mackguyver

Ahsai, thanks so much for your reply and I'll take a look at the blower fan motor and transistor later today. I might have to pick up a Durametric as well - it seems like something I should have now that my car is getting older.

I have searched and searched this forum and the Internet but can't seem to find anyone else with my issue. Last week, I got in the car and the A/C came on full blast, but no air came out of the vents. I turned it off and then back on a few minutes later and it worked. It kept working the next several days and then it did it again. Now it has died completely. When I turn the fan speed to max, a tiny bit of cool air comes out, but I can barely feel it. The 2 A/C & Heat fuses are fine and there are no codes in the CEL. I have the classic foam in the duct issue and worry that it's clogged the fan, but I can't hear the fan starting at all, but I do hear the A/C turn on and some other electronic/mechanical noises when I turn the fan on or off with the controls. Does anyone have any idea what might be wrong? As a Floridian with 90+ degree days, your help is much appreciated!

Moving to main forum

I'm having a very similar problem and couldn't get my top open until tonight. The driver side is clicking at the very start and the very end and the top won't go all the way down or all the way up. It's closed and latched, but the convertible top light is still on. I tried to work on it tonight but couldn't find the red(/white) cables to save my life. I will have to try again in the light... In the meantime, is it bad to drive around with the top closed and latched, but with the light still on?

Yes, I had to replace both plates - the left was available OEM (Bosch) and for about $70 and the right was Genuine Porsche $155 - though they were absolutely identical other than the orientation. The plates went in very easily and I got the headlights installed again. I had a very bad (first) experience with Auto Atlanta who everyday for two weeks told me that the second half of my order (the right mounting plate) had shipped despite being told that everything was in stock when I ordered. They gave me the runaround and charged me about $40 more in shipping than I was quoted. I would never use them again.

Ok, it looks like it will be easy to replace them - they just have three retaining bolts that came off easily, but I can't figure out how to release the wiring harness.

I was having trouble getting my headlights out to change the bulbs and realized the tool was stripped, so I used a socket. Both headlights were hard to get out, but both came out without crazy effort, but when they did, the broke the headlight mounting plates and the rod that holds the headlights in is not secured in the plastic anymore. I looked up the part numbers - 99663104100 & 99663104200 but I'm not sure how hard they are to replace. I tried the torq bolts on on one of the plates but couldn't get it free and I'm leary of breaking something else now. Any ideas on how to fix or how much my overpriced dealer will charge to fix?

Thanks so much for your post - I thought I might've stripped the headlight retention mechanism - I didn't realize how cheap the toolkit wrench was and how easily I stripped it. Considering the engineering marvel that is the superlightweight jack, I was surprised that the tools are so cheap. It's a 5mm socket for future reference if people find this post. The socket cured all and allowed me to pop the passenger headlight in just as easily as the driver side.

I prefer to drink it on the rocks or mixed with brake fluid for what I call a Chernobyl Sunrise. They say it's lethal, but it tastes good to me :cheers:

I don't know the answer, but I'd be really surprised if these need to be changed until much later like 90k miles or only if they're defective.

I edited my last post, but I guess it doesn't show up as a new one, so I'm writing thing to make sure people get to see my tips.

I'm deleting my original post - I took another stab at my 986 plug change in the light of day and wanted to post some tips to keep with the spirit of this topic: The KD Tools spark plug sockets (mentioned in a earlier post) worked perfectly for the 986 engine. I used the 11" socket for the 4 rear-most plugs and the 6" for the front 2 plugs. They are worth their weight in gold - no more trying to retrieve a lost socket deep in the engine. The only negative was that the hinged shaft on the 6" requires far more turns because the hinging reduces the effectiveness of each turn. Plan on removing the wheel well liner held in place by two 5mm plastic nuts - it'll give you much more access to the cramped space. You'll need to remove the 5mm bolt holding the spark plug connector wires in front of the 2 front-most plugs to get the wire & harness out of the way for full access to the boot and plug. You'll also need a Phillips head screwdriver to remove a screw holding a u-shaped drain/vent that blocks access to the 5mm hex bolt on the middle plug on the driver's side. If you remove one screw and loosen the other, you can swing it out of the way to get access. Just about the only tool that will reach the front-most (driver's side) 5mm hex bolt is a traditional 90 degree bent hex wrench, like the ones that come with furniture. Between the body & a very thick hose (or wire), you won't be able to use a hex socket, a foldout hex or any of the elaborate socket extenders and thumb wrenches I tried. You might get away with a low profile 1/4" mini socket or GearWrench type socket. This might not sound like a big deal, but owning multiple hex socket sets, and several folding hex sets, I never bothered to buy the 90 degree hex wrenches and had to run out to get a set to complete the 6th and final plug - very annoying! Also, and your experience may very, but I found the 5mm hex bolts needed a fair amount of force to "pop" them and then they were easy to turn. I had Beru plugs from the factory and found some of them to be very tough to get out. Two required maximum torque to get them loose and all were very tight and even "gritty" for the first 5 or 10 turns. I have changed plugs on at least 6 other cars (mostly European) and never had this much difficulty. I don't know if it's the whole "no anti-sieze" thing or what, but it wasn't very comforting and I was very worried about stripping the engine threads. With the 11" extended socket, I was able to use my torque wrench to snug the plugs to Bosch's 21 ft/lb recommendation for the 4 rear-most plugs. I wasn't able to get enough room to turn the torque wrench in the front of the engine, so I just tightened them by hand to what I felt to be the right torque. Allow plenty of time (at least an hour) to change the plugs because it's so damned cramped and even with a good worklight, you have to do a lot by feel. If you've only changed plugs in a front engine, you're in for a surprise. I used to think it was a pain to change the plugs near the firewall in my BMW because it was tight... I hope this hellps fellow 986'ers out there. It's a pain, it's dirty, it takes while, but it's not too hard and I'm sure you'll save a ton over what the dealer wants to charge.

