Good to hear, Mike

My wife and I were enjoying a beauteous ride on a great sunny and warm day in southern Ontario a few hours ago when I heard:

Bang...Slap Slap Slap....No power steering...Battery and Generator not charging warning light came on. I pullover and contemplated what to and tried to diagnose the problem


Do I drive to my Indy across town as the engine was still running fine? I am thinking my serpentine belt snapped...so driving across town with no power steering, no water pump and a discharging battery...would not a good idea....right?

I wish I could have called 911 Pedro.

Anyways this is what I did:


What do you think?

MIKELLIG

Sorry to see that sight, Mike.

From what you describe, I'd agree that it's probably the serpentine belt that snapped. If that's the case, I think you did the smart thing to have your car flat bedded. If the water pump isn't running, that engine can get pretty darn hot in just a few miles of city driving.

Looking on the bright side, at least you weren't far from home or on an important Fun Run when it happened.

PS. Pedro doesn't have a 911, it's a 986.

Under the circumstances, there was no need to drive the car. No emergency etc.

For the modest cost of a tow, you know that you are not doing more damage.

I also agree that it is likely a broken/thrown belt. But if it was thrown for a reason - then something seized or broke. Either way, by now, you know. If you are posting you are safe.

So other than an annoyance....

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Naples986
n/t

Thanks Guys,

Update: I just got off the phone from my Indy ...the belt is fine but the Water pump shaft snapped off...it like the dentist saying my teeth are fine but my gums have to come out.


I guess that means the Water pump seized...how does that happen??...50K miles

MIKELLIG

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BLKBOXS
Thanks Guys,

Update: I just got off the phone from my Indy ...the belt is fine but the Water pump shaft snapped off...it like the dentist saying my teeth are fine but my gums have to come out.


I guess that means the Water pump seized...how does that happen??...50K miles

Do you remember hearing any unusual noises from the engine area during the last few days/weeks? If so, it could have been the bearing in the water pump failing. Could be just metal fatigue causing the shaft to break too. You don't hear of that happening very often.

FWIW. I'd rather have the water pump go than to have to have my gums come out.

Water pumps seem to be a known weak link on these cars.

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BLKBOXS

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Naples986
n/t

Thanks Guys,

Update: I just got off the phone from my Indy ...the belt is fine but the Water pump shaft snapped off...it like the dentist saying my teeth are fine but my gums have to come out.


I guess that means the Water pump seized...how does that happen??...50K miles

Here is the pic of the pulley with the snapped water pump shaft.




The water pump will not be removed until Thursday, I am hoping all the propellers are still intact.??

MIKELLIG

I had a BMW Z3 before the Boxster, and water pumps were a well know problem area. People often replaced the water pump at 40K mile intervals as a precaution. Are there any Boxster owners doing the same sort of thing? What would be the recommended replacement interval?

.. went into a long discussion of how excellence, IMNSHO, did a dis-service by writing an article on H2O pump failures.

a) i dont see very many really
b) I have had a bunch out, and i can attest that some are getting raspy early in life, while others may be 10 years old and spin silently, a good measure of bearing condition
c) therefore, i think that you have as good a chance of replacing a good one with a bad one as vice-versa

My opinion is leave it alone and do the job at first sight of leak, poor cooling, etc.

Summary: Don't fix what ain't broke

Grant (with a 11 year old original in one 986 and a 16 year old one in another, that replaced the 2 year old one that was failing)

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Glad I saw your post! I knew exactly what was happening yesterday when I heard a noise behind the seat, had no alternator, low coolant light, etc. Got it taken to the local porsche shop and managed to get home by taking the metro from the end of one line to the end of another. Water pump went, waiting to hear the details.

Hope this does not get more contagious!



'05 987, 110Kmiles
Paul

Sorry it happened to you as well Paul.

My Indy called to tell me he got a Porsche WP today and he installed it.

Get this....the WP was spinning freely..not seized

Soooo what would cause the shaft to snap?? Who the heck knows?

Anyways the pump and belt is replaced and the coolant filled (The Indy is going to burb it tomorrow and I will be picking up the Boxster in the evening.

Case Closed!!! Right?

MIKELLIG

Richard had an idler pulley fail on the way to BRBS this year, so that is another thing to check, but I'm sure Mike was on this already.

At least there weren't bits if plastic in the cooling system.

Only cause I can think of would be metal fatigue allowing the shaft to snap.

Glad it wasn't anything more serious.

I was at Autobahn today to see about my water pump. Luckily, the impeller is intact, so it did not fragment and send all those bits of metal through the cooling system. The bearing at the front of the pump went. Again - thanks to Mike for his post just the other day. Shutting my car down quickly probably saved me a lot of grief.

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TheFarmer
I was at Autobahn today to see about my water pump. Luckily, the impeller is intact, so it did not fragment and send all those bits of metal through the cooling system. The bearing at the front of the pump went. Again - thanks to Mike for his post just the other day. Shutting my car down quickly probably saved me a lot of grief.

You are quite welcome Paul.. This is what this board is all about.

The Boxster is now running fine again.

Here is where the coolant was leaking from:



I don't believe this would have caused the shaft to snap.

MIKELLIG

Leak caused localized loss of pressure/coolant volume at shaft/pump casting interface, ergo: failure.

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Laz
Leak caused localized loss of pressure/coolant volume at shaft/pump casting interface, ergo: failure.

That could also account for the earlier low coolant.

Thanks Farmer, it did get more contageous. My water pump went out at 126K on Thursday. The initial diagnosis was easy, coolant running out of the back of the car at a local shopping center about five miles from home. Luckily, there was no overheating and I didn't even get a coolant low-level light. I've had a new pump and thermostat on the shelf for about six months, should have acted sooner. I had it towed home and it seemed like coolant ran out of the car for a day. Upon removal and inspection, I had a bearing that went bad, lots of wobble. I'm surprised there was no noise, at least that I could hear and the impellers looked OK, there was some wear. When reinstalling the belt, the nut on the tensioner started to turn, time for a beer break and see what Bently says - looks simple. I decided to pull the front bumper cover and completely drain the radiators and clean them out - it's been a couple of years. Then I'll try my Airlift gizmo and see if i can actually fill the system. BTW - it looks like I'll get almost 5gal of coolant, so I didn't loose much.
Let's ban the word contagious on this site.
Can't see it in the picture, but the car is on four jackstands plus the jack.
Having a fun summer?
Jim

At least you seem to have been able to catch it before requiring the flatbed tow and large labor charge.

When I was stranded in Fairfax, VA at work, I looked up porsche repairs online, and came across Autobahn Service. Good reviews. I was in a bind, so I had the car taken there. No time to consult here on the best place. At any rate, I was very happy with the service, and not really unhappy about either the tow charge or labor cost. I have come to the conclusion that I am too old, raised when labor was $10/hour, and a water pump cost $100.00. Lots of beautiful older Porsches in the bays, must be pretty trustworthy.

The first symptom was a strange noise from the engine compartment and the slight smell of coolant. Over the period of a day (with lots of driving) it got to the point of flashing coolant light and a steady flow of coolant out the bottom of the car.

If I read the thread correctly, the Battery warning light came on and it turned out to be a broken water pump?

... the water pump's pulley sheared off, the belt was no longer driving the secondary systems (Water Pump, Power Steering Pump, Alternator and A/C Compressor).
The first warning light that will light up is the alternator (battery). Eventually the temperature would have started climbing. At that time there was no A/C cooling and the steering was heavy.
The same symptoms would have appeared if the belt broke or jumped due to any of the other pulleys shearing off or freezing up.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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