1999Porsche911

coolant tank cap and coolant screw (small plug on the back bottom of the engine)

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Do you have a pic or a diagram of where these two are? Thanks for the procedure both of you. I think I will give 1999Porsche911 suggestion a try.

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I'll post a pic in the morning.

The proper way requires alot work removing the panels under the front of the car, removing hoses etc. Here is what I do which works fine.

There is a small plug on the back bottom of the engine (coolant plug)that can be removed with an allen wrench. Removing this screw will allow just slightly more than 2 gallons of coolant to be drained from the engine.

Procedure ( This seems very complex and time consuming, but in reality it is not. Total time is about 1 hour)

1. Remove the coolant tank cap and remove the coolant screw and allow the 2 gallons to drain from the engine. Reinstall coolant screw. Don't burn yourself. Place the bleeder valve wire in the vertical position which will open the bleeders. The valve is located next to the filler cap and will allow air to purge from the system. Fill the tank with clean warm water. Start the car and let it get to full operating temperature. Turn the heat on full to allow for full circulation of coolant. When the car gets to operating temp, let the coolant circulate for a few minutes. (tank cap on).

2. Turn off the car and repeat #1 three more times.

YOU COOLING SYSTEM IS NOW ABOUT 90% PURE WATER or about 1/2 gallon of antifreeze in 6 gallons of water. You can further reduce the percentage of antifreeze if you want by repeating #1 again, but it is overkill.

3. Repeat number 1 but this time, fill the tank with a 50/50 mix of water and coolant. You should be able to add 2 gallons to the tank. Let the coolant circulate and now you have 1.6 gallons on antifreeze in the cooling system out of a total of 6 gallons. Drain the system one more time which will remove 1/2 gallon of antifreeze. (2 gallons of mixture). Then fill the tank with 2 gallons of straight antifreeze and you are at a 50/50 mixture. Put the cap on the tank and let the engine get to operating temp, shut off and return the purge valve to closed position.

Check the tank level after driving the car and add a 50/50 mixture as necessary. Since you removed virtually all antifreeze from the system, you can use any major brand and type of coolant you choose. I use Peak.

Don't scald yourself.

You should change you coolant every 2 -3 years.

No worry about leaky hoses, broken clamps, etc.

thanks again for the response 1999porsche911. where would I find the connector?

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There is only one electrical connection to the valve. Just press the wire clip and pull out. You can do this with the engine running. You will probably get a CEL when you disconnect it but the clicking will stop. The CEL should go off after you reconnect the cable and driven the car a few times. Or reset it with a scan tool or disconnect the battery for a few minutes. You will need to reenter your radio code if you disconnect the battery. The car will also idle high and run a little rough after the battery is disconnected while the computer calibrates itself.

The clicking of this valve is normal and sound just like valve lifters.

Just unplug the connector to the EGR and if the ticking goes away.....................bingo!

It'll take you about an hour on your back including a break between banks for a cup of Java or other favorite beverage.

The pickup for the oil on the 3.4 is exactly where you show on the left side of the engine. Size of the injectors I do not know, but if you bought the system from Todd at EVOMS.COM, he could tell you. I assume you bought the system directly and are installing it yourself?

It is a pain to fix the seal, so you may want to have the dealer do it. Both mine have always sweated oil (no dripping). Sometimes snugging up the 2 bolts will eliminate any leak.

I modified your drawing to show how mine is setup:

The long 3/4" hose is for crankcase venting.

As a matter of fact, I am just changing them now on my car (finished bank 2 and on to bank 1 after a cup of Java). If you're going to remove everything anyway to check the plugs, putting in new ones would make since since the plugs only cost $8.50 each. Also run your finger inside the plastic tube after the plug is out to see if there is any oil in there. If so, get new O rings from Porsche and replace. The tube can be pulled out easily by inserting your thumb in the tube, bending the thumb and pulling out. They just press back in after oiling the O rings.

I suggest you spend a little time cleaning the engine and then take a look at where the oil is coming from. You have many months of oil and buildup on it now. Like Loren said, it could be coming from anywhere and may be a simple repairable leak.

