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dr7966

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Everything posted by dr7966

  1. I had the same problem and found another post talking about the E2 fuse for the seat control module. It was a 7.5 and not blown but taking it out and putting it back fixed the seat. My seat would not move in any direction and there were no clicks or noises. The 30amp fuse was also not blown. Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery may also fix it.
  2. I have owned the car for 4 years now with 98000 miles. Finally fixed the P0455 CEL by replacing the gas cap with a 30 dollar german cap. New California law would not allow me to clear the CEL and take it for a smog check so i had to fix it. Car is running good, still using petroleum.
  3. How do you know if you have "limited slip" or "non limited slip?" :huh: Phillipj Hey Phillipj you found the trans post. I put some GL5 oil 80w-90 I found at Wal-Mart. I think its made by Shell. Going to run it for a few weeks and change with Redline. Wanted to get the Mobil 1 out. My car does not have PCM or traction control. I think I read somewhere that only those cars have limited slip. It was an option.
  4. Expecting to be taken to the woodshed over the use of petroleum. Will not go to Porsche heaven either :o Had to do something before the cats, 02 sensors, and plugs got fouled up with oil and needed to be replaced. Its no surprise that the car has more power and idles better without oil in the combustion chamber. As far as the trans oil goes it was recommended by some earlier posts here to try oil without friction modifiers. It was a great suggestion. The trans is quieter and shifts smooth for the 1st time since I bought it. :)
  5. Its a year later and here is a 1.5 year 92k mile update. I have a Jeep for my DD so it keeps the miles down on the Pcar. Changed the slow turning starter and cracked oil tube Stopped using synthetic oil in the engine. Tried various weights of Mobil 1 and Castrol and it always used oil. Had some white and blue smoke at startup. Switched to Castrol high mileage 10w-50 and there is no smoke and it stopped using oil. Removed the Mobile 1 75w-90 synth trans fluid and replaced with non synthetic petroleum and the shifting got much smoother. Still has a slight intermittent syncro roughness in 2nd but it is much improved. Plan on changing it again to get rid of all the synthetic. It does not have limited slip. Replaced tires with Sumitomo HTR 2's Installed a DUAL HD radio. Need to upgrade speakers. Reception is still not very good. Installed a smoked LED third brake light. Still working on the P0455 emissions leak CEL. Thought I fixed it but it came back. With the smoother shifting and the oil use problem gone the car is much more enjoyable to drive. :rolleyes:
  6. Thanks RFM I thought after reading about AOS that I found the cause of my oil usage. I will keep an eye on the negative pressure to see if it gets worse. Need to have my son start it again to see if the smoke is from one or both tailpipes.
  7. I am pretty sure mine is bad on my 99. When I remove the oil cap the engine stumbles and there is slight negative pressure. Engine does not idle well after long drives. Looking in the throttle body there is some oil on the drivers side around the hose from the AOS. Noticed a puff of blue and white smoke on the drivers side exhaust when my son started it the other day. Loren says that its a 1 hour job at the dealer but some say it takes many hours of hard labor. The boxter write up is good but it may not be exact for a 996. Guess I need to put it up on jackstands and see what all the fuss is about. Also interesting that some remove the alternator and others go under to get to a part that is on the back of the engine. Confused
  8. The P0455 CEL code comes on once every tank of gas or so I clear it with my OBDII. When the gas cap is removed (new cap) you can hear the air sucking into the filler opening for ~10 seconds. I have pulled the inner fender and inspected the canister and there was nothing obviously disconnected or cracked. Leads me to believe that there is not a large leak in the system. If there was a large leak the inside tank and outside pressure should be the same. On Loren's drawing of the evap system there is a pressure sensor #5 that looks like the sensor that would cause the P0455. I inspected the sensor on top of the gas tank and it was connected and didnt look to be damaged. It looks like the only sensor in the system so I was thinking about replacing it. Is there a test I can perform on the sensor to see if its bad before I buy a new one? Any tips on the replacement? Thanks
  9. Which switch the dash or the column?, I reset the CEL and put about 400 miles on it with no light, I am hoping its where the car was sitting for 8 months or so, It came on within 20 mins of driving On mine the wiper speed control is a round knob on the dash by the radio. I just pulled the panel out and reconnected the wire. Great news on the CEL and hopefully by driving it more often the engine and sensors will adapt and get back to within spec.
  10. Welcome Superman and good luck with your 1999 996. On your #2 question mine had one of the wires on the back of the switch fall off. The wires are a little short. I just put it back on and pinched the connector with needle nose pliers. I have had mine since December and only had the dealer run the Porsche tester on it to verify cell codes and program a new key. My goal has been to not have the dealer do anything I can do myself. I hope you can get through those CEL codes without them.
