Mine went at ~55k miles.

I understand the low temp thermostat would open at lower temperature, therefore warm up the engine earlier? Is that the benefit of putting the low temp stat in?

 

I had my Indy change mine at 48,000 as a preventative measure.

 

It's actually the opposite, to keep the engine at a lower temperature.

 

I will probably change mine around 50k. I currently have 33k

 

The motor actually runs a lot cooler nowadays. Too bad I didn't know about this thermostat sooner.

Bottom line: heat is an engine's enemy. Obviously, it's oil's enemy too.

 

And since i had the exhaust out, I went ahead and replaced the spark plugs too. The plugs weren't really hard to replace. The only issue that I had was torquing the left bolt of number 4 coil pack. It was tightened by feel since there was no room for a torque wrench.

 

I was told (by a Porsche Indie shop) the WP should be replaced every 3 years regardless of mileage. Any credence to this?

 

I think it is closed to $1k...

 

It was a DIY for me so no labor = $300.

 

I'm new to the Porsche world...not an owner yet. I've been doing a lot of reading/lurking on the 997 forums and am quite surprised to find that the water pumps (and, for that matter, coils packs as well) on these cars are considered to be maintenance items. What is the main failure mode...seal, bearings, or impeller wear/breakage? I did see a photo of an impeller on which the blades were worn away by cavitation. That made me wonder if anyone here has tried this:

http://www.evanscooling.com/

Jay Leno has been using it for some time and reports that it's the real deal:

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/...isited/n35250/

I've not used it yet myself...it just seems like an interesting solution to many cooling system woes. It would certainly eliminate any cavitation damage, and they commented in the video that it's much easier on seals as well because it supposedly won't vaporize, so it won't build pressure in the system. How about it...anyone using this stuff?

 

Actually oil needs and is designed to reach operating temp 210-215 F to avoid contamination due to condensation. Likewise engines are designed to run within certain parameters one of which is operating temp. Lower than designed operating temps and slower warmups are not an advantage in normal street use. It lowers the efficiency of the lubrication system with increased not decreased wear. Increased emissions is another undesirable side effect for the environmentally conscious at least. If you are regularly tracking ( or live in Death Valley) and are regularly seeing temps of 250+ for significant periods of time you might consider this mod. Otherwise "If it ain't broke......"

 

I agree with you. People always think that colder is better. As long as you keep it 250f or less, you shouldn't have any issues.

 

I prematurely changed the water pump on my '06 S at 25k as I figured it was cheap insurance. (~$270 DIY) That said, after almost 8 years and 25k miles the old pumped look and functioned identical the new one OEM part I replaced it with. In fact we took my 'old' pump and put it in my fathers '99 Boxster with 80k on it. Guess what, his original pump looked fine too!

 

There seems to be a lot of opinions about heat, high temps, low temps, etc. Without going thru theories of water boiling point, oil viscosity, oil temp range, driving in Alaska vs Sahara, metallurgy, etc., I think what counts is what we are comfortable with .... And we all love our Porsches!

Cheers!

 

mine replaced today, mileage is 77350. My local mechanic did the replacement along with spark plugs for $400