So,finally,after about 6 weeks of life getting in the way (a 2 week bout of Salmonella and 3 weeks of Manflu ) Yesterday I got around to fitting the new waterpump on the Boxster. I had already removed the Bose subwoofer from the parcel shelf, carpeting and access covers to the engine to investigate the problem, so all I had to do was fit the new waterpump and try and remember how it all went back together !
I jacked the car up at the rear and set the wheels down on 2 4" Thermalite breezeblocks to give me a slightly better access to underneath and remove the undertray, what a complete pain in the bum that is with only about 6 inches between it and the ground !
My driveway slopes away from the house towards the road and also across the property, so axle stands are a bit iffy to my mind, so I have to improvise for the sake of safety.
I cut a large plastic storage bin down to about 5 inches in height, but with enough capacity to catch 25 litres of coolant if required, slid it underneath the waterpump area, then undid the bolts holding the waterpump slightly, took off the stupid spring hose clamp and tried to prise the pipe off the pump, no joy whatsoever in moving that from underneath the car, so I took all of the bolts out and placed them into a cardboard gasket shape I had made earlier, as 2 of them are longer than the others, and the pump popped off without any trouble and 99% of the coolant that came out was saved in the plastic bin ! I reckon I lost about a cup full.
Once the pump was free, I wrestled with the coolant hose for about half an hour and it eventually came off the pump !
Removed the pump from inside the car and interestingly the gasket came with it, I didn`t need to cut it away from the oil pump gasket, which should be part of the single piece gasket. After wiping down the mating face I ran a very fine file around the outer edge, as I could feel a build up of crud around the housing, just to be sure of a nice clean gasket seal.
The gasket is metal with a pressed in radiused indentation in the middle which crushes to form the seal, so no gasket goo is required, and it holds itself onto the waterpump on 2 protruding metal spigots on 2 of the bolt holes, so doesn`t fall off when you have to awkwardly offer the pump into position pretty much blindly as you fiddle to get the first bolt in with your other hand. Popped all of the other bolts in and tightened them up gently in sequence, going round a couple of times using a 10mm combination spanner on some, 1/4 inch ratchet on others and a deep socket on a 3/8 inch ratchet for the awkward one closest to the oil pump.
The coolant was then decanted from the tray into some 5 litre containers filtered through an industrial wiper in the home made ( top half of a Robinsons squash bottle) funnel to filter out the bits of crud that came out when it was draining.
I did this predominantly so I could measure how much coolant came out so I would know if I had filled the system up fully and didn`t have an air lock when it was up to max level. On filling the system back up, the 8 litres that had drained out went straight back in with the engine not running and the burp valve open, then I topped up about another half litre to max level, closed the burp valve, put my tools away, then went down the pub !
Got home from work about 4 this afternoon and decided to get the boxster finished and back on the road.
The serpentine belt looks as though it is new, so I decided to re-use it, although I will change it on the service that is due shortly. Popped the key in the ignition and she started on the first turn with a nice cloud of smoke,having been sat for about 6 weeks :grin:
Heater turned up to max and let her come up to temperature, checked the coolant level, all good, no air locks.
Put all the access panels back on, carpets in, Bose subwoofer back in, roof clips and bits and bobs back in place, all good.
Then the Nemesis, the undertray, what a real pain in the backside these are to fathom out at arms length and 6 inches of room under the car, but on she went.
Sadly I couldn`t take her for a spin as she is blocked in by the 911 and the bloody battery was dead on that after 2 weeks of sitting idle. The battery is on charge as I type this, so will have to give them both a damn good thrashing tomorrow night.
The hardest parts of this job ?
Unplugging the Bose subwoofer as the cable is so short and the plug is really awkward to get your fingers on and release from the socket, it probably took me 45 minutes to do it.
The Undertray and figuring out which screws and retaining nuts need to be removed to get it off, the nut right in the middle of the car down a 40 mm square hole took me a while to figure out, then trying to slot it all back into place correctly to bolt it back on.
Would I do it again, hell yes :thumb: