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Kim

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Everything posted by Kim

  1. Kim
    Dave, Just as with Will, I urge you to make sure you are talking apples and oranges with your dealer. If you simply inquire about "a new key", the dealer may think you mean the entire product: pre-cut metal shaft as well as the electronic head. These pre-cut shafts run in the $100 range by themselves .... probably even more from a non-discounting dealer. You, from what you have described, do not need the whole thing .... just a new head. As for "reasonable dealer" .... other posts have shown that I was fortunate in the cost of mating the key to the car. As far as cost of parts goes, however, both I and Loren have pointed out that there are sources well below retail, both from Sunset Porsche (where Loren quoted them as selling the key heads in the $80 range) as well as eBay (where I got my key head). The bottom line is that, unless one has a good deal more disposable income than I, one needs to be aggressive in pursuing the many good deals that are out there for parts for these cars. The local dealer is rarely the best deal. Tips as to where the best deals are, as well as technical info, are what drove me to find RennTech in the first place.
  2. Kim
    If you do a search for PSE installation help, you will find many labeled pictures of the various parts. In the picture below, the vacuum tank is slightly to the right, and toward the front of the car from the item labeled "switch". Follow the rubber tubing from your electrically operated vacuum switch back to the tank. That is where leaks may occur, or where a check valve may be missing / malfunctioning. The whole purpose of this tank, as far as I know, is to retain vacuum so that you may switch the PSE prior to engine start.
  3. Kim
    The vacuum chamber retains more than enough vacuum overnight to enable to me to switch to quiet prior to starting in the early morning hours.
  4. Kim
    Will, if you're really making this a purely economic decision, then you might want to be sure of you have firm numbers. I was able to get a new key head, with barcode, on eBay for about $75. I believe Loren recently posted a Sunset flyer showing them in the $80's. As for programming, have you actually checked with your local dealer (CLT, I presume)? Mine in ATL charged me less than $50 to mate 2 new keys to my car.
  5. Kim
    If for no other reason .... then because its so cool to lower your top as you approach the car in a parking lot; or raise it as you walk away; or raise it from your sidewalk restaurant table when clouds begin to build; or lower it before you leave your table so that the car is ready when you walk up to it. Actually though, these are the kinds of reasons that are either intuitively obvious to someone .... or make no sense to them at all. Its a "if you have to ask" type of situation, I guess. Me? I LOVE the SmartTop and RemoteTop.
  6. Kim
    Like just about every other poster here, I love the Ultimate Cup holders in my 996. I had already installed the Bird arm rest with its swing out holder .... but that tends to get in the way of my wife's arm when we travel in my car .... and, of course, it holds only one cup. I made one mod to the UCH: I cut the head off of a small (3 penny) finishing nail and used expoxy to attach it to the bottom, rear edge of the holder. (scuff the aluminum surface first). In that position, the nail extends approximately 1/2 inch past the bottom edge and into the carpet. The result is that the UCH is much more securely anchored, with the nail digging into the floor mat. It is much less likely to be moved out of position by an inadvertent kick.
  7. Kim
    I have no idea what the statistics are, but I'm willing to bet there are a lot more folks like me: I bought a 5 year old car with 32K on it, and, 4 years and 50K miles later it has required ZERO unscheduled maintenance in a shop, indy or dealer. Sure, I've had to adjust the hood latch, clean out the water drains, and, finally, replace a cracked coolant tank. I hardly consider that record, over 50,000 miles to represent excessive maintenance nor an inadequately engineered car.
  8. Kim
    how much did it cost??? Loren has recently posted price info from Sunset, I believe .... but my memory is that a key blank (no head) cut for my car was around $80, and the valet key already cut was a little more.
  9. Kim
    Thanks, Richard. I sometimes forget how capable that PST2 (and successor) is. My fear, left over from previous nightmares, is that, when one takes a car in the an intermittent problem, the mechs just start changing parts .... expensive parts. I'll get my Indy mech to hook up to the OBD and see what it says.
