Eight problems related to engine and engine cooling have been reported for the 2004 Porsche 911 Gt3. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
A coolant line came loose then I was driving the car. I was very lucky I did not spin in the coolant, and get in a serious accident. This is a very serious safety issue. The lines were originally "glued" in from the factory. This was a poor design and is a weakness of the car which could have been catastrophic in terms of destorying the engine, and getting in a serious accident. In order to properly address the design issue I was quoted over $3,000 to resolve the issue. This involves taking the engine out and welding the lines. I believe Porsche should pay for the repair.
The coolant lines on this car have well known and documented failure problems. I am very concerned for my safety and the safety of my passengers and as such am going to have the repairs completed as a precautionary measure. With the failure rate of the coolant fittings on these cars, and the usually catastrophic results I do not feel safe driving this vehicle. I'm going to spend my own money to correct a problem that should have been fixed by Porsche.
Engine has press fit (and glued) couplings for coolant lines. When coupling fails, there is rapid coolant loss which is a toxic hazard as well as potentially dangerous to traffic.
I had pro-active repairs performed on my 2004 Porsche gt3 coolant system due to known issue of coolant pipes separating from the engine. I had the repair performed because I was afraid of losing control of my vehicle (it is my daily driver) or causing a crash behind me. The repairs cost me $3900 + CA state tax (7. 75%) for a total $4200+.
Failure of factory glued in coolant fitting caused an instant dump of coolant onto the rear tires of the car causing loss of control and a spin. This is a well documented problem in all Porsche gt3's and Porsche turbo's and Porsche refuses to identify the design flaw of having these fittings glued together.
The car was being driven when suddenly the coolant system failed and coolant spilled from under the engine causing my car to skid out of control. The coolant also posed a hazard to other cars on the road due to the extremely slippery nature of the liquid. The car had to be towed to an independent mechanic. The coolant lines had to be replaced and welded rather than the epoxy glue that was used in the original coolant fittings. Porsche dealerships would only use epoxy to seal the fittings which would only eventually lead to another failure.
Previous owner stated that coolant lines disconnected due to failure of the fittings. Coolant was spilled all over the road behind him. Another driver barely missed the coolant but there could have been a major accident. Porsche fixed the problem under warranty, but the fittings were not welded as the fix recommends, merely re-glued. I'm afraid this will happen again.
I purchased my 2004 Porsche gt3 in may of 2009. It had just under 20,000 miles on it. In August, 2010, I was driving on track at texas motor speedway and one of the coolant fittings came loose from the engine. The epoxy that holds the press-fit coupler to one of the heat exchangers had lost its ability to retain the fitting and came disconnected. All of the engine coolant was lost in a single instance. [catastrophic coolant loss]. I had that fitting replaced by the Porsche dealer in dallas under aftermarket warranty. I can provide info regarding the on this at your request, and I have some pictures of the offending part. I had a second (and separate) fitting fail in January 2011 at 35,000 while driving on track at motorsport ranch houston. They same symptoms were found - the press-fit coupling had come loose resulting in complete coolant loss. This was also repaired with a factory replacement part under aftermarket warranty at the Porsche dealer in houston. I believe there are 8 known press-fit couplers on the gt1 engine block in the 996 and 997 model gt and turbo cars. Each of these is known to fail based on the press-fit coupler and poor design (use of epoxy on a high pressure component). I understand that this is a known problem on Porsche gt/turbo cars and has been discussed on the internet (e. G. Rennlist) for many years. 25% of mine have failed, and almost every other gt driver I know has had at least one fail.