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Engine out for inspection of coolant leak

Old 03-13-2018, 01:10 AM
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Jako
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Default Engine out for inspection of coolant leak

Hi.

Car is leaking coolant. Shop sees where the leak is but cannot pin point and needs to drop the engine. Car has 37k kms so I don't think a clutch is due yet. Is there any else that I should look at replacing while the engine is out? Slave cylinder?

Any suggestions are welcome.
Old 03-13-2018, 04:16 AM
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993MAN
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With that low mileage I doubt there's anything else you could do. Those coolant pipes are a bloody pain in the a**e.
They'll let you know if anything needs sorting anyway.
Old 03-16-2018, 02:20 AM
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ShatterPoints
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Originally Posted by Jako
Hi.

Car is leaking coolant. Shop sees where the leak is but cannot pin point and needs to drop the engine. Car has 37k kms so I don't think a clutch is due yet. Is there any else that I should look at replacing while the engine is out? Slave cylinder?

Any suggestions are welcome.

I am a very new 997tt owner. After about a week of driving the car started to leak coolant. The lack of spray and obviousness lead me to believe it was one of those plastic elbows or a return line. They dropped the motor and found the leak was a return line on the top of the motor. While out they suggested pinning the coolant lines which I am doing. Also they found the oil lines which feed the turbos to be in not so great shape. Lastly was some burnt wires to the alternator and starter which leads me to believe there was some short duration grounding. The wires were salvageable, coolant system is being reconditioned, oil lines are being re done. In all I'm at ~ 30 hrs labor + some for parts. My car had 54k when I bought it and is at 56k right now, I do have service history on the car and myself as well as the shop techs do not see any evidence of any real mechanical issues. The car passed a leakdown and compression test during a PPI that I had done. This is just as much preventive maintenance as I can get done.

Of all the things you can do having your coolant lines pinned will be the best thing to do while the motor is dropped. I have been told they last to ~45k miles, mine have 56k and did not look like they were going to have an issue. After that just ask the shop tech to look over the state of the motor and have him make suggestions to you. To my knowledge there is no real big ticket item other than the coolant lines to worry about so long as you take care of the car.
Old 03-16-2018, 11:05 AM
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bondjockey
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The other big ticket item with the Mezger engines is slipped camshafts which also requires an engine drop. Some owners will pin their cams while engine is out but it is not as common as leaking coolant lines. As old as our cars are getting I would replace the water pump while the engine is out. It is an expensive repair if it fails because of the labor involved not the part.
Old 03-16-2018, 10:41 PM
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If I had the motor out of the car I would do coils and plugs because they are a nightmare to do in the car.
Old 03-17-2018, 10:04 AM
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if the clutch shows any sign of wear replace it. the cost is minimal compared to the labor 6 months later. pin the cams. replace all the rubber you can. car is 10 yrs old. tie wrap any vacuum/boost hoses. water pump if you want. again the labor is the major cost. if you plan on modding down the road add bigger injectors now and scale them down until you need them
Old 03-17-2018, 12:44 PM
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Jako
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Yes definitely do maintenance items while you're in there. Of course I have new coolant, although there is only 10k on my plugs, opted to change them, power steering flush and oil change too. The faulty part was a coolant elbow at the top the cost was $50 for the part. So 75% of the cost is labour
Old 03-19-2018, 08:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Jako
Yes definitely do maintenance items while you're in there. Of course I have new coolant, although there is only 10k on my plugs, opted to change them, power steering flush and oil change too. The faulty part was a coolant elbow at the top the cost was $50 for the part. So 75% of the cost is labour
Do not replace with the factory plastic elbows....get the metal shark werk elbows and be done

shop doing the work should know better then to replace with the plastic ones
Old 03-21-2018, 08:40 PM
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bruni911
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Sharkwerks elbows installed
Old 03-21-2018, 08:41 PM
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There are 3 elbows 2 show in photo


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