Kim

When I was picking up my car at Jake Raby's shop last fall, they were putting a California car in a truck to ship back to a west coast customer.

The light bulb behind the clock is burned out, I replaced mine with a clear LED and resistor. or get a new bulb. The service manual shows how to remove it. Thanks. I'll check it out when I get home from this trip. I'm surprised the clock is lit from behind by a single bulb, but will be really glad if this is the fix.

After 15 years and 150,000 miles, I switched on my 2000 C2 Cab yesterday and saw the clock was not visible. I can find no fuse that is dedicated to the clock ... only various "interment console" fuses that mention several items each. Everything else seems to be working normally. Has anyone had experience with this issue?

Not as bad as you might think. My "quiet mode" switch stopped working recently ... and even though I installed it myself and so understood how it functioned, I could not trace this problem down.. I took it to a nearby Indy shop. Final damage was one hour labor and $50 for a new vacuum valve. I had actually checked the valve by listening to and feeling it "thunk" when the switch was activated ... but it had failed internally and was leaking vacuum.

http://www.flat6innovations.com/index.php/services/intermixed-oil-and-coolant-repairs

When I got my car back from the shop recently, I discovered that the quiet mode of the PSE does not work. (its important because I often drive out of neighborhood at 4 AM headed to work). Its 85 miles back to the shop, so I thought it might be quicker to trouble shoot myself. I installed the PSE myself a number of years ago but find I am quite rusty on the details. I don't believe its a fuse or the relay, as the light in the switch lights up when the switch is activated. Regardless, if someone could point me to the appropriate fuse, I would appreciate it. The relay is a recent replacement, so I don't suspect it ... yet. Also, could someone tell me what I should be reading at the two wires: gray/red and red/blue that plug into the vacuum switch? Thanks Kim

Progress Report: My car is back and running great. I finally picked it up about 2 weeks after the first call stating that they were just about done. It seems that after increasing the normal number of post repair coolant system flushes ( from 5 - 6 to almost 20) my car continued to show oil in the coolant ... even after removing and thoroughly cleaning the radiators. Jake decided there must be an additional problem unrelated to the repair of my cracked head ... and he was correct. They found a small leak in the heat exchanger. After replacing that, every thing went as expected. The exchanger, installation labor, and extra flushes increased the cost by $2000 over the original estimate of $11.700. A lot of money to spend on a 14 year old car to be sure ... but far less than I would have to spend to replace my car with something comparable, especially when you consider the engine having just been rebuilt by Jake Raby. In the future I will certainly heed Jake's advice to install a new water pump every 3 years ... and not wait for a pump failure, which was the root cause of my problems. Because I am "local" to the shop (85 miles), I was able to pick the car up in person and receive an added bonus ... a guided tour of the Flat Six operation in north Georgia, conducted by Jud Fink, the manager / customer service guru. It was quite impressive. The car was freshly washed and waiting with a full tank. Jud gave me a thumb drive with a complete record, including pictures, of everything they did to the car, beginning with off loading from the wrecker. My only regret is that I missed 5-6 weeks of great convertible weather here in Georgia, and the temp went to low 20s just a few days after I got home with the car.

See my nearby story on oil - coolant intermix. The culprit that was found lodged near my cracked head was a piece of plastic water pump impeller. Evidently, the plastic impellers are no less a threat than the metal ones. Jake Raby says he strongly advises changing these water pumps prospectively ... every 2 - 3 years rather than waiting for one to fail and taking the chance of this exact scenario occurring. I know I certainly will from this time forward. (update on my repair) Engine running strong. Still flushing due to difficulty of breaking oil loose from cooling system due to cold wx preventing engine from reaching the higher end of its operating temp range. Tomorrow they will put it on they dyno and try for 200 deg. Jake says its like trying to wash greasy dishes with cold water.

Got the call from Raby Engineering Friday. Engine reinstalled and running smoothly. A few hours later came the call that the first (of several) cooling system flushes was completed without issue. Looks like I may get the car back late next week.

