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Coolant pipe replacement and other tasks whilst coolant drained advice

C

cayman_rich

New member
Hello all,

New here but have been on here for a little while and owned my 987 Cayman 2.7 for about 7 years now just not posted yet!

So my Cayman got the coolant pipe leak at the front only the one pipe but I'm planning to change all 4 flexi pipes at the front and drain the full system and put the same coolant back in as it was only done about 5-6 years ago by Porsche, I do have some to top up the system as some has come out and I will obviously loose some when draining. Assuming this is ok as it's lifetime isn't it?

So my main question is what else should I do/check whilst it's drained, should I check the water pump/replace whilst the coolant is out, my cayman is currently on just over 60k miles and nothing has been changed.

Whilst I've got time I'm planning to do a full service myself and a bit of an overhaul.

Thanks for any advice.

Rich
 
Hello, I can't give you any advice, but I hope you can find the time to detail how you go about it, where you get the parts and the cost please.

I am facing this job soon on my 987.2 Boxster. I really do not want to do it, but …..

What I can say is the OPC charges a lot for the parts, about £400 for a 'kit'.

Good luck.

Graham.

 
Rich,

You may want to have the front PU off to check the condition of the coolant radiators and connections and A/C condensers and clear out any crud which has collected.

It wouldn't do any harm to replace the coolant pump at that mileage and to check the condition of the expansion tank too. It would also be a good time to replace the two caps as well (expansion tank and external filler).

Gook luck with the jobs. Hope it doesn't rain on you.!

Jeff

 
Thanks Jeff,

That was my thinking too best to be safe than sorry later and whilst I have time and it's all up in the air I might as well even though it is another £300! [&:] Good idea about the expansion tank I'll also check that out too and replace the two caps Was planning of taking the front PU off too to check all that out and give it a good old clean along with all the liners...full overhaul :)

Haha yes! I was planning to get a garage built by now but that's all changed a little bit, there used to be one there!

@911hillclimber - I will do that for sure and let you know and do a full breakdown.

I was quoted about £900 to get it all replaced but I think #fingersCrossed it's just the front hoses which need replacing as they are corroded so I have just purchased those for now which where about £25-£30 each I have also found another little issue last night there is a leak from the camshaft tensioner bolt by the looks of it and I think from looking around I need to lock the cams and TDC but don't have the tools.

Rich

 
Rich,

£300 for the coolant pump? Wow, that's a bit steep.! Maybe you can find a cheaper OEM part, although you can never guarantee the same quality, and it's a critical component.

Re the camshaft tensioner bolt leak, you may have already seen this post:

https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=999752

Given the special tool requirement, maybe a job for a local Porsche Independent rather than DIY?

Jeff

 
Jeff, Yeah it is a bit! that's for a genuine Porsche one from design911 you can get an OEM one for about half the price but that's the conundrum in my head will the quality be as good?! and as you say it is critical and don't want it to fail and do more damage.

Yes that's it, mine looks exactly like that unfortunately, I was planning to do an oil change but seems little point if it's just going to get drained again to replace this by an Independent.

Thanks,

 
Archie did the job of changing the coolant pipes across the front on his 987.1 a couple of years ago maybe more!

You could try sending him a PM, you'll need to look him up on the forum under the name Contraband if I recall correctly.

I just did a search on the forum just using the name Contraband and it brought up a list of articles one being when he changed the pipes, hope that it gives you some useful tips.

 
That's right Kevan. In fact there are a couple of his old posts in the Cayman Technical Articles section, although unfortunately all the pics are missing and I don't think that as a Guest Rich can gain access to them.

Jeff

 
Thanks Jeff,

Sorry I thought I had replied! I had seen that one from Contraband and yes unfortunately not a member yet, I was going to become a member. I've since stripped all the underneath off and had a bit more of a look around and also need a new AOS as mine has started to leak, very early signs by the looks of it but will replace when Porsche are back open as can't seem to source one from anywhere :( But also found that another pipe has got quite badly corroded and started to crack but I can't seem to find where to get this from, maybe dealer only? I believe it's 997.106.651.04? It's the drivers side long aluminium pipe coming from the engine to the front.

Rich

 
Rich,

Those connectors are absolute rubbish! Very poor design, and lots of older cars like ours are needing replacement due to the amount of corrosion present. Although my 987.2 CS is more than 10-years old it's very low mileage, but corrosion on one side was noted at the last service even though it's rarely out in the rain or when the roads are salted. I would have thought that while you're at it, it would be worth replacing all the front pipes, otherwise you could be doing the same job again in a couple of years time.

Although the Dealerships are closed for all but essential work, you may well find that the parts departments are still open. Might be worth a try, and generally they're probably cheaper than other suppliers for Porsche-specific parts like the AOS and coolant pipes. Also, if you were a Club Member you'd get a 10% discount on parts, which may be worthwhile since it looks as though you're purchasing quite a few items and Porsche parts aren't cheap.