Update I went to the dealer this morning for a "45k minor service" at 39k miles. It's been two years since I bought it and I've only put about 11k miles on it, so I thought it was a good idea to get it checked out. Well $196 later, I drove off with a new drain plug, no problems and a oil and filter change. I could swear I heard the mechanic telling the service advisor about the drain plug, but no one said anything to me about it. I even asked if they found anything at all and they said no. I don't know if they were embarrassed at the thought that another dealer had done this or what, but alas, all seems to be good. Hopefully I'll be able to do my own oil change next time. I don't think Mobil 1, paper filters, or metal washers / rings have a shelf life, so I should be all set in a year or two. Also, I still can't believe the amazing difference that my brake flush made - especially since I didn't see any air bubbles come out while doing it. My brakes are much firmer and have so much better "feel". If you've got the other DIY tools, I'd strongly recommend getting a bleeder. My next purchase will be need to new tires, and we all know how cheap those 18" low profile tires are, so I'm probably out of fun money for more DIY projects for the time being. Thanks to all of the helpful people who responded to my post!

I can't remember if Porsche valet keys do this, but beware of the newer valet keys. They are NOT spare keys. In addition to not opening the storage compartment / glove box and trunk(s), they don't have the code or full code in them and will not activate the fuel pump. The idea is to keep the valet from getting too far if they drive off in your car. I had a friend who misplaced his main key and after using his spare key he had the car die a block or two away. Not the way you want to learn about this...

Thanks for the tip and you must've felt very fortunate to have a spare drain plug nearby. Black gold is no joke and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before the price per quart of the good stuff goes way up... As a follow up to my previous post - the BMW was MUCH easier - and I wish I'd done it first. Only one valve per caliper - properly torqued and I had an 11mm racheting socket wrench this time. It's always cool when I can buy one size for both cars. Anyways, I go to the dealer Friday morning - we'll see what they have to say...

I got my Motive Powerbleeder (Black Label) this afternoon and while it was missing the collection bottles (separate shipment???) I went ahead and did my brakes. I got off to another bad start, though. The only 11mm wrench I have is part of a micro wrench set and it didn't have much leverage - it actually flexed as I tried to open the 1st bleed valve. I ended up ever-so-slightly rounding one edge of the valve without getting it open :(. I was mad again because I'm sure it was the same genius mechanic who over-tightened this, too, since he did the oil, brakes, and other stuff just before I bought the car. I definitely need to get a full sized 11mm wrench before doing it again. Well, I decided to try the inner valve and got it free - along with the rest of the bleeder valves. I drained extra fluid from the right rear brake in the hopes of clearing out the whole line despite not being able to free the one valve. I ended up going through about 1.2L of ATE Gold, but got it all done. I took a test drive and did some easy stops and then 2 hard (ABS-engaging) stops from about 60 MPH. The brakes feel SO much better - much firmer pedal feel (it was getting soft). I can't believe the difference! I'm going to do my BMW tomorrow if I can find a local place that carries ATE. I think the "black label" model was worth the extra few bucks (it was all Das Auto Sport had in stock) for the longer hose and billet cap. The bleeder bottles would've been nice to have, but I made due. This was a pretty expensive maintenance since I didn't have much of the right stuff - I bought a 1/2 torque wrench on sale at Sears - $60, breaker bar - $20, no-scratch socket set - $30, 3 ton aluminum racing jack on sale at Harbor Freight - $80, Motive Bleeder, bottles, 2L of ATE Gold - $120 with shipping - so about $330 with tax. Sure I could've gone cheaper, but I plan to use the tools for other maintenance, too. I think the dealer charges ~$160, so I'll just about pay for it after I do my Bimmer - and next time around I just have to pay for the fluid - plus I have nice tools to do other items.

