So if I walk into a Porsche dealer and buy a water pump in a Porsche box then I can assume that it is a solid 3 years and that it is as good or better than the one that it is replacing.

Is this what you are saying Jake?

Hey guys, I apologize for this whole thread. I get some great information from this forum and very much appreciate the benefit we get from it. I asked what I thought was a very valid question in hopes of getting some useful information and some have ridiculed it and taken it as an attack on their favorite Porsche dealer or Porsche in general. I thought I was asking a very simple question and did not mean for it to turn into a ridiculous pissing match. Maybe my communication skills are not as good as I thought they were. Thanks for the constructive comments.

You have nothing to apologize for.

Suncoast Motorsports has mistakes on it's website that can result in you ordering a part that will not fit a 986 & they make a big hassle to return it. I now order from Sunset Porsche in OR.

No need.

I should.

Sorry for my silly comments (McDonalds and Diet Coke).

I thought this forum was for information sharing, to help us gain knowledge about our cars. I don't like to see this kind of treatment to a fellow member who asks a perfectly reasonable question. I've seen newbies ask all kinds of dumb questions, myself included, and didn't get this sort of harassment. :(

Wow! Just read three pages of stuff trying to answer a very simple question. I do appreciate how the thread came back to order before getting really stupid.

My answer to your question....I have no idea who makes the OEM wp.

Why do I think you asked a great question? I have owned an 84 -Alfa Spider with 70k original miles (and no rust!). My car was driver that frequently by me years ago as I was busy with work and family. I used to go through OEM Bosch fuel pumps about ever two years or so. They would get noisy, the car would start to run bad and then stand me as is every Alfa's God given right.

I got in a bind last time and bought an off the shelf fuel pump from Autozone for $159, not so much to save $120 but because the car was on the side of the road and I needed to get it home. Well that was 7 years ago and the pump is still quiet and I'm very pleased with it.

I don't know what I'll do when my Box requires a WP. Hard to believe the OEM is the holy grail when folks want to replace every three years as a "just in case".

I'd be pissed if I had to do that with my Explorer (or even the Alfa).

I understand that WP replacement as preventative maintenance makes sense as the cost of replacement engines on our cars is very expensive. My question would be what is about the engine that taxes the WP? If the answer is nothing, then why do they fair so quickly?

I've have my 2000S for 5 years, from76K to the current 111K. No WP for me. When it fails, I'll replace it.