Dan87951

Wow! That was a job! Those coolant T's have got to be the toughest job I have ever done on a car in a long time. The most frustrating part of the job is 1. there is no room to work, and 2. you have to be extra careful not to break the delicate plastic parts as you remove them. Best advice I can give is to get yourself a set of cable operated hose clamp pliers and a huge amount of patiences.

My dealer wanted about $1500 to do the water pump, pulleys, and serpentine belt and another $2k to do the coolant T's. It sure feels great completing a job like this and knowing you saved yourself a ton of money! The car is so much more quieter with the new pulleys and water pump and seems to be running great. I also replaced just about any other plastic part (coolant vent pipe) I didn't feel confident in so the car should be good for the next decade. Definitely open your wallet and replace anything you feel is questionable as this is not something you want to do again.

edit: I disconnected the battery while I did this job and now getting a suspension fault. Any ideas? I can't raise or lower the car but its at the normal level and drives perfect.

Matt O.

Congrats, I will be doing this job soon (minus coolant issues I think). Might ping you with questions.

GrandeOak

Nice job!

Which pulleys did you replace? Tensioner?

I have a 2005 CTT with 115k mi. and need to put this on my pm list (PO did serp and tees at 79k mi. so I have a little time) after i get a few more things sorted.

Dan87951

No problem! I hope to create a DIY video of the water pump and pulleys process as I took lots of footage with my GoPro. Maybe it might help? I'm a bit of an amateur with the GoPro so don't get your hopes up.

I did both idler pulleys. My tensioner pulley was like new which leads me to believe it was replaced already at some point in its life. The car is so silky smooth and quiet after the replacement. The job is worth it just for the sound alone!

19psi

Good job! I bet that man-card saved you about $3K, didn't it?

After doing the coolant pipes on mine, I've been thinking about building a height adjustable platform that spans across the engine compartment. It would have been so much easier lying down on a platform vs. crawling into the engine compartment while trying not to break anything plastic or leaning across fenders.
Would work great for the 928 too as I don't even want to touch those aluminum fenders.

Dan87951

It sure did! Replacing the timing belt on a 928 is easier than doing the coolant T's on a CTT! I swear, Porsche's cheapness knows no bounds!

Dan87951

I posted a video of me changing out the water pump, idler pulleys, and serpentine belt on youtube. I also changed out the intake distributor because they are prone to cracking with age and figured it was better to replace now rather then later. Hopefully this video will help some of you out. Sorry for the amateur like quality, but i'm a newb at this. Good luck!

John Veninger

I also just got done with the water pump, belt and pulley job. It's easier to work on the 928!!
I did break the crank case vent line since it was so brittle. Those plastics lines are crap.

bdtzmaru

Thanks for this video! I'm in the middle of doing this job and I'm having a helluva time trying to install the new socket. I ordered the special lube and lightly coated the seals. The service manual makes it seem like it will install by hand. Did you have to lightly tap with a rubber mallet to install?

I pushed the thermostat as far as it could, but the intake socket will not install by hand. At this point it does not sit flush. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!


**UPDATE: I finally got it to pop into place! I leveraged my arms into the radiator fans and pushed really hard. Next up...replacing AOS and cracked vent line. I broke this vent line at the disconnect point. This thing is brittle!
I also noticed oil in the intake manifold and in some of the vent lines. Good thing I'm on vacation this week!

AO

Dan,

Thanks for posting. My '05 CTT just started making some squeaky squeaky noises from the engine today. I'm thinking a water pump and other stuff is in store soon. Not sure if the T-s were ever done on my car, and I had heard it's one of the worst jobs. Oh well.

As for the suspension fault, did you get it resolved? I had that happen to me when I did tranny fluid, but after starting and stopping it several times and trying to lock the suspension and then unlock it, it finally started to cooperate. No issues since.

Dan87951

Totally agree!

Glad you got it figured out. Sorry I didn't replace the thermostat as mine was recently done by the previous owner during the coolant pipes job.

No problem! Hope it helps other members. I should have part 2 up in the next week.

Andrew, if you are hearing squeaking now definitely get it replaced soon. Some people I talked to said the collateral damage from a failed idler pulley or water pump could double the cost of the job. Yikes!

Yes, the suspension fault went away after taking the car around the block. When I was searching rennlist this seemed to be a common remedy. Good luck!

v10rick

Excellent and thanks.
Good thing I was not producing this. There would have been a lot of bleeping to cover up the naughty words lol

I noticed your 4 post lift, would it be any easier to have the truck elevated a bit?

Dan87951

Believe me there was a few of that going on off camera. Let's put it this way "german engineering" is definitely not what it use to be.

I don't think the lift would have helped any as I did everything from up top. I did peak from the bottom but without the primary cat out of the way it didn't seem to do me much good.

v10rick

OK. Reason I ask...replaced just the serpentine belt on my 04 CS and I believe my neighbors were well aware of the difficulty.

Looking forward to the next edition.

Dan87951

Thanks Rick! I'll try and get the next installment up soon.

Dan