TRIATHLETE

Thanks Loren. I'll head to SEARs today and pick up some ball-end allen wrenches. Already got the wobbler extension and short-arm swivel head ratchet. My new mantras - must be patient...must wear safety glasses...

Three questions: 1. Should I be using the latest plugs (999 170 207 91) in my 99 C2? 2. Should I have previous experience working in the circus before attempting to remove the two rear plugs? Seriously, I'm 6' 2" and don't have the smallest hands. I can't get the 5mm socket cap screws out of the two rear coils and the screw on the top of the middle one on the drivers side. I'm trying to do this with a simple allen key wrench. Any suggestions? 3. Should I drive with only three new plugs? The other three came with the car in 1999. I have to get to work in the AM and I've thrown in the towel for the night (9:48 EST). OT - Anybody have a cure for removing greasy dirt in the eye? I should have gotten those oil leaks fixed first... Thanks for any response...

If there is another dealer that has better service, go there instead even if it's 100mi away. Trust me, you want this to be repaired right so it doesn't come back. Your dealer lied to you about service history so that's the first sign of mistrust. While the car is in the shop, ask the mechanic to check other fluid leaks such as coolant, power steering, brake fluid, tranny. Thanks for the feedback - to clarify, I asked if the plugs were changed before I took delivery of the car and the dealer replied that the major service was performed. We might be splitting hairs here, but I assumed a major service (30K included the pugs). Turns out the car only had 22,9K on it so the plugs were not replaced. My intent was to get a years usage out of the car before having to take it in for service because I drive it to work every day - 15K miles this year. Over the year, I've become more confident in my ability to perform routine maintenance on the car myself and avoid the loss of the car and the green stuff in my wallet. My dealership is one of the top rated by JD Powers. They will do anything to keep that rating - see my other post concerning certified cars versus extended warranty. I am not sure who pays when it comes to oil/fluid leaks. Guess I better pull out the "Limited Warranty" and start reading the fine print...

Thanks for the quick response. The last picture in the sequence in poor focus IS of the area in the center of the car exactly where the tranny meets the engine and is the ONLY place I see fresh oil. It could also be leaking down for the top of the motor. I am afraid if I clean the engine most of the evidence will be removed. Looks like a trip to the dealer "as is". BTW - this oil build-up is more like six years of accumulation. I live on the coast and pulled handfulls of greasy sand out of the space between the heat shield and coils. What a mess! Maybe I should throw the dealer a bone and let them do the plugs - I don't want to think about getting sand in the cylinders... Your thoughts?

Here are the pics... not pretty.

99 996 C2 Coupe - 39K miles Porsche Certified Pre-owned, purchased 4/04 Thought I would change the plugs today as they are 9K overdue (dealer said they replaced plugs when I bought the car with 23K on it - found out yesterday they didn't). This is the mess I saw under the car. I specifically asked the dealer if the RMS was replaced and was told no. I have reviewed all 13 trips to the dealer by the previous owner and RMS was never replaced. Where do you think all this oil came from? I suspected a valve cover gasket leak but think this is much more serious than that. The weird part is over the course of one year and 16,000 miles I've only seen a few spots on the garage floor near the drivers left wheel. I can't figure out if the spots are anti-freeze or oil. Please advise. Somebody please get Orient Express some smelling salts to revive him after viewing these pics. Good thing I have another YEAR on my warranty. :jump:

99 996 C2 Coupe 39K miles. Discovered this mess when I started to change sparkplugs (9k overdue as the dealer told me they were replaced when I bought the car with 23K on it - found out yesterday not so) Only a few spots on the garage floor after one year of ownership and 16,000 miles. Not sure if spots are anti-freeze, dirt from rain runoff or oil. Someone get the smelling salts for orient Express if he sees these pictures... :o What do you guys think caused this mess? Please advise - thanks in advance.

Somewhat on topic for those reading this who haven't bought their P-car yet... Consider purchasing a Porsche Certified Pre-owned car. I was all set to buy my car through a broker at auction until I weighed the difference in price from the dealer. Last April, I paid $42.9K for my 99 C2 with 22K miles on it. The car came with a 2 year or 100K mile warranty. Yes, I probably paid $4-5K more for the car than at auction, but a warranty would cost another $3,600. Also, I was able to review the complete service records from the dealer (lucky me, the previous owner took the car in religiously). My car had a complete service, new brakes and a brand new set of Michelin Pilot Sport tires when I picked it up. That's worth at least $2,500-$3000. Did I have any warranty claims? You bet! I've had the cruise control module replaced, reverse switch replaced, power seat motor replaced, fuel filler door latch replaced, and the A/C system diagnosed for a leak (never found it) and topped off with freon. Total cost - $0 The only complaint I have about the Certified program is I get the feeling that the 100 point pre-inspection is total BS. You are on you are own to find faults with the car. You should have seen the look on the salesman's face when he was demonstrating the locking feature of the fuel filler door the day I took delivery of the car. To our surprise, the entire latch mechanism was missing! Same thing for the cruise control. The service guy insists it must have gone out on my way home from the dealer. Yeah, sure... To their credit, the dealer has addressed every issue with a smile and apology, albeit I was without use of the car at least three days every time I took it in. You can bet they WILL get another crack at fixing that A/C leak before my warranty expires next spring...

Thanks for the info. I called Rod at Car Audio Innovations and he set me up!!! Should be installing everything this weekend. My only problem will be adding the big woofer to the back seat area.(mine is a cab) His sub enclosure needs more seat space than i have available. My seat is in the full back position. So I might add 1 to the rear of the passenger side rear seat and one under the rear drivers side seat. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Getting two subs makes a big difference if you can swing it. These guys in the link make custom enclosures that sit on the rear floor behind the seats. They sell the enclosures for DIY. Maybe you can get your guy to use them instead of his. They are supposed to fit all 996s. http://www.caraudioinnovations.com/porsche.htm Another option I've seen and heard in a 2004 996TT was a specially made sub that sits inside the spare tire in the trunk and is somehow ported into the cabin! No kidding. I was amazed that it worked so well. Good luck and have fun!

Hi, There are different types of antifreeze, and some are not compatible with each other. In fact, they are so incompatible that they can turn into some gelatinous gunk. You need to use Porsche antifreeze or one that is compatible with Porsche. Cheers Uwe <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks Uwe. I'll definitely pick up the Porsche anti-freeze today. Fortunately, the dealer is only two miles from my office.

One thing to consider when choosing amps is the output to the door sub-bass drivers. I gutted the "Premium Sound System" in my 99 C2 and replaced the front dash speakers and door midbass drivers with Diamond Audio Hex series three-ways and an 8" woofer in a custom enclosure on the rear shelf. The amp the audio proz spec'd was a JL Audio 500/5, 5 channel amp - 100 watts per channel to the three ways (4" midrange + tweeter in dash plus 6.5" midbass in door), 250 watts to the sub and a 25 watts per channel to the rear two-ways. For lack of a better term, the system sounded like A$$! I agonized over tuning the system for six months before the Diamond Audio customer support folks suggested I Bi-amp the front three ways. $400 later, I was sitting pretty with 150 watts/ch on the door mid-bass and the rest of the system running off the 500/5. I recently added another 8" woofer to the rear deck enclosure - voila! Angel trumpets and devil trombones...(sort of) Moral of the story - be careful when spec'ing out a six channel amp -most have equal power output ratings across all channles. From my experience, the door mid-bass drivers need much more power to blend with the rest of the system. JMHO... Good luck!

Thanks 1999Porsche911. I haven't touched the engine but the case is solved! You just saved me a trip to the dealer! I just re-checked the coolant tank and guess what? The reservoir is EMPTY! Boy do I feel humbled... I did the annual (15,000 mi in my case) service last month and only had to add a few ounces of water to the coolant reservoir. That is all it lost in 12 months. I must have cross threaded the cap when I put it back on because it was difficult to remove and looks as though coolant may have been escaping from there. I just put a pint of water in and still am not up to the MIN mark. Crap! Should I ONLY use the Porsche anti-freeze? Please advise. Thanks again!

Thanks for the info. Coolant is definitely not the problem - checked that already. I believe there are actually two warning lights in the gauge. The larger one where the needle would peg if the car was overheating and a smaller warning light right next to it. The far one was flashing pretty fast but the main warning light was not lit. The temp indicated by the gauge needle was in the safe range. It looks like I better find a ride to work for a couple of days...good thing I still have a year left on my warranty! I don't look forward to explaining to the service manager that I don't need the $850 annual service because I did it myself. Thank you DIY section!

1999 C2 Coupe 6-speed 39K miles Last week, during a "spirited" commute, going 120mph out of 4th gear, the dreaded overtemp warning light started flashing and did not go out until I parked the car. The engine temp was just north of 180 degrees (same as it usually is), so I don't think I was overheating. The light has not come back on since. The owners manual says this warning light indicates a fault with the blower fan. I've had the car for one year and have NEVER seen or heard the blower fan operate. This surprises me as I live in Florida and the temps get pretty hot in summer. Never gave it a thought until this scare. Should I be concerned? Will dumping the fault code from OBD II tell me anything? I drive my car everyday and hate to bring it back to the dealer (typically sits for three days) for an intermittent problem. Please advise and thank you EVERYONE for the great technical support, DIY info and general good vibe on this site. Paul