Coolant Line Failures- NHTSA
#214
Three Wheelin'
If the coolant evaporates like PAG says then why did I get a $200+ speedy-dry clean up bill at Watkins Glen when my hose let go.
#217
Rennlist Member
Bernie Mac:
"I don't believe in ****, until **** happens."
"I don't believe in ****, until **** happens."
#218
After reading the PDF -- I'm pretty convinced that there's no issue.
OH WAIT -- except for the part where mine failed on my old 2001 Turbo on my way to work at 25mph in a residential area.
OH WAIT -- except for the part where mine failed on my old 2001 Turbo on my way to work at 25mph in a residential area.
#219
Race Director
yeah, but I bet you were wearing a helmet and was solely focused on performance right???
#222
Had mine pinned while the engine was out due to variocam failure. Also had the clutch upgraded to the 4.0 version before that would fail. Saw that happen on the track to another GT3RS, sparks flying, Porsche paid up apparently.....and, I had the stock LSD replaced with a mild Cup version, the original lost preload after a few track sessions. Another thing I had done was to replace the gearchange cables with Cup cables, a short-shifter, and a solid gearbox mount, to help me out going from 2nd to 3rd under lateral load. Still tricky, but after about a year I learned how to do it without "fishing" for gears. But, I just love my GT3RS, it is a fantastic experience to drive it on the track.
#223
Analysis and update
If you read he following...
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs...009-57948P.pdf
... you will read that Porsche had supplier improve manufacturing process (as of "fall 2007"). From the data (see analysis and links below), it appears the "improved" parts have not failed (latest date of manufacture failure was 9/20/2007, actually the "Warranty start date"). This was due to their own analysis of failed parts that showed the problem was due to lack of uniform application of the epoxy. On my own failure, I could see this was also the case. If these parts had been hand assembled then the failures would likely have never occurred, but they were manufactured by automated process. The document also talks about the improvement to ensure uniform application of the epoxy.
While we all may believe the design approach was flawed (note, epoxy is used in aircraft manufacturing) as a fellow engineer, I am sure the design, assuming proper application, was designed with higher tolerances (pressure, temperature, age, etc) than ever expected (likely 2X). Porsche tends to over engineer.
Now on to the analysis of the data, see all the data in the Excel files in this link, also some other interesting files, videos, diagrams, etc.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs...09&docType=INV
The number of cars PCNA has repaired is 353 out of 25629 or only 1.62% failure rate. Now if we assume many, say 2 times as many folks went to independents or did preventative, then failure rate is about 5%.
Also of interest is average age at failure is 4.1 years and many (around 30) failed in less than 1 year.
Final note, investigation is still in "open" status
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs...009-57948P.pdf
... you will read that Porsche had supplier improve manufacturing process (as of "fall 2007"). From the data (see analysis and links below), it appears the "improved" parts have not failed (latest date of manufacture failure was 9/20/2007, actually the "Warranty start date"). This was due to their own analysis of failed parts that showed the problem was due to lack of uniform application of the epoxy. On my own failure, I could see this was also the case. If these parts had been hand assembled then the failures would likely have never occurred, but they were manufactured by automated process. The document also talks about the improvement to ensure uniform application of the epoxy.
While we all may believe the design approach was flawed (note, epoxy is used in aircraft manufacturing) as a fellow engineer, I am sure the design, assuming proper application, was designed with higher tolerances (pressure, temperature, age, etc) than ever expected (likely 2X). Porsche tends to over engineer.
Now on to the analysis of the data, see all the data in the Excel files in this link, also some other interesting files, videos, diagrams, etc.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs...09&docType=INV
The number of cars PCNA has repaired is 353 out of 25629 or only 1.62% failure rate. Now if we assume many, say 2 times as many folks went to independents or did preventative, then failure rate is about 5%.
Also of interest is average age at failure is 4.1 years and many (around 30) failed in less than 1 year.
Final note, investigation is still in "open" status
#225
Rennlist Member
The adhesives that are utilized in aluminum bodied cars (like Audi) is so strong that the metal will tear before the bond lets go.