...warning light came on as I was mid-way between Los Angeles and Palm Springs last night. Was doing 74 MPH on freeway, all gauges reading normal. A strange squealing noise followed and once I got off freeway and pulled over much smelly smoke came out the back. I opened the hood and there's a dark fluid sprayed all over the inside of the engine bay. Had car flatbedded to PS. I'd appreciate any insight from those of you who have had a similar experience, thanks. Car is an '06 C2S with about 26K miles. Just had a major service two weeks ago at an authorized dealer.

 

Probably a seizing water pump. Mileage is about right. I replaced my water pump some time ago. In my nearly 40 years of Porsche driving it was a first for me--a water pump! (And my first Porsche water pumper). Porsche just doesn't know shinola about water cooling.

The squealing is no doubt from the coolant getting onto the serpentine belt. You were smart to have it towed. Have the dealership's guys clean the engine area thoroughly for you.

 

Many thanks Dan. Desert European is the nearest dealer to Palm Springs, I'm hoping that they can get it sorted for me tomorrow (doubt the service dept. is open Sunday). Incidentally, was your water pump replaced under warranty? I'm out of factory warranty, but I have a one-year after-market that expires in 9 days! It'll be interesting to see how the game of 'pass-the-buck' plays out.

 

I have a feeling you will find out in about 10 days

 

Porsche replaced mine under warranty some time ago. That's one of the advantages of driving these cars thoroughly during the warranty period. The cars with little miles (but picked up for a song) often do not undergo enough of a 'stress test' to shake out all the infant mortality issues that exist in complex machines. Sadly, many new (to them) owners discover that what should have been underwritten by Zuffenhausen winds up paid for by subsequent owners.

 

Thanks for the info Dan. The latest is that my dealer, Rusnak Pasadena, from whom I bought the car and who has serviced both it and my 993 for many years, have agreed to flatbed it back from PS tomorrow morning. I do feel better about having them work on it - plus it'll be closer to home. It remains to be seen if the extended warranty company will pick up the tab in the event that it turns out to be a water pump failure, although reading through the literature it does claim to cover such things. I'll post the result when I find out.

 

The extended warranty should cover that pump. (Otherwise, what good are those things!??--I have one, too).

 

I would expect the warranty to cover it. No question. Can you the warranty extended before it runs out?

 

I'm not sure if it can be extended Zeus. The car's en route to Rusnak this morning. I'll let you know how things play out.

 

Got the car back from Rusnak today. I had a $200 deductible to pay as per the after-market warranty. Dan, you were correct; the problem was the water pump.

 

Thanks for the feedback. No doubt you got a thorough coolant flush as well with the water pump. All told, a good deal for $200.

 

Yep, got all of that!

I'm just wondering if I'll find myself by the side of the road waiting for AAA again in another 26K miles... (apparently it's exactly the same part!)