Paul Grainger

Its EcoBat. The USA division is called RSR (Revere Smelting and Refining)...... Paul G

I'm the chief engineer at a plant in the UK that recycles lead acid batteries. We recycle about 110,000 tonnes of batteries a year and supply various alloys back into the battery industry. We also recycle polypropylene and produce synthetic gypsum from battery acid. We are part of a group that is (at this time) the largest recycler of batteries in the world - we have lead smelting plants all over Europe / South Africa and three in the USA. Following the closure of all car battery manufacturing in the UK, we export most of the lead that we produce to the battery manufacturers in eastern europe and the far east. Paul G

JFP - You obviously know a lot about lead acid batteries - do you mind me asking what your involvement with the industry is? I'm involved in the battery industry, I like to make connections with others in the same business. Cheers Paul G

I have a 2002 3.6 carerra and am considering changing the DME module. I have been offered a used DME which has low recorded mileage and no over-revving. I have use of a pst2 and I know the ipass codes for my own car and can get them for the donor vehicle. My question is if use use the pst2 DME programming facility to set up the donor ECU to use on my vehicle, is the hours run, over-revs, mileage etc transferred from the original ECU to the donor ECU or are the donor ECU mileage etc maintained? Does the programming process render the original ECU unusable or can either ECU be used? Both ECU modules are 7.8 and should be compatible. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks, Paul G

Hi Mike The total system cost £2200 plus VAT (in the UK, VAT rate is 20%). Mine is the DesignTek valvetronic system complete with full stainless steel manifolds (headers) and stainless steel 200 cell catalyst sections. Basically, its the entire exhaust system. I also replaced the tailpipes for the 'twin pipe' design, just to finish the job off. My original tail pipes ratlled slightly on tickover which irritated me. Maybe I misled you about the radio control system for the valvetronic exhaust. I can still operate the valvetronic mechanism, but I wanted to have the proper porsche PSE switch fitted in the centre console, to keep an OEM look. The valvetronic system comes with a keypad fob, this works OK but isn't what I wanted. I purchased the proper switch from porsche, and wired it through to a 'ratchet' changeover relay mounted with the ECU's behind the rear seat. The switched 12V from the relay connects directly to the vacuum control solenoid that operated the valvetronic system. I don't have any speed limitation on when the valvetronic by-pass mode can be enabled. My car passed its MOT test without problems with the new system fitted. I can recommend this system. The quality and finish are good, and everything fitted well.

I have the design 911 valvetronic system on my 996 C2 convertible. The quality is very good, the sound is lovely, its better than the original system even in 'normal' mode. No problems fitting, no forcing or bending. Only one slight issue for me, one of the pairs of lambda sensors is vertically upwards, I had the trim the central heat shield slightly but only a two minute job. I didn't use the radio control system supplied with the valvetronic kit, I fitted the original porsche switch and a changeover relay. I can supply pics if anyone is interested. Paul G

If you've never swapped out an AOS before then a couple of hours would be very impressive. It took me about four hours of cursing and swearing when I did mine! Paul G

I had exactly the same problems, much white smoke on start-up, lasting for two to three minutes (seemed like forever). I had no problems removing my oil filler cap and feared the worst. I purchased a new AOS and set about fitting it. When I stripped down the inlet system there was a huge amount of oil in the plenum - more than you could possibly expect to find. The original AOS looked fine, but when everything was rebuilt the white smoke disappeared and has never come back.

I know that it is a popular modification to retrofit the 997 air box to a 996, but after having done much research there are some questions that I still need help with. Maybe someone on the site who has done this mod will be able to help me. I want to do this mod, the 997 air box looks so much better and easier to keep clean. I have a 2002 996 C2 convertible. My dealer can't help, he just said that 'there's no way that a 997 air box could be fitted to a 996'! question 1 - are all 997 air boxes the same? Ive been looking on e-bay and there seems to be a number of different different part numbers for 997 air boxes. Can anyone tell me what 997 air box part numbers will fit my car? question 2 - is the 997 3.8 air box the same as the 997 3.6 air box? Obviously the text on the badge is different, but are there any other differences? I have seen plenty of photos on the web of 3.8 air boxes fitted to 3.6 996's so I guess it must be possible to use the 3.8 air box. I have read where people have had problems with alignment of the fixing bolt - does this relate to use of the 3.8 air box? question 3 - Is the rubber hose from the air box to the throttle body different on a 3.8? I figured that maybe the throttle body diameter may be larger on a 3.8 and therefore would not be a direct fit to a 3.6 throttle body. Can the existing rubber hose from my 996 be used with a 997 air box? I know that the air pump may need to be moved, I don't see this as an issue - but I really don't want to buy an air box that won't fit my car. Any replies would be really appreciated! Paul G

PST2 Durametric (Pro version) also..... MB Star (software up to 2008) Vag-Com full version Nottinghamshire uk.... Glad to help..... i like beer and wine!

