ericinboca

Thanks for all the responses guys.

i'll look into those Hawk Brake pads,

and in relation to the discs, i did mean to 'turn' them, we call it machining or skimming here :D

When you say stabilizer links, I'm guessing you mean the sway bar droplinks? Those are pretty inexpensive. The trailing arm will be a bit more pricey. You can go rebuilt from a place like vertexauto.com or new. If you can find it, it is possible to remove the arm and press out the old bushing and put in a new. It is easy to find bushings for track use, but not so easy to find the regular street ones in my experience.

Funny, its the other way around, the Dealer told me i need both "stabilizer Links" and they are $487.98 each, but the rear Control arm is only $404.13.

I have been looking for these stabilizer links and can find some online at around $100USD for a pair etc, but not the part number i need (99634306992) they have all the other ones for Carrera, turbo etc, but it seems the part # for GT3 is different. do the other ones fit the GT3? or is the swaybar very different?

Cheers

Looney

I am not sure. I use a GT3 sway bar on my 986, but use aftermarket adjustable drop links for it. I might be wrong on this point in thinking they are not very expensive - maybe the GT3 calls for a different style droplink than what is in the C2 or 986. I'd check with Sunset or Suncoast - they will know. Even if they require adjustable drop links, you can get aftermarket ones for half the price of what the dealer quoted you.

You also asked if these changes can be done as DIY. That depends on your level of comfort. I do all my suspension work expect alignment in my garage. I don't think it is too difficult, but I am mechanically inclined. If you are reasonably skilled, have a good set of tools, you will save a bunch of money doing it at home. I'm not sure what the transverse arm does on the GT3 or how adjustable it is, but be aware that if it does have adjustability, you will likely need an alignment after changing.

Hey guys,

so ive had my car for a couple of weeks now, having a great time, but because the guy i brought it off had it mostly as a weekend track toy, its set up for track work more than street driving, so im wanting to change a few things, and wonder if anyone here can provide me a little direction or suggestions of where to buy parts that i need.

firstly the Suspension.

the car needs a new left rear Trailing arm (as the bush is worn)

needs 2 front stabilizer links also.

am i best to just get my dealer to do this work and source the parts? or are these parts that i can source myself online and are easy to fit?

secondly Brakes:

the pads he has are really heavy metal based for track work, so every time i touch the brakes i get that metalic screech. I just want to put standard pads on there for road driving, and i'll just get the discs skimmed/replaced (if nessecary), i wonder if anyone has any suggestions of a decent pad for the car that wont be noisy? or if the OEM is the only option? and if so, can anyone advise where i am best to source these?

Cheers

Looney

MO

When you say stabilizer links, I'm guessing you mean the sway bar droplinks? Those are pretty inexpensive. The trailing arm will be a bit more pricey. You can go rebuilt from a place like vertexauto.com or new. If you can find it, it is possible to remove the arm and press out the old bushing and put in a new. It is easy to find bushings for track use, but not so easy to find the regular street ones in my experience.

In any case, try Sunset parts, a Renntech partner, and/or Suncoast, a Sarasota, FL dealer that usually has good prices. If you are going to use this as a street car, you will be perfectly happy with stock parts.

For the pads, use any stock pad meant for street use - Pagid or others.

When you say "skim" the rotors, do you mean have them turned? If so, you don't really need to do this. While race pad compounds are different than street pad compounds, they are compatible enough that you can install the street pads, and then bed them, and you will be fine. Before I made my 986 a dedicated track car, I use to do this frequently.

Hope this helps.

2003 C4S

CDR-23 head unit with multi CD changer in front trunk

No PCM stuff installed

The head unit cycles on and off, over and over again, showing only PORSCHE on the display and then going away, coming back, etc.

I pulled the head unit out and checked the connections to be sure they were seated correctly - they were. I also checked the radio fuse in the panel and the 10 amp fuse in the back of the head unit. And I checked the connections to the multi CD player thing.

