billyc

Hey guys. I got the car back from the shop, they replaced the seal, but it still needs a motor... due to get one soon, just driving it until it breaks.. and it keeps the wife from complaining about buying a car that lives in the shop. <_< Anyways. Car has a new clutch, new flywheel, etc etc. When the engine is off, (or on) anytime I shift gears, it has a rattling/loose noise. the shifter is not shaking loose when I touch it or anything, but, just when I push the clutch in or change gears.. once again, I can have the car off, and when I push in the clutch to change gears, it sounds like metal hitting metal.. like there is a bushing or something missing. I searched the forum, and couldnt find an answer... is this common? Thanks. :renntech:

Okay, finally got the car back from the shop. The car isnt leaking oil anymore, and the check engine light is off. It does feel as if the engine is running rough now, and it certainly is shaking the car. Guess it does need a new motor, but I'll wait until after Christmas to put it in the shop again. it's been there 2 and a half weeks!! New problem-- Once the engine gets warm, the oil pressure drops right below 1 bar, at idle. The oil pressure warning light comes on, but as soon as I rev it up a little, it's gone. Drops down below 1k rpms, and it comes back on. Now please note that the dealer claims that the intermediate shaft is off balance, and I guess they are right... but is this a common problem for the oil pressure, or should I look at the sensor itself? Thanks!!

Ok You say you have all the service records. Has the rear main seal been replaced before? If so, how many times? Is the current seal the latest version? Concerning the CEL, have the coil packs ever been replaced? Has the MAF ever been replaced? Do you have all of the codes from the PST2? I suggest you get a lot more info before making a decision. If this is the original seal at 68k miles and is just now beginning to leak, then I doubt the crank is way out of whack. The go/nogo tool is not a failsafe determing factor for a bad engine. You could replace the seal with the latest version and not have a problem for the next 68k miles. You cannot always trust the dealer. They are only as good as the tech who is looking at your car. I scanned a friends car (not a 996) to give him a second opinion on a $2300 dollar estimate to fix emission related problems diagnosed by the tech (car would not pass with a CEL). My cheap scanner diagnosed a code which could be caused by a bad gas cap. New cap and $15 later no CEL. You should get the codes and fuel trim values and post them here. Dig a little deeper into the problem before the dealer just starts replacing parts. This is the second seal it's had. the first one was at 46k miles and was done in 2005.. the coil packs have not been replaced IMHO, nor has the MAF.

Any recommendations? replace the seal, and drive the car as is until it locks up? I don't have the extra $10k laying around. I wish Porsche would still pay half. but with me being the second owner, and it out of warranty, I don't see this happening.

Okay. Just spoke to the dealership. Service writer said they put in a "GO or no Go" tool where the seal goes. If it goes in with no resistance, everything is fine. If it does not go, it means the crankshaft is out of line. WELL GUESS WHAT!! SHOCKER! they said the tool doesnt go in, and the car will need a new motor soon. they said it will also need a flywheel. they informed me that the check engine light is because the crank is misaligned, and the flywheel is slipping. I asked them to replace the seal, put the car back together, and let me drive it until it breaks. :angry: Does this scream BS to anyone else??

Just spoke to the dealership. they STILL HAVE NOT pulled the friggin' tranny!! So the car is STILL sitting still. he assured me they will get it tomorrow. if not, Im going Thursday to pick it up and find another dealer. Im stressed out because I don't know if the car needs a motor, or what it needs. Im still as much in the dark as I was a week ago!! GRRRR!!

Okay guys, should have an update today or tomorrow. I'll keep ya posted.

Anyone have any idea about the oil pressure light?

I'll have to check and see. Why would the Low oil pressure light come on? it only comes on after it warms up, and then only at idle. if I give it the slightest bit of gas, oil pressure goes back up. When it drops, it goes slightly below the 1 mark.

What would cause the light/warning?

