Porsche 996 Turbo Coolant Tube Repair

The Porsche 996 turbo is a great car that can be had at a very attractive price considering it is a true supercar that can be driven in everyday traffic picking up the kids, running to the grocers or have fun driving in the mountains.  Its weak point is the coolant tubes that are glued into castings on the engine. Over time these eventually fail and cause a major coolant leak. Sometimes even a quick total loss of coolant under the rear tires that can lead to an accident.  This is also a problem with GT3 and 997 cars.  We feel that the only proper way to fix the problem is to remove the water pipe assemblies, extract the pipes from the castings, thoroughly and properly clean the castings and the pipes and then TIG weld the pipes to the castings.  The key to doing a proper weld job is having meticulously clean parts.  We sublet this work to an FAA certified welder.  He heats every piece to soften the glue and remove the tube with a specially made fixture so as not to damage the tubes.  A combination of solvent, mechanical scraping, acid, and media blasting ensures a perfectly clean part.  All of the parts are then welded back together.  Our welder has done about 60 of these without a single failure. 

While the engine is out it is a good time to look at everything else that may have deteriorated with age.  We typically replace and the piece of rubber that carries coolant at this time.  We also check any of the rubber on the intake system.  The clutch is also checked.