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I'm a 997 guy but the wife wants to trade in the 997.1 S for a Car she can drive that we keep at our vacation home in SF.
Looks like I can Sell my car add about $15k and get a decent 981 Base PDK car.
It's fun enough for me to rip through the hills and easy enough for her to drive around town.
So on the 981 engines the Water Pump exits to a thermoset molded plastic pipe. This molded pipe has a flange for 3 bolts to attach to an aluminum housing.
Due to the dissimilar material expansion rates, this joint will start to leak over time. It acts like a water pump leak, due to its location, yet its not. The failure rate for this joint was high enough for Porsche to design and produce a repair kit, consisting of an aluminum "C" Ring and 3 longer bolts to support the Thermoset plastic pipe flange. See picture below;
The kit installs in minutes with no need to disassemble anything other than removing the 3 original bolts, inserting the new support clamp and installing the new longer bolts.
Saves you from needlessly replacing a good water pump.
So on the 981 engines the Water Pump exits to a thermoset molded plastic pipe. This molded pipe has a flange for 3 bolts to attach to an aluminum housing.
Due to the dissimilar material expansion rates, this joint will start to leak over time. It acts like a water pump leak, due to its location, yet its not. The failure rate for this joint was high enough for Porsche to design and produce a repair kit, consisting of an aluminum "C" Ring and 3 longer bolts to support the Thermoset plastic pipe flange. See picture below;
The kit installs in minutes with no need to disassemble anything other than removing the 3 original bolts, inserting the new support clamp and installing the new longer bolts.
Saves you from needlessly replacing a good water pump.
Sweet. Thanks for the quick reply. Now the question. Where can I find that part? A few quick searches are not helping. I don't see it on the relevant parts listings.
Should you do this preventative so you don’t have any leaks or wait until you have a leak. Seems like you should change water pump at some point. I am only at 35k on my 14 base PDK. So far no issues, knock on wood.
Here is an interesting Thread from Piston Heads on this part. Seems other 9A1 engines have a similar issue? Piston Heads 9A1-106-338-00
Awesome stuff. Thanks for the info. Crawled under mine this afternoon. No retaining bar, no leak, everything clean and tidy. Thinking I may add this during my belt changeout I'm planning soon.
Should you do this preventative so you don’t have any leaks or wait until you have a leak. Seems like you should change water pump at some point. I am only at 35k on my 14 base PDK. So far no issues, knock on wood.
I think it is a factory part on current models, and since it costs less than $50 it might be a simple add when doing your next oil change or at the Serpentine Belt change.
I would not change the water pump until it needs it, you may get 100K miles out of yours, so until its needed..... drive on!!
Should you do this preventative so you don’t have any leaks or wait until you have a leak. Seems like you should change water pump at some point. I am only at 35k on my 14 base PDK. So far no issues, knock on wood.
Originally Posted by 981KMAN
I think it is a factory part on current models, and since it costs less than $50 it might be a simple add when doing your next oil change or at the Serpentine Belt change.
I would not change the water pump until it needs it, you may get 100K miles out of yours, so until its needed..... drive on!!
Great tip @981KMAN . I will be installing this little kit soon. I believe this plastic water pipe is the same one known for busting open without warning. I'm not sure of where it is known to rupture, but it's happened to quite a few cars. I replaced the plastic pipe on my car when I was doing some heavy maintenance about a year ago because I had heard about the ruptured pipes on several cars.
04-02-2023, 06:14 PM
Known Issues with 981 Base PDK Cars?