Phillip-- I paid $37,000 for the car, as is.. here's how. I work for a dealership. we took this car in as a trade in. I had our service department review the car and everything seemed to be fine, but It had a minor leak, which I assumed was the RMS, everything else was fine. The car is spotless.. garage kept. PO claims he was never rough on it, and it has all service records from day one. I drove it a few days before contracting up on it.. bought it and the warrant on November 30th.... but it wasnt until this past weekend when it threw the CEL and started running rough.. also when idling after warm, the check engine oil pressure light would come on. I marked this as well up to a RMS leak. I only got to drive it a total of 100 miles.. I still feel like I got a great deal on the car, but that will change if the dealer is correct about it needing a motor. I certainly had no idea.... but with it giving misfires codes, I don't think this is the case.

Viper- thanks for the info... Just got an update call from the dealer. The car has been there all week, and they STILL have not removed the tranny. They have been waiting on the warranty company to inspect it. Warranty company came by, verified the leak, and closed the ticket, saying that I have to give authorization to remove the transmission, not them. Okay, so they have my permission, whatever. When I got the check engine light scanned, it said random misfire, so I assumed plugs. I asked the tech about this and he said if the Intermediate shaft is broken, it can cause this light. So you are saying if the shaft is broken the engine won't run at all? The engine ran, and pulls strong through all rpm ranges. The check engine light will only come on under full throttle and over 5k rpms, then it flashes and stays lit until you reset it. They are still saying they won't know until they pull the transmission if it needs a completely new motor. It just does not seem like it needs a motor to me, but I guess I don't know.

UPDATE: Okay. Just spoke to the dealership. Service writer said they put in a "GO or no Go" tool where the seal goes. If it goes in with no resistance, everything is fine. If it does not go, it means the crankshaft is out of line. WELL GUESS WHAT!! SHOCKER! they said the tool doesnt go in, and the car will need a new motor soon. they said it will also need a flywheel. they informed me that the check engine light is because the crank is misaligned, and the flywheel is slipping. I asked them to replace the seal, put the car back together, and let me drive it until it breaks. Does this scream BS to anyone else?? ------------------------------------------------ Hey guys. I purchased a 2003 996 C2 Cab last Friday. I have been in the market for quite some time for Porsche. I knew about the RMS problems, so I purchased a warranty. I bought a Fidelity warranty, Gold plus coverage for 2 years, 24k miles. I took the car to the local Porsche dealer (Capital Eurocars in Tallahassee Florida). I just wanted to get the "microswitch" fixed so the back windows would go up, and it would quit telling me that the convertible top was not in the locked position. I knew of the RMS, and also wanted them to fix this. Also, the check engine light was on, and the car seemed to be vibrating/running a little rough. Well, they called me today. They have informed me that my warranty company is coming by to check out the leak. Okay, that's fine, apparently the warranty started on the day I bought the car, etc etc. ..I'm thinking.. WOW! that would be awesome if the warranty covered the RMS.. although I don't expect them to. ......then the warranty company calls me. They said that the the dealer is stating that the car may need a completely new engine, estimates $10k to repair. WHAT??? The warranty rep said he is sending someone by to inspect the car, but also wanted to let me know they want to get a second opinion due to the extensive amount of the repair. I called the dealer, obviously curious what is going on with the motor. The service manager tells me that they haven't pulled the transmission until the warranty rep comes by, but with the car running so roughly, and the oil leak, that it could have a broken intermediate shaft and/or Cam. He said that this is the worse case scenario, but very possible. Does this seem right? I only got to drive the car 100 miles... and 40 of those were to the shop. I thought it pulled strong, but does skip and seem to run roughly. Im pretty disheartened right now. This car has 68,000 miles on it, but you can NOT look at it and tell. it's spotless, clean carfax, one owner, and all service records, all done by this same shop. It may be a blessing if I get a new motor under warranty, but does this seem legit? Thanks guys.