water pump

[jmatta]

According to Jake Raby (Flat 6 Innovations), the highest risk is the plastic impellers breaking and lodging in the cooling passages in the cylinder head. Not so much mileage, but age can make the plastic brittle; I would venture you are on borrowed time. My 3.2 is going to be 9 years old this spring with only 19k miles on the clock...I plan to replace the pump just as a precaution.

[jaykay]

Great more plastic parts..........agreed the thing needs to come out. Had no clue the impeller was plastic

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

I've been thinking of changing mine for the same reason. 12+ years old with 127k miles. NAPA has a reman for $144 or new for $158. Has anybody used one of these from NAPA ?

Why cant we get a metal impeller replacement ?

[kpm]

Originally Posted by Idaho Red Rocket 3

I've been thinking of changing mine for the same reason. 12+ years old with 127k miles. NAPA has a reman for $144 or new for $158. Has anybody used one of these from NAPA ?

Why cant we get a metal impeller replacement ?

I'd double check that "new" price. I sell a reman for $160.00 and the new pump is $358.00.

[dsisco]

just changed mine, got it new for around $200

go to sonnen porsche, while your down there i recommend changing to the low temp thermo from LN

[JTP]

Get a genuine Porsche water pump. Why would you risk your engine and go with a remanufactured pump?
I'm all for saving money but some things are worth spending the extra for the genuine article.

[Soetekouw]

Does the replacement water pump have non-plastic impellers? Or are we just replacing one pump for another pump with the same plastic impellers? So, if we bought a Porsche OEM pump, what are we gaining?

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted by Idaho Red Rocket 3

I've been thinking of changing mine for the same reason. 12+ years old with 127k miles. NAPA has a reman for $144 or new for $158. Has anybody used one of these from NAPA ?

Why cant we get a metal impeller replacement ?

I installed the Napa remanufactured pump just after Labor Day, when mine went bye-bye during a drive through the Rockies.

So far, so good.

Since its a lifetime warranty from Napa, I have more confidence in it, than something that came from some other type of shop that has part suppliers of less than stellar quality.

Plus, they also had the lowest core charge out of all the sources I looked at.

BC.

[Jake Raby]

Change all water pumps after 3 years of service, despite mileage. After 3 years the heat, coolant and time in service have proven to create issues that cost engines.

If you drive your car 300 miles in 3 years, you still must change the pump to avoid the costly failures associated with the partial water pump failure that put 12 cars from 11 different states in my parking lot right now.

[mikefocke]

you can go broke changing/improving every little bit to decrease your probability of failures. Not to mention the added potential for problems caused by mechanics error.

It makes sense in F1 racing...but on my car?

Recall that Jake says there are 21-22 failure modes. Does it make economic sense for every M96 owner to go try and prevent them all?

Where do you start and stop? How do I know what is the risk of failure and how do I know what is the risk of spending to fix problems I won't have?

If I just look at Jake's 'cpo" list of fixes that starts to add up to some serious money and it improves your chances how much? And leaves how many potential failure modes? And how many yet undiscovered? After all the guy who had #21 could have had an engine with 20 fixes and it still failed.

How do you prove to yourself that just letting it fail and buying a used/"cpo"/new engine when/if it does isn't a better economic decision?

How many of the recommended fixes are said to have to be done again in some number of years/miles? IMSR/AOS/water-pump...what else?

I've spent thousands on cars over the years improving things that only got sold on to the next guy for no added money. Why not just take your chances?

I know that a lot of these questions don't have answers and I mean no disrespect to Jake when I use his name in asking them. Nor do I expect him to have answers. I doubt Porsche does. I only present the questions to cast some doubt that the answer is as black or white as some may make it out to be...it sure is gray to me.

[Mark_T]

+1 on that, Mike. When I first started reading the forum I had this list going - AOS, MAF, O2 sensors, water pump, clutch.....and on up to about 4 or 5 grand by the time I was done. Then I realized I was breaking one of my main rules - if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Decided I'll fix things when and if they break and I'll probably save a fortune - after all the car could get written off tomorrow and all that time and money would have been for naught. Chasing what might break can work out to be pretty expensive insurance.

I think there are a couple of exceptions to this: I buy into what Jake is saying about water pumps - results don't lie. I will also upgrade my IMS bearing, but only when I need to go in there anyway for an rms or clutch and, like most people, I'll do all three at that time. The gamble here is that the IMS won't be the first of the three to fail.

If I'm one of the unlucky ones that has one of those engine-destroying failures, that will be my excuse to replace it with some serious horsepower. It's an ill wind that blows no good!