I think many of us agree that coolant pump failures at this price point are very unexpected and unacceptable.

 

At any price point. I only replaced the water pump in my Honda simply because it is what you do when replacing a timing belt and timing belt tensioner and that was done at 190,896 kms (118,617 miles). It never leaked. Jeez, what a concept for a liquid cooled car.

I'd love to know how many of them failed of all the 991s that were sold over the entire lifespan. If it was 1% or 2%, fine, but it sounds like that number is a lot higher and has been replaced on some cars numerous times. If they failed in the first year or two of production, FIX the damn thing instead of resting on your laurels! Porsche sort of reminds me of the Zenith TV slogan in the late 60s, "The quality goes in before the name goes on". Where are Zenith TVs these days? Or the "chrome won't get you home" referring to a popular American motorcycle.

 

Just got my car back from the dealer. I got a new water pump with part number 0PB-121-005-C. Here are the tech notes:
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Verified concern. Found leak from water pump coolant distributor housing. Pressured checked coolant and found coolant distributor housing leaking. Inspected vacuum lines to water pump and found coolant as per TI 147/17. Removed vacuum line and found traces of coolant. Followed to remove all other vacuum lines from switch over valve, coolant regulator, exhaust valve/brake vacuum pump. Followed to clean lines and inspected for any traces of coolant. Found vacuum valve to switch over valve and pump clogged with coolant particles. As per TI 147/47 replaced the affected vacuum lines together with the valve block must be placed. Drained front radiator, center and rear engine coolant to properly removed all coolant and to bleed completely. Removed rear bumper, drained coolant, removed coolant regulator/air cleaner housing/ rear wheels/ rear engine cover rear muffler and exhaust system. Removed coolant pipe and control valve and coolant distributor. Replaced water pump with distributor. Bleed cooling system several times. Filled coolant with vacuum and vacuum pump as per workshop manual. Loosened engine to access vacuum block. Removed center intake chamber/intake distributor/ throttle body and switch over valve to fully inspect all vacuum lines. Found 2 affected vacuum lines. Replaced vacuum block and replaced affected vacuum valves. Removed brake vacuum bump and inspected vacuum line for coolant traces as per TI 147/17:none found. Cleaned all lines and routed new vacuum lines and verified installation. Check for any air leaks after installing intake distributor and for any faults: None found. Calibrated reverse camera and used scanner to bleed system again and verified correct operation of 192F. Test drove and let car sit overnight to completely bleed system and verified no leaks. Verified no faults and proper operation of brake system/ exhaust system /water pump and coolant switch over valve. Vacuum system and water pump working correctly.
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The tech is no Hemingway, but I appreciate the detailed description of the work done. Seems like a decent size job. Glad the repair is covered by warranty. Hope this helps others.

 

was it warranty,,,,U may have to add a little next day as all the tiny air pockets pass thru

 

Work is covered under warranty. I assume the bleeding is done properly and I don't need to do anything else. I'm not going to touch anything unless an issue arise, in which case the car will go back to the dealer.

 

The tech notes writeup for our 2017 Carrera 911 was similar to that of Stonerwinst above. Failure at 19,436 miles, Sept 2019. All of the references to contaminated vacuum lines caught my eye. Clearly the solution wasn't to simply pull the water pump and replace a gasket or two. I've already mentioned (way above in the thread) that when I picked up our car, the delivery service rep mentioned that some of the involved parts were updated 2 or 3 times. Our car was an early, 2016 build. The failure revealed itself with a puddle on the garage floor. Nothing catastrophic, happily. Our 911 how has almost 25,000 miles and is out of warranty. Fingers crossed.

 

What was even more shocking is when I went to pick up the car, my service rep said due to the amount of work, the out of pocket cost would have been about $6K and not the $3K he initially quoted. My local Indy shop quoted $2.4K to replace the water pump. This is my first P-car; it’s true you have to pay to play.

 

What is the recommended coolant? I just added Prestone antifreeze/coolant which has a 50/50 mixture I only added about 12-14 ounces. Just hope that this is correct

 

Valvoline ZEREX G40. I read a sheet from them that stated it was the product made by BASF in Germany and what Porsche uses. By the way, the BASF North America operations sold their coolants division to Valvoline in the 90s.

By the way, from 2010-on the spec was TL 774-G and from 06/2018 the spec was TL 774-L.

The G spec calls for ZEREX G40 and the L spec calls for ZEREX G65.

 

its the OEM that Porsche puts in its own bottles 1/2 price.

 

Product Data Sheets for BASF / Valvoline ZEREX G40 and G65...

 

ZEREX G40 is what I use. I also get the Concentrated version and mix my own with distilled water.

 

I'm very new to this car (3 weeks) I bought a 2016 911 Carrera 4. Would i use the G40 or G65 coolant?

 

I do not see Valvoline ZEREX G65 anywhere. Besides since you have a 2016 the G40 will do. I have a 2015.

The trick is to change it every 5 years or less. I have seen the corrosion in some of the alloy blocks I have worked on.

 

I just found this on the GLYSANTIN List Cars sheet...so if you are looking for the product, check out the Valvoline ZEREX site.