CAR NINJA! Porsche Cayenne Coolant Pipe Upgrade

Another strange German design.
Jonny opens up a 2005 Porsche Cayenne to upgrade the leaking plastic coolant pipes with upgraded aluminum pieces.

[@timbynum]

As much as I love car wizard, there is something the ninja brings to the table that is satisfying like watching a rug being cleaned.

[@craigbomer8962]

I was working for Porsche back when these were new. I did a lot of coolant pipe replacements under warranty. The first one I did was at a time before the two-piece aluminum kit existed. Much later, I was in the middle of a pipe replacement job when they updated the procedure with the new kit. Our warranty administrator came out and told me the labor time had suddenly dropped by a LOT and she wasn't sure why. I went into the online service information and found they had updated the procedure OVERNIGHT, describing how to install the new two-piece kit. I was pretty pissed since I already had the engine down on the table! We had to call our factory rep to get me paid at the old rate one last time since I was literally in the middle of the job when they changed the procedure and labor time.

[@greathornedowl3644]

Worked at a Porsche dealer, remember working on older (5yr) higher mileage (50-75k) first-gen Cayanne's and finding plastic/PVC coolant pipes, think the replacement part was a $3500 aluminum piece.

[@buggerlugz6753]

@@greathornedowl3644 - WTF! £3.5k???!! hahahaha.

[@Czechbound]

VIDEOGRAPHY/ EDITING : This was really superb : great to see the majority of the shots focusing on manipulating the parts, rather than talking to camera. The focused-in shots will really help the home mechanic who might try this themselves. And GREAT that there is no incidental music continuously through the video ( this seems to be a recent trend in others' YT videos, and it makes them almost unwatchable : it's so distracting ! ). So thank you for a great video !

[@james5274]

When the BMW tech looks at you wide - eyed and says it's a crazy design you know it's fuckin crazy

[@malchone1]

You made me laugh.As a BMW tech I agree with you 100%.

[@scottcarr3264]

Who would ever have thought that putting the Starter motor UNDER the intake manifold, was a good idea.

[@admranger]

Isn't that where the Toyota Land Cruiser has the starter? I think it's a packaging solution. The shitty plastic pipes are the real head scratcher...

[@TheBibliofilus]

@@admranger On a Toyota it won't be a problem for a long, long time though.

[@stevenkerwin4041]

GM: Northstar.

[@AJGreen-cn8kk]

@@stevenkerwin4041 Did my wife's Seville starter in the driveway. I think there was a couple vacuum lines attached to the neighbor's car.

[@idinaxuie786]

Now they have put it in gearbox 😁

[@zollotech]

Great video. Always amazed at these crazy designs.

[@viperocco]

Indeed very weird design

[@onemoredeadman]

Yep the best of German engineering, Toyota may have put the starter in the valley too but at least they didn't bury it under piss weak plastic pipes 😆

[@ajsmith2142]

The king of speed himself struggling with smashing that pipe out! Get your self some 2.5 inch pvc cutters… they cut through plastic pipe and all kind of hoses super fast and easy! Leaves a nice clean cut edge too… love the channel, keep it up! I tried to post a link but I guess that got taken down by KZbin 🤷‍♂️ .

[@br549rdr]

Great video. Always enjoy watching a professional work. Ninja smiles the whole time he’s working.

[@jrhamp]

Thank you...I am having this done now! Great to know the "mechanics" of it all. RH/Florida

[@greathornedowl3644]

Love Johnny's working with the precision of a dentist. Me, I'd be yanking, scraping knuckles, and using naughty words.

[@johnathonmcalister6645]

Love the video - so happy my '09 GTS (957) does not have the plastic pipes (but it has it's own "quirks" to keep life interesting). I'm interested in watching _any_ work you do on _any_ Cayenne, as I work on my own car as much as possible.

[@mikenormandy9250]

Jonny you nailed it! Knipex makes the BEST pliers, I use them daily, and the Cobra pump pliers lock on and grip like no other!

[@Dansk55]

Having owned an Audi SUV, I can say it truly takes a master tech to work on these on a daily. Just horrible vehicles for reliability but great when they work

[@cluelessbeekeeping1322]

*Junk Seriously...plastic lines instead of metal? Really?

[@RichRotorhead]

@@cluelessbeekeeping1322 *BMW has entered the chat*

[@cluelessbeekeeping1322]

@@RichRotorhead A friend was left stranded by his delightful plastic water pump on his...wait for it...wait for it... BMW! It's such a shame, German cars look good, drive great...but in the end, their complexity combined with abhorrent reliability makes them *_JUNK_* (or Johnny rich).

[@cetilly]

Finally saw an older version of my car come in to the shop.

