Socialpro

Been on/off my Gt3 hunt past few months and moving forward with the decision to find / pick up a 997.2 GT3.

I've been seeing the topic of pinning / welding coolant lines come up - but not a concise description of when it is a must, what cars it affects and what the effects can be if its not done...

Can somebody briefly describe how big of a concern this is?

Is this limited to only 997.1 GT3 or .2 are affected as well? Is this an issue on 'tracked' cars or all cars suffer from this? If this were not done, is there impeding catastrophic failure that can arise (a la IMS issue?)

And last - as with any preowned cars a thorough evaluation / inspection is a must, but am I safeguarded further from doing/not doing this (welding coolant lines) if I pick up a CPO 997.2 GT3?

Any input is appreciated - on THIS issue or anything else that I must watch for in 997.2 GT3 purchase.

From all I've seen and read a DME printout / look over is great as well. Are DME's something people started paying attention to recently or has that always been around - is it just that I just never looked at 'track' versions of cars before where it might matter more?

Point of the matter I'm sure all the civics and corollas of the world have overrevs (??) - but not something that is currently associated with buying a used car of such...am I missing something or why would this matter more on a GT3 vs any other vehicle (I'm assuming answer is because its tracked...)?

I'd need several hands and feet to count how many 4-3-2-1 downshifts I've made in my automatic '94 Altima at 'higher' speeds to 'simulate' the action of manual transmission...LOL

misterwaterfall

Quick version

Both 7.1 and 7.2 are effected

Both pinning and welding work, consensus is to go to your local trusted expert and use whichever method they are most comfortable providing

Failure equals water pouring from the engine so while that alone will not kill you/your car, it can create some sticky situations. I have not read many instances where people crashed or motors have blown, but it doesn't sound like a great experience. Some do also fail slowly as owners have reported seeing water dripping from the area.

It seems to be more common with cars that are tracked or driven hard. Not a bad idea to get it taken care of whether you track or not IMO

DME reports have always been available and looked at, even 996's have them though only 2 ranges to the 997+ 6 ranges. They have become more popular to scrutinize as the cars have risen in value as collectors don't want beaten on cars, and everyone thinks their car is a collectors item (I jest, but just search for threads about investment cars or appreciation and you will see what I mean)

CPO just means it's certified, which isn't available with top end over revs FYI. That has nothing to do with the coolant lines

Fisher

You have not stated the car will be used on track or given us the history of a car you are considering.
Therefore, I believe there is little reason for you to be overly concerned with the issues you listed.
The previous post is a good mini-summary.

DWNDRAFT

Porsche claim that the adhesive was revised for the 7.2 generation cars.

So how many owners do we have with a .2 that have a coolant joint failure? (only actually documented failures)

tasman

All years of 997 mezger engines cars can have this failure. For peace of mind and safety I would do it and a must imho if you track

Socialpro

Thank you for providing some of the various info regarding the issue.

I (myself) do not plan on tracking the car - but what if the car *was* tracked - then I assume this is something that could be a failure point?

Is there anyway to know this was done with an inspection?

Also - this seems like a fairly involved labor job - and sometimes I have found to have more things go wrong after there are mechanics messing with the car --- especially on a larger job.

What I was asking about CPO - is if I pick up a CPO car - that sort of eliminates any worry regarding this then - as I'm imagining any failure resulting from NOT doing this (welding coolant lines) - to be covered, etc. Or is my thinking flawed on this?

Also - looking through various other threads - there is a large train of thought to just 'not do anything' until a problem presents itself. Wondering what the pros and cons are of that thinking as well...

Aside from this , are there any other weak points of the car that must be considered? I have owned a 997 carrera (.1) and a 997 turbo (.1) and both have been fairly bulletproof.

misterwaterfall

All of the quotes make this very hard to understand.

If it makes you feel better, get it done. I would want it done just for piece of mind, and if you ever go to sell the vehicle, it is typically a plus and should help you move the car quicker. You can usually tell that this has been done, and any thorough PPI should catch it. The prior owner would also know.

Coolant lines and LSD are the big two that people usually take care of sooner rather than later. Other than that, nothing else seems to be a huge issue.

brake dust

My understanding as well. There is a sticky thread above which includes Porsche's response to a review by the US government. Different epoxy and process.

The major expense with addressing this issue is dropping the engine. Might want to consider addressing if/when clutch needs changed.

Rick-A-Shay

^^^^ THIS!

996FLT6

When it pops oh boy it's buckets. Will ruin your whole day and possible safety of others if it's coolant. My 6gt3 popped at track but was on water wetter plus water only and was a hot day so dried up real quick so anyone behind me wasn't affected. Pretty scary when slippery stuff ie coo lab or oil is on track. A regular 996 dumped oil at thill from t10 to t14. 9 cars slid off track including me. Surprised no one hit each other. Mike

boostedt0y

Coolant fittings should be taken care of especially if you plan to track. Last year a friend purchased a new to him 7 gt3 and brought it to a track day. He gave me a point by down the front straight at Laguna then the next thing I know I see a puff of smoke in my rear view mirror and him spinning out at the entrance of turn two. Coolant lines burst. Hate to think what would have happened if he was still in front of me and didn't give the point by.

bogey1

I did a lot of the same research and spoke to multiple folks when I decided to buy my .2 last year. What I concluded was that the cars with more heavy track use failed earlier in their lives, and sometimes dramatically. But in the last year or two non-track cars had started to fail as well. Ultimately I looked for the best car I could afford, but baked-in the cost of a full reweld using Sharkwerks fittings. I am sure the cost of the work varies greatly, and I did not really shop it around. I went with my trusted guys here in Atlanta and it ran $2800. Make sure to check the other wear items already discussed in this thread. Think of it as a bit of an insurance move - my $.02.

spiller

I've only seen it happen once at the track (hardly an accurate data point) but I was the next person around and fortunately was able to catch the rear of the car.It was not fun though. The car in question was a very low mile 997.1 GT3 with probably 10 track days under its belt. Conversely, mine was a 35K mile 996 GT3 with probably 50 track days and 50,000 type 1 overrevs and I never had an issue with un-pinned lines. It gets some cars, others it doesn't. Seem to hear about it more on the turbo cars.

There is no really need for this unless you are tracking the car. The real concern is someone spinning on your slippery coolant, more so than engine damage. If you were to continue driving the vehicle after spilling its coolant, you would damage the engine, but I fail to see how someone wouldn't notice a huge puff of steam coming out the back of their car.

Jamie@dundonmotorsports

We only weld the fittings, have to remove them, clean them well and weld them carefully. Pinning will keep some of the load off of the adhesive, but doesn't prevent a leak if the adhesive decides to let go due to expansion and contraction. Detractors of welding say that a poor weld job can leave pinholes that leak.

It is an engine out service, so if planned correctly with other engine out services (diff repair, replace etc...) the engine out part of the service can be spread among a few things your doing. you should be able to look at the water pump area and see if there are welds at the fittings or bolts to see if it's been done before.

If it wasn't done, get it on your list to do, even the 997.2 can fail, even with the "upgraded" epoxy.

bubba928

Get it done. Track or street, it still can happen and affect other vehicles in your "wake."

Also agree with Jamie re having them welded. Don't nickel/dime the problem. If you can afford to buy the car you should be able to pay for needed repairs.