Durametric gave me an error code that pointed the blame at the receiver, saying it is faulty. I don't remember the fault number with certainty, but think it was 54...would check it, but I am in Calif at moment and car is in Fla.

I have an identical CDR 23 head unit out of my 04 986S (turned into a race car).

Couple questions -

• How do I know it is the head unit and not the amp? In this car, is the amp part of the CD changer? (My 986S had an amp, but no multi CD unit.)
  
• If I replace the head unit, will I need a PST2 or PIWIS to tell the immobilizer the new head unit is OK? If I install the new head unit in my garage without a PIWIS or PST2, will the car start?
  

I don't know if its the same car but there is one on EBAY in pompano FL with the same mileage (being sold from a M-benz dealer). The car looks clean in the ebay listing Item number: 370314121378. Current bid is up to $36087

I bought an 03 C4S a couple of months ago. 40K miles with 1 previous owner for $36000. Car came with PCCB installed, GT techno wheels, navigation, Bose, CD changer, heated seats, Xenons, sports seats, factory sports exhaust. i have put about 3K miles on it and love it.

Good eye - that is indeed the car I looked at.

I took a look at a 2003 996 C4S at the local mercedes dealer this morning. The car only has 5600 miles on it, and is new to their lot. They haven;t even washed it since they got it from previous owner. Previous owner traded it in for a Benz. I hope to talk to the previous owner to understand his/her expereince.

I went through the car in excrutiating detail, and am skilled enough from maintaining and fixing my 986S race car to feel confindent in assessing it as mechanically sound.

I could only find two problems:

* the black paint has light swirl marks from a buffer

* there is a minor alignment issue - toe I believe, as it pulls slightly to the right - I am comfortable it is alignment and not something broken in the suspension

With these two exceptions, the car is like it is brand new. It was pretty amazing.

They are listing it at $45901.

Edmunds, with the options added, is coming in for dealer retail in outstanding condition, $38386; and clean at $36175.

Anyone have recent experience? Interested in opinions on how much you guys think it is worth.

I am looking for a reasonably priced Porsche Specialist to perform the IMS bearing upgrade on my 2003 996 C2/Tiptronic with 15,000. Someone in the Melbourne to West Palm Beach area. Anybody have an expert in mind? Let me know. Thanks!

Thanks for all the great help I get from this forum!! :renntech:

Maybe too far south for you, but I recommend:

* KMW Motorsports in Boca Raton (Kevin)

* Gulf Performance in Pompano Beach (Vinnie)

Both of these are outstanding. Likely neither have done the retrofit, but I would not hesitate with either of them.

Thanks any idea on what could be broken or bent?

If your caster is off, I would take a hard look at

*thrust arm

*thrust arm mount (on my 986, you have to remove the plastic wheel line to be able to see it both front and rear)

*bushing in the control arm to which the thrust arm attaches

*the top strut mount to be sure previous owner didn't do something funky like reposition the hole or put in some weird mount

*and suspension sub frame (not sure if you are talking front or rear, and am unsure on the 996, but on my 986S, we were able to re-center the rear suspension subframe)

I recently bought a 99 carrera from an auction which had some evidence of a light off road excursion. After driving the car i decided to get it aligned because the steering wheel would not track back to straight after turning. The alignment needed some adjusting but the caster in the front was around 6 degrees on both sides which i think is a whole degree shy. I changed out both the front struts because they were a little bent thinking this would be the fix but it wasnt. I also took a few measurement on the car while it was on the lift and do not believe the frame is bent. Anyone have any ideas? Is there any way to adjust the caster, the shop who did the alignment said it was not adjustable. If this is true is there any crash bolts or any other options??? Please help i would really like to enjoy this car but cant with this current set up!!

You can get adjustable thrust arm bushings and/or adjustable thrust arms. Check out Tarett Engineering website.

Can anyone recommend a Porsche parts/knowledgeable vendor on the East coast?

Thanks

Suncoast Porsche in Florida.

You can also get many parts through AutohausAZ.com. They have excellent prices and a huge warehouse in NJ that gets parts to NY often on the next day, with no shipping charge for orders over $50.