[@motheolebelo]

always love the content and educational videos guys. This job looks like hard labour and lots patience needed.

[@jeeprose4712]

You work so relaxed it really enjoyable to watch. Thanks!

[@malchone1]

And people say BMW designs are bad.Thease VW guys are two notches above.Good job Jonny.

[@tetnum]

I am always amazed that there are any 955 cayennes still driving with that plastic triple pipe in them.

[@edgarbarikin5634]

I'm the one that still drove with them plastic coolant pipes till now. 955 Cayenne 2003, produced 02.01.2003, Im at almost Scandinavian cllimate (thats why I guess).

[@bobhowells9603]

im still driving on original plastic. 04 cayenne s with 118k. however, you can guess why im here watching this vid, lol

[@Omar02669]

gotta get the cordless longneck ratchets from snap on! game changer!

[@paulrogers1047]

More content please!, Your quiet way of teaching is so enjoyable!

[@chrissmithz314]

14:35 Grabbing my popcorn for when people complain about blowing compressed air after removing the shop towels

[@rwd323]

Rather pointless blowing the ports out if there is shop towels still in them but I’m sure someone will comment

[@houseofno]

Replaces MOST of plastic pipe with metal but leaves short hose attachment as rubber for "last mile" attachment. Didn't Toyota do this with the "hose from hell" on 2nd gen MR2's?

[@obe_595]

You make it look easy.

[@finn.hermansen]

I follow the instructions 😄😃😆 Love It Jonny 👍Another great job - Thank You

[@christos881]

Attention to detail is insane!!

[@castoresnegros]

This guy is the REAL DEAL!! He is amazing and legit pro

[@PartMiniBus]

Why didn't you just cut pipe in half?

[@ajw828]

3:05 **Jeremy Clarkson heavy breathing** Crazy design no doubt. Great video Jonny!

[@jamesrochester4111]

That pick tool you use to loosen rubber hose connections, if you had another that was bent to say 30-45 degrees (instead of the 90 degrees on your current tool) I think it would work much better on those hose connections up by the firewall. IMHO. Always enjoy and learn from your videos.

[@vintageracer3734]

Dow Corning 55 O-Ring Lube. Keeps the o-rings soft and pliable, works fantastic.

[@christanhartley434]

These cayennes had a few flaws but they are very reliable after you do the fixes

[@nickmlad4677]

Gotta love a big set of channellocks when in trouble!

[@dariustambasco5457]

A true master mechanic!!

[@leonardnose5695]

We 🇦🇱 are proud of erjon!

[@gazzafloss]

Job well done, with knife edge precision, Ninja...

[@daheat2403]

As someone who just did a thermostat on an M54 BMW engine, that thermostat seems like such a pain in the ass if it ever broke

[@dave7mm083]

More people should be as meticulous and proud of their work, like Jonny

[@craighawley3920]

I didn't even notice it was a Porsche until he said. I didn't even read the video title when I got the video notification. Just saw lots of plastic coolant pipes and naturally thought BMW. Then that pink coolant went in and I was thinking....wait a minute.

[@fwhiteification]

Those coolant lines are a pain in the ass but that kit is 👍 nice

[@garys9694]

Really good video. Intake manifold looks the same as the LS engine I'm working on now. Huge coolant pipes though. I thoroughly understand the reason for replacing the starter now. Damn, what a nightmare you'd have to go through, just to replace the starter.

[@kc360awareness]

Wow you weren’t kidding that intake looks exactly like an LS intake.

[@dekkerlundquist5938]

Yes, and on some Audis replacing the starter is even worse - requires dropping the subframe or engine out!

[@scottwagner8320]

You are an artist.

[@lotusespritdecorps]

That was very satisfying to watch.

[@steveone9375]

Another great first class job

[@018139548]

Nice job Car ninja. Whatever happened to the previous diesel X5 video. I was anticipating to watch that.. I hope the Mercedes GL engine drop would be taken on camera though? 😊

[@bartonkj]

Bad idea to post that video. At first he was not concerned b/c Kansas doesn’t have an emissions testing requirement, but enough people let him know the federal EPA has been cracking down on performance tuners that (I assume) he decided maybe it was better to take it down.

[@miketeeveedub5779]

This is definitely one of those "While We're in There..." jobs. I understand from engineering and space efficiency standpoint it's a neat design, but God help you if any of those OG parts fail. You got to pull the intake manifold to replace a thermostat or starter? And when the thermostat housing is pulled, you'll break the plastic coolant pipes? Dang Porsche - you could've done better. Thanks for showcasing this Jonny!

