Was on a back road tour today with my local PCA chapter. Great drive, great fun
We are on our way back on the last part of the tour, coming down a nice mountain road with lots of twisties and I notice a flashing red light on the temp gauge and the OBC said check coolant level. The temp was fine, right in the middle of the 8 where it always is
As I was under 5 miles to our last stop and going downhill and the temp was fine, i drove to the stop. I checked the coolant tank and it was all the way at the bottom. Looked under the car and could see water dripping from the middle of the car just in from of the motor.
I opened the coolant tank cap and there was no hissing sound. I put in around 1.5 liters of water to fill the tank. Since I was not overheating and it was a slower leak, I started driving home, around 30 miles, stopping about 1/2 way and checked the water level. It was halfway down. Added water to fill it and continued home
When I got home, I checked the tank and again it was 1/2 way down. I opened up the access panel and could see coolant pooled under the water pump on the plastic under pans.
It was hard to tell if it was leaking form the water pump or a hose, so I put the car on stands and removed the front under pan. The hoses looked OK, so I started the car and a minute later it started to drip. Turned it off and it appears that the leak is from the pump right above the outlet elbow
I removed the serp belt and the water pump spins freely and no wobble. The car has the original pump and is just under 73k miles.
I guess my next project is changing the water pump. Should I replace all the hoses while I am in there?
I am also thinking of just having my Indy replace the water pump as I will need to drain and refill the coolant and he has an airlift system and I do not. He has been working on Porsche cars for 40 years and gives me great deals on labor, so I am guessing he is going to charge me around $100 for labor and I will supply the parts. If he happens to have a water pump, Ill get it from him and he gives me ~40% off list on genuine parts. If not Ill get a Pierburg pump for around $190
All in all, I have owned the car for almost 1.5 years and have spent very little on maintaince
1 window regulator $175 parts and labor
3 oil changes $180 total
4 tires $750
F & R brake pads ~$60
Brake fluid $20
60 k service parts and labor $200
Washing/cleaning/waxing supplies ~$200
Call it $1600 over 18 months or ~$1000 a year including the washing stuff
I think I am ahead of the game so far
