987 Coolant change etc.

[JW1]

Hi All,
How often should the coolant be completely replaced on a 987 and what is the typical going rate that an indie will charge to do this?
J.

[Rockster]

JW1 said:

Hi All,
How often should the coolant be completely replaced on a 987 and what is the typical going rate that an indie will charge to do this?
J.

There is no factory recommended drain/refill interval.

However, many do feel a periodic drain/refill with fresh anti-freeze/distilled water is worth the cost/trouble for peace of mind.

So, about every 4 to 6 years is a good interval to follow.

You want to be sure Porsche anti-freeze is used. The water pump seal can seep a tiny tiny amount of coolant and the lubrication properties of the anti-freeze are important to the long life of the water pump. My 02 Boxster water pump lasted over 172K miles. The replacement is going on 92K miles. (The Turbo's water pump is at over 104K miles.)

You want to be sure the shop that does the drain/refill uses a vacuum refill system that pulls a low pressure on the cooling system -- so low the rubber hoses collapse -- and then with a few turns of two valves has this low pressure in the cooling system in conjunction with the refill reservoir at atmospheric pressure refilling the cooling system in no time and with no air pockets.

If the shop you select doesn't have this system, doesn't use it, doesn't know how to use it, you've selected the wrong shop.

[JW1]

Thanks Rockster, very helpful advice.