[@plastbestikk]

They revised the engine and fixed theese issues on the 4.8 engine in 2007. the coolant pipes are now alu, moved the thermostat to the front behind coolant pump. Even Porsche engineers makes mistakes. Nothing is perfect, but you can try.

[@gs1100ed]

@@plastbestikk seems like they would recall the previous year/models and dealer upgrade those parts, since they messed up on the design.

[@allanbrooks3060]

Magical hands and great knowledge

[@michelswerissen6544]

Love the mechanics at work.

[@77nizzova53]

Isn't that a Wonderful design to put plastic basically touching the engine hidden underneath everything!!!!! You would think the more expensive vehicle would have smarter engineers working for them!!!!

[@kerrylewis2581]

Looks like a very nice improvement over stock.

[@chefjefe68]

Good to see the Ninja doing the coolant pipe job on that Cayenne S. I am thinking about making an off road rig out of a Cayenne. If I go with a 2004-2006, that coolant pipe replacement will likely be a job that will need to be done.

[@jhonditch4269]

1992 lumina had plastic tubes for heater core it was the one thing i had to replace before scraping car.

[@moparedtn]

What a completely asinine design job that was, Porsche. It's never been more evident that the car makers don't care one bit about serviceability anymore...lots of "reasons" why, but this design has all sorts of stupid in it, which Johnny shows us at every step (while amazingly not losing his cool doing it). The techniques, tools and methods Johnny uses here can be applied to many repairs, too. - Ed on the Ridge

[@paulstrangers2943]

I have watched a few Videos doing the same job and you covered some steps the others didn't,also seems relax doing it.Almost gave me the confidence to do it but still not sure i want to attempt that.

[@davesouthall3834]

U got big ones. Props man.

[@jw8560]

Excellent Work !!!

[@datazndood]

Excellent job one of the best out there. Is there a link to the pressure tester you use in the end and what exactly is the pressure to look for when testing? Thank you

[@realcarninja]

No link, but they're pretty common and easy to find. No pressure to 'look for'...you simply put 15 psi of pressure into the system and if there are no leaks the 15 psi will hold. If it drops, there's a leak somewhere.

[@Timberland1963]

I’m I the only one that thinks these cars are badly engineered? To put the starter under the intake doesn’t make sense to me and plastic coolant pipes that run under the manifold is ridiculous. It’s like they forgot about those things and fit them in wherever they could . Doug DeMuro recently did a video on these older vehicles and said they are affordable to buy but you better budget on having the equivalent of a monthly car payment to keep up with repairs and have another reliable vehicle to use when it breaks down. I’m glad I found the Car Ninjas channel and am learning about all the pitfalls of owning one of these things. I do my own repairs on my Ford and have more than enough tools for the job but I doubt I have half enough for something engineered in Germany and I don’t even want to think about the price of parts. This channel is giving me a real education.

[@loudharley6926]

That pipe looks like a job for the Sawzall.

[@iansanderson]

Can't imagine how many thousands this customer saved taking it to Jonny over a Porsche dealer, and it was done right!

[@pierrebalansa5363]

Love your channel, enjoying these videos a lot!! Glad you "exist" beyond hoovie's universe... I'm binge watching now Why would you put a starter motor among all that heat??? Solving an issue maybe but creating a (huge) problem.

[@rposton919]

The stealership recommends replacing the starter after it drowns in coolant like mine did. Mine was done as part of the lawsuit settlement. Strange that one wasn't. Seat removal is not needed to change the battery., simply tilt it back out of the way. I've changed my battery enough I think I could do it in the dark, blindfolded, upside down, with one hand. Lol....nice to see the pipes being changed.

[@steveshoemaker6347]

Excellent thanks Jonny🤩👀👍

[@KurtDNixon]

Jonney, great video as always! I'm curious why you use air-powered ratchets instead of cordless ones? Cordless ratchets were a game-changer for me.

[@daheat2403]

He probably has air set up at every bay he works at

[@thebondestatesmg2666]

Nice Fix!🎯🔥🔥🔥

[@JDLNYC]

Please make a video on generation one L7 VW Touareg 4.2V8. Many people buying generation one Touareg and Cayenne for overland builds and most have issues with system lean codes etc. look forward to videos on air suspension also.

[@dmc6419]

Jonny got the angry pliers out!

[@knockywigglesworth1909]

Do you remember when German cars were actually reliable, quality, & luxury vehicles. Always some quirks but hidden plastic pipes, plastic intakes, plastic thermostat housing & water pump! So many jobs begin disconnect battery then remove engine!! Yeah, not even surprising!!

[@danarbuckle6640]

Jonny, you are a consummate professional. You should be proud of the quality of work you do. Porsche (and BMW) should be embarrassed by the plastic shit they put in their products.

