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AMCPILOT, just out of curiosity, why didn't you fix the crossover pipe while you were in there? I get the if it ain't broke don't fix it. But won't it be in the back of your mind that that sucker could fail? l Like on a road trip? I hope I don't sound like I'm questioning your judgment because I'm not. Not even close. I'm just wondering your reasoning.
I'd do the same. Not broke, don't fix. I personally have had way too many proactive actions cost me a ton of $$$$$$. I don't dare fix things that work just fine without my interaction.
Twodollardoug ... good question ... here's my thinking. I physically checked and it's still very tight with no indications of coming apart. The original thermostat housing glue was also in great shape and the pipes are solid ... so I decided to go with it as is since there are no indications of failure. I decided to go ahead and replace the thermostat housing with the upgraded part because I'd already ordered the part and I had all of this apart so I could trace the original leak and I wanted to replace the thermostat and the water pump anyway. Finally, I pressurized the system after everything was back together to check and no problems at 20 psi. I then put a vacuum on the system and it held steady at -25 in-mg which I then used to fill the system with a vacuum filling tool I have. It passed all these tests, so I decided to leave it as it is and move on. You can really go crazy with "while you're in there" fixes and at some point, I just have to set limits. That's why I did not do anything to the last remaining glued fitting in the rear manifold. Make sense?
Its all back together now and working great. Here are comparison photos of the old and upgraded thermostat housings ... at least two of the three glued fittings are now gone out of the car!
Thanks for the explanation AMCPILOT. I see, the new one has a samwich plate to hold the pipes in. Interesting. Are the pipes aluminum or steel? Heck if they are aluminum I just might tig weld them to the housing and be done with it. How many miles are on your car? I did order the plastic vent tubes you replaced.
Aluminum ... its just like the 996 and 997 Turbo glued coolant lines that everyone knows is an issue ... I recently dropped the engine in my 997 Turbo to repair them. Some people pin them to prevent separation (what I did) and some people weld. A good place to get additional info is Sharkwerks ... they recommend pinning rather than welding, but I'm not going to get into a who likes which better argument here (readers, please bear with me on this). FYSA, here's what 997 Turbo pinned coolant lines look like ... it would be very easy to do on the thermostat housing glued fittings ... more of a challenge on the rear one.
It goes in a few mm past the insert ... Like I said, its a common fix on 996 and 997 Turbos. The idea is to physically prevent the insert from coming out. Tap and Dye, stainless cap screw with red lock tight.
It goes in a few mm past the insert ... Like I said, its a common fix on 996 and 997 Turbos.
Gotcha .. I have just one more question for you. When you filled the system with coolant was there a burping procedure? Or does your vacuum system take care of that? I have never used a vacuum system.
I use the Schwaben cooling system coolant air/purge refill tool ... Pelican Parts sells it ... check it out. Works very well and most shops use a similar tool. I also have a coolant system pressurization tool kit and I use both before filling to ensure it's leak free. Much less messy and easier to make fixes.
Sure beats putting everything back together to find out you have a small leak down in the bowels. I'm an airhead so this is all new to me. And for 78 bucks it is worth it
Somewhere in another thread I posted a pic on why I had my thermostat housing replaced, lets see if I still have it..
Notice the glue line on the one pipe.. it still feels solidly in place but it obviously was on it's way out at some point. I was able to see this without removing the throttle body - but I did have to remove the Y input to the throttle body to actually see it.
AMCPILOT, is the water pump pulley metal or plastic? I just read that the 957 pulley was plastic and wondering if the 958 is also. I might add it to my list if it is.
The OEM one is plastic. Mine had some cracking on the back where it mounts on the water pump flange, so to be safe, I replaced it with a URO aluminum one. Pelican has them for $50 or so, but Rockauto has the same one for about $25.
AMCPILOT, is the water pump pulley metal or plastic? I just read that the 957 pulley was plastic and wondering if the 958 is also. I might add it to my list if it is.
Oh man Doug, I keep reading your posts since you got here (around same as me). I think since then you've either addressed, redesigned or plan to tackle every flaw Porsche has ever put forth.
02-01-2019, 09:11 AM
