Expensive coolant hose replacement.....?

[Paulo.dicanio]

Hi all,

I have a 996 Carrera 2 3.4
Which has developed some coolant problems. Upon diagnosis at a local Porsche specialist, she had a leak in the “near side coolant pipe” which apparently is one of two pipes which runs over the top of the engine somewhere. As well as compartment temp sensor, fan resister needs replacing as well as leaky oil cooler needed replacing.
I know the oil cooler is a bit of a pig to get to and was expecting a bit of a bill for that but what I wasn’t expecting was being quoted £1000 just to replace afore meantioned coolant pipe😳😳
(£250 ish for the part and £750 for the Labour as apparently it’s engine out job.)
Does this sound right? That sounds an outrageous ball ache and expense to replace a coolant hose! Plus I can’t seem to find much meantion of these hoses, in “engine has been dropped, what else should I sort” threads? Surely if these are such an expense you would replace whenever the engine was out?
Has anyone else had to fork out this sort of money for this coolant hose?? Is this a legitimate costing that I need to suck up or should I be looking to go elsewhere? Any input greatly appreciated...

[SV_WDC]

You could ring around for second opinions and quotes. But understanding is that coolant hose is often an engine-out job. Might be worth asking for a breakdown though as in addition to replacing the hose the system will need to be bled and refilled, tested etc

[jonno_]

If you do end up getting the engine dropped, consider if any other stuff needs attention whilst in there - aos, aircon pipes, brake pipes, clutch, rms etc.
Extra bills might be the last thing you need, but compared to the labour cost of dropping the engine again.....

[fot0]

I am trying to think what coolant pipes run over the top as I had the engine out last year. I can think of oil cooler have two. The others being AOS lines. Most of the other coolant pipes run around the sump. If the oil cooler is being replaced then 2 oil seals need replacing that cost a few quid and for access it may need engine fully dropped as they need good clean /access to reseal.

I would certainly get the AOS replaced and pipes if they look clogged up or leak. This will make idle and pickup much smoother.

Check starter lead to alternator - Y-lead that runs to jump post. Over time resistance increases when engine is hot and difficult to start. There is also brake line that runs over bellhousing - this is known to corrode and MOT fail, but mine was ok.

It is possible to to drop the engine on a table-lift to get some vital space to work with both rear wheels out, but its limited.

[psp]

Sadly I have experience of coolant pipe replacement on a 997, I would suggest doing both pipes while the engine is out not just the one (I did one and 6 months later the engine was out again for the other side!), oil breather too. Recently engine dropped for a third time for brake pipes, they corrode so for the £60 of parts I would look at having that done too!

[Paulo.dicanio]

Thanks for the advice people. The brake pipes were already on the to do list.. Think I better set aside an extra chunk of £ for other random bits and pieces...