Coolant problems - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Hello everyone and experts compared to my limited knowledge. Long story short my 02 boxster s has a coolant leak in the expansion tank. It's at the dealer now and they want 2 grand to fix it (are they crazy?) i'm about to find out what all they are trying to charge me for but my question is how hard is it to swap the tank. And what all is involved in doing so? Could a do it yourselfer like me attempt such a feat? Do I need to replace more than that, I herd they want to swap out the coolant pump too, but not sure why. Thanks in advance for any help you all could give!

I think $2k for the water pump and expansion tank is waaaay too much. Although I was quoted by an indy shop for $850 for the water pump alone plus the cost of "Porsche Coolant" which is priced similarly to gold IMO, so I can believe that that's what they charge but you could do this yourself for a fraction of that. I have not replaced the expansion tank myself but from what I hear it is a DIY job. I have done the water pump myself and it wasn't as hard as I thought that it would be. I sourced the pump from suncoast porsche (not affiliated) and it took me about 3 hours because it ended up getting dark. I would recommend you check out pedros garage website and see if this is something that you would like to under take. He has write ups for both the water pump and the expansion tank. Both of these installs could begin and end in one weekend day providing that you are somewhat of a "handyman". Good luck and don't let the stealership rip you off.

Great info, Yes definaly a handyman spurred from being so cheep That's what I thought but do you know why they would want to replace the water pump just because the reservoir is cracked? Are there any other things that are related that need to be replaced, trying to order all the parts now! Thanks everyone for your help!

Replacing the coolant tank is doable, but a major pain. I did mine recently and I still bear the scars on my hands. The main problem is getting the hose clamps off the hoses that are attached to the firewall inside the engine compartment, that are very difficult to get at and in a very cramped space. If you are going to do it yourself, I highly recommend that you get a cable actuated spring clamp removal tool. There's no way I could have done it without it. As far as the water pump goes, it's not leaking and the bearing has no play in its, it doesn't need to be replaced, but many people replace the pump after it gets 30 to 50,000 miles on it as preventative maintenance. The water pump has a plastic impeller, and when the water pump goes, often with little or no warning, the impeller disintegrates and can send little pieces of plastic into the cooling passages of the engine, causing a blockage and cracked head/engine block. If you are going to do the water pump, then I would recommend that you also do the motor mount.

Thanks for your help for sure! Where would I get a "cable actuated spring clamp" without paying 100 bucks for it :/ I'll defiantly going to attempt this on my own I was reading through the pedrosgarage.com guide and does seem like a pain but doable.

Ebay has them for cheaper.. I did mine without a the cable actuated tool, it was very tough

Saers has one for about $50.

Thanks for your help, paid 37 for one on ebay waiting for it to come in. Also ordered the collant tank and pump, all should be here soon. I found out the pump went out which caused the tank to expand and burst (don't know how much truth is in that but they are both a problem) So i've got a fun (or not so) weekend project ahead of me. If any of you have some pointers or do/don'ts for me let me know! Thanks for all of your help with this mess

Here's a little trick to remove the hose clamps with the spring clamp tool. When you have the top in service mode first look into bay with flashlight to validate where the hose clamps are located and rotation of the clamp to attach spring tool to. Then hold the spring end of tool with left hand, cable with right hand (handle of tool will lay down in easy reach) and face towards front of car, reach behind you with left arm into engine bay to attach tool to clamp. You might first try without using the tool to get a feel of where the tube and clamp are by sense of feel. Also a long sleeve heavy cotton shirt will help avoid the little nicks. Good Luck

Hello, I just removed a broken pump from my 2000 porsche Boxster. After draining the coolant by disconnecting the large diameter hose on the passenger side the 5mm draining plug was rounded off (right hand drive car). I found there were 2 x 6mm Diameter bearings in the fluid. As the pump shaft runs on needle rollers I'm assuming they haven't come out of the pump. Just wondering if anyone knows where in the system these might have come from? Assuming they shouldn't be in there. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Gooders