Who makes the original Porsche water pumps?

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

When I go to McDonald's today, I'll ask the cashier who makes your Big Mac special sauce.

you don't want to know where ANYTHING in that place comes from.
Just eat it and hope it exits your system as quickly as possible.
So the waterpump/Big Mac analogy is a good one.

[mountainman]

I withdraw the question. I can't believe that no one else considers this a reasonable question, and that no one seems to know the answer or even care. The thought seems to be that as long as a dealer sells it for $300 to $400 it's the best there is regardless of the manufacturer, but beware of everyone else. Just like saying my doctor says I need brain surgery and that's all I need to know, don't ask any other questions. I have seen doctors, lawyers, car dealers and people in all other walks of life that are dumb as a box of rocks and I see no reason not to get all the information I can before I make decisions.

[Meat Head]

Originally Posted by mountainman

I withdraw the question. I can't believe that no one else considers this a reasonable question, and that no one seems to know the answer or even care. The thought seems to be that as long as a dealer sells it for $300 to $400 it's the best there is regardless of the manufacturer, but beware of everyone else. Just like saying my doctor says I need brain surgery and that's all I need to know, don't ask any other questions. I have seen doctors, lawyers, car dealers and people in all other walks of life that are dumb as a box of rocks and I see no reason not to get all the information I can before I make decisions.

I totally agree with you on this! Why not try to find the information??? If you can find the same part from the same manufacture why wouldn't you???

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by mountainman

Just like saying my doctor says I need brain surgery

I would agree with your doctor on this one.

[BrokenLinkage]

We know which companies supply oem wipers, wheels, radios, engine mgmt systems, ACs, and pretty much everything else on these cars. Given its critical role and the highly rumored superiority of oem over aftermarket waterpumps, I would like to know just who the heck the oem suppliers are. Oem suppliers and even specs will often change over time, confusing matters more. Only if we know the actual manufacturers can we hope to tease out myth from reality and have a meaningful discussion about the lifespan of this part.
Saying "just pay the dealer and don't worry about it" is counter to the whole notion of having forums such as this, whose role is to promote the free exchange of information for the education and benefit of the entire community.
If you don't have knowledge to share but still feel the need to get your voice heard, at least try not to discount a valid question for the lack of something useful to communicate. These kind of questions give value to the forum...

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by mountainman

I withdraw the question. I can't believe that no one else considers this a reasonable question, and that no one seems to know the answer or even care. The thought seems to be that as long as a dealer sells it for $300 to $400 it's the best there is regardless of the manufacturer, but beware of everyone else. Just like saying my doctor says I need brain surgery and that's all I need to know, don't ask any other questions. I have seen doctors, lawyers, car dealers and people in all other walks of life that are dumb as a box of rocks and I see no reason not to get all the information I can before I make decisions.

First of all, Porsche uses more than one supplier. Secondly, for the most part, these OEM pumps are often hard to find in the aftermarket (read at retail level). Thirdly, a lot of aftermarket vendors, Pelican included, state their parts are OEM when they clearly are not. So your probability of finding the correct manufacturer's unit at a better price than you can get from a Porsche dealer like Sunset are small to none; an exercise in futility..........

[mountainman]

That is exactly my point. If The dealer is likely to be selling any one of a half dozen different brands how do I know I'm not getting some Chinese knockoff. Everyone jumps to price when I am trying to find a reliable manufacturer that will last 3 or 4 years so I don't have to go to the trouble of changing it again in a few months. If I knew which manufacturers Porsche uses for their factory builds then I feel like I am getting the best part I can. I don't want to replace an unreliable part because the labor on these cars is not a small thing. If I buy a pump from the dealer and It goes bad and they replace the part I am still going to have to do the labor again. Doesn't it make sense to be sure that the dealer is selling you a factory recommended part instead of something you can buy on ebay for half what the dealer charges. Forget the price, I am interested in getting the best possible part and I see no reason why I shouldn't know that it was made in a reliable factory somewhere in Germany rather than a sweatshop in Taiwan. After all, I am paying the high price for it and doing the labor, so I am entitled to know where it came from. After all we all have our favorite brand of tirea, or oil or filters, etc that we are partial to, why just go to a dealer and say give me a water pump like if he sells it it has to be the best. No one I know goes in to a tire store and says put on any tire you want to because it will automatically be the best because you sold it to me.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by mountainman

Doesn't it make sense to be sure that the dealer is selling you a factory recommended part instead of something you can buy on ebay for half what the dealer charges. Forget the price, I am interested in getting the best possible part and I see no reason why I shouldn't know that it was made in a reliable factory somewhere in Germany rather than a sweatshop in Taiwan.

There are only two suppliers to my knowledge, and their units are only available through Porsche's parts distribution network, you rarely see them in the aftermarket, and even then they are more expensive than going direct. We a buy our units through Porsche, and they come in appropriate marked OEM packaging. In all the years we have been doing this, we have only ever had a few new units quickly fail, and Porsche replaced them without question; but new part failures are nothing new when using just about any OEM, from Hyundai to Ferrari, so they are a fact of life and are going to happen.

And as for buying one of flea bay, well you run some real risks there. We have had customers come to us with supposed new "OEM" water pumps in Porsche packaging they got online, only to find that when we brought out a real one, it was instantly obvious that everything (including the packaging) was a cheap knock off.

If you want to save some money and get the real deal, watch for Sunset and other lager Porsche parts dealers to have sales, which they do a couple times a year. When they do, buy the real thing and throw it on the shelf; it is one of the way we save money on inventory without sacrificing the part's quality.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by mountainman

That is exactly my point. If The dealer is likely to be selling any one of a half dozen different brands how do I know I'm not getting some Chinese knockoff. Everyone jumps to price when I am trying to find a reliable manufacturer that will last 3 or 4 years so I don't have to go to the trouble of changing it again in a few months. If I knew which manufacturers Porsche uses for their factory builds then I feel like I am getting the best part I can. I don't want to replace an unreliable part because the labor on these cars is not a small thing. If I buy a pump from the dealer and It goes bad and they replace the part I am still going to have to do the labor again. Doesn't it make sense to be sure that the dealer is selling you a factory recommended part instead of something you can buy on ebay for half what the dealer charges. Forget the price, I am interested in getting the best possible part and I see no reason why I shouldn't know that it was made in a reliable factory somewhere in Germany rather than a sweatshop in Taiwan. After all, I am paying the high price for it and doing the labor, so I am entitled to know where it came from. After all we all have our favorite brand of tirea, or oil or filters, etc that we are partial to, why just go to a dealer and say give me a water pump like if he sells it it has to be the best. No one I know goes in to a tire store and says put on any tire you want to because it will automatically be the best because you sold it to me.

It's really simple. All your concerns are addressed already. Buy the OEM water pump from Sunset or Suncoast for about $300. Done. Order from Phil Coy at Sunset today (503-641-8600). I don't even talk to Phil anymore, I just send an email to philcoy@****************************************************.com. He keeps my credit card on file. Takes me less than 90 seconds to order parts. He'll ship it today. You'll have it by Wednesday. What's so hard?

Do you want my old 987S water pump? Looks good as new. $100 and I'll throw in shipping. If it fails within 1-year, I'll refund your money.