I have a 997.1, 2007, 97K miles. Water Pump has never been replaced. Looking at preventative maintenance. My understanding is the original version of the water pump was a bit flawed back in 2007 and a newer version of the water pump has less issues. LN Engineering recommends replacing the water pump and thermostat every 4 to 5 years or 48K-60k miles to ensure you don't have a water pump failure that can lead to costly repairs like cracked heads, intermix, or failure due to coolant loss or overheating etc.

LN Engineering has a complete kit with:

• Thermostat Housing Gasket
• Water Pump
• Water Pump Gasket
• Thermostat 160degF ( lower than stock unit)
• Thermostat removal tool
• Bolts for the Water Pump (nice to have)
• Serpentine Belt (nice to have)

Other kits in the market place include:

• Thermostat Housing

Questions:
1) the thermostat housing seems like its not needed, but maybe it saves time for the install, cleaner more efficient costs about $62.00, might save 20-30min installing the new thermostat and cleaner mating to surface of gasket? Opinions?
2) the water pump unit: 997 106 011 06 OEM Pierburg, Meyle, or Laso water pump (Composite impeller made in Germany or Italy - no metal impellers!
This is an OEM part but direct purchase from Pierburg, Meyle, or Laso. I normally buy something like this direct from Porsche the OEM cost is about $210.00 but the Porsche direct cost is about $353.00. There should be zero difference mechanically but, any opinions to the contrary? Should I be concerned?

I have not had any water pump issues or engine heating issues. The car is in California it is hot here in the summer 90F-100F ....so maybe a cooler running engine is a good thing. And since no winter to speak of in California no need to worry about oil being slow moving requiring a higher temp thermostat during initial engine warm ups.

Just wondering what others have experienced?

Daniel

 

buy parts at FCP and they will have a lifetime guarantee.

Thermo housing is totally unnecessary. Takes 30 seconds to swap out thermostat with two flat head screwdrivers

 

Do it. Absolutely, do it.

Mine failed 2 weeks ago and left me stranded on the side of the road for the first time in my driving life. Of course it happened during a short staycation with my fiancée on a drive 2.5 hours away from home on a Sunday afternoon....

I had 104k miles on the original water pump and I was "planning" on changing it in December during my next service. I had mistakenly understood that the water pump was changed at 70k miles by the prior owner but found out when it failed that it was the original water pump.

I had no warning besides a slight belt screeching sound upon pulling out of the parking lot leaving the hotel. A mile up the road, I got the "Check Coolant Level" warning on the dash and the thermostat was illuminated and flashing red. I watched all the gauges for a few minutes just to make sure it wasn't an electrical fault of some sort, or about 1/8 of a mile and pulled into a gas station, only to be greeted by steam emanating from my beautiful ducktail spoiler vents.

FYI- the coolant temperature gauge is useless when this happens because there is no coolant in the system for it to measure. My oil temp rose to about 225 because I was driving at about 55 mph and under low RPMs. No damage to the engine as far as my indy could tell and I've been daily driving the car since I had the water pump replaced.

I had my indy change out all the parts noted by the OP and did all the belts and pulleys. Total of about $1200 in parts.

 

What is the current condition of the coolant reservoir? You are about at 85-90% of the effort to replace it - while you're in there.

 

Yes the coolant reservoir was replaced 2 years ago, still looking brand new. It is a known failure point for sure.

 

Same here. When the pump goes you're done driving. I had no warning either but was lucky enough to be right next to a gas station so pulled in there after noticing light steam coming out the rear. Unlike your coolant temperature gauge though, mine worked and I noticed a rise in temperature. My pump didn't come apart but seized up. Just stopped pumping and trashed the serpentine belt also for good measure. This was on my -09 C4S and I was able to shut down soon after noticing what was going on so no damage done.

It's tempting to replace the pump preemptively. The reasons I'm not doing it is that I don't use the GTS for long road trips so I'm always near a place where I can pull over and call for a flatbed. As with the -09 C4S I also have Fidelity warranty which covers water pump failure after it fails. No coverage for preemptive replacement. Cost of the -09 pump and serpentine belt replacement: $1,250.

 

Living on borrowed time.

 

I see you're from Florida, so you might appreciate this.... It happened at Mile Marker 88 in Key Largo.... About a mile after I was leaving the hotel to head back to Miami. I love that drive and almost always take the 997S for the 1.5-3 hour trek (depending on traffic). I waited for 3 hours on a Sunday night for my flat bed guy to get to me. I was lucky that he was doing a delivery in South Miami, about 90 minutes away, and I always call him because I never have to worry about the lip or bumper bottoming out on his rig.

Since I didn't need to worry about driving home, my Fiancée and I walked to the liquor store and had cocktails by the stranded 997. Ultimately, it was a very "Florida Keys" experience but I NEVER want to do that again. Had the water pump let go on one of the long bridges, I'd have been stuck in a dangerous place.

 

The Fidelity warranty will pay for a new $30,000 engine when the water pump fails?

 

Guessing this refers to me. Yes, I may be on borrowed time but I also know plenty of people who got nearly twice the miles out of their water pump than where I am now which is just over 68K miles. Case in point. Bomba says in post # 3 in this thread he got 104K miles out of his original pump.

Sounds like both a good and bad experience. I've done that drive many times and like you, I love it. I work mostly out of my home office these days so I've only put between 2,000 and 3,000 miles a year on my car since 2019. No long bridges and no drives out in the wilderness in the middle of the night. Mostly just driving around the city. I 75 on occasion where there's plenty of room to pull over. So I'm not worried about my pump failing and as I said earlier, it's covered by warranty. I can't think of a place I would be where I would be in danger or wouldn't be able to get out of the way from traffic in short order while waiting for a flatbed.

I'm sure they wouldn't. Don't really understand your question. The engine doesn't fail because the water pump fails. The engine might or would fail if you keep driving for any length of time after the water pump fails depending on how long you keep driving with a broken water pump. But then, who in his/her right mind would do that? If you use common sense and shut the engine down once it's obvious what's happened, Fidelity will cover the replacement of the pump and in my case the serpentine belt too. I have the paperwork to prove it.

 

If for any reason the engine fails, I believe Fidelity will pay only up to a certain % of the value of the car. That was stated in the Fidelity policy I had. Next question would be who determines the value of the car?

 

Last I heard from the dealership is that Fidelity will declare the car totaled if the cost of repairs whatever they are exceeds 70% of the value of the car. Now...who determines the value of the car? Good question that I don't have an answer to. Best guess would be KBB or Fidelity would hire an independent appraiser or they may have their own appraisers on staff. If they do then the question becomes....what sources do they use?

 

In the event anyone decides to change the water pump and thermostat on their 997.1, here are the part numbers and hoses. I decided to order these just in case they don't come off easily and get damaged during the installation process and that way won't have any down time waiting for parts.

Part Number Part Name Price Quantity Total
997-106-832-04 Engine Coolant Hose $43.28 1 $43.28
996-106-801-03 Radiator Coolant Hose O-Ring $4.66 2 $9.32
997-106-850-01 Engine Coolant Hose $88.70 1 $88.70


And the main part numbers in case you need them:

Description Part No
Thermostat Housing 996-106-013-61 (Optional)
Thermostat Housing Gasket 996-106-326-51
Water Pump 997-106-011-06
Water Pump Gasket 997-106-340-00
Thermostat 106-06 LN Engineering -- Lower Temp model
Thermostat removal tool 106-06.2 LN Engineering (Optional)