No affiliation, but I have used both and have been very satisfied with their service.

Regards, Maurice.

I've used both listed by Maurice above - also add vertexauto.com

2003 C4S: Trying to remove front axle nut to install H&R but cannot loosen it. The car is on the ground, going counter clockwise with 3/4 socket set and 2 ft. cheater bar and nothing; It turned the wheel and it was even in gear. Am i doing something wrong? Am i missing a step? Even tried pentrating fluid... Please, any help would be appreciated....

Mau

First you will need about a 6ft cheater bar. Home Depot or Lowes will have 1 1/2 in steel pipe that you can slide over your breaker bar, get as long as possible. If you are using a extension from the socket to the bar, use a jack stand to support the pivot point. Have someone hold the brakes and then stand on the cheater bar. That nut is torqued to 340 ft/lb and you have to get some advantage with the 6ft bar.

Rick

99 996C4

87 944S

+1

This is how I do it - bit long pipe over a breaker bar.

I tried it one time with a 3/8 socket and it broke - you need a 1/2 socket for the extra strenght - 340 ft/lbs is a lot of torque.

Curious as to why 18's?

I've bought a set of 17" 997 wheels for track work...the rubber is darn sight cheaper!

Honestly, because I tought 18" was the smallest to fit on a 987S. I knew every secret of my 986, but I'm still very new with the 987 .

But also because I had with the car a set of 18" track tire, and I wanted to keep the same handling/feeling as the stock one.

I'm brigning a situation, but very opened to any suggestion because I know alot a peoples passed trough this exactly same question before me :)

Is there advantage/desadvantage going to 17" wheel for the track ?

Stock wheels on 987S are 8x18 and 9x18. what width are those 997 17" ones? I guess I don't want to go narrower, and I guess I can't really go larger.

More choice in 17" wheels and tires - cheaper too. More torque, less straightaway speed.

Hi, I Just Bought a 2006 Boxster S, Nice upgrade from my 99 Boxster. I am now looking for a 2nd set of wheel to put track tire on, I was looking for some used cosmetic damaged 18 inch oem wheel, but they are pretty hard to find. I really don't care about the look, I just want them to be straight and work just like oem ones. I didn't really considered third party wheels, is there any aftermarket brand that worth it? or should I really stick to OEM wheel? By the way, I am not interested in spending more money to get fancy liteweight wheel (in case thats your advice).

Thanks! :)

I have always stuck with the OEM wheels because I know they are quality (made by BBS) and I know they will fit. The fit being really important. It is hard to figure out which of the aftermarket ones will fit properly. With my 986S track car, I looked at a lot of aftermarket wheels, and struggled to find ones of the exact OEM widths and offsets. I was uncomfortable shelling out a bunch of bucks, then mounting tires, only to find they don't fit.

There are some good aftermarket wheels out there at decent prices....OZ, for example. But it is the fit that I have struggled with.

I go the route you have suggested above - buying used OEM wheels without real consideration with the look. (They are, BTW, easy to clean up and repair with some bondo, quality spray paint, patience and elbow grease, if you are so inclined.)

I have found sets at places like LA Porsche Dismantlers, Oklahoma Foreign, Craig's List and here on renntech. (I have 4 1/2 sets of mounted race wheels at the moment - it is remarkable my wife has not kicked me out. :D )

Weight does matter, BTW - unsprung mass is bad for handling. But a lot of the OEM wheels available are pretty light. I use Carrera 5 spoke - light and strong.

Now, there are Porsche knock offs. A lot of people use them, even on the track. The race shop I work with uses them on some race cars, but there will be people on this board that tell you never to use them. I don't know. If you are patient and spend some time looking, you will find what you need on the used market. BUT!! check the price against brand new ones - some folks are asking for too much. See what Sunset and.or Suncoast will sell brand new ones for.

