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Hi folks, I had a severe coolant leak in my 997.1 GT3 last week. Massive white clouds of fumes were spewing out of the engine compartment and it was quite epic from the rear view mirror. Originally, I feared it was an engine blow, but it shouldn't be because I was well within the rev limits, and then I realized that the engine was still running so it must be coolant.

So now I've been told it's a pretty common problem with that generation of Turbo's and GT's where a coolant tube basically burst around the O-ring seam. Bad news is that to replace that stupid tube the engine has to come out. I'm still waiting for the quote but I'm not holding my breath.

I figured since the engine is coming out, I might as well see what else I can fix pre-emtively to avoid having to take the engine out AGAIN. So fellow 6-speeders, if you can think of some common problems I can look for or fix while having the engine out please do share. Looks like the GT3 does not have the feared IMS problem (can someone please confirm), but anything else comes to mind?

Also, I've been reading about these Shark Werks metal coolant pipes. This sounds like a pretty good way to prevent this from happening again, but I'm not sure how well these actually work. Has anyone actually installed these pipes and have their experience to share?

PS: For my reference, how many hours does it usually take to take the engine out and put it back?
PPS: This post is cross-posted in other forums - apologies for content duplication!

Any help will be appreciated,
- K.

jhbrennan

GT3 has the GT1/Mezger engine - no IMS issues - completely different than the M96/M97 engines with IMS probs.

Petza914

You're sure it's coolant (smell, level, etc). When an AOS fails it also creates a huge smoke event, but I don't know if the GT3 uses an AOS like the non-Mezger motors do.

go.illini

The 997.1 AOS can fail and cause clouds of smoke.

Hopefully the OP knows (and can smell) the difference between coolant and oil.

JCD911S

AOS would blow smoke out of the exhausts, which is different from what the OP describes with smoke coming from the engine compartment.

greenmp

Just had coolant blow on the track last weekend on my 2005 996 Turbo. I also have the same question given age but possible small upgrades. Trying to compare Sharkwerks at $495 vs Torque Solution at $195 for new pipes ....... any thoughts? Also figured a good time to change Serpentine belt and thinking og going with the Evoms under drive pulley with belt at $299 Probably a good time at 11 years ols to change all coolant hoses and vacuum hoses. Thinking it might be a good time to go to silicon boost hoses as well.

The repair bill is going to be high enough so I am not looking to go stupid with larger turbos and such but what else might I need to look at given the age or reasonable cost for performance while the engine is out of the car?

Dan@SharkWerks

The Sharkwerks part you're talking about is for a different problem. The torque solutions pieces are to weld into the big lines that fail. The SW part fixes a plastic piece that cracks and is only applicable to 997 Turbos so you do not need it.

I would recommend replacing all the rubber hoses you can while you're in there and probably the water pump, thermostat, and coolant expansion tank.

911searcher

sounds like it was coming out the exhausts (visible in the rear view mirror).

sdharmani

Sorry for the silly questions - what's PP & FW? I have an 08 that needs coolant lines fixed.

Also, pinned vs. welded - thoughts?

finally, since this is a known failure, does PCNA pith in?

rbennett

OP this is kind of off topic, but one thing I would do with the motor out.
Is take many HD pics of your motor from all angles as reference for later. This has saved me in the past with all the what if questions I had.