The coolant does not get "inside the tranny" but due to the design of Porsche does go inside the bell housing to effect the converter and front trans seals. If you read the Excellence magazine article it explains this as collateral damage for the coolant pipe failure. When the pipes fail the design of the intake valley sends the coolant towards the back of the motor and pours it over the bell housing. This is why you have transmission issues from a coolant pipe failure.

 

....And this is why if I buy a 04 to 06 I want to make sure the coolant pipes are aluminum.

To the OP, Good luck, let us know how it turns out. And def. Join the class acttion, this should be a recall on hese trucks no question

 

thanks guys for the reply.
I do have a stupid question:
i was trying to hose the coolant down and just wondering if i can just pour water into the coolant reservior since it will eventually flush through the crack and everything inside right? sounds pretty stupid to me somehow.

 

Dunno about "stupid" - but if the leak is due to a crack, the coolant was forced out of the crack with pressure (the cooling system pressurizes when it warms up) - and your water won't have any pressure, so I'd expect very little to happen.

 

guess I should just wait till the parts are here on Wednesday then.
trying to decide if I should do that at my friends shop(a great mechanic but never touched a porsche) or a local porsche specialist. any comments?

 

I'll take a great mechanic I know over an unknown porsche specialist (who may specialize in seperating you from your money) every day. The job isn't magic. It is somewhat grueling and a real PITA (getting the big pipe out expecially..) There aren't too many special tools needed (triple-square drivers - aka metric spline drivers, good selection of torx wrenches, external torx sockets aka e-torx) and a good mechanic, especially one who works on a lot of foreign cars will have those.

It the great mechanic the type who will read instructions (printouts of DIY's)? And wants to learn some new job? Then he's the one I'd go to.

 

this is an odd question, but has anyone (whom lives in a climate that permits it) tried running just pure water (with maybe an additive like waterwetter) instead of coolant? I'm thinking this might be a good solution for anyone in a region that stays above 32*F / 0*c. This way if the coolant lines rupture, its just water getting all over your engine bay..

also, does this affect the v6? or just the v8? I'm asking because i plan to buy my wife an 06 v6.

 

Pretty sure its the S (V8) and Turbo (V8TT)

 

Straight water will boil and evaporate

 

does the coolant actually have a higher boiling point? I dont think the coolant his above 90*C (194*F) anyway so i dont think its going to boil, plus its pressurized, so it cant evaporate.

i'm pretty sure pure water is actually more effective than coolant.. the only reason you need coolant is because it prevents the mixture from freezing, and prevents bubbling (which can be resolved with a product like waterwetter)

 

also coolant also contains additives to resist corrosion.
under pressure water and coolant have a higher boiling point.

If you do water I would keep a close on the level.

 

I actually know a lot of people use water in other warmer part of world.

 

its too bad i live in canada.. if i was in a warmer part of the world, i'd just use distilled water + waterwetter so that when the coolant bursts it wouldn't ruin anything.

 

Ha I am in toronto area.
Went to states yesterday to pick up the parts. Cost half there.
Going to start the job at friend's shop today. Will keep u guys updated.

 

Thank God it was over.
i started at my friends shop at 10am and finished off at 11:30pm. on and off since my friend had other clients and I was away for soemthing else. so totally i would say 6 hours work.

biggest surprise: when we removed the intake mani it turned out the plastic pipes were already been replaced. and it was actually the water hose T (p/n: 955-106-323-50. $30) snaped. The seller does not know/care about cars and could not find any service record when I bought the truck. so i had no clue they were the aluminum ones.

really hard to replace the T
some tips here:
1, try to get the special plier for the compression clamps, and it needs 2 people here. one locates the clamps and the other releases/grabs the plier
2, remove the driver side air pump barcket
3, we could not see the lower brach of the T and it was really tight so we basically cut the rubber pipe and pull it out.
4, follow the X mark on the new part. it should be the location of the overlap part of the clamps. otherwise some clamps were impossible to access when you put the T back.
5, use lubrication spray
6, be very patient

I am glad it was not the pipes so the starter and the transmission seal should be okay. but the T was not easy. I am an engineer and I built my house from scratch but the T thingy was really frustrating. Try to work with someone that has car experience and make sure you have all the tools.

I would like to thank all of you that provide tips/advice/feedback here. I DO appreciate that.

and now i have a brand new coolant pipe upgrade kit for sell.