THe HDD in my PST2 is getting tired. Its eight years old and I'm concerned that if it fails I have a big problem. I have cloned the original Bosch drive using two different software packages but get the same result both times with the cloned disk, machine boots up, beeps twice and then i get the car with the spinning wheels. Nothing beyond that. I read on another thread that PST2 HDD's are very difficult to clone, is it possible to do this? When i did a chkdsk on the original drive there were a two file errors - the thing still seems to work OK but i'm now paranoid that its going to fail soon! Please please please can anyone help! Paul G

Thanks Richard and Todd for your replies. I know that dealers are very reluctant to give out IPAS codes. I don't have a PST2 but my local dealer (specialist in Nottingham rather than main dealer) has the laptop based PST2 system and has easily got the IPAS code for my car in the past in order to programme new keys, this has been obtained from the VIN number from Porsche so I am hoping that they will be able to get the IPAS code for the replacement DME given that I have the VIN number from the donor vehicle. They will be doing the work (setting up the DME to suit my car) themselves so I hope that they will do this without too much difficulty. Paul G

Can the maps be read by a pst2 and transferred from one DME to another? The IPAS codes can presumably be obtained by my dealer given that I have VIN codes for my car and the donor vehicle (the replacement DME is from a write-off car). If the mapping in the donor DME is incorrect (given that it presumably came from a boxster), can the maps in my existing DME be copied across to the replacement unit? Paul G

Are boxster and 996 DME's interchangeable? I have obtained all the DME data from the proposed replacement DME unit via durametric, it seems that the DME unit that I have acquired was actually from a boxster, although it was sold to me as being from a 996 and the part number exactly matches my existing 996 unit. From durametric: The 'part numbers' differ only differ by one digit (ie 986 and 996), the rest of the 11 digit number is the same. The 'supplier part numbers' are identical I have the vin numbers from the donor and my own car ID numbers are different (9964RDW01 / 986SRDW01) order types are different (996411, 986321) Software versions are diferent (004157026330 / 004157026730) Will this ex-boxster DME work in my 996? Paul G

What is involved in changing the DME in a 1999 C4 6-speed? I have a replacement unit with the same part number, Durametric reports no fault codes but the car will not start because the replacement DME is not coded to the car. What info do I need to have the replacement DME coded to my car? Do I need any info from the donor vehicle? (VIN?) Thanks Paul G

Thanks Loren, much appreciated. Paul G

Can anyone advise what model this DME will fit: 996 618 605 00 I have looked in various places, suggesting that this would be suitable for a 1999 C4 manual transmission (ie with e-gas). Can anyone confirm this? Thanks Paul G

Cured today! Simple really, specialist with laptop based PST2 system enabled on board computer. The red fault lamp took a little longer, one coding change (brake fault mapping change from PSM to ABS). This cured the problem ,although somewhat strangely my car is fitted with PSM. We checked the old cluster, this was also coded the same. I was amazed how few coding options there were. My previous car (Mercedes CLK) had literally hundreds of cluster coding options. The good new was that it was done for free!

I suspect the cluster because when my original cluster is refitted, the fault light then operates normally (ie it goes out a few seconds after the ignition is turned on. Does the part number of the new cluster match up for my car? What is the difference between '00' and '03' before the 70C at the end of the part number?

Loren Thanks for your quick reply. Is the continuously lit brake fault light something that the independant specialist can sort out? Thanks Paul G

The instrument cluster on my 1996 C4 6-speed has some of the LCD segments failed. I purchased a replacement cluster from a UK specialist porsche parts supplier but things on the new cluster aren't quite right. The original cluster part number is 996 641 117 00 70C The replacement cluster part number is 996 641 117 03 70C The OBC display is dead - but searching through the forum suggests that this may simply need to be enabled at my dealer. I am friendly with my local independant, he has a laptop based PST2 system - would be be able to enable the OBC on the new cluster? More worryingly, there is a continuous red brake fault light (!) showing on the new cluster when the ignition is on. When i refit my original cluster this light goes out soon after turning the ignition on. Can anyone advise if the new cluster is not compatible with my car, or what may be causing the brake fault light?

Has anyone on the forum replaced the 1st to second synchromesh? Is it a difficult task? Are any specialist tools required? I have previously stripped and rebuilt manual and auto 'boxes without any major problems - my change from 1st to second is very notchy and I am contemplating this job myself. Paul G

I suspect that variocam is not working properly on my 1999 996 C4 6-speed coupe. The car drives 'ok', no fault codes are reported but Durametric indicates no cam variance on bank 2. Is this normal? Indications show that bank 1 cam angle varies as the car is revved, but not bank 2 (the readings show zero). If this is a problem, what is the likely cause? Is it something that I could undertake myself? It might be my imagination, but the car seems to have less power at low RPM. Maybe I am imagining this, but there is a massive surge of power at about 4500rpm. Thanks in anticipation of a helpful reply! Paul G

Does anyone have a comprehensive list of suspension spring colour codes for the 996? My 99 C4 6-sp coupe has yellow/red coded springs. I have purchased from e-bay a pair of nearly new complete rear suspension legs that were advertised as being from a 2002 C4. The springs have silver/brown stripes. I would really like to know if these are OK for my car before installing them. Thanks Paul G

My 1999 C4 6-speed coupe has completed 48k miles with no significant problems. I had to replace an exhaust manifold gasket (I believe you call these header gaskets in the USA) last year, and that was a ***** of a job. Every stud into the head sheared - nightmare. A friend of mine owns a 1998 tiptronic coupe, his car has done 68kmiles, also with no significant problems. Paul G