Water pump dilemma

[Contraband]

On saturday I took the car out for the first time since it had been serviced earlier in the month. (it's not relevant to my problem).
Having a fun drive home, not hard, just fun...... I hear a thump from the engine bay behind. It sounded like a spanner being dropped.
The steering went heavy, alternator light on etc.... Damn, I'm thinking the drive belt has just snapped.
Temp started going up so I stopped. The RAC were there in 10 minutes! He agreed with my diagnosis and called the recovery truck. 25 minutes later I was on my way home on a flatbed.
I went home with the car as OPC Edinburgh was shut and I wanted to speak to someone before I just dumped my car outside.
Sunday morning, spanners out and I discover the belt all over the place....

But the belt hadn't snapped..... This had...

The shaft on the water pump pulley had cleanly snapped. The break was white, no evidence of any corrosion, just a catastrophic failure.

So..... My dilemma.
I have a warranty direct policy. Do I pay the OPC £750 out of my pocket and claim it back, hoping the warranty company honour it without trying to get out of paying it OR buy one for £150 and just fit it myself??
There is a £50 excess on the policy and I have to pay 20% towards parts.
I'm not sure what to do, but doing it myself looks like the most straightforward option. The warranty was mainly bought incase the
engine or gearbox went.
Any thoughts... Or tips?

Cheers

 

[Boxstercol]

I've seen a couple of posts like yours on water pump failures & I find myself wondering whether my 2005 Boxster S should have a water pump change as a precautionary measure. So much so that I recently contacted my favoured OPC contact for a price. He quoted me £350 off the top of his head which I didn't think was too bad. Bear in mind that this sort if work should be price negotiable at an OPC & you will be able to use your PCGB membership for a discount. I've heard bad things about aftermarket water pumps, especially those with metal impellers which if they suffer a similar failure can take chunks out of the block, hence why the genuine water pump has plastic impellers. If the same happens the plastic breaks & doesn't damage the block. If it were my choice I'd be trying to get the best price from the OPC & then chance the warranty claim.

 

[keiththo]

When faced with a steering rack problem my OPC offered to contact the insurance company on my behalf. The insurance company agreed to fund the full replacement cost and the OPC invoiced the insurance company. Clearly it was business for the OPC and I was happier to have the work done at the OPC using porsche parts.

 

[Motorhead]

Archie, I'd be inclined to discuss the matter with Warranty Direct before taking any further action, then you'll be able to make a more rational decision. And as Colin has pointed out, as a Club member you get a 10% discount on any parts used for the repair, reducing your contribution to the parts cost to 10%. Jeff

 

[Buddy]

Archie, I would firstly talk to the PC Service desk and ask what they can do the job for as several dealerships will charge a reduced hourly rate for older cars sometimes as much as 50% also they can talk to Warranty Direct on your behalf or you can talk to them knowing the price you are offered and the price without any special consideration, always remember to state your club membership .

 

[s999sws]

Regarding the parts 20% contribution , surely after the club 10% discount you will still have to pay 20% , but only against 90% of the original parts cost? If this makes sense! SWS

 

[Motorhead]

Thanks for the correction Steve - but then I'm an engineer not an accountant..! Jeff

 

[Chris_in_the_UK]

Personally, if this was a simple 'do I pay or do I do it' situation then I would do the job myself. Given you have a warranty I would discuss with them in the first instance and decide from there.

 

[Contraband]

Thanks Gents... Its not the money as both options work out about the same. The biggest headache is actually getting the car to the OPC which is over 60 miles away. It was recovered to my home and they won't move it for free again. So that means towing the car.. Mmmmm. I'll make another few calls, but it's looking likely that there may be a photo guide coming on how to change a water pump... []

 

[Buddy]

Ok Archie, let me know and we'll get it loaded on the Technical section, drain your coolant and reuse, it's expensive to replace! I'm curious as to the mode of failure, given that you say there was just a knock like someone dropping a spanner there was obviously no squeal from the belt so not a normal gradual bearing seizure, does the impeller rotate easily? If so then fatigue or failure due to age or material fault. Definitely best to go the OEM route for the replacement I'll look up the pages in the manual for you.

 

[Chris_in_the_UK]

Coolant is not that expensive? I paid less than £15 for 5 litres of concentrate. Rare but not unheard of occurrence TBH. There are some non OEM pumps on the market with metal impellers which some of the US forums seem to worry about internal damage from this should the problem re-occur.

 

[Contraband]

Chris... The official Porsche stuff costs that per litre!! Yes, for my 924 I was about £15 for 5 litres of standard coolant.

 

[Chris_in_the_UK]

I know - but there are afew comparable ones on the market which are the same stuff in a different bottle (minus the Porsche tax).

 

[Contraband]

I've had a change of plans sort of forced onto me. I told the warranty company that as the cost of repair to me was the same as getting the dealer to do it, I would just order a pump myself and carry out the repair. (£50 excess, 30%, not 20, parts contribution at £85, plus any extras.... New oem pump £150) They said it was fine to do it myself but to keep in mind if any further fault occurred in any part of the cooling system, or engine fault relating to cooling or overheating, that the warranty might not cover repairs as I had "tampered" with the system!! I now wish I had not contacted the warranty company at all in the first place. I now have to get the car to the dealers, pay them £750 and claim back £600.... Oh well. I am not unhappy the dealer is doing it, as they are a good bunch and look after the car well. I just think it would have been less hassle doing it myself and also doing a photo guide would have been a bit of fun. Archie.

 

[Motorhead]

Pity about that Archie. In retrospect, it would have been better to get the car transported by the RAC to the Edinburgh PC. At least you'd have got a lift home..! On the bright side, being a Club member you should get a few quid off the parts and the work is also warrantied by the PC for 2-years, I think. Jeff

 

[Buddy]

Hi Archie, I hope you get it turned around quickly at the PC and that the warranty works well, let us know of your experiences in dealing with them.

 

[John H]

Archie, I will be keeping a close eye on the outcome, as obviously my car is the same age as yours, but with more miles. Mine is due a belt change at the next service, and it would never have occurred to me to change the water pump as a matter of course, but this has got me thinking. Is the £750 just to change the pump? Has anyone ventured an opinion on why the pulley shaft snapped? Has the pump itself failed, or does it still turn? I'm all ears! JH

 

[Contraband]

John.. It's going in on Monday. £450 is labour, the rest is pump, gasket etc. I'll show you the pulley next week. It's a completely clean snap where the pulley is joined to the pump shaft. It's possibly a weld that has let go. There is no evidence of corrosion. The pump turns and indeed was working well before it failed. There has never been as much as a squeak from it. I hope it's not going to be snowy next week. It's a hassle getting there as it is without the added extra of the white stuff.

 

[cd1957]

Hi Contraband, the last 5 987 pumps all failed the same way, its part of the design,as when the front bearing fails the impeller starts to catch the water gallery, so instead of trying to lock the wheels it snaps pulley shaft. The labour charge looks on the steep side, can't you find a local specialist. Chris