mikefocke

Maybe corrosion between the contacts and the fuse cause resistance/heat and fry the fuse. Then removal/swaps cause more solid contact.

If you consider the failure of a part at 1% a serious issue, then you replace the dual row. At 10% or more, the single row makes it easier to spend the money.  How many of us replace proactively every part that has a ten year 1% failure rate (AOS and water pump every 30k miles for example)?  Your car, your money, your choice.

The problem with the transitional years is you can't tell which you have without the work/expense of transmission removal. Maybe to buy a car with a clapped out clutch so you can use that to get a discount on the purchase? Then replace the clutch and, once the trans is off,  take a look at the IMS exterior and figure out if you want to go in and replace the bearing.

CR I hope your memory is right. They may have just sealed the cover over the IMS without doing the bearing. To get at both RMS and IMS, the trans is removed so really only 2-3 hours of labor difference and if you were having other work done the bill from a dealer could be high especially if Porsche was paying.

overtaxn: I like the sound of the 2000 S at $12k. I sold a 68k '01S 3 years ago for $13.5k so that is about the right price and the records helps it. Tires, rear window are the obvious $1k items.  A PPI would reveal more once you have gotten a look at the obvious.

CRwarren

If the dealer did replace the IMS proactively as a preventative maintenance item, it would be the first I've heard and I've been following this issue for at least 8 years.   I suspect they did the RMS which is nothing but a seal.  The RMS part was replaced with a better part a few years after the M96 engine's introduction.   Only very recently has Porsche admitted that the IMS could be replaced without swapping the block.  For years, the only Porsche repair was to exchange a block and ship the bad one bad to the factory.

The '99 does not have the worst of the IMS bearings, the only concern I'd have on a '99 with 41k is the infrequent use and I'd be wanting to see meticulous maintenance records.  It is, after all, a 16 year old car. And they don't often sell for 5 figures.

And if everyone who ever figured something out took the same attitude, just think where we'd be.

I'm impressed by those who share.

Thanks for posting your solution.

The LN bearing, besides the bearing materials having a longer life, are also without one of the seals the OEM bearing uses. Thus the mist (or immersion, when at rest) is effective in lubricating the bearing. Obviously, the better the oil, the better the filtration and the fresher the oil, the better the lubrication.

Also, LN/Flat6 provides either 2 or 3 bearing choices depending on which version you find you have once your transmission is removed. How long you expect to keep your car is what they base their suggestion on of which to use.

If your car is pristine, you are upgrading lots of engine parts, intend to keep it forever...then "The Solution". 

Medium term, for the single row engines, they offer the "Single Row Pro".

40k or so on the single row, their ceramic.

Their dual row ceramic is now thought to last well beyond the originally cautious 40k.  

As to why not the OEM, why use a bearing of known inferior materials and method of lubrication if the labor cost is going to be such a large proportion of the total cost?

As with any car that old (17-15 years!!!) there are risks and Porsche parts aren't particularly cheap and expert labor gets priced for the ones who have the $125k cars. You don't say the mileage of the cars you are looking at.

Price the tires just to give you a peak at how this isn't a Corolla.

Wonderful cars, owned 2, mine were very economical to own. But there are risks and you should have money in your pocket for multi-k$ expenses should they be necessary. (Owned 2 sports cars at your age, both disasters that cost me a lot of money.)

Condition, location, season, records, options, color.  All affect price.  Find a motivated seller who has cared for the car and has a record of servicing things even beyond frequent oil changes so the car you buy you won't have to pay for those things.

Of those years, I'd choose the '99 even though it has the smaller engine.

Could some rodent have gotten into the wiring harness?

Is the car completely original/OEM/stock? What recent work/changes have been done?  What sensor parts are now installed (part number)? Air filter?  Exhaust? Any sign of an AOS problem?

You say "direct fit".  A term I'm not familiar with. Can you cite a part number and brand you used? Maybe give a net reference?

