TheKane

For you Spyder owners out there: I heard a little squeaking, or whistle, sounding very like brake noise but not as loud. It kept it up at idle, but went away if I revved the engine (stationary). I thought it might have been something in the intake, but the noise was coming from the right side. I took it to my local dealer/shop who put it on the lift, and diagnosed it as a bearing was going bad. A new pump is warranty, so no big deal, but I thought I'd let you know I had an issue so other owners can keep a lookout/earout.

n2cars

Thanks for the heads up.

bensf

I think I saw your car yesterday at the dealership, is it white? I had my Spyder in for service as well and inquired about yours since I rarely see them around. They said they were tracking down a "whistling" noise. Glad they figured it out for you.

TheKane

If you were in Marin, yep that was my car. Did you get the black one from the same dealer? That was my other choice, so it was nice to see it before mine arrived (I got the last of their 3 allocations).

bensf

Yes, saw yours at Sonnen. No I have one in aqua blue that I purchased in Southern California but white was my first choice, just couldn't find one the way I wanted equipped in white so went with the blue. By the look of the wear on your tires, you've been having a great time in your Spyder, love the way this car handles. I rather be in your shoes with the water pump, I have to have my PDK transmission replaced.

cvazquez

I just experienced the same symptoms, so I looked and the water pump is leaking also sounds really bad. I'll have the water pump and thermostat replaced along with the serpentine belt. The Boxster is my daily driver with 53K on the clock. Is it normal for the water pump to give out at 53k?

-What type of coolant is suggested for 2005 Boxster?
-Any other part I should have changed while making repairs?

Thanks!

JSF101

care to elaborate on PDK issues?

bensf

I was performing an inspection for a HPDE event when I noticed a greenish tinted oil on the transmission housing. The dealership thought it was the transmission pan and attempted a repair. They were unable to completely resolve it and Porsche won't allow them to do anything further for PDK transmissions. A new one was sent out and the damaged transmission had to be sent back to Germany.

Holbrook Smith

Hi - I'm new to Rennlist, but after some searching this seems the right place to ask my question. I have a 2010 base Boxster with 50k miles. I've seen the Excellence recommendation of replacing the water pump every 40k miles and see lots of "water pump" comments online. What's the consensus 3-4 years into these engines? Are there any symptoms, besides where there's a complete failure, when parts of the plastic impeller blades fail? Typically is the pump replaced or the entire pump and housing? Lastly, is this a complex job or relatively straight forward? Does the engine need to be dropped, special tools, etc.?

I'm thinking of having this be a winter project and am trying to figure out if it's really needed and, if so, how large a project. Thanks!

Marine Blue

It seems to be based more on time than mileage from what I've been seeing posted on Planet 9. It would be nice to have this as a DIY.

its about time...

is this water pump replacement recommendation for all boxsters or particular engines?

I'm asking because my 2008 3.4 has been using coolant without any drips, puddles, or other signs of leaks I can see. I did just yesterday replace the coolant fill cap in the trunk because of both visible residue and that fact it was coming off and going too easily (new cap has a nice resistance point in the twist going on and coming off), but it's too soon to tell if this will be the fix.

this thread has me wondering if I have further problems...

Marine Blue

The water pump issues seem to be across all the DFI engines and possibly into the earlier cars. Most now consider it a maintenance item that needs to be replaced every 4 - 5 years or 40k miles.

The leaky cap is also a known issue which needs to be monitored and replaced if white residue is noticed. I noted white residue on mine during the last oil change and will be replacing it in the spring.

tbrom

From my understanding about the recommended interval on water pumps is that it pre 2009 water pumps. The bearing was changed in the DFI engines and not supposed to have the issues of the plastic propeller losing pieces because of the bearing wearing out and the propeller or is it impeller, rubbing on the case causing possible hot spots in the head from those pieces clogging water passages.

With that said another article on this subject in Excellence stated to not follow a mileage interval of 40k replacement but rather to watch and listen for leaks and bearing sounds as the better method of detecting a problem - it's a tough call really- I might be inclined to use the "watch and listen method" with the new DFI engines and not with the earlier engines before the bearing was improved.

As to the person experiencing "missing" coolant, I might be wondering about the water/oil separator and checking the oil for some signs that there maybe water getting into the oil. Just a thought. Good luck with these issues. I surely have heard stories of what I would call premature water pump failure. Of all the things Porsche continues to improve one would think that water pumps would be a top priority!

Macster

Well, there may be a consensus but that doesn't mean its right. Most thought the world flat until we found out it wasn't.

My philosophy is to let the water pump tell me when it needs doing. To replace the water pump on some schedule is just crazy and wastes money. Case in point: Water pump in my 2002 Boxster lasted 172K miles. Had I followed that 40Kmile change interval I would have replaced it 4 times instead of once over those miles. At around $1K per change I would have spent $4K vs. $1K.

(The Turbo's OE water pump lasted to nearly 120K miles. Had I changed this every 40K miles I would have done 3 of these and at $1700/each that's some not insignificant amount of money.)

Besides, the water pump can fail at any time so you still need to be aware of what one going bad sounds like, you still need to once in a while inspect the car -- from underneath -- looking for any signs of water pump leaking or other signs of trouble in order to identify and address a failing water pump.

The entire pump is replaced. The impeller, housing, and even the pulley. At the same time the T-stat is replaced along with any gaskets. At this time if the coolant has say 4 or more years on it I'd recommend draining this and refiling the system with fresh coolant.

The failure often involves noise. When the one in my Boxster went bad it clued me in by making a low pitched growing noise that was absent at cold start but rose in volume -- while still not becoming that loud -- as the engine idled. The Turbo's water pump didn't make any noise. As i was getting into the car I smelled a whiff of anti-freeze one warm day and took the car over to the dealer and got it on the rack and the tech spotted signs of a leak at the water pump.

The job is not that complex. If you have changed a water pump on another car you could do the Boxster's water pump.

You must be careful you do not mix the bolts as they can be different lengths and thus each bolt should go back into the same hole it came out of. As always following a proper tightening sequence and properly torquing the bolts is critical.

Earlier model Boxsters didn't require the engine be dropped and I don't think the later models require this either but I'm not that familiar with the later model Boxsters.

fhp911

Would someone please speak up if they know the answer to the question:

Which year Boxsters/Caymen DO need the engine dropped and which DON'T for the water pump replacement?

TIA,