Update from the Flat 6 folks (who are outstanding when it comes to keeping me informed) : - after an initial inspection, Jake advised that my car appeared to be a candidate for his repair method. I committed to pay for the removal / tear down for further inspection. - tear down found no other problems with my engine. Jake had explained that the after tear down inspection might reveal wear issues on my 150,000 mile engine that would dictate against spending the amount necessary to complete the repair. - I committed to pay for the cylinder head repair and subsequent rebuild which would include upgraded components including Jake's upgraded timing chain design and seals. - projected total cost is within a couple of hundred dollars of the estimated amount I was told the repair was currently costing in my initial phone call on that fateful day. - Jake has made it crystal clear that there is no warranty on this repair ... only his good name. Therefore, I was very happy to read in another post here, "Probably the best M96/97 engine shop in the world is in Georgia at Jake Raby's shop". PS: if I knew how to post pictures, I would post the pic Jake sent of my cracked head.

- Because I really like my car and am perfectly satisfied with what it offers. Over the years I've installed the PSE, new top, upgrade headlights, brand new seats (with heat) less than a year ago (off of ebay for $100), permanent wiring for the Valentine, flash hi beams to open garage door, charging / aux input for iPad ... the list goes on. It will cost me $12K to have my engine gone through by Flat 6, including many upgrades: seals, bearings, thermostat, Flat 6 timing chain, etc. A later model in comparable shape would cost much more ... and I would have no real idea of the real health of the engine / drive train. Having retired since I bought my Cab ... then seeing my former employer go bankrupt and renege on the retirement... its not quite as simple to just write a check and roll the dice the way I did with this car when it was 5 years old with 30K miles.

After just shy of 10 great years and 150k fun miles in my 2000 Cab, I opened my coolant reservoir recently to have a chocolate milkshake come spewing out. Knowing the news would be bad, I googled "996 oil in coolant", and the first page to come up was for Jake Raby's Flat 6 Inovations in the north Georgia mountains. His page spelled exactly what I would have cried to him on the phone. As it was, I simply had to say, "Scenario #1 on your website" ... and Jud Fink, Jake's #2 ... offered his condolences. He also offered hope, and got Jake on the phone to make sure I understood the issue and the possible cure. He made sure I understood that at 150k miles, my engine may be too worn / out of spec to warrant the repair he has developed. I was certainly willing to foot the bill to get it to him for his opinion. His shop is just 80 miles from my garage, so his local wrecker service was at my garage door the next morning to pick up my car. 2 days later, after a cursory inspection, Jake called to say that things look promising. I had put only few miles on the car with the intermix going on, and I guess that helped. On that basis, I accepted financial responsibility for the next step: engine removal and tear down to further determine for the potential for the repair he has developed for the M96 cracked head. This past Friday, he called again to discuss his findings and his verdict that he felt my car to be a good candidate. I signed more authorization forms, and the job is underway. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out. As an aside, Jake expressed his opinion that M96 water pumps should be changed every 3 years without waiting for a pump failure. He predicted on the phone that my pump (or a previous one) would be a factor in what happened. Upon opening it up, he found impeller parts in the coolant stream and already broken impellers in the pump currently installed. If you would like to see Jake's explanation of the problem: click HERE Or go to: http://www.flat6innovations.com/index.php/services/intermixed-oil-and-coolant-repairs Kim

When I installed the PSE, I too wished to pass on something affordable to a buyer ... so I gave them to a fellow RennTech'er for the cost of shipping them to him.

The DME failed on my 2000 C2. After diagnosis, it did not take the dealer long to complete the swap. New DME was loaded with info from old DME, and they reminded me to bring my spare keys so that the new Imobilizer could be programmed to accept them. As an aside, this was done well past warranty by a dealer who did not sell me the car. Hennessy in north Atlanta said they found this to be so rare that they would give me the part at cost and charge no labor for the job. That's my kind of dealer.

I realize (even mentioned) that an indy may have a contact at a dealer to get the car code. Your notation that one dealer "refused"you is the exact reason I cautioned the original poster not to act on the advice that "any indy with the equipment can do it". As for the key code, I am aware of the code that comes with a new key head. However, I understand it is the car computer that is programmed during the mating process to accept this new key head code. The key itself is NOT coded or affected in any way during this process. Could be that we're simply debating semantics ... but I find that most owners tend to wish to know exactly how such things work in their car.

