Porsche Boxster 986 Water Pump Replacement & Thermostat Replacement

Porsche Boxster 986 water pump replacement should be considered a scheduled maintenance item over that of a repair. Water pump failures on these cars are common, but can easily be avoided with proper maintenance.

In this video I'll show you how to replace your Porsche 986's water pump, what parts you'll need, and how to change the thermostat which is a good additional service to perform at this time as it only adds about 10-15 extra minutes to the job and is an inexpensive part.

Is your Boxster's water pump still functioning fine? If so how many miles/kilometers are on it & how old is it? Why are these question's important?
Because it's not a question if your Boxster's water pump will fail, but when it will fail! The 986 will generally go through water pumps every 50K to 60K miles (80K to 100K km). The original water pump in our 1999 Boxster 986 started to fail around 88K km at which time it was 12 years old.

My own personal 986 water pump preventative maintenance replacement schedule I now follow is every 10 years or 80 km, whichever comes first. It's a fairly easy DIY job and parts don't cost much. This truly is where an ounce of prevention is worth many pounds of cure! I also check the water pump with every oil change for external leaks from the water pump pully shaft location which indicates the seals are leaking and the water pump bearing will likely fail soon.

Over & above water pump & thermostat replacement, other items to inspect/replace during this service include the auxiliary drive belt and idler pullies - another surprise I found in this video.

Parts Used In This Service:
- Water Pump: https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Inf...
- Water Pump Gasket: https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Inf...
- Thermostat 83C: https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Inf...

Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro & parts you'll need
1:01 Drive belt removal & inspection
2:19 Water pump removal top fasteners
3:02 Thermostat removal
4:28 Water pump removed
5:13 Water pump inspection & discussion
8:49 New thermostat & water pump installed
9:04 Noisy idler pully discovered

My other Boxster 986 DIY service videos...
- How to put your 986 into service mode:    • How To Put Your Boxster 986 Into Serv...  
- Changing/flushing the coolant/antifreeze:    • DIY Porsche Boxster Coolant Change Ma...  
- Air filter change & MAF sensor cleaning:    • DIY Boxster 986 Air Filter Change & M...  
- How to lift your Porsche Boxster:    • How to Lift a Porsche Boxster - Safel...  ​
- Changing the oil & filter:    • DIY Porsche Boxster Oil Change - Save...  ​
- Replacing spark plugs & coil packs:    • How To Replace Spark Plugs On a 986 B...  
- Changing Brake Pads & Rotors:    • DIY Porsche Brake Job: Replacing Pads...  
- Flushing & bleeding the brake fluid:    • DIY Porsche Boxster Brake Fluid Chang...  ​
- Cleaning the radiators & condensers:    • DIY Porsche 986 Radiator Cleaning Tip...  ​
- How to change the Litronic D2S HID headlamp bulb:    • Easy Porsche Boxster HID Bulb Replace...  

IDLER PULLEY SERVICE UPDATE:
I was able to replace just the bearing in that idler pulley and I decided to do all 3 pullies because if one was gone, the others were likely not far behind. All 3 idlers take the same size bearing (17mm x 40mm x 12mm). I used good quality SKF 6203-2RS bearings.
https://amzn.to/3xcFIc7
You need a hydraulic press to perform this job and it does take some knowhow. Freezing the new bearings in the freezer before installing made the press-in process go easier. You have to use bearing retaining compound (Loctite 648 for example) when refitting the bearings into the pullies. Bearings were about $10 each compared to almost $100 for each idler pulley. $30 vs $300 - you decide :-)

DISCLAIMER: This video is for information and entertainment purposes only. It's no substitute for prior mechanical experience and/or training. You work on vehicles at your own risk.

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