New Boxster owner - my story, lessons learned. - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

ccarlisl · 04-09-2008, 12:33 PM

Just got off the phone with the service manager and he said it was the water pump! The water pump!

He said that for whatever reason, the water pump locked up and shreaded the belt into a million pieces. That's obviously why she overheated and it would also account for the noise I suppose.. but I've NEVER seen coolant look like that before. I swear it was oil. Even the tow truck driver thought so. I don't get it. I asked him if he was sure we were talking about the same car. Do you guys think this sounds right? Could the failure be in any way related to the 60k mile service they did about 2 weeks ago?

Anyway, he said they couldn't find any oil anywhere and there shouldn't be any other damage. So it's gonna cost me another $1200 for a new water pump installed (that includes a 10% discount apparently because I just spent $6k there). Whatever. I guess I should be pissed that I'm having to pour even more into this car but to tell you the truth, I'm relieved

I'm freakin' ecstatic actually. Thought I was gonna need a new engine.. I bet you've never seen anyone this happy to see their water pump fail and have to spend over a grand having it fixed! haha

Brucelee · 04-09-2008, 01:19 PM

Antifreeze does NOT look anything like oil. Hmmmm.

Certainly, clean AF doesn't. Did they change the AF at the 60K, they should have.

$1200 for a water pump sounds mighty high to me.

Wow. I can get a new timing belt, water pump, and fan belt installed in my Lexus for half that.

ccarlisl · 04-09-2008, 03:33 PM

Turns out my friend's brother-in-law is a service manager at another Porsche dealership in the state, so I spoke with him today. He looked it up in his system and said a new water pump, coolant and the belt with labor only came to $900. I wonder if they're charging me for the tow? I thought it would be complementary if I got the service done there. Guess I better call back tomorrow to see what all the quote included.

I'm not gonna make a big stink over a few hundred dollars but I'll be a little irritated if they're trying to take advantage of me. Especially after they business I gave them a few weeks ago. I would how much that would have cost at the other place...

ChrisH027 · 04-10-2008, 08:22 AM

This sounds like the SAME problem I had, one hour after I purchased my Porsche, mind you!

Was driving nice, heard some wierd noises, then a boom, and the needles rocketed.

My AC Compressor had no coolant or something, caused some things to lock up...when it was all said and done I needed a new serp belt, crank shaft pulley, and some other odds and ends....$2000 for parts and labor.

tboyer · 04-10-2008, 09:42 AM

Same problem, I've had 2 Boxster's BOTH needed water pumps within 1500 miles of ownership. 60K+ on both

Replacement was a bit over $1000 each for water pump, gasket, and labor. I saw a DIY posted here awhile back, doesn't look complicated. If I lose another, I'm doing it myself, I pay myself in

blue2000s · 04-10-2008, 10:23 AM

I've been tempted to buy one of these with a metal impeller.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-911-996-986-BOXSTER-S-CARRERA-2-4-Water-Pump_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33604QQihZ022QQite mZ350046618740QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Plastic components have their place, submerged in a fluid while under constant loads is not one of them.

ccarlisl · 04-10-2008, 12:05 PM

wow, interesting stuff.. sounds pretty common. I'm feeling much better now but now I fear that after the car's fixed and I get it back, I'll always be worrying about the dreaded IMS failure that I thought this was. I was doing some research and it sounds like the faulty part wasn't introduced until '01. Does that mean that my car is immune to this problem?