dj996

How about that new Porsche short shifter? Is it really the same as the B&M? Same bushings etc...??

I contacted PMSNA and they want $1360 for the kit including slight machine work to the 4-6 cam cover, not including labor ($5-700 est). It is my understanding, as Loren pointed out above, even the 3.6 requires an oiling upgrade on the 4-6 side. Since these are also X51 parts, does anyone (Loren??) have the part numbers for the oil pan, scavenging pump(4-6 side) with pickup tube , and the cam cover(4-6) for both 3.4 and 3.6. If I could get the parts for a good price, it might be very do-able as an advanced DIY project. Loren, which 3.4 have the improved baffle system? Mine is a 9/99 build.

You're probably right, a RMS should never fail, especially on a low miles car. I've had Chevys and Fords go nearly 100K miles and never had a RMS failure, you can't tell me they are better engineered than a Porsche...then again the CEL has never gone off on my Ford Expedition either.

I'm hoping it's something simple too. It really is a fine shifter. FWIW I have over 30 track days on my 996, the last 4 with the B&M. I have never had any trouble with the stock shifter, but 2 out of 4 days with the B&M I have run into this gate thing...no pun intended :jump: .

Guys I saw a related post on another board, made me think about my little problem. I had my B&M adjusted perfectly, I used the Porsche special tool to setup the cables on the stock shifter then carefully marked them and re-installed the B&M. It seemed to make a big difference on daily driving , no more clunking into 1st, just nice smooth and short gear changes. The new cable positions were actually a few threads off the OEM placement as we noted on the initial installation. Everything seemed great, I took the car to the track a couple of weeks ago and it felt fantastic, nice crisp short gear changes. In fact, I commented how perfect the car now felt with the short shifter. Then on the last afternoon of the DE , 3rd and 4th run sessions were run fairly close together, far less than usual down time. This is a normal occurance at the track as everyone wants to finish up and go home. By the end of the third session I hit a gate upshifting 2-3 and it took a couple of attempts to engage the gear. I thought nothing of it. Then on the last run session, the same thing happened at least twice on 3-2 donwshifts and 2-3 upshifts. The car had to be forced into gear.:( This is really a PITA on a high speed track out at 7000 rpm! I guess some adjustment problem???? I don't know. I put the stock shifter back until I can come up with a reliable solution for track use. Again this only happens at the track during "extreme" usage.

Nice wheels mister...puff...puff :) Seriously they are beautiful.

The B&M install is fairly straight forward, but there are some caveats. You should mark the cables before removal from the plastic connections. The best way is to use the Porsche special bridge tool ( about $8) and set the stock shifter to TDC, mark the cables with tape and remove them. Re-installation should be easier if they are marked. I found variation between the way the shifter was installed from the factory and when I set it up using the special bridge tool (about 2-3 threads off on each side). The center console removes easy with a series of Torx 20,25 screws. It should easily come out with the passenger seat laid back. Be careful removing the plastic panels, the tabs break easily. The install is very straight forward, only thing you have to remove/destroy the stock factory bushings which makes re-installation of the stock shifter problematic, though not impossible. For example, I use the EVO needle bearings on the stock shifter and the B&M, with this setup the shifter can be changed in 30" or less... But I think the B&M feels best with the B&M bushings. It tends to feel as though it has a little too much play with the EVO needle bearings, although there is no adjustment to worry about. Having looked at this "problem" of destroying the bushings, there may be a way to remove them without cutting them, though I haven't had a chance to test my theory yet. I think if you could get a screw type metal hose clamp around the bushing you might be able to compress the tabs enough to remove the thing in one piece. Might be worth a try...

Scott, that is a little weird since you just had the system bled. Most likely nothing to worry about, you were running pretty hard on a really hot day. If it's overfilled, you could carefully remove a small amount of the fluid with something like an old turkey baster. But be real careful, brake fluid can take the paint off. Also if you suspect boiling make sure the dealer used the same spec brake fluid in terms the proper boiling point. I believe factory fill is the ATE super blue racing or gold (color is the only difference).

