piiqmark

Sure you've fixed by now, but outside of the squeal/squeak up to 2-2.5k RPM you had the same exact symptoms I had. Starts with a small drip. Went new Pump because its bad, hoses and clamps because its 13 years old. Also, there is a coolant plate, mine had a leak - i had the gasket replaced. $24 part and I think I was quoted/paid less than an hour labor for that part of the job.

I heard a slight squeak at idle and gradually changed pitch and got louder to 2000-2500 and 300 miles later the water pump went... Squeak came from play in the pulley, once off you could hand spin it (with slight pressure on the pulley) and it sounded the same - just not as amplified as 2k RPM

well it is assumed Porsche "cheaped out" on this model - LOL

Thanks Loren, couldnt figure out how to post it without the link

Not sure if you have solved this (hope so as its a couple months old :) ) but for anyone else in a 99 996 (and maybe some newer) finding coolant leaks my shop just changed a passenger side coolant plate and gasket. I was also told another common problem is the coolant expansion tank is prone to crack/leak - water pump is obviously closer to the driver side. Ill try to link to a picture of the "before" repair (not the greatest shot but leak is visibile)https://docs.google....2VnBtMS1SVWI4QQ

Thanks Jetskied - I am actually doing a custom ECU tune later this month - wanted to plan out the exhaust prior for an optimal tune. After that it will be left alone "engine performance-wise".

LOL figured as much - thats the beauty of a great message board! Great link and lots of good ideas! Thanks! Somewhat new to p-car ownership although been "in the know" for a long time. Friend in the business... Anyway, all the hype about exhaust systems etc, its always good to start the search cheap to see what you get for your money. I had a cheap summit racing exhaust on my 2008 F150 that sounded incredible - end of the day you get what you pay for and a snowstorm 2 years ago explained why it was so cheap - slapped on a magnaflow (@600 bucks) that woke up all my unhappy long island neighbors and had a highway drone that could make a man insane in under 2 hours... after serveral "in person" complaints (and performance that wasnt even noticable) I went to a flowmaster 50 cat back that cost 100 bucks more than the summit sounds just as good, a drone i could deal with and performace wise it felt smoother. Obvious point here is you get what you pay for but sometimes you dont have to buy a patek to tell time. As I am looking around for different products I find there is no black/white in the P-Car world. What I mean is the ford/chevy argument, vortech/procharger etc. Guess it comes down to what you want to spend and what you want to accomplish - take that and find the right products. Maybe just a port of my stock headers and leave it alone? But that might not give it the melody I want. spending time looking at the turbowerx (next price level up) and trying to find a good review on some reasonbly priced 200 cats - leave the mufflers stock? since the cats i understand will make it roar giving me the same problem i had with the magnaflow on my truck... Most would probably argue "offing" the stock as they would probably choke off the benefit of the header/cat combo... sometimes i wish i lived in the middle of nowhere and could make as much noise as I want!!! LOL Thansk again for the site - lots of info!!!

I know this post is very old and you probably got your answer :thumbup: - but figured I would reply anyway for others who stumble on this - on the fabspeed website they show the difference between the 997 and the 996 headers. I think the difference is obvious when you watch the video. The 997 roll into a pinch collector where the 996 uses live tube headers, guess if you are leaving it stock its at the very least "OK" - look at the section under 996 & GT3 parts. its under the maxflo mufflers w/o tips description. I too am looking to upgrade the headers on my 996 - thats how i found this post. Anyone have comments on the Automotion headers? They are pretty cheap - gotta be a catch!