TRAKCAR

$3500 TWICE.. Ouch.
That's like 10 sets of brake pads, or 10 sets of tires, or 5 each, or 500 beers at the bar at the Chateau, or.....

I guess I have to be live on the phone with 911, while spinning in my own coolant and kill myself and get on national TV to get a TSB or recall.
I do have blue tooth..

BobbyC

^ +100 !!! And this failure is not limited to high mileage cars either.

Just a bad, bad engineering design where something so vital is held together with only epoxy.

FFaust

Hint: Start your search in the 997 GT2/GT3 section with only the word "catastrophic".

Isn't it ironic that tig-welding the couplings might invalidate your warranty

WHAT I AM STILL WAITING TO READ FROM THOSE HAVING HAD A DEALER REPAIR... WHAT DID THE DEALER DO? RE-GLUE, RE-PLACE WITH THE SAME WHOLE ASSEMBLY, OR WHAT THE HECK ELSE?

This is a major can of worms for Porsche and it is "understandable" that they are in no hurry to open it. But as CGT has said, the examples of other manufacturers not having been willing to open it (even if there really was no can of worms), and the results of their tardiness, should be more than enough motivation for P to "bite the bullet", "grab the bull...", or whatever. One of these days, the manure WILL hit the proverbial fan and both goodwill and tangible assets will take a hit on the balance sheet (yeah, cliché city here, but they are all appropriate).

For all the smart guys out there, is there a way for P to address the issue while limiting the damage? Some kind of a win-win? Cause this could be a big one, you know, $3,500/engine drop ++/GT3...? Or is it too late and that really is the price that they will have to pay for this past "oversight"? Of course, it would still be less than to have to settle a lawsuit and THEN have to do a recall anyway...

BobbyC

The worst possible outcome is not financial...rather a tragic accident that may result in loss of life. Particularly if such a fail were to occur on a track. That would be sad at many levels...

FFaust

^ of course. Just wondering what they should/could do before such a tragedy. IOW, they obviously don't have the appetite to act quickly, so what could they do NOW that would be palatable to all?

rlightfine

2004
996GT3
Autobahn Country Club
Left side fitting blew. Part replaced by dealer and then blew a 2d time. Different dealer used stronger epoxy

FFaust

So are you saying that they really did not replace the part but simply re-epoxied both times, but using a stronger epoxy the second time (at diff dealer)?

rlightfine

a new part was ordered from Germany and installed. 2 weeks after the installation while tracking at Autobahn the replaced fitting blew out. It is very apparent to me the design of these press fittings is faulty. The dealership that corrected the problem the second time used a much stronger epoxy than what porsche uses at the factory and it appears to have worked. The car has been tracked 4 times since the second repair with no failure. Fingers crossed; welding is probably the best solution though I have been told the weld can crack because one material is aluminium and the other steel so they expand and contract differently.

DRPM

I'm a very new GT3RS owner and can't believe what I am reading about what appears to me to be a major and obviously dangerous design defect.

Does anyone else see the elephant in the room here.... as it seems abundantly evident that manufacturer hasn't yet??

PAULUNM

So yours happened on the front of the car, correct? If so, that's a different issue than the coolant manifolds (which have the glued fittings) that are on top of the motor.

skl

hmmm- never an issue with my previous 996 GT3 luckily , but I did have a coolant hose blow on my spec Miata racecar once during a race- never spun so fast without warning in my life!! Luckily no one hit me but with smoke pouring out of the engine compartment I got out of that car as fast I as I could as I thought it was on fire!! Found out it is NOT easy with HANS etc etc etc...
In the market for a used 997 GT3, anything you can see in the engine compartment to check for potential problems??

ricster

That's why air-cooled cars is the safest way.

cannon1000

Wasn't sure what connections you were referring to. Post deleted.

Kolbjorn S

2004
happened to friend's GT3 (original owner)
first time at a few thousand kms; second and third time within ~10-15,000 kms.
Circumstances surrounding failure: Normal road use (never tracked)
Specific coupling: Not sure.
Repair Solution: Engine out 3 times, connections glued back in place each time, all under warranty.

FFaust

One of the accepted definitions of insanity: Doing the same things over and over again but expecting a different outcome.

Wonder what the thinking is at Porsche...