Sound of a Failing Water Pump

[thom4782]

My water pump died today at 105,000 miles.

Last night, I head an intermittent squeak at idle that went away above 1200 rpms. At first, I thought is was AC noise from the expansion valve or evaporator. But alas, it wasn't. I eventually found out this morning that it was coming from the engine area.

I decided to drive it five miles to the independent shop to get a quick diagnosis. If I was smarter,Along the way, I heard a clunk, saw the battery light come on and immediately pulled to car off to the shoulder of the road. As I did so, I also noticed the steering got heavy. I would have avoided the 1 hour weight for a tow on the highway exit ramp and had the car towed from home.

When the car got to the shop, I opened up the front engine access cover and found the water pump pulley had fallen off. Surprisingly, there were no signs of leakage. So Monday or Tuesday, the shop will replace the pump, thermostat, serpentine belt, and coolant. I'm guessing $750 to $1000

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by thom4782

$750 to $1000

Closer to $1,200 for all that. Over $500 in parts. At least 4 hours labor ($120 per).

[heliguy]

The same thing happened to me on a road trip. I was hundreds of miles from home, so I had no choice but to have it towed to an indy outside of Richmond. He got a new pump from the local stealership and installed it for me. The total bill came to $800.
the new pump itself was $400.



I like the lowered look the tie down chains give it, but otherwise, Its not a good look for a Porsche.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by heliguy

The total bill came to $800.
the new pump itself was $400.

To be clear, that was just the pump replacement? right? Thom4782 is talking about a pump, belt, therm, and coolant flush. Hence the higher price quote.

$400 for the pump is not too bad. I bought mine a year ago from Sunset for $300ish. And prices have gone up a lot in the past 12-18 months. Looks like they charged you about 3 hours labor. That's fair. I dealership would have charged you over 6 hours.

[Jake Raby]

Now the real question is, how many impeller blades were missing from the failed pump?

[thom4782]

If blades are missing, does that mean a complete engine tear down? Or do I just make sure the shop does a through coolant flush (perhaps in the reverse direction to normal circulation0?

[thom4782]

Looks like I dodged a bullet today. The water pump impeller vanes were completely intact so no errant composite pieces in the engine to block coolant flow.

And Flavor 987S was spot on in his estimate -- $1295 out the door with labor at $135 / hour. Parts included Porsche water pump, gasket, cooling system flush, Porsche coolant, low temperature thermostat and serpentine belt.

[woodsman]

glad it all worked out for you in the end. $135/hr- is that a Porsche dealership?

[RandallNeighbour]

Pity they couldn't fit the undersized pulley and a low temp thermostat for you while they were at it. Both of these are great mods I made this last year.

[thom4782]

@woodsman:

That's the labor rate for an independent. It's about the going rate where I live. What most important to me is that I trust the shop. It's not worth it to me to find another that I don't know where I might save $10-15 bucks per hour. A couple of years ago, I got burned for about $4K by going to a another independent with a 'great' reputation.

@RandallNeighbour:

Goo suggestion. I completely forgot to ask for an undersized pulley because I got fixated on whether the impellers had disintegrated and the potential cost of trying to find all the pieces in the engine.