Laurent996

I had my gearbox rebuilt by Gbox (www.gboxweb.com) a couple of years ago. They did a perfect job. If you look at their website, you'll notice that it's not just about special tools, you also need to measure pretty much everything to find out what's within specs and what must be replaced. I'd rarely hire someone to do maintenance and repairs for my cars, but in this situation these guys have tooling, knowledge and experience that are beyond my reach and therefore justify the extra $$$.

PIAA makes curved wiper blades that fit perfectly on the passenger side. Hers's a link for a website based in the UK, you can probably find some in the US if you search a bit. I found mine on Ebay some time ago, if you're patient you should see some more.

You should have a look at alldatadiy.com. Not sure how up to date it is, but what's in there comes straight from the factory workshop manuals and contains virtually everything you need.

One quick comment: don't buy a used key on Ebay, unless it comes with the original sticker with a barcode. Without this sticker, it won't be possible to reprogram the key. You'll really have to buy a new from your dealer. I fully agree with the positive comments about Durametric. I haven't tried the newest version (my cable isn't compatible), but it pays for itself really fast. Good luck Laurent

Hi Witchie, A couple of years ago I replaced my transmission with one refurbished by a company called Gbox LLC (http://www.gboxweb.com/). These guys are really good and knowledgeable. I'd give them a call.

If the seller claims a lot of work was done by a single dealer, you can give him a call and ask for a repair history. Not as good as PPI, but this may be enough to give you reasons to walk away.

Same thing for me, probably even less than 95%. I can't think of any relation between a water tank replacement and gas indicator though.

Graham, I guess there are plenty of DIY out there, but the one I would prefer to any other is the official manufacturer instructions. You can find them on www.alldatadiy.com. Costs you a few $$$ but it gives you access to most, if not all repair instructions, plus other things you won't find easily, like tightening torque. Besides that, there are a couple of tips you should consider: - the transmission holds the engine. So when you lower the transmission, you lower the engine as well. I don't know how low it goes, but the manual says it shouldn't be lowered than more than 25mm (1 inch). Note that this extra clearance will help you a ton when it's time to reassemble everything (the bolt on top of the gearbox will make you sweat and swear). I guess you can do that with a jack, but I'd use some of the savings made by doing the work yourself to buy the specially designed retainer bar (tool 9624/1). You can find it on samstagsale.com, I think I saw it as well on Ebay. - as Kristian mentions, the hardest part is realigning the gearbox with the flywheel. A set of drift punches will help, but what will really make your life easier is a couple of long 14x1.5mm bolt (size of most bolts used to attach the gearbox to the engine). Be very careful with that, you can destroy the threads in the process, but that will save you tons of time and efforts. Good luck. Laurent

Foster, The green sleeve is to protect the inner part of the seal during transportation and handling. You have to remove it before insertion on the crankshaft (you'll see it doesn't fit otherwise). Your tool should be in two parts. If the inner part fits the seal without the green sleeve, you then probably have what you're looking for. Remember not to touch the inner seal with you fingers. HTH

Hi Ohberlin, Currently, yes, but I don't see that as a symptom: it was already happening last summer with temps in excess of 90 degrees.

Hi, For a few months I noticed the following. When my car is idling after driving for 5to 15 minutes (usually when stopped at a traffic light), I almost always hear a noise coming from the engine bay that sounds like the air pump that runs for a minute when the engine is cold. This only lasts for one or two seconds, so I never had a chance to take a closer look at see if it's actually the air pump or something else. Also, this is happening the first time I stop, but not every time. It doesn't seem related to engine temperature as I saw it happening when the engine is cold as well as beyond 180 degrees. I also noticed that both RPM and voltage go down a little for an instant when this happens. The AC is off so I rule this out. Does anyone have a clue about why this is happening now? I don't have any fault code, so I suppose this is not a serious issue, but I'd be glad to have an explanation. TIA. Laurent

Hi there, After three years in the US, it will soon be time for me to go back to France. Both my 996 and my SL55 will come back with me. I'm trying to figure out all the modifications that will need to be done to get them compliant. Has anyone ever gone through this before? I read several posts of cars brought from the US to the UK, but I'm wondering if someone has some experience with continental Europe and France in particular. So far, I believe the two following things need to be done: - modify the sidemarkers to blink with the turning lights. There are several posts on this, but they all point to a link that no longer works. Does anyone has a DIY or a working link? - modify the fog lights to have them working on both sides. Again, several posts, but links are dead or pictures are gone. Does anyone have something I may use? - what else? I read on a post that the inspection also controls that the tire size is same as OEM. That was in the UK, is it true in other places? - I know this is a P-car forum, but any advice on the SL would be greatly appreciated :) I also plan to replace my gauges to get km/h instead of mph. Tool Pants posted a DYI in 2004, but the pictures are gone. Does anyone have another link or saved the pictures? Finally, do you know an importer I may work with to pick up my cars and bring them back and maybe help with the prep? Thanks in advance.

I'd give it a 6. It's not technically complicated, but the transmission is heavy to move around and, above all, to realign. It's also quite dirty and if you don't have a lift you'd rather not be clostrophibic. You'll also need to spend several hundred $ on tools (special Porsche and ordinary). Regarding the flywheel, I read somewhere that it should be replaced every two clutch replacement. One better way to check is to follow the procedure in one TSB (don't remember which one, but you can find it on the Renntech.org TSB list, accessible to contributing members). While you're there, you may probably want to have a look at your RMS. It will add another 30-45 mins of work. The seal itself costs around $20, but you'll need to get the RMS tool. The first time took me about 8 hours but I really took it easy, I should be able to do it again in 4-5 today. I think it's worth the effort, but I'll leave this up to you. HTH

I did all of this on my 996 C2 3.4 about a year ago. I think this is a DIY job, but you must have the factory instructions and you must have the right tools. I don't mean to badmouth on someone else's job, but the explanations in this link contain inaccuracies and things that are outright wrong: - the engine support bar is worth the money. The transmission holds the rear part of the engine. Once it is loosened, nothing holds the engine but this bar, so it's not just about extra safety. Other things that advocate for using it: it lets you adjust the engine height (very useful when you need to realign the gearbox and the engine and screw/unscrew the bolt on top of the gearbox), it gives more room under the car that you will most likely need, if nothing else appreciate, and finally it's a lot safer for you and your car. - to remove the seal, drill a hole in it, put a screw in the hole, then pull the whole thing out. That's what the official instructions say, it's that simple. - while you might be able to live without the engine support bar (at your own risk), the RMS tool is an absolute must. What's described in the other DYI sounds to me like the fastest way to ruin both the new seal and your engine. One thing you need to know though: the tool doesn't come with bolts to hold the part that goes on the crankshaft. I couldn't find the right bolts, so I ended up cutting two old flywheel bolts (those have to be replaced anyway) and grinding the head to the right diameter. No big deal, but if you didn't plan to replace your flywheel bolts, you may have to change your mind. I found the toughest parts to be realigning the gearbox with the engine block for reassembly and putting back the bolts at the highest part of the transmission (there's almost no clearance, feels like milking a mouse...). A set of drift punches will help you for the first, an air ratchet (I use a Snap on FAR72C) will for the second. I purchased the engine support bar from samstagsales and the RMS tool from Pelican parts, but since then I found it also on Ebay. As Foster mentioned, you can still resale these once you're done. Good luck!

You can using Durametric