I have no doubt a misfire would damage the cats, but whats causing the misfire. You would think if I had a misfire I would feel it. I definitely dont think the car would be running as good as it does and still gets great gas mileage. The light only comes on when open it up and come close top redline on the tack. Even then you cant feel this misfire. It runs like it did since day one.

I'm not sure, but I think RFM is saying the cats are going bad and you are getting error messages as a result with the DME misinterpreting them as misfires at higher revs. Again, not sure, but I think what he is saying can be interpreted that way. If cats are going bad, it would be the primary cats - teh pnes that are part of the headers.

Wanting to lube the brake pistons next time I service the brakes. Can you recommend what grease I should be using?

thx

When you order the Brembo rebuild kits, they send the grease as part of the kits. The little packages carry the brand name Brembo on one side, and on the other they say Kluber Lubrication, grease for seals assembly (in english and german) and have the number 04.2954.10. It looks like a silicone grease, but I do not know for sure.

You can get kits, if you haven't already sourced them from somewhere, from Paragon Products in Texas - that is where I get mine.

I rebuild my calipers in my 986S race car every year - frankly, they don't need them, but I do it for preventative/piece of mind reasons anyway.

When I rebuild, I do not grease the pistons - only the sealing ring that sits in the seat in the caliper.

I think it is OK to put a thin coat on the piston, but I do not do it because of dust build up. On my car, the boots melt and dust gets all stuck to the piston if it has been greased, so I quit greasing them. No problems at all with no grease on the pistons. (I do change the sealing rings eventhough I re-use the pistons unless they are damaged, which has never been the case - still using the original pistons.)

Hope that helps.

I'd like to have my boxster realigned to settings that are more suited to autocross and spirited driving. I believe the factory settings have too much understeer for this type of driving. Anyone worked this out? What settings should I suggest to the alignment shop?

Thanks.

Not apples to apples as my 986S has 18" wheels and it is track dedicated (not autocross and no street use), but...

With R compound tires, I have -2 in the front with slight toe-out; -2.6 in rear with slight toe-in.

If I were making an educated guess as to what to do to an understeering autocross/street car, I definitely would give it toe-out in the front. It will probably make it meander slightly when going straight, but it is easily controlled in mine, and toe-out has been the biggest help to understeer short of adjustable coilovers, adjustable sway bars and a wider tire (which I do use to adapt the car for different tracks and conditions).

For front camber, you have to decide how much you are willing to live with the tire wear consequences. I would think you probably need -1.5 in the front, but that seems like a lot for a car that is used mostly on the street.... (a little more caster angle in the front would be good too, but the 986 does not have caster adjustability without making some changes to aftermarket parts)

You likely have toe-in in the rear now, which helps keep the rear where it is supposed to be - behind you. If you still have issues after giving the front toe-out, you can give the rear 0 toe to free it up some.

So, I guess I am recommending toe-out in front; as much camber negative camber as you are willing to give it in deference to the need to drive it on the street; go -2 in the rear with slight toe-in. See what that does for you and adjust from there....decent starting point; better than factory settings.

I am getting very serious about putting a 996 3.4 into my 98 Boxster - the only issue left is finding a good engine.

Obviously, the best option would be to buy a crate engine from Porsche, but that runs around $12K plus core.

I talked with Jake Raby, and the only engine they have is a high-mileage one. I'm ideally looking for one with less than 50K miles.

So, I searched car-parts.com, and there are number of engines out of wrecked cars for sale on there. However, I have no idea about the history of these engines, or if they were damaged in the accident, etc. The upside is that the engines are pretty reasonable, with no core charge.

Ideally, I'd like to find an engine that was rebuilt by a reputable shop (like Raby). Second best would be to get a low-mileage engine from a known source.

Anyone have any ideas on this? Any shops that people have worked through that would be a good source for an engine?

I'm on LA Porsche Dismantlers email list - just got an email from them advertising a sale on Porsche reman engines...

I have no experience with these guys; just passing on the info.

I bought a 2005 CPO Boxster S. As long as CPO, you should not have to worry. You are paying extra for the piece of mind. I have had no issues with mine since purchase and minor issues were all taken care of by the dealer under warranty.

