cnavarro

I know my local Porsche dealership does not include servicing the diff on the tip when you ask to change the transmission fluid. They only do the ATF unless you specify you want the diff done as well, and charge accordingly.

Lubro-moly makes a BMW-part number engine flush product that is put in a warm engine and run for 10 minutes, then the oil and filter is changed. VW has a similar BG product is used along with an external bypass filter, then the engine is run for something like an hour (TSB is available on the internet if you're curious). Honestly, I don't think either of these products will free up a stuck lifter from what I have been told - lifter replacement or rebuilding the lifters are the only ways to return the engine to proper (quiet, full-lift) operation.

Yup!

Blinking is likely poor cable alignment. Once fixed, it shouldn't exhibit any further problems. If it still shifts badly or incorrectly once the cable alignment is verified, then likely the fluid needs changing. I change mine every 20-25k on every VW/Porsche I own. I can tell the difference in how it starts to shift right at this point. Interestingly enough, some of the automakers that give 10 yr powertrain warranties require fluid changes every 20k.

Although not a Cayenne, I had this problem with an '04 vw Treg v8 - they replaced everything short of the driveshafts, which I told them the problem likely was. Got tired of fighting with them over it and got rid of it. I now have an '04 vw Treg v10, no problem what so ever. Different driveshafts from what I was able to tell.

Castrol Syntec 5w40 and Pennzoil Platnum 5w40 European Formula are both Porsche approved. My preferred choice for "factory approved" is Motul 8100 5w40 (it's still SL rated). Being that Porsche approval is not what it once was, there are TONS of excellent oils in a 5w40. Redline, Motul 300V, etc.

To answer the question on the IMS retrofit - we have to work within the constraints given (that what goes in must be the same dimensionally as what comes out). We source the best bearing money can buy and in fact, the bearing costs about 25 times more than what I would pay for the bearing Porsche put in (at least for the single row retrofit). What changes we have made to the IMS should have been standard from Porsche. I'll be the first to say that a teardown to get to the IMS would be the best solution, but I wouldn't go with Porsche's final revision from the MY06 and later engines. For the price, you can have much, much better, and we can do a lot more to the IMS with respect to load capacity and longevity with the modifications we make. We didn't come up with this alone - thankfully we have had other concerned individuals (fellow Porsche owners) who have been willing to share their expertise in areas like bearing design and engineering (as well as wear studies and modeling) to get us to where we are today. But before going that far, I'm with Loren... I'm willing to bet someone isn't using the go no-go gauge properly, i.e. whoever is interpreting the results is favoring the least expense solution for the dealership (and Porsche) by choosing the cheaper solution which is to just keep throwing RMS's at it. I have heard from several techs that it's easy to use the tool to get whatever result you want to get. If the carrier is shuffling, it can't be good for the long term reliability of the engine.

I've seen fuel dilution as a big problem in non-DI engines coupled with long drain intervals in the Boxster, Cayman, and 911, so nothing new here, hence the recommendation for much shorter drain intervals and the need for used oil analysis. Low tension rings, short drives, and fuel enrichment during the warm-up cycle all contribute to this problem.

Your 2004 is likely to have a dual row bearing - Porsche returned to using the dual row bearing until the MY06 where they went to a much larger single row. To date, every MY99 and 00 3.4 996 IMS has had the single row, but everything else I have seen has been dual row. There are exceptions though to the rule - I did a 3.6 X51's IMS and it had a single row like the 99-00 3.4 996, so go figure. I updated our IMS page to try to be a little more clear in explaining the differences and what simple changes can be done to improve longevity. In response to an earlier post someone where someone had thrown out a figure that inferred most failures occur early, there's no evidence to say that if it doesn't break early, that it won't.

Don't be too concerned. There are many ways these engines can consume oil normally. Sometimes the rings can position themselves to allow oil to creep by, having some smoking initially at startup. Also, with the really thin oils we run, coupled with the very low tension rings used, it's expected to have a bit more consumption. To give you an idea what viscosity can do, I've seen in my 964, 1 qt in 700 mi using a 0w40 versus only .5 qt of usage in 4500 mi with a 20w50.

All it took for me was one ice skating trip down a lonely country road in my c4 with P Zero Neros on it to buy another set of rims and a set of Blizzaks. Even at 15 mi per hour, the front end got pretty badly mangled. I barely missed wrapping the driver's side around a power pole. Talk about pucker factor.

I stopped using them beginning of this year and went back to Staveley. One of the guys over on Pelican just had very bad luck with his test and retest with Blackstone. The results with Staveley were spot on with what the manufacturer was claiming for the VOA.

My only point I was trying to make with the above post was that the old CI-4 Delvac 1 is what M1 Truck and Diesel is now marketed under here in the US, and is a proven product, and is easily available and an excellent alternative to M1 0w40, although not an approved oil. Nothing more. I know your position on HDEO oils clearly. And yes, since you brought it up, Zn and P aren't the only elements in an oils detergent and dispersant packages, but do perform the best overall and can be improved upon with changes in detergents and use of other AW additives, like boron (ZDTC, AP, DDP, VG48, etc). Most recently, I can cite SAE Technical Paper Series 2000-01-2030, Film-forming properties of Zinc-based and Ashless Antiwear additives, among at least a dozen other papers that back up this claim. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=367300

You should also look at getting the TBN tested too - the rule of thumb I use is when the TBN is reduced by 50% of the starting level, then it's time to change the oil. M1 0w40 starts at 10, so when you are at 5, then it's time to change IMHO. From the UOAs posted, 7,500 mi is right about that mark, like the PCA posted recommendations. Forwarned, a bunch of us guys from the Pelican forums have had problems with Blackstone re: accuracy and repeatability of their tests. I use Staveley Services to do all my oil testing, both VOAs and UOAs. For what its worth, there are much better approved oils than M1 0w40.

Doug, I'll just point out that Delvac 1 here in the US is a CJ-4 oil with lower Zn and P compared to the product marketed under the Mobil 1 Truck and Diesel formula, which is a CI-4, with 1400+ppm Zn and P, like the old Delvac. I have no problem with the Truck and Diesel M1 - it's HTHS viscosity is nearly that of 15w50 m1! Charles Navarro LN Engineering http://www.LNengineering.com Aircooled Precision Performance

I usually change my ATF at 25,000 mi; even then, I can tell a difference in how the transmission shifts. I don't believe their use of "lifetime" fuilds :-)