Ahsai

Loose all the fixation nuts you can see on the black support plate a little ( 1 turn ) and try again, if the problem disappears means that the mechanism is twisted a bit. Do a correction where necesarely with chims or spacers.

Thanks for the tips! I raised the spoiler and losen those hex nuts, then retightened them. It helped. After I sprayed more silicon lube on those two fat "hinges", the squeak is almost all gone.

Thanks!

- Ahsai

Hi Richard,

Thanks for the reply and tips. However, I tried that and it didn't work in my case. The squeak sounds like it's coming from the middle of the spoiler (where the actual motor mechanism is, I think). The squeak is worst when it's close to fully up or fully retracted.

Thanks,

Ahsai

I found that the plastic "hinges" on mine squeaked - especially just before it reached the fully up position. Sounded horrible. Some silicone spray lube and a couple of up/down operations to work it in cured the problem.

It's squeaking when I use the switch in the foot well to raise it. Anywhere I can lube? I saw a few small hinges but I think the squeak is coming somewhere deeper inside the rear deck assmebly.

It's an '03 coupe if that matters.

Thanks,

Ahsai

excuse my ignorance

but i have no idea what that means

can i fix it?

Hi, just wondering if you were able to fix it? I have the same problem with my steering wheel.

Thanks,

- Ahsai

Hi:

Lately i have feeling as if my clutch is engaging rather late in its travel "stroke" and really only starts to engage with about 1in left in the travel. The amount of pressure needed to push the pedal seems to be normal and to tell you the truth i cant remember if it has always been this way. I know when i bought the car i remember thinking "wow this clutch feels funny" but i would assume that is because my 996 is my first hydraulically operated clutch vehicle. Can anyone here offer your experience on where your clutch engages at. Is the last inch of travel normal??

I've driven a few 996's. Engaging in the last inch is definitely too high. The clutch should engage close to the mid-point of the stroke. Regarding the pressure, the easiest is to try another car (maybe at the dealer).

Thanks, buddy. The concern I had over the brushing are streaks and runs. I've never seen one in person up close so I can't comment. But I can tell you if you spray, it looks perfect even up close. Anyway, you can try the brush paint first and if you don't like it, you can always redo with spray.

Yea, yellow would be striking on your car!

Good luck!

Hi Sid,

I painted my friend's '99 calipers with dupicolor high heat spray paint followed by a high heat clear coat 1 yr ago. I've attached some photos. Basically, you need to roughen up the surface with sand paper and steel brush (not down to the bare metal though). Then clean the calipers throughly with brake cleaner. Then spray 4 to 5 light coats of red (20 minutes apart) followed by two heavier coats, then apply the "Porsche" stencil, then a few coats of clear coat.

We did everything with the calipers on the car so we didnt' mess with the hydraulic. However, you need to mask a everything else since the paint droplets will get EVERYWHERE. If you take off the calipers, it would be very easy to spray paint.

If you take your time, the spray paint will look no different than the real ones! The finsihed surface will be as smooth and glossy. No runs or streaks at all.

The calipers still look like new today.

- Ahsai

Warranty Direct does not even cover 911s. It is more difficult in California to get extanded warranty...BS! Will look into Continental and original dealer. Even dealers are very wary! :cursing:

Nice toy. Wanna trade?

I'm down the street from you in Houston and it sounds like you are in the same boat that I was a few months back.

Forget about the dealer as the only 2 in town will try and sell you on the EZ Care warranty.

Look up and read about WarrantyDirect and ContinentalWarranty.

I have Continental and from what I read about both of these companies, they are nearly the same in every manner from cost-coverage of parts-coverage of labor-complaints. Complaints on both of these companies are very very small. Both have solid underwriters and Continental's is on the stock exchange with old money (Great American Ins Co).

The kicker with both is this: you must go at least 30 days and a specific amount of miles without using their claim service.

Again like you, I waited until I was about 2-3 weeks out from the OEM going flat before making the call. They just don't want you to sign up and buy a warranty and then suddenly turn over a pre-existing issue.

Mine was something like 500-ish down and 120-something per month for the next 18 months. It covers 100% of labor and will replace parts on the car with OEM parts. I think the term was 'direct replacement' or something like that.