+1 for 1choir and docdyh.

CPO is good. M97 motor in 987 versus the M96 in the 986.

I have a 2002 911 Turbo, air bag failure light is on.

I am told my local expensive Porsche dealer that the error code says the module is shot. $1,400 will do the trick.

Renntech will sell me a new one for $400 bucks and change. Can a reasonably normal person make the switch and will the error light reset?

Do you know the part number? I stripped my '04 986S to turn it into a race car and have all the airbags (except steering wheel airbag) and the sensors.

Is a 2001 Boxster S, as stated above, it is the left rear strut.

986 333 051 20

Sorry, you did not state above.

Just jack the car up and remove the strut and spring assembly. Carefully hold the assembly and release the tension on the spring. Replace the strut and slightly compress to reassemble and install.

Suspension pieces should always be replaced in (axle) pairs. So if you replace a spring or strut you should replace both.

thanks Loren

How hard is it?

It is not too hard if you are somewhat mechanically inclined. You can get the strut and spring assembly out without removing the wheel carrier, which makes things easier.

You:

* have to loosen and remove the nuts on the rear strut mount at the top (you will have to move the black rubber like padding under the convertaible top cover to find the strut mount)

* remove the bolt that connects the thrust arm to the lower control arm

* disconnect the rear toe adjusting arm from the wheel carrier using a ball seperator tool

* pull off any wires that are routed and secured along the back of the strut/damper assembly

* I cannot remember if the stock rear strut has adjusting nuts to raise and lower (probably not) so use a spring compression tool to compress the spring to loosen it up some

* take the top bolt on the drop link out of the wheel carrier where it passes through the bracket on the damper/strut

* with some effort, and probably with a second pair of hands, you should be able to push the wheel carrier off the strut assembly and clear the bottom of it ( the lower control arm pivots up and down and does not have to be removed - this is good 'cause it can be hard to get off)

Thank you so much!

The PS reservoir is in the engine compartment on the drivers side, up close to the firewall. Once you get the convert. top into service position, you can remove the engine covers and you can't miss it. It's a twist cap, and has a dip stick in it. You can top it off from there.

The factory fill is Pentosin CHF11S usually, but that fluid was superceded with CHF-202, whcih can be used to top off an 11S system w/o issue. I have not been able to find it anywhere like Autozone, etc. I got mine at the local dealer, and didn't get overly charged (shockingly). I tried to get it at Napa, but my local one told me they didn't store-stock it, and since it wasn't all that common, i'd have to buy an entire case for them to get it for me. lol :)

Keep in mind it comes in 1 quart metal cans, and under most driving, to "top it off" only takes a little bit. That can will last you a LONG time unless you track the car or have a leak.

Bill

FYI - I have found some NAPAs that do stock it in the store.

As far as the toe or camber, I am not sure what they found because I let my wife pick the car up. At the time it was checked I didnt notice the unusual wear. It was part of the service from the dealr that we asked them to check while it was there. I knew I was getting close to needing tires so when I took a look to see what I had left i noticed it. I also checked pressure and it was high. Around 40psi. I backed it down to 36psi. The rims and tires were put on by the dealership when they had it. Its a 97 with 30,000 miles. The michelins were put on in 2005 and they have about ,8000 miles on them. The front is like new. The tread wear is worn evenly so its not just on the inside shoulders. It slowly regresses as you move from outside towards the inside. Like I mentioned from the shoulder of the outside to shoulder of inside, its about 2/32nd to 3/32nd difference. I dont drive the car much, but when I do I am a little hard one ecceleration. The michelins are really soft so I am not suprised if I only get about 15,000

Ah - OK Then I'm not sure you have an issue. PS2s are softer than a lot of other street tires as you note, and 15K out of them would not be alarming. The wear you describe sounds pretty normal, and the rears going away first is common.

My apologies. I accidentally posted under the wrong forum initially and didn't know how to delete it myself.

Can you tell where the leak is?

