viper501

Why not?

Steve, nothing difficult about it other than sticking your hands up in there. I did mine with engine in place. I got lucky and borrowed a lift but could have done it just as well with jackstands. Need a 10mm socket and a 5mm(?) allen head to get the heat shields off and the coil packs out. Then unplug the coil packs and remove. Put in a spark plug wrench and unscrew. Apply some anti-sieze to the new plugs threads, insert and tighten. Replace the coil pack, tighten down and plug back in. One down, 5 more to go. The only thing you have to be careful about is making sure you don't mix up the wiring on the coil packs ( can do one at a time to avoid this problem ) and making sure that you plug the pack back in completely. I'd also suggest that you wear some latex gloves.

I think I might try a second or third opinion before I dropped that kind of money on this. I also would be hesitant to let a non Porsche tech screw around with cam timing. And for that matter, if they're going to be doing all this, I'd have them drop the engine and give it a thorough once over. Just my two worthless cents.

Serpentine belt is either slipping due to moisture, tension, age, or a combination of the three. How long has it been since replacement, if ever?

As I've stated in one of my other posts, its an easy DIY, even if you need to change the serpentine belt. The double benefit is that you save money and know that you haven't cut any corners. Brake fluid change is also an easy DIY.

Decided it was finally time to get the darn oil/air separator bellows replaced. While I was down there, I figured that I would do a few other things that needed doing. Ended up changing the oil, changing the spark plugs, changing the fuel filter, and cleaning the throttle body and idle air control vavle. Also replaced the air filter. Observations .... The oil/air separator bellows is a stupid design. It not only seems destined to fail (on the back side) by design, the material appears to be a standard rubber component. Given the oil and heat, I'm really surprised that mine apparently lasted as long as it did. If you're having idle issues and / or CEL's take a look at the bellows before you spend any real money on other parts. Replacement was relatively easy, even with the engine in place. Ended up replacing the OEM spring style clamps with a pair of worm drives. Tight quarters with everything still in place but it can be done. Spark plugs were also interesting. Very tight quarters with the mufflers still in place but it is doable. Plugs with almost 120k miles looked pretty darn good. They were eroded fairly evenly but showed that the engine isn't burning any oil. The coil packs were checked for cracking and showed no signs or symptoms of decay. Replacement went a little quicker, although futzing with the connectors was kind of a pain. Fuel filter was not bad other than access to remove the old unit. Ended up sliding it back down the tunnel toward the engine on the passenger side. Came out fairly easily. Slid the new one back in the same direction. Throttle body and IAC valve cleaning started out as a minor wipe down and progressed into a full blown remove, clean, and replace operation. If you decided to do this project yourself, realize that there is a small double threaded bolt with a rubber isolator on the bottom of the throttle body. It connects the throttle body to the block, apparently to reduce vibrational stress. Probably a little overkill. That rubber is toast after this many years and will probably tear apart when you try to unbolt the throttle body. Not sure what the solution is to keep from tearing the rubber given the tight quarters and the nature of the material. Oil change was standard fare. No big deal but did refill with Mobil's 5-40 rather than 0-40. Given the ambient temps around here are pretty high, I opted for the ever so slightly greater viscosity. I'll let everyone know if it creates some kind of problem. Same with the air filter change. Bottom line after all of the maintenance is that the car's idle is much better, pulls much stronger, no CEL's, and engine is now noticeably smoother. Every single maintenance item was a DIY project for anyone with even moderate tools and skills. Took about 4 hours for everything and the parts were less than a hundred bucks. Total tools used were a couple sockets, a pair of needle nose pliers, and a couple allen head sockets.

I think your responses are going to be totally dependent on the price point and whether there is some independent proof in the pudding.

Try Panorama. I think that is where the advertisement was for the tranny rebuild / syncro sales. 6 grand for a tranny is a lot. I'll see if I can find an old issue lying around. Found the ad. Powerhaus II in Boulder, Colorado. www.powerhausii.com 303 442 4327. No experience with them.

Change the tranny fluid. I used to have a problem with 2d popping out when cold. Replaced the tranny fluid with the BG (and an additive also by BG) and no more problems. Syncros in second seem to be fairly sensitive to fluid. IIRC, there is also someone selling the 2d gear syncros so the tranny can be fixed rather than replaced. As an example see http://www.floridafleetservices.com/produc...ance%20Services

Aftermarket warranties are a crap shoot at best. They are in business to make money and they do that by betting that they won't spend money on your claim. Many of them are so thinly capitalized that they evaporate on you without warning. Others will deny your claims until you force them to pay through legal action. I don't want to pay for a motor but I really don't want to pay for a policy that I receive no benefit from. And deschodt's point is well made. Each generation has a 'problem' of one sort or another. Ours, put in perspective, are a lot less expensive than some of the others.

Also, be aware that about half the 'cost' of those warranties are profit for the dealerships. Be sure to negotiate a rate with them...

izzyandsue, I'm actually in Columbia. I might have to make it over to Kershaw to see y'all. What is the schedule of events? *threadjacking alert* :)

Good luck man. The shop might be nice and cut the labor from the clutch deal, or at least give you a break on it. The easiest and least expensive solution in the U.S. is definitely doing a 'new' engine from Porsche. Make sure that the two year warranty is applicable for non-dealer installed engines. Good thing about the 'new' engines from Porsche is that they have a number of updates.

The PIWIS is the computer system used by the dealers to interface with the onboard systems and adjust things. The PTS2 is also capable of doing the changes on your car. Hendrick should be able to do it in short order OR you could check some independents like Eurowerks in Matthews. Was up there yesterday for their swap meet and was pretty impressed with the Porsche stable they had.

Its hard to find real stats on this. I'm pushing 118k miles right now on a 99 C2. No major problems *fingers crossed* on what is a well run daily driver. They can happen though and the bill seems to be closer to 10k out the door. The flip side to that is that the new engines are updated and carry the two year warranty.

Thanks for the pics.

can you take a pic of where you placed the pads? I'm having a similar problem and would love to eliminate it. TIA.

It has been done but does require, as I understand it, several other parts and pieces. One of the guys on 6speedonline.com did it. Do a search for cupholders and it should pop up.

c2 is lighter and more 'raw' than a c4. If you don't like shifting, the tip is fine, as autos go. The AWD and PSM will make you look like a better driver but may give you a seriously flawed sense of safety. PSM is great but can't defy the laws of physics.

The lifter realy is more of a function of the design of hydraulic lifters themselves. They are there to reduce the maintenance and inherent expense associated with adjusting solid lifter valves. Every time one of my Miatas got that tick, it was time to change the oil. Given the fact that you're only driving 4k miles per year, you might be seeing sludge issues from the short duty cycles. Frankly, and I *know* I'm jinxing myself by saying this, I've had a few problems, relatively minor so far, but with a daily driver with 118k miles, I can't complain, yet. :)

Since it sounds key based, I'd almost suspect an anomaly with the ignition switch. They are known to induce some unusual behavior prior to failure. Its hard to say though. Not to be basic with you but I assume that the light switches are in the correct position?

I hope the lifter is just clogged up. Miatas were notorious for lifter noise when the oil was dirty. The techs would send some ATF in (very small amount) to flush them along with a new oil change. After running the car for a while they would change the oil again. Normally cured mild cases.

With the exchange rate, you could have almost bought another 996 here in the States.

It has been done by a guy on 6speedonline.com . He covered his pod, and a number of other surfaces in alcantara. Looked very nice.

Door panels and dash should work but everything else looks different.