Shark Attack

New series, starting this weekend.... 9am central

Anyway. The coolant leak is not a hose its the water pump. Its a slow leak but its getting worse. This may sound like a silly question but the reason I ask is becasue on a 928 if you drive with a bad water pump the impeller can dig into the block and ruin the block.

I ordered a new pump today and of course the weather is great this week. When water pumps attack on the 996 can the destroy anything when they do? Or do they simply just leak more and more? Basically is it safe to drive while I wait on my new pump to arrive?

Van

My guess is it's the shaft seal that's leaking... I don't think driving it will hurt anything. (but, fwiw, I've never had one apart.)

Sneaky Pete

I had mine replaced last year after I blew a seal (I know that doesn't sound right) during a DE.

Filled it up with water and drove home. It did not appear to leak while driving but only after the car sat for 15 minutes. I think you are fine as long you check the levels.

ivangene

+1 for shaft seal and I dont think you will hurt anything....

probably failed because it has been running below its designed tempature

Macster

There's a risk that since the water pump is leaking the seal obviously compromised allows coolant into the water pump bearing. Coolant is not a good lubricant and the bearing could fail, come part, and the shaft could snap or the water pump suffer a severe mechanical failure that could damage the block.

Or experience a sudden loss of water pump pumping and the engine could overheat if one is moving along at a good speed when this occurs. Instantly the coolant is no longer being pumped through the engine and localized overheating can occur which may result in a head gasket leak.

Sure the odds are slim, but not zero. My feeling is why risk it?

Many older yet still servicable cars are lost due to cooling system failures that result in the engine overheating and causing a problem that costs a considerable fraction of the car's current value to put right.

Sometimes this arises from a "small" leak that on a hot day turns into a big leak that causes overheating. On drive to South Lake Tahoe last July -- and to be clear it was a rather hot day -- going east on 50 up the mountains towards the summit I passed way too many cars parked on the shoulder with the classic signs of an overheated engine in evidence. And I'm not talking about clunkers either. Surprisingly (or maybe not if one knows a bit about them) many were rather newish BMWs.

Anyhow, my opinion is to drive the car as little as possible, best none at all -- arrange to get a cheap rental car (available from rental car agencies/offices located near dealerships) -- and fix your Porsche's water pump pronto.

Sincerely,

Macster.

15psi

You are going to have fun with the WP nuts. I replaced my WP (and other parts) when I had the engine out, and decided it was easier to remove the 4 bolts holding the engine brace than wrestle with the 10mm nuts that were impossible to get to. Once you have full access, it is a 5 min process to remove WP.

ivangene

not sure how hard it is to remove the rear engine bracket at home, but once that huge thing is off the waterpump is easy access, at the shop its easy to pop it off (well relatively easy) with the car in the air....

fpb111

ivangene:
"..probably failed because it has been running below its designed tempature"

Looks like the 997s were designed to run cooler then our HOT rod 996s.

ivangene

its that "new water" it is stronger


hell even my soap for washing cloths works on cold now



what will they think of next..... AIR COOLING?

15psi

remove drain plug and drain antifreeze, remove bumper (~8 screws), remove side heat guards (3 nuts?), remove exhaust cross pipes (2 nuts), suspend engine, remove engine mount nuts (2), remove 4 bolts for cross member, should have great access to WP.

ivangene

you are right, I forgot about the cross pipes - little more work but you sure gaiin the space

Divot

It depends on if you have an aftermarket warranty.

15psi

It’s a no-brainer with the engine out, but I think it would be a time saver and most definitely a knuckle saver with the engine in. The process is much easier than it sounds.

Sure glad I pulled the engine and replaced so many things all at once.

joelpirela

Water pumps are evil. You can start with a little drop here and there. Then the noise starts. Then you have less than 24Hrs to replace it. make sure you order the OEM METAL gasket.

sbpsu354

I've noticed that the water temp in my 997 hits the 175 mark and then the needle never moves from there. The water temp on my 996 would move up and down depending on whether or not I was in traffic, etc. The oil temp on the 997 will flucuate, but the water temp doesn't move.

Andy