Can you tell if it is engine oil or gear oil? Hypoid gear oil has a very unpleasant odor; engine oil smells like, well, engine oil ;)

Ericinboca,

Thanks for the reply.

The leak seemed to be coming from the differential area....unfortunately at the time of the accident it was dark and the plastic under cover concealed the exact location. I did touch the oil...it was light in color and didn't seem to have a noticable odor, but then again I didn't put it up to my nose. I looked again at the car in the yard where it was towed and still wasn't able to see exactly where the oil was leaking from.

My concern here is there may have been damage to the differential, the transmission, engine and/or the motor mounts due to the force of the impact imparted by the drive axle. The fluid that I saw leaking probably wasn't more than a quarter cup or so, but I didn't know how much could have been pooling somewhere else in the body and/or under cover.

Any other areas that could have leaked fluid? With such an impact would you have concerns about damage to the suspension bushings? motor mounts or other components? A couple photos included.

Thanks,

Jim

Most of the accidents i have seen from the 993 and up that involved rear suspension ended up cracking the transaxel.

That hit looks hard enough for to warrent a new transmission in my opinion. At the very least the transmission should be removed and

looked over. A small leak wouldn't surprise me at all. As for the other parts...I would look at the whole rear suspension, and get

everything replaced that has a scratch on it.

I'm with Seafeye. I'd be surprised if your axle is not bent or CV joint(s) not broken. If you speared your gearbox, you would know it, but it definitely got a whack.

Suspension bushings do not have any fluid in them, but I think the front motor mount does, but it's not near the gearbox.

I'd say likely culprit though, at least the one you would press for recompense on, is the gearbox.

The mobil1 gear oil they use at the factory looks pretty much like motoroil - sort of standard oil/gold in color when clean and new. Moly gear lube is dark grey grease like stuff. Both have strong odors of sulfur.

I have 1997 thats been lowerd with TechArt coils. I am running 265/40/17 Michelin Sport (very soft)on the rear and seeing a little more tire wear on the inside of the rear tires. Is this normal and will a strut brace help. If so what kind would you suggest. I see Pedro's Garage caries one. Anyone tried it? I notice its not adjustable like the other ones. Keep in mid this is only a weekend driver and is not used on a track. Side note.....I recently had the alinement check and everything is good.

When you say everything is good with the alignment, do you know the camber and toe numbers for the rear?

Excessive inner wear is most likely an alignment or tire pressure problem. A strut brace front or rear ties the strut towers together, purportedly reducing flex and fatigue in the towers. Having a track car, I've not felt or found a geometric improvement via tire temps as a result of using braces, and it would be on the track under load with significant weight transfer where a strut brace would make a difference. (The front and rear on the 986 are pretty stiff - the middle part, not so much ;) )

You also say it is lowered. It is unlikely, but are you sure the tire is not rubbing on something?

My apologies. I accidentally posted under the wrong forum initially and didn't know how to delete it myself.

Can you tell where the leak is?

Can you tell if it is engine oil or gear oil? Hypoid gear oil has a very unpleasant odor; engine oil smells like, well, engine oil ;)

Cool - Thank you Loren

2004 special anniversary edition did indeed get a 987 air box and filter.

Porsche says the anniversary edition delivers 6 more horsepower than the standard S of the same year.

Porsche guy in Stuggart that we talked to earlier this year to get help in programming a new DME for my '04 anniversary edition, told us it is actually 8 hp more coming from a slightly different DME program combined with the airbox.

Other difference I found - it also has an X51 oil pan baffle....I dropped the pan to put one in, and it was already there. Bought car new....can't find anything from Porsche that says this is factory installed, but there it was.

Are you sure it was an X51 baffle - did it have flaps?

The stock baffle looks similar stock on left -- X51 on right.

(sorry can't remember where I got these images)

That's it.

I remember clearly 'cause I was rushing to get it done before a track event, and spilled my drained oil all over the garage. :angry: Then found it was already installed!!

From suncoast...

http://www.e-partssales.com/miva/merchant....y_Code=986maint