Crack in MY00 996 C2 RWD Coolant Plug Part- What part is this?

[bBunny]

Found a small spotting of coolant dead center of engine at rear under cats and in front of pulleys . Thought it was water pump related, but turns out its the part that the coolant drain plug is cast into. Picture attached should help identify this. What is this pump housing part called? For now we JB welded it. Hopefully this patch will hold until the correct piece is located along with a new water pump probably since I'll be in there.

As always, much appreciated for the help.

Phil B

[JFP in PA]

Looks like #996 107 012 58, recently updated to 996 107 012 60 which is the main housing casting for both the oil and water pumps. If it is, this is going to be a fun job to replace............... And it goes for about $465.

Edited December 7, 2012 by JFP in PA

[Dharn55]

$376 at Porsheoemparts.com (Sonnen Porsche) which is usually about the same as Sunset and Suncoast. Kind of a pain to get it out. Drain oil and coolant, take out the motor mount bracket, take out the chain tensioner for the 4-6 cylinders which drives off that end of the IMS (maybe lock the cams), etc. The oil pump drives off off that end of the IMS. Actually the IMS rides in this housing. I have an extra pump and can take some pictures of it. I would also sell it if you want it. It came off my car at about 50,000 miles when I did the cracked head fix. I thought I had a problem with the pump but I had installed the scavenger pumps reversed which was the real cause of the oil pressure problem.

I would also recommend that you install the LN engineering billet oil pump drive while you are in there. Stronger than the OEM part.

[bBunny]

Thank you guys. Pics would be great.

Any idea why this part would develop a tiny straight line crack dead in the middle? Its not load bearing . Bad casting? 13 year old car ...parts just naturally wearing out?

[JFP in PA]

Most likely a bad casting, or something possibly kicked up and hit it. You can find an exploded view of it in Porsche's PET, along with all the associated parts. I would also suggest locking down the engine as if doing the IMS bearing, and adding the LN oil pump drive for the reason stated. Not a difficult DIY, but it is going to take some time, effort, and specific fixtures (to lock the cams) to do it. The price I used was from Loren's latest list, but if you can get for less at Sonnen, by all means do so. I would also look carefully at the oil pump, they sometimes show some wear depending upon miles, etc.; so this would be an excellent time to update the oil and water pumps, as well as the thermostat while you are in there.

Edited December 7, 2012 by JFP in PA

[av8sky]

I know this thread is kind of old but my 03 996 scraped going out the driveway the other day. The damage is identical. In my case the spot people used for jacking the car on the engine case sheared off and (I think) wedged itself between the oil pump housing and the driveway. The housing is now dented and cracked and leaking coolant. I believe that the engine may have to come out for this fix and I am talking to my insurance as I believe this will be an expensive repair. bBunny did you ever get this fixed and is the JB weld holding? My mechanic mentioned Heli arching (I have no idea how to spell this) the housing. I think a replacement would be much better for such a labor intensive job. Any opinions? Anyone else ever have this happen?

[JFP in PA]

I know this thread is kind of old but my 03 996 scraped going out the driveway the other day. The damage is identical. In my case the spot people used for jacking the car on the engine case sheared off and (I think) wedged itself between the oil pump housing and the driveway. The housing is now dented and cracked and leaking coolant. I believe that the engine may have to come out for this fix and I am talking to my insurance as I believe this will be an expensive repair. bBunny did you ever get this fixed and is the JB weld holding? My mechanic mentioned Heli arching (I have no idea how to spell this) the housing. I think a replacement would be much better for such a labor intensive job. Any opinions? Anyone else ever have this happen?

First of all, anyone that uses a hollow alloy water jacket casting as a jacking or lifting point is clearly out of their mind, they crack very easily. Secondly, in order to get a good weld bead (Mig or Tig) on this alloy part, it needs to be immaculately clean and dry, which means taking it out of the car to be prepped. At that point, it would probably be cheaper as well as a better idea to just toss it an install a new housing.

[av8sky]

I agree with you JFP on replacement of the part. The jacking point I was referring to is not on the oil pump housing but on the engine block itself. My indy mechanic told me Porsche makes a jack that fits the spot when lowering the engine out of the car or maybe it is used at the factory during assembly. It is still intact on bBunny's picture. It was that part breaking off and then wedging itself between my driveway apron and the pump housing that did the damage. I also agree jacking the car up on that oil pump housing would be crazy. Is this repair even possible without engine removal?

[JFP in PA]

I agree with you JFP on replacement of the part. The jacking point I was referring to is not on the oil pump housing but on the engine block itself. My indy mechanic told me Porsche makes a jack that fits the spot when lowering the engine out of the car or maybe it is used at the factory during assembly. It is still intact on bBunny's picture. It was that part breaking off and then wedging itself between my driveway apron and the pump housing that did the damage. I also agree jacking the car up on that oil pump housing would be crazy. Is this repair even possible without engine removal?

Actually, Porsche uses a bridge bar above the engine to slightly lift and support it until a cradle that bolts to the engine is attached from below to lower the engine out of the car;

Use of a jack is an aftermarket adaptation to circumvent spending the money for the specialized tools.

That said, I see no reason you cannot swap out the housing without pulling the engine, but you are going to have to remove some stuff and support the engine from above to get at it:

As mentioned above, this is also an excellent time to carefully check out the oil pump for signs of wear, replace it if necessary, add the chrome molly replacement pump drive from LN (the OEM drive is a known weak point and is an engine killer when it fails, so the $20 or so for the bullet proof replacement is cheap insurance). As the cooling system is open, this is also an excellent time for the LN 160F stat and a new water pump as you are already in there.