  11. Removed the amplifier and jumped around it with a wire. Reception seems to be the same or slightly better without it. Has anyone replaced the amplifier and seen improvement?
  12. Is it on the driver or passenger side and is there a trick to removing the trim or do you just pull it off? I didnt notice any screws or fasteners.
  13. Removed the original radio, amplifier, and 6 CD changer and installed a DUAL HD radio with AUX input and MP3. The original setup was ok on FM but had alot of static on AM. At first without power to the antenna amplifier received no AM stations. Next connected the white antenna amplifier wire to the blue DUAL antenna amp wire and got some of the better AM stations but those didnt go to HD until I drove closer to LA. Also the FM HD stations are going in and out of HD as I drive around. The antenna amplifier is helping but I dont know if it is 100%. Has anyone successfully improved radio reception with the little wire in the windshield? I would like to jump around the antenna amplifier or replace it. Anyone know where the ant amp is or had luck replacing it? Thanks
  14. I was worried about the broken water hose connection and the lost bolt on the alternator side.(was able to reconnect it to the broken fitting but knew it wouldnt stay long) Went to the Woodland Hills Porsche dealer and picked up a new fitting for $4.97. For those in the SFV they just started opening Saturdays from 10-3. This hose is in between the alternator and power steering pump and the plastic fitting is bolted to the block. If you are working in this area I suggest replacing it because it gets brittle and its only a 5 dollar part. Removed the alternator and the lost bolt was right behind it. With the alternator removed it was easy to install it into the rear oil filler tube bolt hole. Looking again at the oil filler tube replacement instructions it says to remove the alternator. Struggled with the alternator but now I think I understand the directions. They say to remove the left bolt and unscrew the right bolt 3 turns and hit with a hammer. They want you to hit the top of the bolt to help push apart the alternator tangs from where they mount on the holding fixture. Then you rotate clockwise and it comes out. If the tangs are tight it is very difficult to rotate the alternator. The more work I do on the car I get less intimidated and appreciate the design and how things are layed out. With the air filter assembly removed the alternator, water pump, power steering pump, ac compressor, throttle body, are all easy to see and reach. Even the starter is pretty easy with the throttle body removed. The designers seemed to use the same size bolts for most things. 10mm for all the throttle body bolts, 13mm for the starter and alternator. This may have come from racing so that the mechanics can change things more quickly.
  15. Since I had to send back the new head unit and the car would be down for awhile decided to install the new starter and oil filler tube that were sitting on the bench. Old starter was turning over slowly or would stop when hot and oil filler tube was broken. Getting a CEL for evap emissions and hope the tube fixes the problem. Didnt take any pics but I can describe how it went. Disconnected battery and removed K&N intake, throttle body(4 - 10mm screws, two connectors, one nut, and 1 hose) Actually layed intake on the right side without disconnecting the MAF and layed the throttle body on the left without disconnecting the smaller hose. (Dont like to disconnect things unless I have to) Removed intake manifold (4 hose clamps and wiggle it out) Starter is in the back (the 12v battery wire nut was seized on the stud and broke off the stud and plastic on removal) The threads on the nut were defective. Removed the 2 - 13mm starter bolts. The bottom one requires a swivel and long extension Removed starter and I think I bumped a small water hose that goes over the oil filler tube whare it connects with another hose and broke it off. Didnt notice it right away but later saw fluid on the ground and you can imagine what I said. I was able to get the broken part out of the hose and connect it back to the small part of the fitting that was left. Need to get a new fitting from the dealer While the starter was out removed the oil filler tube. This didnt go well. There are several hoses, pipes, and wires in the area where the oil tube is bolted to the engine with 2-10mm bolts. I had alot of trouble getting the rear bolt out. There is something behind the alternator obstructing the ability to put a socket on. Ended up using an end wrench. Dropped tools and bolts are very hard to recover in this area. Probably should put some rags down in there to catch anything that falls "before" you start. Starter replacement went pretty well. I was able to chase the threads on the defective nut and reuse it. New oil tube replacement - lost one of the original bolts on the right side near the AC compressor and the other on the Left side. There is very little room to get hands in there. Could not get a bolt back in the rear oil tube location. Went ahead and put it back together enough to start it (new starter is much better) Need to go to Harbor Freight and get a big magnet to fish out those lost bolts. Hard to believe that the Porsche Engineers made the oil tube so difficult to change considering it is made of plastic and breaks easily. They could have moved the location of the rear bolt over slightly to be able to put a socket on.
