986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - Cooling issues - help with diagnosis

jb92563 · 09-09-2014, 12:32 PM

It seems pretty obvious that its coming from the water pump.

Could be the hose split as well so its worth a closer look before odering parts. The water pump is a known issue with the 986 and seems to be a 3-5 year replacement cycle.

Open the panel behind the seats, under the carpet and remove the belt and jiggle the pump pulley. If you can its the pump/bearing/seal leaking.

You could also use one of those car stethoscopes and listen to see if there is a grinding noise.

I bought one from HF for $3 and its amazing what you can hear going on. You could tell immediately if a bearing is shot because of the sound it makes. Its quite obvious.

I used that to eliminate my own water pump from replacement as it sounded nice and smooth, definitely no issues. Now I have a spare on hand.

09-09-2014, 12:32 PM	#5
jb92563 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 1,665	It seems pretty obvious that its coming from the water pump. Could be the hose split as well so its worth a closer look before odering parts. The water pump is a known issue with the 986 and seems to be a 3-5 year replacement cycle. Open the panel behind the seats, under the carpet and remove the belt and jiggle the pump pulley. If you can its the pump/bearing/seal leaking. You could also use one of those car stethoscopes and listen to see if there is a grinding noise. I bought one from HF for $3 and its amazing what you can hear going on. You could tell immediately if a bearing is shot because of the sound it makes. Its quite obvious. I used that to eliminate my own water pump from replacement as it sounded nice and smooth, definitely no issues. Now I have a spare on hand. __________________ "It broke because it wants to be Upgraded " 2012 Porsche Performance Driving School - SanDiego region 2001 Boxster S, Top Speed muffler, (Fred's) Mini Morimotto Projectors, Tarret UDP, Short Shifter, Touch Screen Dual Din Radio, 03 4 Bow glass Top (DD & Auto-X since May 17,2012) Last edited by jb92563; 09-09-2014 at 12:35 PM.