They cover other things like rentals and so on. Call on them and ask for them to give you details. Ask for Jonah if he is still there. Nice kid and not fast talking like a saleman to get you to buy TODAY but think about this...the longer you go in time the harder it will be to get some coverage.

Is there any specific reason given by WD as to why they wouldn't touch the S?

Just went to their site input the type of Porsche I have and a pop up stated vehicle not covered by WD. I tried it with different years and States with same results for 911s. Porsche must have some kind of rep for repairs...hehehe...

Um...I just tried the WD site and they seem to cover 2003 or newer 996's in California. They don't cover 2002 and older "911s" though. Their CA program has been suspended though but it may resume shortly according to WD.

- Ahsai

Does anyone know of a good suspension shop in or near San Diego to install an M030 kit and has reasonable prices? Dieter's is good but want over $1400. Black Forest won't do unless I buy everything from them. Just looking for someone who is good and understands P-cars. I found a place in the L.A. area (Bagge and Son) that seem familiar with Porsches and can do it for around $600, I just didn't want to drive there if I didn't have to.

Have you tried Mind Over Motorsports (off Miramar) and All German Auto (in Escondido)? I've heard good things about them but have not tried personally.

Good luck,

- Ahsai

I've done a lot of testing on both the dipstick and gauge. To get the most consistent reading, it's best to check the oil level in the morning with the dip stick and top it off to ~1/8" below the MAX mark (so at operating temp, the oil will be very close to the MAX mark). Even though the manual says check the oil at operating temperature, practically you need to wait at least 10 minutes after shut off before you could get a consistent reading plus I found the engine temp could change the tip stick reading a lot (about 1/4"). The hotter the engine, the higher the reading. Say if you had a spirited drive and red lined a few times before turning the engine off, then wait for 10 minutes and check the oil. The level will be like 1/8" higher. That's why checking in the morning will give you the best consistency but keep in mind that the oil level will be a little higher at operating temp.

Whoever did the RMS should have cleaned up the mess around that area (so they could identify any new leaks in the future). You may want to keep an eye on it after you cleaned things up.

Hope it helps.

- Ahsai

Hi,

I have an '03 C2 and the passenger seatbelt catches when I pull it at normal speed (not jerking it), it will catch after I pull a few inches or so and if I release it and let it retract a bit, it will allow me to pull further but the same thing repeats after I pull a few more inches. It's as if the autotensioner is way too trigger happy and "thinks" there's a collision and hence locking the belt. It's not the chidseat self-retcheting mechanism that's locking the belt. It's the normal locking you will experience if you jerk the belt quickly except I did not jerk the belt. I also let it retract all the way before pulling the belt but that didn't help.

If it's the autotensioner, is it an expensive item to replace? ****, car is only one week out of the original warranty...

Thanks!

- Ahsai

I use PIAA xtreme white plus (same wattage as the standard) in my other cars and they're great. They're DOT approved so they're legal in the US, not sure about in EU.

Philips Vision Plus claims to produce 50% more light but have not tried it personally. Not sure about UK spec'ed cars but in US, '99 uses H7 55W for low beam.

- Ahsai

How about connecting a 10A ammeter in series between the battery the the car (via the "+" terminal) and with the engine off and all lights off, check how much current is leaking. I think anything less than 100mA is kind of normal (e.g., alarm).

If it's leaking like in >1A, it could be some light that you cannot see (e.g., the lights inside the front trunk). Now, you can try to pull one fuse at a time to see if that stops the leak. Hopefully with some educated guess, it may not take too long.

Good luck.

- Ahsai

Ok, dealer found that the booster was the culprit. It was full of water inside! One seal is broken that allowed water inside the booster. Got new booster and all the resdesigned parts. Problem solved.

- Ahsai

Ok, we flushed out the old yellow fluid with Superblue. The old fluid didn't look dirty at all. The problem is still there but the clutch feels smoother though. When I opened a bleeder and pushed the brake pedal, the pedal went all the way smoothly but when I released my foot, it stayed down and did not return!

