rrspikemarty

Just a comment about the coolant. You don't want to run your car with it at a low level. As another person has pointed out, it is probably low now because of air bubbles remaining in the original fill that have come out. Proper coolan t flushing of these 996 engines requires special care and the Porsche dealerships have a device to do this. My strong advice is to ask the Porsche dealer who installed the new water pump to fill the coolant reservoir up to the proper level using the Porsche brand coolant that they used. I personally would not use any other brand of coolant. Also be aware that Porsche has used two different "factory" coolants. The original one is yellow-green and the most recent version is bright pink.

There is a serious difference of opinion over whether or not these two coolants can be mixed. Some say mixing will cause gelling, others say it is OK to mix them. I chose not to put my '03 in jeopardy and had the local dealer flush the system of my yellow-green coolant and install the new pink version (the only one that is now still available, at about $30/gallon). It allows me to sleep better. :rolleyes:

Topping off coolant with distilled water not good?

Awesome, they look great!

I agree - very nice!

I understood the lights from the factory have a top coat of hardened "scratch-resistant" polycarbonate material as part of the manufacturing process. Does anyone know if the restoration sanding removes that top coat, or is it simply smoothing the top layer (without penetrating it) to remove the scratches?

Sorry, I thought my car information was included.

2001 996 Coupe

So I gather it might be possible to buy just the knob and not the whole power seat control assembly???

i have some old seats from a 2000 996 cab with trashed leather that i am about to dump. you can have them for nothing if you want (or any bits from them). they are in california. not sure where you are

I'm not looking for any parts, but i read this while i was browsing the forum. I just wanted to say this is a really generous offer and you don't come across this kind of generosity very often. Very well done, afletche.

A great porsche site, with great members.

Happy Holidays to all :renntech:

I had a B&M but found it very notchy so I switched to a 997 shifter and I like it better but I think it is hard to tell if it is really "shorter" than the stock 996 shifter.

:huh:

With key off oil pressure gauge should read zero. Turn the key on, engine off. Oil pressure gauge should still read zero. If gauge reads pressure, oil pressure sensor is faulty. Also check for loose / corroded sensor connections.

Experienced same erratic/random swings in pressure gauge reading as others have observed. Disconnected both leads from top of sender unit; cleaned both male connectors on sender unit; crimped female connectors with pliers; reconnected both leads. Problem seems to have gone away. I was a gnat's eyelash away from ordering a new sender unit. As someone else opined on this board, many many "broken" sender units are not. Mine was one.

Hey everyone.

I'm looking at an 99-2001 Carrera (awd OR Rwd) Coupe.

I've found 2 99's , one with 160,000km's and 110,000km's

Are there any serious issues to look out for with these years of carrera's?

People say their reliable, but you guys would know more than anyone else.

Is the awd system reliable?

also, what are regular maintenance costs like?

Thanks in advance!

-Cory

I have the following books in my library:

"The Used 911 Story". Peter Zimmermann. RPM Auto Books

"Porsche 911 Ultimate Portfolio 1998-2004. Compilation of articles from leading magazines. Brookland Books

"Porsche 996 The Essential Companion. Adrian Streather. Veloce Publishing.

All have wads of information to consider when buying used. I keep picking these up from time to time, to remind myself just why i bought my p-car! They are a good read on any day.

Best of luck

it might be as little of a problem as the oil pressure sender is bad. I would have them look at that first. They will need to hook up a manual guage to the car to see if there trully is something wron with your oil pressure or if it is the cheap oil pressure sender unit which is around a $80 part. I had the same issue with my 2003 c2. The oil pressure would consistently get to 5 bar at low RPM's and sometimes I would get an oil pressure failure to go along with it. I had the sender unit replaced and everything has been smooth sailing. I haven't had one other problem with the car. Overall it has been really reliable. Good luck but I bet it is nothing to really worry about.

I recently noticed something "possibly" odd about my 2003 911 C2. After the engine/oil is to normal operating temperature I noticed that oil pressure gauge is between 4 and 5 in six gear, about 2k rpm, around 65 MPH. I noticed that every so often I get a blip on the oil gauge. Essentially similar to a pulse or surge however not an extreme variation (maybe 1/4 mark up or down). I am wondering if this is normal or something to be concerned about as my CPO warranty runs out in 1 month.

Thanks for any advice.

Andrew

FYI - OEM oil sender unit for 2003 996 $42 + shipping from Sunset Imports. part 996 606 203 02

In my view and probably most of yours, Porsches are the best car to drive. I have owned mine for 4 years and still do not know how to articulate that I just love getting out on the road with me and my car.

So with that said everyone has their own opinion about Porsches. I am looking to see how "you" the people who know porsches and focus on the intricacies of a Porsche think are the top 10 Porsches of all time...The topic could be broken down into hundresds of categories but for the sake of this poll the question is simply which Porsches are the all time best.

Cheers.

Brian

mine :lol:

I don't intend to start the "oil wars" discussions up again, but could not find out much on Red Line oil using the search engine.

I've just changed over to Red Line from M1. Anyone have positive or negative thoughts on this?

Then why ask? ;)

FWIW a couple of my prior and current rides:

- 1986 Nissan Sentra 298,000mi Valvoline 10W40 every 3,000mi

- 1997 Toyota Corolla 293,000mi Valvoline 10W30 every 3,000

Nary a drop of oil burning on either.