[@viperocco]

Nice video Ninja!

[@haroldboyer1174]

Awesome video.

[@williamohlmeyer6988]

That was amazing to watch

[@stacydornan9765]

Pretty sad engineering went into that,wow unreal

[@JCNARB]

While you’re in there, one should always replace the 2 plastic coolant tees and coolant return hoses behind the driver side rear of the cylinder head and replace them with metal coolant tees that can be purchased from JTR Stealth in Ca. Cheap insurance and will ensure a long service life of these failing cooling system parts. The partisan and second dart air pump brackets need to be removed but who would want to do this job twice? Replace it while you’re in there and never think about it again…

[@andrewhillman9632]

Porosity can be an issue on those aftermarket aluminum coolant pipes, was happy to see your pressure test was ok.

[@debsigt8958]

Im from Lebanon and what you said is true and most people if not all use tap water for there engines

[@trongduong9570]

You did good job bro,,,

[@1995RangeRover]

Awesome!

[@diablo7322000]

Good times. I'm doing the same thing on my N62 550i tomorrow.

[@mathiaseklof5089]

Pro at work

[@dog2bert]

Maybe try an oscillating multi tool next time to cut the pipe

[@OG_Jack]

Would a schedule 40 PVC cutter work?

[@georgegonzalez2476]

The only Cayenne I’ve seen was in the supermarket parking lot lot. Well, I actually heard it first. I thought a fife and drum band was on the March.

[@MrMountainHawk]

German engineering makes me want a Toyota Corolla. Engineered intentional obsolescence to mechanically total the vehicles after a few years out of warranty. With clinical efficiency. Sure some wealthy owners can keep em running. Loved the video though--nice job--no moronic hype or yelling.

[@michaelhawkins5530]

Gotta love those German engineers for choosing such a crappy design that surely will fail on every single engine eventually. Plastic engine pipes on a super premium car; thanks for caring about your customers!

[@elmayimbe_the_amateur_mechanic]

How much does the labor on this job cost.

[@Alex-rj6sv]

These are great engines

[@adareone]

Hey Jonney, would you say these engine are hard to work on for the shadetree or KZbin mechanic ?

[@myz06rocks]

I work on my own stuff almost religiously and my opinion (and the reason i generally stay away from these types of vintages of vehicles and manufacturer) is that typically i don't think they're "harder" to work on but you certainly can get yourself into a "Parts availability" mess a lot easier if you find you need something that you hadn't predicted.

Those designers who came up with those plastic pipes in engines should be "insert bad word here". It is incredible how many baffeling designs that have been completely bonkers have been introduced into engines during the many years

[@anthonyxuereb792]

"They love to leak" plastic coolant pipes in a Porsche? So what are you paying top dollar for? No thank you, what other second class engineering lurks in the vehicle???

[@Thomas63r2]

They knew it was a bad design from the get go - but that extra nickel of cost "savings" pushed them forward.

[@JDLNYC]

Also if you have input on ways to improve the design or use of aftermarket improvements that would be great for the 4.2v8

[@al8161]

My 4.8 turbo has a bit different design than that, specially the water pump and thermostat housing. I had an open thermostat and they were able to remove the housing and put new pipes without removing the engine.

[@Rene_W204]

Jonny!!!! How do you like those soft bristle grinder attachments?? I’ve been thinking about getting them but haven’t actually because I am unsure if they are actually any good.

[@ronjohnson8119]

Based on the quality of the URO parts I’ve used, they wont last as long as the original plastic parts.But I guess if you don’t have to pull the engine maybe it’s worth it? If Porsche makes a replacement like those I would DEFINITELY be using those instead of the garbage URO parts.

[@frankleonard6291]

Nice job, I have the 6 cylinder, but looking for twin turbo 4.5 cayenne.

[@ozarkliving7263]

Does John spend an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom with the tube of dielectric grease?

[@benjaminkessler8169]

Honestly I’m surprised there are still some around with the old style. We replaced them daily back on 08-15

[@ozarkliving7263]

Why not use Viton O rings? Durability and temp range beats anything else I’ve seen.

[@BigCityBoyyyy]

what German engineer thought putting the starter under the intake was a good idea? WTF is that about.

[@admranger]

The Toyota Land Cruiser has the starter in the same place. Maybe it's an Axis powers thing?

[@aygwm]

Good lord, that’s a nightmare.

[@mikemata623]

What happened to the X5 diesel video? Could have sworn you guys uploaded it not to long ago.

[@Demy26]

FEDs 👀

[@mikek5298]

Never a good idea to publicize an action that violates Federal emission laws.

[@mikemata623]

@@mikek5298 makes sense