My guess is a bad master cylinder. We also checked the spring on the pedal but it's really hard to tell how much it's pulling the pedal but it looks fine. The spring is pulling the pedal very close to the pivot point by design, which means it does not have much mechanical advantage.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

- Ahsai

Argh, I asked my friend to look again and now he found the spring :) Anyway, I'll check it myself later and post an update.

Thanks,

- Ahsai

There's no return spring at all on the '99! I think the return spring is a '00 feature. There's no other obvious problems in the pivot areas. Is there a spring inside the master cylinder that pushes the pedal back?

Thanks,

-Ahsai

We couldn't find any brake fluid flush on the car record (he just got the car) so it's hard to say. We'll plan to try a brake flush first and go from there.

Thanks,

- Ahsai

BTW, it seems to be getting worse now to a point I have to use my toes to lift up the brake pedal after depressing it. It just won't spring back by itself and it's as if the vacuum is sucking the brake pedal down.

- Ahsai

My friend's '99 996 coupe's brake pedal returns slowly after the foot is off the pedal. It takes like half a second to return completely and it's very noticeable. The brake fluid may need changing but does it indicate something wrong in the brake master cylinder?

Any help will be appreciated!

Thanks,

- Ahsai

Hi Thorsten,

You may want to spray the cracks and crevices in area with a little bit of Wurth HHS2000 lubricant (but make sure it won't stain the lining). I have an '03 coupe (so roof is diff than yours) but had the exact symptoms. I srpayed ALL the sliding/moving, stationery parts plus all the springs with the Wurth lubricant and it cures the problem like a charm. Any parts I could see that make any contacts or they wear, I spray.

The HHS2000 is a clear lubricant like WD40 consistency when sprayed but will stick on the surface when dried and it's water proof. I use it everywhere, hinges, garage doors, etc.

Good luck!

- Ahsai

I have searched and still can't find any info on the spring rates for the X74.

I have another question about the installation of the support brackets. I read that you install them into the taillight area and attach them to the small bolts within this area. I pulled the taillights out last night and only found two small torx bolts on the inside of the taillight and one bolt where the taillight mounts at the outside of the area. Do we use these bolts?

Does any one have pictures of the support brackets mounted and/or more info and/or a diagram of how to install it?

Thanks,

Eric

Check this out http://www.pca.org/panorama/sample_article_3.html

- Ahsai

I have searched and still can't find any info on the spring rates for the X74.

I have another question about the installation of the support brackets. I read that you install them into the taillight area and attach them to the small bolts within this area. I pulled the taillights out last night and only found two small torx bolts on the inside of the taillight and one bolt where the taillight mounts at the outside of the area. Do we use these bolts?

Does any one have pictures of the support brackets mounted and/or more info and/or a diagram of how to install it?

Thanks,

Eric

Check this out http://www.pca.org/panorama/sample_article_3.html

- Ahsai

Argh..never mind...there's no x-74 there. Sorry.

- Ahsai

You may want to check your owner's manual. Mine (an '03) has a few "rpm vs speed" plots on each gear at the end of the manual.

- Ahsai

Hi,

I have an '03 C2 (so e-gas). If I put it in neutral, it's very hard to give gas to maintain a low engine speed (1k - 2k). When I give a little gas, the engine will rev up all the way to 2k and there's no way I could make it stay at, say 1.2k, 1.4k, etc. even if I hold the gas pedal at a fixed position. Is that normal?

Thanks in advance!

- Ahsai

Hi,

I just had my original clutch replaced at the dealer under warranty. The clutch material was deformed on the flywheel side. I notice the part number of the new clutch disc is 997-116-013-10. Does anyone know the difference between the new disc and the original one, assuming the oringal one starts with P/N 996-...?

Any help will be much appreciated!

- Ahsai

No clue.

But look at the renewal notice. It is either smog station or test only. If it says test only you cannot go to a station, which is test and repair. At least that is the way it is in Santa Clara County.

Ah, yes. The car must be taken to "any smog check station". I guess because the car has 66,000 miles on it.

I used the following shop for my bimmer and they're fast and cheap:

Lo Sieu Smog Test Only Ctr

6670 Miramar Rd

San Diego, CA 92121

(858) 535-1919

- Ahsai