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From the day I started removing engine parts/covers to the point where I removed the distributor took 5 days. A bit long for many people but it took a lot longer than it could have taken for a number of reasons.
1.) This is my first time working on this car
2.) Wasn't familiar with many parts due to number 1
3.) Wanted to be as careful as possible removing hoses and clamps
4.) Wanted to be able to remove the least number of items as possible.
5.) Tried to get the plastic main pipe out without breaking it. (this proved futile and we ended up sawing it in half to get it out.
6.) Wanted to be able to remove the distributor without removing the engine or tranny or fuel pump. (this was a success!!!)
7.) Replaced the water pump while it was exposed after removing all other hoses and fuel rail above.
8.) Had to remove downpipe and cats to access the distributor from underneath.
With respect to effort, a few people on this board have posted their experiences in replacing or remedying the distributor fitting issue and their descriptions are pretty spot on. It does take a great deal of patience AND effort to say the least. Along with effort, there's also bruised knees, bruised and scraped knuckles, lots of curse words and an aching back. But once you get the distributor out, it is well worth it for the potential headache-less motoring miles you can enjoy after this job. That's how I felt about it at least :-)
Funny you mentioned this because I had to order the exact same pipe as well as some clamps and a few others not pictured. I said I "tried" to be careful but some of these pipes didn't come loose without a fight and some plastic parts did break.
The main one I broke which I am waiting for in the mail is this piece below. I broke the white t-connector which apparently is sold as a complete set. This delayed my putting the car back together by a few days.
Hats off to you. That is more than I think I would have taken on.
Very well done and I am sure your detailed report will help many others!
Quick update on the cooling pipe upgrade and coolant distrubutor replace. The remaining rubber hoses finally came in the mail last thursday and re-assembly is going slowly but surely. We had slight difficulty installing the gaskets on either side of the coolant distributor housing. Again space (lack of it rather) was our biggest enemy.
New Distributor installed and aluminum cooling pipe in place.
Fuel rail re-installed
Also, a correction on my previous post, we didn't have to remove the downpipes or cats. We were toying with the idea of doing so to access the rear of the coolant distributor but in the end, did not remove anything from underneath the car. I long socket wrench adapter did the job.
Hoping to have all other bits and intake manifold installed by end of the day Monday.
Well consider me part of the unfortunate "club" for the water distributor failure! Started my GTS up on Thursday last week and the Coolant light came on. Opened the hood, filled, kept filling, then looked in the front and red coolant was running all over the ground! Researched on here, found out what it was that was causing it and what it'd take to fix it. Knowing my lack of above average car disassembly I had it towed it to my local German mechanic after getting an initial estimate of $1,000! From what I'd read and saw, this looked to be a steal! Got it there, they did more research and found out what it was (which was exactly what I said it was, he just must've not understood me correctly) and got a new quote for $2,500. Porsche was going to charge $3,100 so I figured it was worth it rather than having it towed over to the dealership on the other side of Seattle. So, now I'm waiting 3-4 days for the part to arrive then probably another 3-4 for them to pull the motor and get the old distributor out and replace it with the new screw in style. Yeah! I've had the car about 2 months so not the most fun thing to happen after a very short ownership period but this should be the only time this needs fixed with the new part. I'll let you all know how it goes!
While doing preventive maintenance I tied metal wire from distributor pipe clamp to the bolt on the left. So far no slip or leaks. Hope it stays that way. I was tempted to drill a self tapping screw in, but its not leaking and don't want to risk the tapped screw to leak or cause more problems. Its a tight space.
Note the metal wire running from the nut to the distributor pipe.
Note the metal wire running from the nut to the distributor pipe.
Picked up my car from the Indy today, $2500 for the fix. They had to pull the motor to get it all done, what I figured was going to have to happen. Drove it to work and everything is dandy now! After driving my dad's '03 4-cylinder Camry for the last week and a half the thing feels even faster than before! Lol!
One more potential source of coolant leak to consider.
There are still many threads popping up with people trying to find the source of coolant leaks so I wanted to add this one to the list of things to look for:
On the 8th Jan 2017 the temp in Atlanta got down to 15degF. Colder than usual.
I noticed a disturbing pool of coolant on the garage floor about a foot and a half inside the right front wheel of the Cayenne.
I had this sinking feeling that maybe my fix had failed (even though the pool was on the opposite side of the vehicle) or that somehow the aluminum T or pipes had somehow developed a leak.
After inspection with a scope I was able to confirm that there was nothing wrong with either of these areas. I then also checked the expansion tank for cracks as well as the overflow and found nothing.
After a lot of searching I spotted the source of the slow drip as shown in the pic below (borrowed a pic from RenaissanceMan to illustrate location).
The low temperature must have contracted certain parts just enough (and possibly in combination with bolts which were incorrectly torqued or loosened over time) to allow the location where the water distributor joins the block to seep some coolant.
With a long socket extension and some elbow connectors (going in from below) I was able to tighten the 2 bolts shown in the pic. The left bolt was definitely not as tight as the one on the right and I got about a 1/3 turn on it with minimal effort. The right side bolt only turned about a 1/8 turn at most.