You may want to use Bosch O2 parts, not universal and not Porsche. You do want to use ones with factory crimped pigtails. Not soldered.

A list of the parts Porsche buys from Bosch is here. http://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/oxygensensors

Was there ever any Porsche specific testing results published for the DT40 that would support its use? I know Jake requires it but I'm looking for evidence of its superiority. Also information under what conditions it is superior.

Not sure I'd suggest messing with the airbags from a safety perspective.  Can you be sure your airbag comes out on time with no added debris? Said as one who totaled a Boxster.

Do what you want, it is your car.

But to make the record more complete, here is what Porsche found necessary to do between the '97 and '98 model years in order to safely run 18 wheels:

• Redesigned wheel wells
• Redesigned coil spring mounts
• Reinforced lower engine compartment bulkhead
• Rear wall cross-member reinforcement
• Rear axle mount reinforcement

The trouble with the English site and the CDs is that they are '98 vintage without updates so as things changed or if you had a later year car (or if errors were in the original), they were less reliable/helpful. Better than nothing and a useful supplement to the other manuals that are out there but don't bet your car on them.

There is a old set of the manuals circulating on CD. Your differentiation has to be that it is printed, updated, covers later years of the 986.

Sticky button?

My original thought was "why not look in the PET".  And then I did and the rear bumper assembly isn't there that I can find.

I'd also do the water pump as they do wear out and are easy to get to with the motor sitting out. Use the OEM one, not a metal impeller model.

Look at all the extra buttons. They wouldn't work because the steering shaft wiring wouldn't be present. Not to mention the things they control aren't in the car like phone integration.

Lots of info about the key at http://pedrosgarage.com/Site_5/Key_Info.html

Warning, once you go to the site, be prepared to lose about an hour of your life reading the articles that spark your interest!

Porsche also sold a special frame measuring jig to body shops I was told and it might be used instead of the Laser measurement system JFP mentions.

I totaled a '99 9 years ago with 27k on it.  The car was perfect...and then it wasn't.  My first thought was "OMG, I pranged a Porsche!". Front end. I looked at it and said to myself "no worse than my son's Honda and that was $3k so maybe $5-7,000".  I thought fenders, hood and a little radiator and bumper and it would be fine.  It drove fine, the front trunk looked unaffected and the airbags didn't even deploy.  I'd repaired worse in other cars. The body shop (really top notch shop in a major metro are) stopped counting when they did the insurance company-authorized detailed assessment at $26k. Since the car was worth less, I got a check from the insurance company, they got the car. Once they started talking frame, I didn't want the car for safety reasons.

IMHO, the car should be totaled. The cost to repair approaches or exceeds the absolute max value of the car before it was wrecked and that is before any hidden issues are uncovered via the frame measurements. Also if the airbags deployed, the interior is a mess and many insurance companies will scrap the car on that basis alone. So for economic and safety reasons, the car should go to a wrecker who will part out the car and extract the value of the parts which can exceed the value of the car but which require time and labor cost to extract and then time and labor to market.

I feel her pain.

Sometimes I'd be so eager to get out I'd put a electric space heater in the car for a half hour to warm up that plastic window so I could safely lower it.

I drove mine except on the days where the road temperature was less than 40 degrees. One time I didn't. It was totaled. Pay attention to the road temperature and get at least all-seasons if you are going to drive it when there is even a chance of the road surface being so cold that the tire "rubber" won't grip with summer tires.

Once you have lost the key-socket, consider if you really have wheels special enough to warrant the locks.  I figured they were so subject to being lost (or stolen) during a service that I'd just buy some studs and use them. But I had stock wheels, nothing valuable. The dealer parts guy allowed me to use their complete set  to remove the locks after he sold me the studs.

For every wreck, there are axles available.

http://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/listsofsourceswould give you a list or wreckers specializing in Porsches.

You need to have the axle from your same transmission, not one from a 6 speed or Tip.