  16. Purchased Sumitomo HTR IIs a few weeks ago for $660 mounted and balanced. They are quiet and have good grip. Went up to 245's on the front and 285's on the back.
  17. That seems like a good mod at a great price. Mine came with headers, modified exhaust, and a K&N intake. The sound is one of my favorite things about the car. The previous owner probably spent alot more than $175.
  18. I should rephrase to "I was prepared for it to be a project" mostly because I didnt know the previous owner(s) and it had 80k miles. There is a high percentage chance that something needs to be repaired. I also dont mean "project" in a bad way. Before I bought the car I went through this and other forums and realized that these cars can be maintained and repaired by owners with some mechanical and troubleshooting skills. There are also alternatives to the dealer for parts. I get alot of enjoyment from repairing things myself that the dealer would charge big money for.
  19. I have owned my 99 for about 6 months and thought some of the potential buyers would be interested in the issues encountered. Started with 81k and now have 85k miles. I knew it would be a project and wanted to do as much work as possible myself. Bought for 25k from Phoenix dealer and had it shipped to me in So Cal. Add another 2k for Cali tax. CEL went on immediately with a P0605 error and it cost $800 for an ECU replacement. If you search P0605 I have a long post describing this. Dealer refunded $500 (lucky my wife is a lawyer) Replaced drivers side inner fender myself $180 from Sunset, cleaned radiators. Bought extra key from Sunset $120 dealer programming $80 in woodland hills. Changed trans fluid $30 oil and filter $70 all Mobile 1 Changed pre cat oxygen sensors $200 from Pelican (tried generic o2 sensors and returned, should use oem part for this) Purchased a bosche starter for $200 because it was turning slow when hot but have not installed yet. The engine runs good but uses oil with Mobile 1 10-30. I have added some 10-40 and Lucas additive and it has improved. No leaks and the cooling system and electrical is ok. The AM radio is bad and FM is not much better. The trans was very hard to shift when cold and has improved since the fluid change. 2nd gear syncro is not 100 percent I was getting a CEL for a air leak in the emissions but it has not returned since I replaced the 02 sensors. Next will probably replace tires and get alignment. I am fairly pleased so far with these issues and I know it could have been worse. This site has also been great.
  20. I have seen springs on Ebay in the 200-300 dollar range and less. Go to Ebay motors > parts and accessories and search porsche 996. I like the GT3 treatment you are doing. Previous owner started the same thing with my 99. I would like to do the front end like yours. Do you have any problems scraping on driveways and speed bumps?
  21. If you search more you will find threads on this topic. I read that 1 quart/thousand miles is within Porsche specs. My 99 C2 with 85k miles uses a little less than that. I was very concerned but it seems like some use oil and some dont. On my next oil change I may switch from Mobil 1 10-30 to Castrol Syntech 10-40 to see if it helps. If yours is a 2003 with 17k miles it must have not been driven much over the last 5 years. There are some that say too few miles is bad and too many is bad so you cant win.
  22. I go to a few 76 stations in southern cal and have not seen 100 octane. Would like to try it. Is there a website or some way to find out what stations carry it?
  23. There is a very good series of posts about this in the 996 DIY section, it's not difficult and is really worthwhile doing regularly. You wont get all of the stuff out with a vacuum or leaf blower. Loren has listed a step by step guide for removal and re assembly. I don't think the temps you all are seeing is unusual for city driving! Driving home from work today didnt notice much of an improvement in the temp gauge. It still goes into the zero of the 180. As long as its normal I am not going to worry about it.
  24. Occasionally blowing the stuff out is probably a good idea to prevent it from getting in between the condenser and radiator. Once its in there like mine was I think the only way to get it is to take it apart. Porsche could have designed the front bumper with a larger opening so that you could get in there to clean and maintain the cooling system. You cant see if you have a problem until you tear it apart.
  25. I was noticing on warmer days my the temp needle was around the middle of the zero of the 180 so yesterday I removed the front bumper and cleaned out the radiators. Also replaced the inner fender on the drivers side. The bumper removal was the hard part. Remove headlights, snap out side markers, side marker screws, bottom screws and attachment screws in front of the front tires. There are these black rivets 3 in front of the hood and 2 on the bottom. I was able to pry out the top ones but broke the bottom ones. Dont know why Porsche uses these. I will try to find something more removeable. Sunset Porsche sent me some extra clips and screws that were used. Removed the rubber housings and had alot of bugs and stuff in between the AC condensers and radiators. Brushed it off and sprayed lightly with the hose. I bought the car in December with 80k miles and dont think the front bumper has been previously removed. Need to replace the plastic in front of front tires. This didnt go back together very well. Unable to get the screw in.
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