I think I need a water pump... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

FormulaReed · 06-07-2013, 02:06 PM

Hi all,

I think that the water pump is failing in my car but I thought I would post my symptoms before I start tearing things apart.

My car is a 1997 boxster and it runs great, but if I get stuck in traffic once the car is warmed up she runs a bit hot. The gauge reads at the top end of the 0 in 180. Once I can get moving it cools right down and is back in the 8 of 180 and stays there. If I blast the heater it cools down as well.

I cleaned an amazing amount of junk out of the radiators and that made it better but I still think it's running too hot. I am not loosing any coolant and I don't have any intermix. I have done a recent oil change.

I get the feeling that the pump is on it's way out. I have heard that people have had the vanes break on the pump, is there any way to check with out removing the pump? Does this sound like a failing pump? I was also thinking that the thermostat could be stuck.

Thanks,

Reed

AKnowles · 06-07-2013, 02:45 PM

My car runs at the same point in 110 degree weather and I just repalced the water pump. I would not say it is out of spec in traffic. However, I would recommend that you check the fans on the radiators to make sure they are operating at both low and high speeds since in traffic (i.e. low airflow) situations the fans are needed to lower the coolant temperature.

clickman · 06-07-2013, 03:02 PM

If I had a 97 and I wasn't sure when the water pump had been changed out last, I'd change it.

It's not a hard job and provides a lot of peace of mind knowing the chances are reduced of pieces of plastic impeller breaking off and getting lodged in small head passages, leading to hot spots and cracking.

ccstud17 · 06-07-2013, 03:05 PM

being that there was sooo much debris in the rads i bet that the fans "fried themselves." Seeing that once you get moving again the temp gets back to normal proves that water is indeed flowing (WP and thermostat are good)
there is a post somewhere on here about what to check on the fans. as it is common for the diode or some small part to fry ( sry cannot remember what part it was)
good luck

I agree with clickman, it is 150ish dollars for a new WP with metal vanes instead of the oem plastic ones. and about 2 hours of work.

clickman · 06-07-2013, 03:18 PM

There's debate on whether or not to go with metal vanes.

The downside is that if the bearing goes, the vanes can do a job gouging the engine.

I chose to go OEM (plastic) with a regular changeout of around 5 years.

thstone · 06-07-2013, 04:36 PM

Sounds like one of the radiator fans isn't working at low speed. Easy way to check: Start car cold, turn on A/C, both radiator fans should come on at low speed. (You can also use a Durametric to manually turn on both fans from the engine controller section). If one of the fans doesn't turn on, then its either the fan relay (rare) or the ballast resistor (most common) for that side fan.

FormulaReed · 06-07-2013, 06:58 PM

I will check the fans tomorrow. I have never heard them running, are they pretty loud at low speed?

Steve Tinker · 06-08-2013, 01:33 AM

Maybe you won't hear the fans from inside the car - if you turn on the A/C while the car is stationary & go out to the front, you should hear / feel the air passing over the rads....
If you dan't, you have a cooling fan problem.

Perfectlap · 06-08-2013, 06:10 AM

When mine was going it was making a feint sound (easiest to hear when parked) that went up with the revs. It was running a bit hot. I checked the coolant level in the rear trunk the last day it worked and it was way low. I thought I could make it home but it let go on the way. I should have checked before leaving home instead of just relying on the gauges.

kashmir · 06-08-2013, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FormulaReed

Hi all,

I think that the water pump is failing in my car but I thought I would post my symptoms before I start tearing things apart.

My car is a 1997 boxster and it runs great, but if I get stuck in traffic once the car is warmed up she runs a bit hot. The gauge reads at the top end of the 0 in 180. Once I can get moving it cools right down and is back in the 8 of 180 and stays there. If I blast the heater it cools down as well.

I cleaned an amazing amount of junk out of the radiators and that made it better but I still think it's running too hot. I am not loosing any coolant and I don't have any intermix. I have done a recent oil change.

I get the feeling that the pump is on it's way out. I have heard that people have had the vanes break on the pump, is there any way to check with out removing the pump? Does this sound like a failing pump? I was also thinking that the thermostat could be stuck.

Thanks,

Reed

I'm seeing this a lot on 97's, on mine I have replaced everything, cleaned everything, and it still runs hot. Starting to think that the cats are getting clogged so will try test pipes to see if she will run cooler.

FormulaReed · 06-09-2013, 04:39 PM

I tried running the ac with the car cold today and I could not feel or hear the fans running. Is it pretty obvious if there working?

3.2S · 06-09-2013, 05:01 PM

Yes. you can hear them running up close and feel air out the bottom.

Jaxonalden · 06-10-2013, 08:15 AM

When you turn your A/C on, run it all the way down to max cold. If the temp isn't below ambient, the A/C will not turn on. When it does and the fans kick in the front radiator opening will be a pair of Hoover vacuums, they draw a tremendous amount of air. I live on a dirt road and have to shut down the A/C before driving down it because the air being blown out by the fans dump in front of the front tires, and is so great that they'll cause a dust storm getting the car dirty.

janfigueroa · 08-16-2013, 08:17 PM

Hi everybody,

I am a new 1999 boxster owner and I was wondering how normal is this temp reading. I have read some of the posts but I am still unsure about whether that gauge reading is normal or I should look into it. Seems a bit high but do not know for certain. Please advice...

AKnowles · 08-16-2013, 08:36 PM

I'd say it depends on your ambient temperature. Mine reads like that even after I replaced the water pump, installed a low temperature thermostat, fixed the ballast resistor on the drivers side fan, and cleaned the radiators out of debris. But, my average temperatures are 100-110 degrees right now.

In the 60~70 degree range, my 99 reads just on the front to back side of the 8. Depends on how spirited I drive.

V-Rod · 08-17-2013, 04:59 AM

I thought the same thing and when I was at a shop recently, I was told that on a high 90's day and some 4k rpm driving that is absolutely normal. He told me that I could check the half dozen or so Boxsters in his shop and they all will read nearly the same. When I am on the highway at 75 - 80 mph and in 5th gear the temp settles a bit to half way between the black lines. At night it is just slightly over 180.

runjmc2 · 08-19-2013, 08:21 AM

I have a '97 and when it's hot (105+) I have the same experience as AKnowles. I'm sure my fans are working...

jacabean · 08-19-2013, 02:49 PM

my 03 runs at that same mark on hot days in stop and go traffic but does not move from that point. once traffic moves the needle moves down .

Perfectlap · 08-19-2013, 03:17 PM

I went for the low temp t-stat. With the AC on at the coldest temp and the current weather below, 90degrees, after a one hour drive I pulled up to my drive way with the needle nearer to the 180. Although other mechanics on this forum have said, the factory gauge is really only accurate as a "hot or cold" indicator.