CAFleming

I'd like to add a clarification to this very helpful DIY. Everything went smoothly EXCEPT for the unclipping of the plug from the Mass Air Flow sensor. This may have changed in later model 996s (mine is a '02). A search on another website revealed that I was not alone! Others also had difficulty with this step. One person advised totally removing the MAF sensor using a security Torx screwdriver. Although that is an acceptable approach, it's not really necessary. Here's how to unclip the MAF connector (at least on my '02 car). The release for the connector is located in the middle of the broad side of the plug. Unfortunately, the release is on the BOTTOM of the plug, where it can't be seen in it's normally installed position. The release is a square tab, about 1/4 " across. I recommend reaching underneath the plug and pushing inward on the tab, which actually means pushing UP towards the sky. It may take a moderately firm push. It may help to also push the connector a little more snugly in towards the MAF sensor as you push the release tab. There will be a very noticeable click feeling when the plug disengages. If you don't have any luck with that approach, you can always complete the removal of the airbox as per the above instructions, then carefully turn the box over with the connector still attached to the MAF sensor. That way you can actuallly visualize what you're doing. My only other tip, as noted in the diagram of Loren's DIY is to make sure the two downward locating pins on the airbox are properly postioned in the rubber grommets upon reinstallation. The grommets tend to become displaced every time you lift out the airbox.

My daughter is a sophomore undergraduate at NYU (in the College of Arts & Sciences, not business school). Some of her friends (one of whom I know well) are in the Stern school. The short version is that they've been very happy there. The internship opportunities as a business school student in Manhattan are maybe the best part of the program. Her friend was getting internships as a freshman and sophomore that were way beyond what most students elsewhere could get even as upperclassmen. I know he has done a stint with Sullivan & Cromwell, the merger and acquisitions giant, and also a French energy trading company. As a sophomore business student, one company offered him $150K to start right then and there (and finish business school at night). Manhattan is expensive, of course, but students learn to get by pretty well.

From what limited knowledge I have, I would have to agree with Loren. Steve Dinan did an excellent "white paper" on dyno testing recently in which he gave a detailed analysis of why roller dynos are really pretty worthless, even for giving comparative results after mods. Unfortunately my link to this article doesn't work, but it convinced me that it's hard to have much faith in anything short of the very sophisticated (relative to roller dynos) methods that the manufacturers use--and even then, they've been shown to be wrong at times! One of the major points that Dinan makes in his paper is that the fan used in most dyno test to simulate frontal air intake at speed, is totally inadequate, and can seriously affect intake charge and air fuel ratios, thereby skewing results. When manufacturers do dynos on an installed engine, they use a set-up that uses a huge wind-tunnel like fan to closely approximate frontal air charge. One must then carefully compare multiple runs under identical conditions to determine if any change in the engine set-up truly makes any difference, pro or con.

The tickets are not the issue at all. None of the other major insurance companies campaigned actively in state legislatures to ban radar detectors, as did GEICO. Again, if that kind of political activity doesn't bother you, send them your money. I'll send my money elsewhere. Andy (No tickets in 5 years!)

PHilosophically, I refuse to ever use GEICO. They campaigned for years to outlaw radar detectors, at the same time they were penalizing their customers heavily for receiving speeding tickets. If that kind of conflict of interest doesn't bother you, then it's not an issue I guess.

My '02 Targa 996 has a minor, intermittent issue. Sporadically, the message "Failure indicator" appears in the OBC window, and at the same time the oil pressure guage falls all the way to the bottom. This only lasts a few seconds, then the oil pressure guage is back up to normal and the failure indicator message goes out. My car is under warranty, so I know I could just have the dealer check it out, but I thought I could at least check for loose connections around the oil pressure sending unit, and maybe save the time of a dealer visit. I would be very appreciative if someone could describe where the oil pressure sending unit(s) is located and I would also appreciate any other tips if anyone has had a similar problem. Thanks!