dealy663

Hi

I replaced my water pump this weekend. It seemed like a ton of coolant came out, musta been more than 2 gallons. After I got everything back together again I mixed up some new coolant and added it. However it filled up very quickly and only took in about half a gallon. I waited a few hours for things to settle but the coolant level remained at max.

I've seen a few people mention burping the system after doing something that could introduce air. What is the proper way to do this on my 997? Tonight I started the car with the cap off of the coolant reservoir and let it run for a few minutes but still nothing changed with the coolant level. It was late so I just shut it down and will get back to it tomorrow.

Hopefully someone here can give me some tips on how to make sure everything is A-OK with my cooling system.

Thanks, Derek

Spokane5150

Derek,

Since there are miles of coolant lines in the car I recommend that you buy a coolant lift system. The tool pulls a full vacuum then helps you add the perfect amount of coolant. This system is the ideal way to get all the air out of your system.

See link below:

http://www.amazon.com/UView-550000-A.../dp/B0002SRH5G

Spiffyjiff

i am at work and cant take a look right now, but isnt there a built in "burper" on the top/back of the coolant reservoir? i have seen DIY's somewhere that show this in use when doing cooling system work.

dealy663

This morning I opened the coolant bleed valve "built in burper" and the coolant level fell. All of it drained out of the reservoir. I was able to add about a gallon of coolant after that. Then I started the car and let it run for 10 min with the bleed valve open. The coolant level remained the same. It seems like burping it this way will eventually work. Its just that there's no way to tell when your done. Maybe going with the vacuum system is the way to go. I wish I woulda known about that last week when I was buying all the parts and tools for this job.

Devil Boy

Do you let it build up pressure first before opening the bleed valve or do you open the valve first and then start the car? I'm asking because I don't know and I'm curious. Maybe the system needs pressure before bleeding off to correct the coolant level.

USMC_DS1

Open the burp value while the car is cold then drive the car around until it reaches operating temp to let the system circulate... do not drive it hard during this process. Ideally though the airlift kit recommended by Spokane is the way to go. Measure how much is drained in a bucket then use the airlift to refill with the same amount. I drained ~3 of the 8+ gallons from my system when I replaced the WP. The airlift refilled with exactly the same 3 gallons I removed. Although I use the Porsche burping process JIC there was no need to fill any more coolant into the system. The airlift is a great system and good way to avoid potential hot spots during burping system. No affiliation with Airlift other than purchase of a kit. OP, good to see more DIYers tackling the WP.

Spiffyjiff

you all keep this talk up and i just might man up and try to change the WP myself...i'll do it, i tells ya!!!

seriously tho this is awesome stuff. this was one of my few remaining questions on the DIY.

alpine-al

I use the FJC Coolant Vacuum Kit 43610. It is very similar to the Airlift 550000 and roughly half the price. (no affiliation with either device)

http://www.amazon.com/FJC-FJ43610-Co.../dp/B00804HWOU

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USMC_DS1

Go for it Spiffy... there's plenty of support and DIY's on this forum to get you thru it. I can tell you from personal experience that it just adds that much more to the overall level of ownership satisfaction with the 997. Plus I get a kick out of my SA's reaction... how did you do that? RL of course!

Viper6

Good recent post on the 996 forum... guy found out how to get all coolant out in 3 steps... likely same proceedure for the 997 can be applied... sorry I don't have the link

dealy663

I got the Airlift system today. It's a pretty nice piece of kit. One nice thing that it has over the less expensive kit mentioned is the adapters for the vacuum gauge. There was one that was the right size for my reservoir on my 997. The actual operation of the airlift is pretty simple. When I first hooked it up it built up vacuum negative pressure very quickly. But then something started allowing air into my system. I couldn't tell where it was but I'm guessing that as the hoses collapsed they deformed around the barbs on their connections and allowed air in. So I was never able to build vacuum up to the suggested 24-26 on the gauge only got it to around 20.

I could see that the hoses were collapsed so I just closed it off and hooked up the input hose and dropped it into the coolant. Once I opened the valve it pulled in about another gallon of coolant. So I'm a little unsure if that vacuum pressure might have caused a problem.

Changing the water pump on my 911 was definitely harder than any other car I've worked on before. And honestly I never worried so much about the coolant as I have for this job. Based on the work I did this weekend (WP, Plugs and S. Belt) it seems like most things are going to be a lot harder on the P-car. The spark plugs were much much harder than I expected (well actually only 1 spark plug was much much harder). Hopefully things will go a lot smoother next time now that I'm familiar with the engine bay in my car.

Derek

jgoga

If i were to attempt to do this, how many gallons of Porsche coolant should i purchase? 1 or 2 gallons? And out of 1 gallons do i get 2 gallons after i mix it? Is it a 50/50 mix?

Thank you,

John

Sniff

The Porsche coolant needs to be diluted 50:50 with distilled water. If USMC drained 3 gallons for his water pump replacement DIY, it would be smart to purchase 2 gallons of the Porsche stuff so you'll have 4 gallons of mixed coolant on hand. It's always good to have a bit of spare coolant laying around. I don't believe it has a shelf life, but others will correct me if I am wrong.

Sean

USMC_DS1

±1

Devil Boy

I agree with having at least 4 gallons of 50:50 mix on hand. I purchased an Airlift tool when I replaced my water pump and it was a great investment. Took several cycles of opening and closing the vacuum valve for my little compressor to get the vacuum down to the proper range but once I started filling the coolant, it nailed it perfectly the first time.