US and how many 996tt's are getting decently worked over on tracks and running much higher eng temps than you average oz 996tt punter.  Not a big following here in OZ to touch your 996tt as I see it, eg plenty fast as it as apparently by the pundits and those in the know. Each to their own, but some obviously have a love of factory lag which I don't subscribe to. I know of a 996tt owner that brought a low km stock example, upgraded their turbo's and associated bits to get that all working right and had a coolant pipe go not too long after infinitely enjoying their car more with the addition of a few boltons / tuning etc, but now is sporting welded coolant pipes (yes, had a failure that was in the last six months) Extra heat on different metals bonded by 15 year old epoxy beyond what stock folks are seeing would appear to a pretty logical reason as why it would happen on certain cars over others as opposed to "hype".  I think I'm going to run the gauntlet when the time comes and give welding / pinning a miss.  If a pipe does let go, probably serious contemplate dropping a set of Carillo's and head bolts in whilst the engine is dropped to weld the pipes.  Mezger motors are good, but do have some weak points if you are looking for something beyond that stock butt dyno feeling.

It's overhyped. I've seen one 997 GT3 blow a coolant fitting at the track. As the owner of a prominent Porsche workshop here in Aus once told me "yeah, it could happen to you on track, but your tyre could also go flat too".

I was keen to avoid coolant dump onto rear tyres at 265 down the end of Phillip island main straight.........cheap insurance while the engine was out.

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I read one forum post in the US where on one track, scrutineers that would not pass 996tt's if the coolant pipes were not welded  (pinned didn't cut it, but would of thought pinned would less likely to result in a big dump as opposed to only having a leak).  More than a few one off's perhaps in terms of 996tt owners  overcompensating for not buying a 996GT3 perhaps.

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touché

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The friends I was speaking of track 996 and 997 GT3 s at club level we supersprint in NSW state series from what they tell me the problem is almost none existent for them ,,I don,t know any one who tracks or has a modified Turbo but I could see how extra heat could cause the factory resin  to fail and also extra boost and more HP putting the engine under more load and strain,,I have read some horror stories on the Rennlist forums about this issue but have not seen it here in OZ ......considering the amount of work my associates  GT3,s do I would have to agree with Spillers quote ...

Thanks for all the replies, it's interesting to see that there hasn't really been a whole lot of action regarding blown hoses compared to the US. I guess it will be something to consider should the engine ever have to come out. I bought my car specifically for track days so if it happens there's a high chance of it happening on a track somewhere, so the idea of a little preventative maintenance versus pulling the car out of a wall has some merit. Maybe I'll do the demineralized water + water wetter treatment in the interim.

I am aware of a mates 996 Turbo S which had the issue recently. Car has been tracked from time to time - issue happened while driving to work.   Aus delivery one owner and full SH

There is a method of pinning the coolant lines in as a extra safety measure ,,,,many DIY thread on the rennlist about this method ,,, if the resin is going to fail the pinned method will  stop a major blow out of the line ends resulting in coolant on the track and or under the cars rear tires,,,It will not stop it from leaking once the resin has failed ,,just makes the issue less dangerous for tracked cars as you are not be dropping large volumes of coolant suddenly with out any warning ...

Well this is awkward. I talked to a couple of workshops about getting the coolant lines fixed and they all pretty much said not to worry about it. It was plenty worrying coming out of turn 6 at Winton on Sunday. Fortunately I'd swapped out to distilled water + water wetter and it was still session 1 so wasn't at 10/10ths (Still doing moderate 1:35.xx lap time though). Managed to gather it up without hitting anything. Getting everything pinned now. Not very much glue holding these things in from the look of it.

How many road / track km has the engine done before this happened? What kind of $$ costs are you looking at to remove the motor and pin / weld the pipework?t

sorry to see the pipe blow out ,,,but glad you and the car are Ok ,,good call on the water Wetter ,,,,could have been a potential spin with coolant  .........Keep us all posted as to what method of repair you go for and the related costs .... There are many thread on Rennlist about this ,,,and repairs involved ...

this is a good detailed thread on pinning to pipe ends ..... https://rennlist.com/forums/997-gt2-gt3-forum/679277-diy-coolant-fitting-fix-with-motor-in-the-car.html

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Circa 52xxx kms. I have done about ten track events in the car and the previous owner used it more or less exclusively as a track car, though I'm not sure what the intended use of the original owner was, but I would suggest that this car has done some proper track kms. I'm going to go with pinning with the motor in place, there is no obvious leaking on any of the other hoses and the one that blew is relatively accessible. The only issue currently is what adhesive to use as the version of loctite that is recommended on Rennlist is apparently unavailable in Oz. Will make a post with what was done plus costs once it's all done.

Isnt it just J B Epoxy Weld ..........you can get that in Aus

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Yeah reading a few different posts seems everyone just goes the JB Weld...

Ouch! Thats the first one Ive seen here... surely the age plays a role in that?