I'll stick to the M1 0W40 for my p-car.

I always thought my 2003 996 was all stock. It has silver hood crest, but the black 3-spoke steering wheel has gold crest. Go figure.

To mix it up a bit, i bought gold crest wheel caps to replace the cheesy plastic grey "4S" caps.

For me here in Montana the major problem is guys in big, lifted pickups. Generally speaking the bigger the truck the bigger young clown driving it.

same in southern california. large chevy's and top-end dodges almost always want to put the p-car down. No matter who's ready to race, i take the opposie approach and pull away from the light a lot more slowly than i would normally do. Let the foolish drivers burn their gas and tires, not me.

agree with all the comments above!

speaking from a slightly biased standpoint (mine's a 2003 C4S in So. Cal. too), i think the 996 C4S is the best-looking porsche you can buy at a "less than supercar price". Another factor to consider is that there were many, many more C4S produced than the other p-car models in MY2003. This "should" help when looking for parts, etc, but can't provide any definitive proof of that assumption... Of the total MY2003 p-car factory production output (approx. 29,500), one quarter of them were C4S coupes.

also see numerous comments in most desirable post

$29500, automatic, new rear tires 9000 miles ago. I'll get a check on the rotors and pads. E

That is a darn good asking price for a 2003 with the low miles. Get the independent inspection, not just rotors and pads. Examine the extended warranty terms with a fine-toothed comb. They are not created equally. Sounds like this is coming off a dealer lot - if you can track down previous owner(s), do so and ask if it's been tracked or campaigned. This dealer may be trying to get rid of a car that has sat for too long on his lot, or maybe a 'hard-driven' trade-in/lease return.

Any feedback?

Absolutely stunning-looking 996 - without the 'dumbo' doors, that is. WFYB.

Factoid that may affect purchasing decision for some:

Model Year 2002 996 Mk II series total world production numbers:

Carrera Coupe 6249 built

Carrera Cab 6978

Carrera 4 Coupe 1722

Carrera 4 Cab 3870

Turbo 5908

GT-2 716

Targa 2630

Carrera 4S Coupe 4802

GT-3 Cup 138

Total Production 33013

MY 2003 production numbers:

Carrera Coupe 4987 built

Carrera Cab 4973

Carrera 4 Coupe 1147

Carrera 4 Cab 2930

GT-3 781

Turbo 4322

GT-2 233

Targa 1812

Carrera 4S Coupe 7388

GT-3 Cup 200

Carrera 4S Cab 451

Turbo Cab 308

GT-3RS 4

Total Production 29536

Based on these numbers, it may be that the 2002 GT-2 and GT-3 become very desirable; and the 2003 GT-2 and GT-3RS.

BTW, Does anyone know where i can find the corresponding numbers for cars made for US market only?

Congrats on the car! Best looking 996 (but I'm very heavily biased )

+1

Question to all,

Does anyone have experience with retrofitting a 996 C4S coupe with the driver's side lumbar support on electric seats? I'm doing long drives these days, and would like to replace the seat blank with OEM lumbar system. I'm assuming the wiring is in place -- fair assumption? Can't seem to find much information on this, and my local service people can't answer with any degree of confidence.

All help appreciated.

+1. This, I would be very interested in; lumbar support sorely lacking in my C4S driver seat too....

Benjamin,

Fascinating post. Thanks.

BTW, what's the color and impressive finish on the car in your pics? It looks like polished glass :)

What do you think?

http://www.rangerproducts.com/cart_product...php?prod_id=404

What do you think?....i think rangeproducts.com has less respect for the p-car, than for their jack. :o

... Notice each of the jacks you guys are looking at were made in China, by the lowest bidder.....How much extra capacity do you really have?

Sorry about the reply but I'm just an old man who has had a few close calls.

I hear ya.

I'm in the market for a floor jack also, and was looking at Harbor Freight, Sears, Costco.

I've always been somewhat confused over the lift capacity rating needed for jacking up my p-car. If car weighs 3300lb +/-, would a 1.5 ton (i.e 3,000lb rated) jack be safe, and not be over-loaded? Don't remember my hi-school physics, but if you're lifting no more than 1/2 the car at a time, is a 2-ton jack necessary? :huh:

Sweet. :)

Would a set for front-to-back be usable?

.... an old expression FORD (found on road dead).

Thanks.

Nghia

an even older expression, FORD = Fix Or Repair Daily

:beer:

I posted this at rennlist but seems nobody has answers for me,

Can anybody help over here?

Thanks!

Does anybody here know what the compression specs are for a 2002 C4s engine?

I recently had a full maintenance service done on the car,

including a compression test. and my mechanic told me the car looks solid,

and the compression test results were very good.

When I got home, I noticed on the invoice there were some figures for the test results:

#1- 270 psi

#2- 265 psi

#3- 265 psi

#4- 255 psi

#5- 255 psi

#6- 255 psi

I'm curious for comparison, what the numbers would be for a "perfect" engine.

CosmosC4S,

I have an unmodified MY03 C4S and had a PPI completed when i bought it. Compression was reported at 250psi on each cylinder. Not sure what the 'factory' spec is..If anyone knows ?

I contacted Durametric.

They're saying it is either a problem with the durametric cable (which i just returned so they can check it) or one of the modules on K2 (airbag, seats, AC..) is causing a problem.

Anyone had the same issue?

Thanks,

Fred

How did things turn out on this? Was the cable the problem?