Unless there has been a change in the last few years, it takes more than the diagnostic computer to program the car (not the key). PCNA maintains a data base of car codes and access to this database is required when programming the car to accept a new key head. Not really. The code comes on a little card with the key head (and should be saved by the owner for this purpose). If you have this, then what wross996TT said holds true and all you need is a PST2/PIWIS. I'll be interested to see what the answer turns out to be. I believe the code that comes with the key fob is not the same code that PCNA supplies when a car computer is being matched to a new key head. I have known indy's who could do it ... but that was because they had a friend at the dealership who would give the the VIN related code over the phone.

Unless there has been a change in the last few years, it takes more than the diagnostic computer to program the car (not the key). PCNA maintains a data base of car codes and access to this database is required when programming the car to accept a new key head.

Yes. I'm traveling today, but will get it up by tonight. Will also email it directly to you if you PM me an email address.

Having replaced the driver's door latch, I am of the opinion that $200 labor is a very good deal.

Before you replace the latch, just take a close look at it: - are the attaching bolts tight? - is there room for slop in the latch positioning; i.e. can you loosen all bolts, slightly move the latch mechanism to a different position, then re-tighten? I suggest you get in the car, lower the windows so that they are not a factor in your investigation, and spend some time working with the latch. Compare its position, feel, and action to the passenger side door. Don't be surprised if you have to replace the latch. It seems to be the weak link in the system. There is a fine tutorial on removing the inner door panel here on RennTech. After its off, you will need small hands and limber arms to reach in through the access holes, disconnect the linkage, remove the latch, install new latch, re-connect the linkage, then work you way backward through the door panel removal. If you are tempted to test your work before complete reassembly, BE CAREFUL when reconnecting the battery ... as your door air bag may be vulnerable.

Certainly could be. I examined both units closely and found no typical part numbers among those embossed in the black plastic (other than bulb IDs). Also, there is no way in which I can see the unit could be broken down further. Oh well, the German's love a mystery, I guess.

Its a mystery for which I have no explanation. Could it make a difference that my MY00 is a cab? When I google 996.631.416.00, I get returns that state "2003 996 tail light" as well as Pelican Parts ads saying "996 01 and up Passenger Side Tail Light Assembly". My car is an MY 00 Cab, never in the body shop (where something else might have been installed) ... and each of the original units has a yellow Valeo tag affixed with the part numbers I listed above. The two new (to me) units that I have come from an MY 02, and have the exact same yellow tags.

Yes, I am sure of the part #. Factory yellow parts tags are on both my old and new tail lights. If yours says "496, perhaps you have a turbo. I believe that body style uses a different tail light unit.

If it is a relay problem, here is the quick and dirty: There are 3 relays in the door. 1. on the outside handle ... to drop the window when you first pull the handle to open the door. As soon as the door latch is released, control of the window droop passes to the relay in the latch. 2. on the inside handle ... to drop the window when you first pull the handle to open the door. As soon as the door latch is released, control of the window droop passes to the relay in the latch. 3. integral to the latch mechanism / strike on the trailing side of the door. This relay takes over and keeps window in droop position as soon as the door latch is opened. That way, you can (normally) then release the inside or outside handle, and the window will stay drooped until the door is closed ... the latch senses closed ... and the latch mechanism relay releases the window to go full up again. When I went through this, you couldn't buy the latch relay alone. I had to buy the entire latch mechanism.

I recently had to buy a pair of tail lights for my 2000 Cab in order to get the one I needed. As a result of this deal, I have 2 extra tail lights in my garage: 1. Photo on right: a perfect, "like new" unit for the right side. No amber as in the 1999 unit. This one is OEM from 2000 to at least 2003, I believe. Do your own check first to be sure. 996.631.416.00. New from Porsche: $600. Like new on eBay: $250. From me: $150 + shipping. 2. Photo on left: an almost perfect unit for the left side. Same description as above, 996.631.415.00. but a small triangle, approximately 1/2" on a side, is missing on the bottom, inside corner (next to the engine hood) See photo. This is the perfect part for an owner with a ruined left tail light, but a limited budget with which to replace it. $50 + shipping. If you don't like it, you can send it back for a refund, but you pay shipping both ways. PM me for more pics and/or details.