The last time I had mine serviced they left the bleeder open, I didn't notice for weeks including a few track days.:). Had mine at the DE this weekend, ambient temps around 100F, the car temp never went past the "0", usually between the "8" and "0". Typically the car would run a notch past this. So I think the radiator helped the car cool 10-15 degrees. Overall, I give this upgrade a 7.5/10.

Much thanks to Loren on his DIY tips. I finally finished the install, what a *****. It was a hell of a job in my hot Houston garage. I ended up having to trim the driver side hose a little to get it to fit correctly. I was a little bummed about that, but there didn't seem to bve any other way, i was only about 3". did anyone else have to do this?? Did I screw it up? Seems to be working fine so far.

Crap, I think I just figured it out. I may have mis-installed the hose. :o

Installing the third radiator on a non aero '00 996, so far so good. But the driver side hose (the small hose to the new radiator) seems way too long. Did anyone have to cut this? Perhaps it's installed incorrectly. The pass side hose seems a little short too. BTW is there an easy way top get the plastic rivets out, I had to tear up a couple of them trying to loosen up the fenderwell lining. Loren help me out... :D

You could add the non-sport RoW springs to the std US suspension and get a slight amount (+-10mm) of lowering. I don't think I would change out the shocks for this mild amount of lowering and the valving would be the same for a std suspension 996 US or RoW. But keep in mind, the variance from Porsche is +- 10mm with all their suspensions so the lowering will vary somewhat. FWIW my 996 sat relatively low with the stock std suspension and changing to RoW 030 dropped it about 15mm in the front only. Also I think the RoW springs made a lot more of a difference on older versions of the 911. This may be why they suggest this as an option.

I'll echo what has already been said, just make sure you mark the cables (tape will work) before you remove them. This will give a fairly good , albeit approximate, install. If you really want to be sure, get the special tool from Porsche that locates the stock shifter to TDC (costs about $8) and then mark the cables as they line up in the stock shifter while in neutral. Sounds a little redundant but when I used this technique I found the cable insertion was off by a few threads from the factory. Maybe they do some fine adjustment before it leaves the line, but the B&M feels a lot better now especially going into 1st. :cheers:

What do you guys think of running stock Textar pads and Super Blue ATE fluid? I ask because the stock pads have given me pretty good service (almost 4 years and 10-12 DEs) and no squealing. I'm planning on new fluid and possibly pads before the next event. This is a street car primarily with occassional track (DE) use. Switching to a racing pad for the track is another option.

Kind of OT, but what do you do with old coolant if you are going to change it, can it go down the drain??

Hey Loren, I can't download your link to the brake pad DIY ???????can you e mail it to me, TIA.

Hey you finally made it over here!:) I just bought new pads and fluid and a new Motive powerbleeder....I want to upgrade my brakes before the next track day. Maybe we should have a brake party...:)

I can't believe they would put a tranny in a car that is not servicable???

Unitah, How do you find the pagids on the street. doug

Thanks guys, great site Loren. Long overdue IMO :)

The tech manual desribes a two part process, first bleed as normal then use a System 2 tester to bleed the brakes. I'm confused, does anyone actually do ths or can I just bleed as normal with a power bleeder. I'm want to put on some new pads(Pagids) before the next track day.

Mike did you get an extended warranty yet, I'm still on the fence. Good luck on the coil-overs, should really handle like it's on rails.

Everything seemed like it was connected correctly, it's real puzzling why it binds up, it's hard to really appreciate unless the console is off. One thing for sure, it's not binding at all with the stock unit re-installed. Kind of bums me out as I really like the feel of the B&M, but I can't have it binding up on certain shifts, that's unacceptable. I may try and re-install everything this weekend, I have it down to a thirty minute job... :D

I noticed my B&M short shifter was making a slight noise going from 4-3 or 2-3, in fact a couple of times at the track it didn't want to go from 4-3 like it was sticking on something. long story short, after removal of the console I found the plastic cable connector , where it attaches to the bottom of the shift handle, was catching or binding up on the plastic base of the shifter housing. Mind you it was very variable, only catching about every 10th shift attempt. To be on the safe side I took it out- for the time being- and replaced the stock shifter with some Evo needle bearings I had, no more binding. Actually this setup feels pretty good, just too long... Anyone else ever note anything strange like this??