Like other German V8’s, the Porsche Cayenne suffers from a known issue relating to coolant system leaks originating in hard to reach places. Freshly added to the site, we now offer a Porsche Cayenne cooling pipe kit to help reinforce some of the weaker known areas on this model. Similar to the BMW family of V8 engines, there’s a series of coolant pipes that travel from the front of the engine to the back. Because they are made of plastic, with repeated heat cycling and exposure to chemicals they begin to get brittle and crack. If you have a Porsche Cayenne with a V8 engine, grab a flashlight and take a peek under the hood. [Shop Porsche parts]
Buy Porsche Cayenne Coolant Pipe Kit
There are two things to look for when you get that low coolant light. The first is the water pump. Commonly the seal on the impeller end wears out, allowing water to travel down the shaft and contaminate the ball bearings on the belt pulley. On the top of the engine right under the throttle body you’ll see the pulley for the water pump. Use your hand or a prybar to poke at the pulley, it should be tight with no play. If you have some play in that pulley, you’ll need to replace the pump. The Graf water pump unit features a metal water impeller for extra longevity.
Now take the flashlight and shine it around the surrounding area that you can see. If you catch any kind of glisten, it’s time to dig in. Porsche uses the G13 spec VW coolant, so if you have a pink puddle under your car from time to time this will be your #1 culprit.
Since the starter also lives in the valley of the V8 engine, letting this leak get bad enough that it pools and then overflows into a puddle, means your starter motor is submerged in coolant. You do not want to let this go to long, as of course, your starter does not appreciate that kind of treatment.
If you have to replace your water pump or the pipes, you really should do both at the same time, since you know deep down that as soon as you button everything back up you’ll find out the thing you didn’t replace is now leaking. Since the intake manifold has to come off, it is a bit of a pain to do, so the more you can accomplish in one go, the better.
The Porsche Cayenne cooling pipe kit comes with everything you need to replace when yanking out the plastic parts and retrofitting upgraded metal coolant pipes in. To do the procedure, you need to remove the intake manifold as well as take the top off the thermostat housing, so we include all the required seals for that. We also include as well as all the bolts and brackets needed to complete the job in its entirety.
