jflash914

The other day I took my 2002 Boxster for a drive. As I was driving along I noticed that the water temp gauge was slowly creeping past 180 degree. Within 30 seconds the gauge went to 250 degrees at which point I shut down the engine and called for a tow. I got the car towed back home and started to figure out what may have caused the temperature spike. i removed the antifreeze and then removed the thermostat. I tested the thermostat in boiling water and it was working fine. I was hesitant to remove the rebuilt water pump that I installed less than 1500 miles ago but I did anyway. It was a good thing that I did remove it to find that the impeller was slipping on the shaft which was the source of the temperature issue. This rebuilt water pump was done by a reputable Porsche parts supplier and after calling them they were extremely apologetic about the situation. To make things right they sent me a new factory water pump and gasket at no charge to me. So the moral of the story is to ONLY buy a New Factory Water Pump and do not buy a rebuilt.
FYI,
Jack

Stephen Tinker

My local indi supplier here in Australia only supplies LASO water pumps, about $100 cheaper than the gen Porsche item. So I did a bit of digging around re the quality of LASO and re-man pumps on several Boxster Forums. When it all boils down, the $$$ saving buying aftermarket or re-man pumps just does not add up. Sure, the pump is not difficult to replace, but it can be a real disaster if it fails & you're not paying attention.
Would you buy a re-man engine oil pump? I wouldn't. The coolant pump is just as important....

Plyman438

That's scary for me in that the 2001 Boxster I just bought just had a new water pump installed by dealer I bought it from. They put on new top, auto temp module, and water pump before selling it to me. I know the new top was aftermarket and I suppose the water pump was also in order for the dealer to save some profit on transaction to me. I don't expect the new top to wear real well and now I have to keep extra attention on water pump. Great! This year my "new" Boxster will need oil pan gasket on next oil change and new tires next year. I hope that is it, but who knows. I will get IMS upgrade and RMS when clutch wears out, but not until then. And I have 60,000 mile schedule coming up as vehicle now has 54,500 miles. I went into this with my eyes open, but hopefully no surprises.

cretinx

my Boxster's water pump failure at Watkins Glen is part of why I bought a backup Porsche - an air cooled 1980s 911.

Those have their own fun issues however!

originalmotorhead

my 1st water pump was a brand new oem porsche pump from porsche dealer. installed at 40k. went out / started weeping and semi wobbly bearing at 64k. i installed reman water pump, duralast brand, from autozone. it was only 150 bucks vs 400+ for oem porsche part. my odo reads 94k miles and 4 years later and no leaks. autozone pump came with 'lifetime' guarantee, porsche part, 12 month. 1st pump i paid someone to replace, 2nd i did in 3 hrs by myself.


your mileage may vary.as always....

tom