Any brand name coolant is fine. Maybe get a premixed gallon botlle and put in the trunk until you are comfortable that you are no longer losing coolant. If you have never replaced the coolant in the car, I would put that on your list of thing to do. You should change it every few years to help prevent sludge from building up and clogging the radiators.

Glad it worked out for you.

Have you worked on the engine lately? Could the coolant level sensor connection on the bottom of the tank come loose? You may also run the engine without the coolant tank cap on and let the fluid rise to the top as it heats up. This will help remove any air in the system. Then leave the cap off all night. Air in the system will also cause the light to flash.

I thought all owners of a 99 996 knew that this light with nomal engine temperature was due to low coolant. Didn't we all have to have our coolant tank replaced because of leakage?

Anyway...fill up the coolant tank with a 50/50 mix of antifreeze/water and you should be fine. After running it through the system at full operating temperature, you can bleed the system or simply remove the coolant tank cap overnight and everything will be fine. Don't forget to replace the cap before driving again.

For info: If you want to test the operation of the engine compartment fan, unplug the 2 wire connector from the engine compartment temp sensor located on Bank 2 just recessed on the top of the engine rightside between the intake ducts. The fan should immediately turn on. You can do this just with the ignition key on and engine not running.

Check your coolant level.

Yes. Loosen the 2 bolts that hold the latch and move it slightly up or down. In your case, I would suspect you need to move it slightly down. I normally just snug the bolts on the lid and latch when I first close the lid. This helps allow them to move into proper alignment.

On the 99 C2, you have to make sure that the latch is perfectly adjusted up and down. I have both Aero lid and stock lid and occasionally switch the two. It always takes some time to find the right position of both the latch on the car and the bracket on the lid.

How much does the engine vibrate? Can't imagine not being able to confirm if it is the mount (unlikely) or not. The area of the suspected bad mount can be easily secured mechanically to see if the vibration goes away. Is the vibration at speed or at idle or both?

Long before you ever get to an oil level that is dangerously low, you will be alerted to that by you oil pressue gauge reading low.  Get to know the habits of this gauge also and you won't have any problems.

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Good advice -- I wish I could heed it but I don't trust my oil pressure gauge.

Per the manual "With a warmed-up engine and at a speed of 5000 rpm, the engine oil pressure should be approx. 3.5 bar." Mine has always read 4.75 bar at 5000 rpm, even after the dealer replaced the oil pressure sender.

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Don't follow the manual. Find out what the normal oil pressure readings are when it is known that the oil level is correct. The pressure should be close to the following.

Idle and above when the car is cold - 5 bar

Fully warmed idle 2 bar

Fully warmed above 3000 rpm - 4.5 bar or higher. (probably 5 bar)

If you only read 3.5 bar as the manual indicates at 5,000 rpm, you have a problem.

Get your reading from the dipstick when the car has been sitting level for 15 minutes or more. Then look at the electronic gauge and see where the level is indicated. The gauge is extremely accurate.

It does not matter whether the engine is warm or not, but is IS necessary that you let the car sit level for 15 minutes or more for an accurate reading. Just look at the gauge before you start the car in the morning. I haven't used the dipstick in 5 years. Long before you ever get to an oil level that is dangerously low, you will be alerted to that by you oil pressue gauge reading low. Get to know the habits of this gauge also and you won't have any problems.

One of the worse things you can do to an engine is let it sit for months at a time without starting it. This causes the top of crankshaft seal to dryout and shrink ever so slightly. Upon engine start up, the dry seal is more prone to tearing or deforming and IF (and this does not always happen) ANY oil gets between the seal and the case, the seal will get looser and looser at that point as the oil will not allow the seal to seat again against the case.

If you store your car for months at a time, it is recommended that when you restart it, you only run it at idle for about 2 - 3 minutes and then shut it down. This will help the seal to again expand due to the heat and lubrication. The worse thing you could do is start it and then start driving.

Regardless of what many people say, it is always best to start your car at least once a month and let it fully warm up. This not only keeps all seals properly lubricated, but has many other benefits as well.

And finally:

Here is what it looks like:

Anyone locked in the trunk?

The "juddering" is most likely the the ABS funstioning correctly. To ease your mnd, try driving another 996 at the dealer and see if the braking system seems different than your car.