I used very little effort because 1 - the difficulty in getting to the bolt with the elbow connectors and, 2 - size of the head didn't allow for much grip from that angle, and 3 - I did not want to risk over torquing. Problem solved immediately and no issues in the 2 weeks since.
Well I guess I may be dealing wth this as well. Had a very slow coolant leak for say 2 years. 2 Porsche dealers literally said to just monitor it and top the coolant off between oil changes since it was leaking barely any. Enter this past winter, pretty cold temps, coolant light pooped on a few times and then the car was sitting for awhile with a dead battery.
once temps warmed up and I got a new battery I added some distilled water to see how much coolant I lost. Well the expansion tank took atleast one big jug of distilled water. Coolant light has been off for roughly 2 months since adding the distilled water and literally hasn't popped again.
I took it in for routine 10k (oil/ fitler, air filters, tire and alignment) and mentioned the slow leak and to just top it off. They said all of the undercarriage panels and shields were covered in coolant to about halfway back of the car.
now here is the funny thing, they pressurized the entire cooling system and there weas a small an intrermittent leak and asked if I am ok for them to remove the IM (another 4 hours of labor) to source the leak. My gut is it's the above. The question is do I halt my orders of doing it or just have them refill the coolant and just closely monitor. My gut tells me that t was the decreas in winter hat was causing the issue, now that it's warm I doubt the issue is present.
i am traveling out west to Arizona and stay in there so I won't have to deal with the temp fluctuating thing, but if the cooling system goes and the leak gets huge in 115 temps that will be a recipe for disaster.
additonally since the intake manifold is off has anyone run into any carbon build up to warrant a quick cleaning. Anything else I should do while the IM is off, or should I just direct them to the location of the common leak.
last question, did Porsche ever end up recalling or ponying up for any coolant fixes on the 957 I thought something happens with the 955 but that was the BS plastic coolant pipes.
Yeah looks like same problem with an '08 Cayenne. I had fixed a secondary water pump that was leaking and I guess the pressure ruptured something. At this point the coolant was in the valley and dripping through the bellhousing. I took the manifold off and sprayed a bunch of rubber and plastic safe connector cleaner to try to salvage the trans seal. Now the car is parked and I am trying to figure out the source of the leak. I think I might just not only replace the plastic pipe but also the distribution block, since it looks like all it is is some more time to disconnect everything around the firewall which I have to do anyways to replace the plastic pipe. Hope it works, will report back.
I'm new here, & we're looking for a nice low mile & well maintained 2008-10 or 2011-14 CS as primarily a tow vehicle for our vintage 1960 Avion T20 trailer (sim. Airstream) & for my ole gal 73 914-2.0 to resto shops then Concours.
I initially got on 6speed due to the 958 cam adjuster screw/bolt failure issue grenading engines.
However, I know someone personally who had this issue blow on their 08 CS towing their 911/enclosed trailer up the I-405 grade when it blew out just past the Mulholland exit, then faced both an expensive repair + the need for a substitute TV to pull their 911 up to the GEM Concours in Bakersfield in 2015 (if you're in SoCal PCA you probably know Tom & Bev G., or if you've talked to Tom at Pelican).
In seeing the aluminum "T" pipe replacement above, it's also clear that Porsche didn't really do a complete fix to the 955 plastic pipes problem, but I didn't realize it was such a "Half Fast" solution as to leave a major plastic pipe sitting in the valley!
Since we keep our cars & hope to get our CS at <60K or preferably much less, in addition to this coolant distributor horseshoe/connector & return (?) coolant plastic pipe, & the other sticky thread T-stat & water pump issue ....
What other things should we also check out on the 957 CS's for PPI &/or replace for longevity?
Cardan Shaft/Mid-bearing & rear trans & front xfer-case &/or diff. seals?
Front Upper Control Arms/Bushings?
Is there any sort of a 957 PPI Checklist floating around?
I have a really great long time Indy Porsche (P/A/V++) Tech in Huntington Beach who has done all of my cars since doing PPIs on several 914s for me back in 1975, who will PPI any CS candidates, & can tackle these issues for me.
But I don't want to buy into a money pit, & between this half-fast coolant pipes issues, the 955 ones, 958 cam adjuster screws failing, IMS issues, etc., etc. - & PAG's/PCNA's serial denial of there being any problems & other niggling things - I'm fast being swayed to Toyota Sequoyah, Gland Bruiser or 4Runner V8s or their Lexus GX460/470 cousins for long term reliability!
My wife & I both prefer the styling, size, power & tow capabilities of the Cayenne, but geez Porsche - if you're reading here - your QC & customer care really sucks!
.... not to mention minimal & mostly bad color choices!
Yeah looks like same problem with an '08 Cayenne. I had fixed a secondary water pump that was leaking and I guess the pressure ruptured something. At this point the coolant was in the valley and dripping through the bellhousing. I took the manifold off and sprayed a bunch of rubber and plastic safe connector cleaner to try to salvage the trans seal. Now the car is parked and I am trying to figure out the source of the leak. I think I might just not only replace the plastic pipe but also the distribution block, since it looks like all it is is some more time to disconnect everything around the firewall which I have to do anyways to replace the plastic pipe. Hope it works, will report back.