You can have a look on here for relevant part numbers for your car (from 105-010):

https://www.porsche.com/uk/accessoriesandservice/classic/genuineparts/originalpartscatalogue/

Jeff

 
Thanks Jeff,

They really are just rubbish!! Have got all the parts to do the front pipes I wasn't expecting the rear to be gone as well :( planning to drain the system and check all the joints and reseal and project them all with some silicone grease and I was wondering about putting some self amalgamating tape on top to seal even more from road grime Thanks that's a good point about the parts might still be open, Design911 have said dealers are not but I will get in touch them directly and see what they say, good point about the discount too probably will pay for itself in one purchase, and nope they are not, but worthwhile for these parts I feel to get genuine! Thanks that link was great!! can find all the parts now :D

Rich

 
My local OPC does a 'kit' that their techs use, it is very comprehensive and not cheap, iirc about £350 when all the vat/discounts are done.

However, you do know they fit!

I think it may be well worth looking at the radiators too. The a/c rads rot due to leaves and rubbish material selection and protection, and the water rads are right behind them, so presumably could be just as bad. For the life of me I can't find any obvious wetting on my car, but seem to loose a little coolant nevertheless.

I've decided to keep adding coolant until something becomes obvious.

Looking forward to your blow-by-blow account of the job so I can be prepared.

Quite often OPC can be cheaper than Design or type 911, I saved £40 each on my AOS's (yes, plural) last year, but the front brakes were £250 ish more expensive!

We need more insight to adding protection to these water tubes/connectors when all this investment has been made. I drowned mine last year in a form of waxoil, it was body cavity wax and very searching, but greasy when thick and dried. Aerosol with a long tube.

I think the corrosion starts and propagates from the edges and in the nooks-n-crannies of the parts, not the surfaces.

Graham.

 
I’d say do water pump, thermostat, aux belt as it’s off for the pump and perhaps some of the pulleys if they’ve never been done 👍

 
Autodoc have good prices on water pumps & from my research Pierberg are the ones to go for, typically under £200 with one of their many sales on.

Also, have you considered swapping the thermostat out for a low temperature one?

Will be looking at getting this job done on mine before long as still on the original pump & would rather swap out as preventative maintenance rather than have one fail on me.

 
Thanks guys, really useful information!

Not quite had time to tackle it yet, loads of other jobs to do around the house!

Thats interesting about a kit Graham I'll have to have a look at that once they're back open as might well be better just change everything at this rate and start from a clean base. I understand they're open in early May. Yeah I think a silicone plus the self amalgamating tape will work well for sealing it from getting more water in. Hows the waxoil working out? Autodoc seems like a good site! never used them before plus 26% off today! I was wondering that with the pump weather going for a aftermarket or something like Pierberg or Meyle, so does the Pierberg one seem to be a good quality then? couldn't find much out about the pumps are they plastic impeller as I am thinking about going for this one as it is almost half the price of OEM

Have not thought about a low temperature thermostat, whats the advantages?

Rich

 
Rich,

I reckon the thinking behind the low temperature thermostat is to get the coolant circling earlier and hopefully prevent bore scoring by reducing potential hot-spots during warm-up.

The Pierberg pump seems to have a decent reputation from the online comments, and may be worth a punt. Unlike brake and suspension components, it's always a tricky decision whether or not to go for OEM rather than approved engine parts. I suppose the advantage of the Porsche part is that it's guaranteed for 2-years (I think), so if it fails you've got some come-back, but I'm not sure how you'd get on if a pump failure caused a more catastrophic engine failure and you tried to claim compensation from Porsche. In which case the outcome would probably be the same as if you'd chosen to use an OEM part.

Jeff

 
Thanks Jeff,

I tend to agree with you on that one about engine parts I think for peace of mind I'll go with genuine and as like you say if it does fail then Porsche might be a bit more lenient, more money but cheaper than a m engine!!

Thanks makes sense about the thermostat but I think I'll stick with standard as I only have 2.7.

Unfortunately the rain has hit so no tinkering for me yet!! hoping to start this weekend! Another one I've been wondering about is the air filter and weather to get an aftermarket one like BMC and does it change the sound that much? I don't really want to be modifying the box really or having an oiled one because of the potential MAF issues...anyone got any thoughts on this?

Cheers,

Rich

 
Only OEM parts fitted by a Porsche Trained technician get a two year warranty if I remember correctly! So they do have a get out if you fit it yourself! And from some cases that I have heard let's just say that OPC's are not always conducive to being helpful unless you are spending a lot of money with them.

A lot of photos got removed from the tech articles when things were changed regarding the forum and they never got replaced but I saw Archies write up recently and there were photos so I'll leave now and try to find a link!

Unfortunately, the photos appear to be nowhere to be found!

 
Rich, Thanks for your post. I have a similar issue to deal with on my 987.1.

Does anyone have experience of adding the OEM third radiator? Are there major benefits or downsides (other than costs)?

Thanks all.

Simon

 
Not sure if it makes much of a difference, but many people suggest Pierberg manufacture the Porsche pump.

 
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