  10. Kim
    No. I meant that the shaft had already been cut to fit my car. I had to take it to the dealer, along with the valet key I bought from Sunset. Cost for the dealer to mate the 2 keys to my car: $47.50 .... and they gave me a cup of Starbucks while I waited.
  11. Kim
    Loren, When I bought my keys from Sunset, I emailed them a scan of the title showing me as owner and the VIN, and they sent me keys already cut and ready to go.
  12. Kim
    If the "thud" is not indicative of a broader problem, then you probably have the typical issue with the micro switch that tells the window to lower slightly, then rise again after closing the door. With the door open, and window fully up (showing a failure of some sort) use a screw driver to nudge the latch on the back side of the door. If you observe the window to drop down, then it is likely the micro switch on the inside of the door at this location that has failed .... or slipped out of the proper position. If your mechanic did not consider this very common problem .... then you might consider finding a more knowledgeable mechanic. If the "thud" indicates a broader problem, you can always try the all purpose window fix: run the window all the way down, then all the way up to "retrain" the window memory. There are also many threads here regarding overall window mechanism / motor / track system problems .... along with instructions on how to remove door panel to investigate. Good luck,
  13. Kim
    Loren, I'm ashamed to admit that I did not take notice. I DID move the lever to neutral and try there .... but, again, did not look at the cluster display. My excuse is that it was 95+ in that parking lot yesterday, and my frustration level was running high. I just went out to my garage to check it out. P is illuminated .... but, then, the car stared normally. I assume you are considering an issue with the neutral safety switch. I will just have to watch that, I guess .... although I was hoping to decide on and implement a definitive fix before I got stuck in another parking lot somewhere. Is the neutral safety switch accessible from the inside of the car (beneath center console area) or is it located on the transmission housing somewhere? Thanks,
  14. Kim
    You'll find many threads with info on this topic. The bottom line is that the price you've been given is high. My solution was to order the key shaft (metal part only) from Sunset for approximately $80. They will order one to fit your car if you provide (fax) a copy of the title. Then, I bought a key head (the black part) on Ebay for about $75, I think. You must be sure such a head has the bar code tag showing the computer ID. Then, my local Atlanta dealer charged me less than $50 to mate two new keys to my car (I had also ordered a valet key from Sunset). This is a process that can only be done by a dealer because it required a car specific code that can only be obtained from PCNA. You may find that many indy shops have the PST2, or newer .... the electronic box that is used to perform the mating of keys .... but they cannot do it without the car code from Porsche. I tried.
  15. Kim
    In all the "bad ignition switch" posts I've found here, the theme always seemed to be strange electrical gremlins: radio stays on, lights stay on, etc. For me today, everything behaved perfectly normally as I turned on the ignition. But, as I kept turning toward the start position, not a thing came from the starter motor. I have a Tip, so no clutch switch involved. After trying several times, even with a spare key (just in case) the car suddenly started normally and I drove home. Immediately upon turning it off in my garage, I attempted to restart. Same symptoms as above. No gremlins or otherwise strange behavior. Is this also a symptom of a bad electrical portion of the ignition switch? Thanks
  16. Kim
    Boy, you've done it now. A request for tire recs always starts a hot debate. For what its worth, I ignored the N-Rating issue and researched and shopped with the same interests as yours .... ride comfort and noise .... and ended up with the Goodyear Eagle GS D3. As a bonus, it was that year's (2005) top pick as a high performance tire by Car & Driver. Not cheap, but a great tire. I highly recommend it.
  17. Kim
    CarFax is no different from any other computer data base with input from humans. Garbage In / Garbage Out. Any sort of data mistake is possible there. The folks who just bought my wife's car said that CarFax showed no lien until several years into my ownership, then only for a short period before showing the lien removed. In reality, the credit union lien was on from the first day through the 4th year.
  18. Kim
    Yes.
  19. Kim
    If I remember correctly, that $70 tube from Porsche is the 2 oz. size. Try HERE The 2 oz tube of Krytox is $29.