From what I can tell, the leak was either at the rear of the thermostat housing or the intake pipe that feeds the thermostat and has the two thick orings. All the leaks I gather start at the oring connection, but could be from the glued pipes that are in the distributor and the thermostat housing. My thermostat housing looked like was already repaired with jbweld and the oring mating surfaces were corroded, I was not able to get them perfect so I just replaced it with another glue in unit. Also got an aftermarket aluminum intake socket or whatever that part was plastic before, however the orings that the aluminum piece came with were pieces of trash compare to the Porsche ones, so be careful when replacing things with aftermarket parts. They had the thermostat housing units on ebay for 112$ for aftermarket ones, but considering it contains glued in coolant pipes, I paid the 300$ and got a proper one. Really just went ahead and replaced anything I could while I was there, hoses, pipes, pump, housing, rear distribution block, also cleaning my valves, they were crusty as hell at 100K. replaced the vacuum pump and the lines because those had cracked on me. For the rear distribution block, there was an updated part that’s different than was advertised on ECS and in the forums, the screw in barb latest model was about 300$ from ellis which I find has the cheapest parts and fastest shipping, FUAK suncoast they are terrible! For the coolant distributor, I had to take off both pumps and remove as many hoses and brackets I could, I still could not get it out because the drivers side turbo coolant line was stuck in there with the oring, I had to cut the distributor in half with a saw, then remove the passenger side piece, then tie a pulling line around the one side of the piece and then carefuly pull it towards passenger side while I took a tape wrapped breaker bar to the line and with force it snapped out without breaking but it looked close to breaking. Other than those issues, everything was just one bolt at a time because there is little room to work with, but its doable.
I'm new here, & we're looking for a nice low mile & well maintained 2008-10 or 2011-14 CS as primarily a tow vehicle for our vintage 1960 Avion T20 trailer (sim. Airstream) & for my ole gal 73 914-2.0 to resto shops then Concours.
I initially got on 6speed due to the 958 cam adjuster screw/bolt failure issue grenading engines.
However, I know someone personally who had this issue blow on their 08 CS towing their 911/enclosed trailer up the I-405 grade when it blew out just past the Mulholland exit, then faced both an expensive repair + the need for a substitute TV to pull their 911 up to the GEM Concours in Bakersfield in 2015 (if you're in SoCal PCA you probably know Tom & Bev G., or if you've talked to Tom at Pelican).
In seeing the aluminum "T" pipe replacement above, it's also clear that Porsche didn't really do a complete fix to the 955 plastic pipes problem, but I didn't realize it was such a "Half Fast" solution as to leave a major plastic pipe sitting in the valley!
Since we keep our cars & hope to get our CS at <60K or preferably much less, in addition to this coolant distributor horseshoe/connector & return (?) coolant plastic pipe, & the other sticky thread T-stat & water pump issue ....
What other things should we also check out on the 957 CS's for PPI &/or replace for longevity?
Cardan Shaft/Mid-bearing & rear trans & front xfer-case &/or diff. seals?
Front Upper Control Arms/Bushings?
Is there any sort of a 957 PPI Checklist floating around?
I have a really great long time Indy Porsche (P/A/V++) Tech in Huntington Beach who has done all of my cars since doing PPIs on several 914s for me back in 1975, who will PPI any CS candidates, & can tackle these issues for me.
But I don't want to buy into a money pit, & between this half-fast coolant pipes issues, the 955 ones, 958 cam adjuster screws failing, IMS issues, etc., etc. - & PAG's/PCNA's serial denial of there being any problems & other niggling things - I'm fast being swayed to Toyota Sequoyah, Gland Bruiser or 4Runner V8s or their Lexus GX460/470 cousins for long term reliability!
My wife & I both prefer the styling, size, power & tow capabilities of the Cayenne, but geez Porsche - if you're reading here - your QC & customer care really sucks!
.... not to mention minimal & mostly bad color choices!
TIA
Tom
///////
I got my car @ 50K miles and it was perfect, took a 3k mile trip after picking it up and now I am at 100k after about 2 years. Having said that, I've had to do pretty much everything to it, shaft, tuneup, brakes, coolant leak issues, intake issues, codes...
Very informative and helpful thread! I just replaced the thermostat and water pump on our 2008 Cayenne S and am noticing the same kind of drip that Phil described coming out the bottom of the bell housing. My next thought is to remove the intake manifold and do a pressure test to see if I can confirm the location of the leak in the rear of the thermostat housing area. I'm pretty sure the Y pipe is still the original plastic and hasn't been replaced/upgraded.
Phil can you elaborate on what you sprayed down into the bell housing to try and save the seal? That's my biggest concern at this point, thankfully it's a very light leak at this point that I don't think has been happening too long.
I'm debating replacing the coolant distribution manifold on the back of the engine while in there and was wondering if anyone has a source or part number for the manifold with the threaded fitting?
04-30-2015, 06:36 PM
