Boggus

Ordered by kits from fcp - fun begins soon.

sandwedge

Maybe I'm misreading but it sounds like you're doing it preemptively. Smart move if that's the case. I had the water pump crap out on my -09 C4S while driving. Not what you want. Coolant rises VERY quickly and in an instant you see what looks like smoke coming from the engine compartment. Pretty obvious what has happened. I was lucky in one respect being just at the entrance point to a gas station so I was able to get out of traffic and shut down quickly.

Imagine this happening in bumper to bumper traffic barely moving, being in the center lane with cars on both sides and no way of getting out of the way after shutting down. I say shutting down because once this happens you're done driving unless you want to destroy the engine. This water pump just froze and took the serpentine belt with it. Total cost as I recall it was around $1,200. Based on what I've read here and elsewhere, many 997 water pumps "retire" in the 40K to 50K range. Mine is at 72K miles now so I'm on borrowed time but based on where and how I'm driving I'll keep going. Covered by my Fidelty warranty if it fails but obviously not covered if replaced preemptively.

Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S 200K miles

Our opinions are formed by our experiences, as expected. We don't have the science as only Porsche knows the real statistics. Given that, I believe .2 pumps are vastly superior to .1 pumps and don't require preemptive maintenance. My original pump lasted to 170K miles so I have the flipside opinion on this. Further, from my reading on these forums, my opinion is that .2 pump failures are just rare. Given what I read here, .1 pumps should be replaced preemptively, .2 pumps not so.

When my pump did fail, it gave me plenty warning... it didn't fail like pumps of old. Old pumps in my experience, weap and rumble/squeal as they fail. My .2 pump had a very different failure profile so I didn't recognize it ... but even with my ignorance, the pump just continued to run and run. Read more here if interested: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...l#post17242889

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

Boggus

I was in the process of bringing the (tranny - tip) up to temp for a fluid change when I noticed a sound. Sorta like a rumble/scraping sound (rotational) coming from the pump. Looks like it was changed at approx 20k miles through previous service records and I am now at 80k.

Ordered the pump kit (pump, gaskets, bolts, thermo) from FCP along with the belt kit (Belt, rollers, etc) and have been debating doing the coils and plugs while keeping my install headache going - while in there.

Will soon be watching and reading DIY’s just to get more knowledge before tackling this. Any good ones out there, send my way!

05 C2S

sandwedge

As with everything else, always exceptions. The pump failure I referenced to was on my -09 C4S so obviously a .2 pump. It failed at 43K miles with absolutely no warning of it giving in. No unusual or weird noise and no leaks on the garage floor. Nothing.

What bothered and still bothers me about it is that a frozen up water pump is one of very few failures that will leave you stranded on the road. I've had two PDK failures and still managed to limp home in both cases. To the contrary, if the water pump goes though you better shut down quickly and as I said, you're done driving. No driving "carefully" to your house. Where it fails or very nearby is where you will have the car picked up by a flatbed.

The irony of course is that I could continue driving with two $20,000 PDK failures but a $1,200 water pump/serpentine failure left me dead in the water on the spot.

yelcab

And that is why a waterpump / thermostat replacement is a preventive maintenance item so that they don't break down and leave you stranded. For a 997.1 that is a 60k miles interval. For a 997.2, your failure is a bit puzzling because they are normally hardy. However, there is always a chance of bad parts.

I maintain my wife's and daughter's cars. Those cars get overly aggressively maintained because you can bet that their owners will drive until the engines absolutely seize if and when the waterpump went.

Scb1712

Thé FCP Euro DIY for the water pump is great!