  20. Kim
    I have often seen reference on RennTech to "re-training" the windows on these cars, but had never encountered the need. Today, I changed my battery .... defensively, as the old one was 5+ years old, and Loren warned me I was headed for a failure. (thanks, Loren, by the way, for the Costco battery recommendation. With instant rebate, it was only $39.) Change went without the most feared hitch: my radio code worked without a problem. However, the driver's window on my Cab was down in the "door open" position when I closed the door to drive off. When I re-opened the door, it dropped even further to a never before seen level. The pax window was in normal position. The answer? I had left the driver's door open while the battery was disconnected, then reconnected. Thus, it seems clear that the driver's window "learned" a new top position while sitting in the drooped "door open" position as it should have been with that door standing open. Remembering all those RennTech posts, I sat down, closed the door, turned on the ignition and ran the window all the way down, then all the way up. Presto! It was retrained. Thanks once again to you guys for saving me trouble & money.
  21. Kim
    There is a TSB on this specific rattle. I believe it is #6101. Basically, it says that you need to replace the two latch seats on the front window frame. The top latches into these and the old ones start to rattle. It takes 5 minutes to replace them. The new ones are redesigned to eliminate the source of the rattle that comes with age/wear. You need to order: 996.561.605.02 Right prong seat 996.561.606.02 Left pront seat The TSB also calls for a lubricant (Krytox) to be applied sparingly to the rubber seals on the top. At the parts counter, this is 999.917.557.00, and very expensive. I search on the web and found it cheaper, though still about $20 for a small tube. Then again, you should use very little of it.
  22. Kim
    I can certainly identify with the "stupid" part. When it happened in my TR3 (you have to be old to remember that little roadster), I had failed to use the big T-handle to lock down the two front corners of the hood after having worked on it for an extended period. There was no safety catch. Just plain stupid. That steel hood probably weighed 5 times the 996 hood, if not more, so it did not lift until speed was up on the interstate highway (285 for you ATL area guys). Then, it went very quickly, snapped off the chrome hinges, smashed the windshield and sailed off behind me like a berserk frisbee. I was unbelievably lucky that it did not cause an accident ..... or, worse .... decapitate someone behind me. I was so disgusted, I retrieved the hood and drove to a British car specialist where I sold him the car .... at a price considerably less than it would have bought just an hour earlier.
  23. Kim
    By no means do I mean to minimize your experience or your horror while it was happening. In fact, it happened to me in a TR3 many years ago and frightened me silly. At the same time, I find it hard to accept that not having a light to warn of the lid being less than fully latched is a "safety hazard" .... if that is what you mean. I have never owned a vehicle with a light to warn me that the front lid was unlatched. My 996 (MY00) does not have one. I have always understood that this is what the safety catch / release is for. When the 996 went to the electric release in 01, surely they did not eliminate the safety catch. If not, it does seem that your issue was not simply that your lid being not securely latched .... it was not even closed far enough to engage the safety catch. I just checked, and when that is the case with my 996, it is obvious from a casual glance. Have you checked to see if your safety catch is working properly? That sounds alike a must for the shop that repairs your car. Again, let me stress that I am not belittling the horror of your experience .... just addressing the issue of whether or not the lack of such a warning light is a safety issue.
  24. Kim
    As I understand it, an after market installed PSE does not have the speed related switch to quiet mode. The only cut out involved with the PSE installed after market is the electric switch on the dash which switches between quiet and loud (no bypass / bypass) modes. All of the required parts / wires / etc comes with the PSE kit except for the actual switch itself .... which makes no sense to me, but must to someone in Germany. The only question for your installer is "with or without" the electrics. A lot of folks leave it off, as it adds significantly to the installation time/cost. I'm very glad I installed it for those days I drive out of the neighborhood at 4 AM. That's the ONLY time I switch to quiet mode, however, as I love the sound of the PSE.
  25. Kim
    I don't see why you would. These folks bent over backward when one of my modules acted up. Sent the replacement first, so that I would only have to open up the access once when I pulled the old one out and put the new one in. Give them a call.
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