This is what I was scared of when I wrote the "other jacking post". I missed the jack point on of my old cars while changing a tire in the dark and practically punched a hole in the underside of the body. I can tell you that I used my jack on the point where the skid plate thing attaches to the engine and suspension right near the drain plug and other than a tad bit of bending to the folded over steel part it seemed to work great. I realize you need a pretty low profile jack to do it and if my car was lowered, it probably wouldn't be possible, but if you got the car up on some blocks of wood first, it should work with most jacks.

Thanks for the replies and interesting stories on trans plugs and things, all. It doesn't look like I'll get access to my friend's lift anytime soon, so I guess I'll go the dealer route. On the jackstands, there just isn't enough clearance for me to really see the plug and not nearly enough to try to hammer or drill. Wish me luck at the dealer...

I actually started out with a T50 bit after noticing that the (new) plug looked more like a Torx than a hex. Hopefully I can get it on a lift soon and get it out. I have a new plug ready to go...

Thanks, Loren. I hadn't gotten around to searching the forum yet - I was just mad to discover an over-torqued plug. I think I might pick up one of those Sears extractors before I get my car up on the lift. From there, it should be much easier to hammer the thing in and get the SOB out.

Not get off topic - but I was screwed at a Firestone, too. I took my wife's car in and like you, as an afterthought, asked them to flush the radiator. Next thing you know, it needs new hoses, then it has holes in it and needs to be replaced. I ended up talking to someone in their CEO's office to get it straightened out. It still cost me a bundle and I was NOT happy. It's probably what prompted me to start working on her car, too. I sure hope that my story has a happier ending, but it's not off to the best start. Hopefully I can get some time on my friend's lift soon - he races almost every weekend and he's building a friend's race car so it's not the easiest thing. I'll let you guys know what happens. I just hope there's enough grip left on the plug to get the damned thing out. Like I said, I have a new plug - I've learned the hard way to always have a new plug on hand, just in case. For $3 or whatever, it might even be worth putting a new one on each time - it's not like I bought a Porsche to save money on cars!

Thanks for the sympathies guys. The only good thing I can say is that it's better to strip & bust a drain plug than strip the drain pan. After stripping and having to tap out a drain plug in my old BMW 525i, I found out that most drain plugs are softer metal so that this works. Unfortunately, my wife's old car was American and she'd been getting her oil changes at Wal-mart when we started dating. When I crawled under to do the change for the first time, it was over-torqued and ...$600 later, I had a shiny new oil pan installed. Apparently most American cars use hard steel plugs in a hard steel pan (something to ponder for conspiracy theorists) Anyways, I'm president of the local Porsche club and one of my members has a lift, so I might try to see if we can get it out before I head to the dealer. The other stuff I'm planning (for both my (986 and my new BMW) on is doing the brakes - flush now, change pads & maybe rotors later, change ATF fluid, fuel filter, and a few other misc items. If that goes well, we'll see...

After spending lots of time & money to gather up everything for a whole series of maintenance on my '03 986, I thought I'd start with something easy - an oil change. Unless left isn't loose and counterclockwise isn't loose, I think the tech at the dealer torqued the crap out of my drain plug. The fun part is that it's aluminum and I started to strip the hell out of it with my hardened chrome vanadium steel 8mm socket. I quit while there was still something left of the plug, but it looks like now I'm stuck going to the dealer for a nice $250 oil change meanwhile I have everything I need (including a new drain plug). It doesn't give me much confidence to do all the other stuff...

I just went outside (I work from home) and found that I was able to slip my jack under what I labeled 'PCA Jack Pt "A"'. I had about 3/4" clearance and bumped the jack handle on the exhaust tip for the first few pumps but was able to do it. I'm very glad I went for the low-profile jack, now :) The only bad thing was that I noticed my rear P-zeros have less tread left than I thought (maybe the autocross wasn't such a good idea - nah, it was fun). As for upgrades, Uncle Sam and his friendly tax auditors have taken away several thousand of my "fun" dollars this year, so it might be a little while before I do anything big. I'm just focusing on maintenance for now - I've got 10 qts of Mobil1, a Motive bleeder, new plugs, and some other goodies on the way to keep my baby running well.

Cassiebox - thanks for your reply - though I'm still not 100% sure and the diagram isn't exactly clear to me as I can't see the support cables under my car. I jacked her up and took a quick photo and then had way too much fun in PhotoShop. It would seem that you, Bentley, and the first PCA post refer to what I've labeled 'PCA Jack Pt "A"'. From their second description, it sounds like the two bolts on the side, 'PCA Jack Pt "B", and then I also labeled the RainyDay jack point as well. From what I see, the two "B" points look the most solid, and "A" looks too close to the engine. But I'm no expert - that's why I'm here asking :D