996 Water leak - Where's it coming f

Hey Brains Trust.. Seems my car has developed a slight H20 leak.. Its hard to pin point exactly where its coming from, and was wondering if anyone has seen something similar.  Looking for a bit of opinion before I take it to the shop and possibly get taken advantage of. 😒 After going for a bit of a run down the highway and getting the engine up to a good running temperature the leak becomes apparent.  By no means it is 'pissing' out, just more of a drip, drip, drip.  I can't really tell if its coming from the thermostat housing or from the water pump itself. Anyway, a few pics as follows, and and any insight appreciated. Cheers in advance... W. LOOKS DRY FROM ABOVE

I say water pump. I would do it and thermostat anyway.

As above.. you need a new water pump & thermostat

Cheers.. If I was to undertake this job, where would be the best place to get the parts from - in Australia..?

+996 on water pump and would probably be a good time to renew the coolant if you don't have any documentation on when it was replaced. Original coolant was green, Porsche then changed to pink. It's not cheap but it does last some time. The water pump was the first major thing to go two weeks into my ownership on my car! $1200 from the dealership... You need to drop the engine slightly to get to the bolts, reading that at the time was enough for me to send it to the dealer. I'd happily do it myself now though if I had to do it again. Also few notes - make sure you get yourself a vacuum coolant bleeder/re-filler. It will make the re-fill process much easier. For parts i'd just go to the dealership they usually have stock on the shelf. Don't be tempted to buy an aftermarket water pump with a metal propeller - it can destroy your block if the bearings go bad. Here is the pelican write up: https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Porsche-996-997-Carrera/34-WATER-Water_Pump_and_Thermostat_Replacement/34-WATER-Water_Pump_and_Thermostat_Replacement.htm Also plenty of youtube videos as well - keep us posted.

Its an easy job if you are handy with the tools it took me a few hours.. I got the water pump & low temp thermostat for my 996 from AutoHaus Hamilton talk to James & he will tell you what you need No special tools needed just follow the youtube vids & if you are replacing the coolant don't worry about the expensive Porsche stuff as you can buy the same type from Supercheap  as long as its OAT coolant https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/calibre-calibre-red-anti-freeze-anti-boil-concentrate-coolant---5-litre/349016.html https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/nulon-nulon-red-anti-freeze-anti-boil-concentrate-coolant---6-litre/384352.html#q=nulon+red&segment=1&page=1

Cheers..  I spoke to James and he's already sent through the pricing.  He's good, and to the point.  I called PCB this morning, still no call back from them regarding the same. Not scared of getting my hands dirty, so will tackle the job next week May as well change the oil at the same time..  I doubt (nor care) the lack of stamps in the service book..  It's only a dirty old mongrel 996 after all..  ;)+ Thanks for the heads up on the coolant @James P - I was wondering about that, and I dare not ask for an oil recommendation.!  I'll just stick with the same that it's currently using. @dan_189 Whats this vacuum coolant bleeder/re-filler thingo.?  Doesn't gravity do it job sufficiently.? EDIT: I googled' it.. Makes sense - cheers for that tip. C heers..

Woka - just be aware that filling the cooling system is not like a "normal" car as there are subtle differences because of the height & distance from the rads and engine. Air bubbles in the system is your enemy. Read up as much as you can on Pelican and Rennlist. I've never used the vacuum pump system (you need a compressor as well as the Iview pump) but it is a lot quicker than bleeding manually like I do.

^^ My thoughts exactly You can bleed it without one its just not as easy.

So this ' vacuum coolant bleeder/re-filler' will actually drain the system as well..?  No need to disconnect the front radiator hoses..? Up to speed on the YouTube vids, just haven't found an answer to the above yet. EDIT:  Nah - I don't think so..  just creates a vacuum and the sucks the coolant back in - basically.. Cheers.!

Correct, it will only suck out the remaining coolant from the initial drain, create a vacuum then refill without air.

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Thats my type of 996.. (road car)

If you're also getting a coolant smell through the AC and that oily residue on the inside of the windscreen you may want to have a look at your heater core as well as you are messing around with coolant. I've still got to do mine, have a water pump and heater core ready to go but want to do it in one hit.

Woka, I recently replaced the water pump, thermostat and about 80% of the rubber coolant hoses on my 2000 996. If your handy with tools it is all do able, just allow plenty of time to ensure everything is correctly done. I took my car off the road for 2 weeks, while I did a little bit each night after work. Pelican parts has lots of info on the procedure and I've attached another guide I found on the internet. It's possible to drain the whole cooling system even the radiators by disconnecting enough of the cooling hoses.If your car still has the original hoses, then removing them can be a real pain as the rubber hoses have bonded with time to the metal coolant pipes, many of the pipes I had to cut off to remove, for me this wasn't an issue as I was replacing the pipes. I changed the coolant on my car to Nulon RED available from Supercheap Auto. Some youtube vids show using a sealant to the water pump, thermostat gasket but this is not necessary and I have had no leaks using just a new gasket. The trick is to ensure that the metal surfaces are very clean. Scrap away all the old sealant, I used a ScotchBrite to give a final clean. The original hose clamps should be replaced, I adopted stainless steel screw clamps. The bolts to the water pump are not all the same length, 2 off the bolts are longer, take care to number them when removed, so you know which are the longer bolts. I replaced them all with new bolts. Let me know if you need any other advice. Hope it goes smoothly. John 996 water pump replacement procedure.pdf

Perfect..  Ordered all the parts today, so I'll get stuck into in accordingly..   I'll do oil and filters at the same time.. Heads up - Autobarn has 30% off all oils at the moment..  Something to do with this Sepo thing they call 'black Friday'.