hroehl

I am a first-time Porsche owner having recently bought an '07 997 Carrera S with 46K miles. Before I drive it, I want to perform (probably overdue) maintenance, and I am using the "Porsche Major Maintenance Checklist" as a reference. I am puzzled that two items are not included on the checklist, and I also did not find much info when searching rennlist.

1. Is a radiator coolant flush/replacement not necessary under the 997 maintenance schedule (or is coolant only replaced together with a water pump replacement)?
2. Is a regular fuel filter replacement not necessary?

In advance, thanks for all advice!

jll1011

hroehl

Thanks jll1011 - appreciate your advice! I feel better going with the flush/replace.

kisik

I would change cooling along with water pump if no evidence of prior history.

hroehl

Thanks kisick! That is solid advice! The water pump is the original pump, and it is on my list to be replaced.

doclouie

TheBruce

Welcome! I was in your spot two years ago. You will love it. But you cant intro yourself without a pic of the car :-)

I would replace the the pump and fluid. Water pumps on 997s typically need to be replaced every 40k miles or 5yrs. Also inspect the coolant expansion tank for any spider cracks. Ive got a couple writeups on these:
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...ater-pump.html
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...sion-tank.html

I would also replace the transmission fluid with Mobilube PTX. Thats supposed to be changed at 100k miles but my experience was this should be changed much sooner.
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...-all-997s.html

If you are neurotic like the rest of us, you could also drop the oil pan to give yourself peace of mind you have no debris in the oil pickup.

Lastly, if you have any issues with the soft touch paint on the center console or AC switches, those are pretty straightforward to get sorted.
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...g-results.html

hroehl

doclouie and TheBruce - thanks for the info! I did not realize that the 997 does not have a fuel filter (you learn something new every day.....). Thanks for reminding me about the other fluids; I have them on my radar and they will be replaced next week. The links are very useful too!

Sorry about the picture-less intro - point well taken, though. I need to give her some TLC before attaching a pic.

Being new to this forum, I REALLY appreciate everyone's response and advice!!

TheBruce

Its a good community and everyone is happy to add their expertise. Thats half the joy of owning these cars.

nbzxdk

Thank you very much for the info!

Does the work on replacing water pump also apply to 997.2 PDK? I have faithfully followed Porsche's maintenance schedule but didn't see it mentions anything about water pump. My car currently has 47k miles.

doclouie

Petza914

Get the LN Engineering spin on filter adapter so you can use a metal canister filter - this gets you a new bypass valve spring every oil change.

Get 2 of their magnetic drain plugs. One goes in your oil pan when you do the motor oil change and the other in the lower drain hole of the gearbox when you do that fluid change As TheBruce said - use only Mobillube PTX, not any of your other favorites - seriously. You'll have to mail oder it.

Get the LN low temperature thermostat too and install it when you do the coolant replacement with the water pump change.

Oh, and congrats - welcome to the group.

hroehl

TheBruce - finally had the time to read your entire post with "60 Lessons Learned". It is absolutely awesome, contains an incredible amount of super-useful information, and provided helpful perspectives!

Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together (as well as your other detailed posts)!

TheBruce

sandwedge

Couldn't agree more with Bruce's assessment. The collective depth of knowledge about these cars among the participants here is hard to overstate as is their willingness to share it. Often with detailed, time consuming pictures or even videos in addition to their comments.