jaekormtb

Here's a shot of mine when I droped the trans. The jack stands were at 15" and I did not have enough clearance to pull the trans all the way out (didn't need to). 19" would have been enough.

LOL! I did the water pump just before X-mas...it was the original and the bearing went. Did the low temp t-stat while I was at it. Last year, around 70k I did the clutch and IMS (original dual row IMS seemed perfect when it came out). I'm looking forward to the next 100K!

1999 996..... Of course, this also means a couple of other things: The ar is over 100,000 now Half of the miles are mine I've put 50k on in 22 months!!

The three on the left are driver's side, so the burned one is the center. The right are passenger side...I believe the burned plug is the rearmost plug.

These are from my DD, a bone stock 99 C4. Lots of highway miles. It will be interesting to watch mpg, etc over the next few months.

At my last plug change I decided to try Denso Iridium plugs instead of Bosch. Big mistake. The plugs in the photo have about 25,000 miles on them. All of the electrodes are cooked, a couple more than the rest. About 5k ago I had to replace one because it was so bad I got a misfire CEL. I just replaced with Bosch from Pelican....waaaaaaaay smoother!

Since I was scared to death that some little piece of impeller was stuck in my engine, I cobbled together a tool for backflushing the coolant system: After draining the coolant and backflushing until the water ran clear and tasted great, I am happy to report that no impeller pieces showed up in the drainage. Better safe than sorry. Thanks for the advice and information.

I've had to replace a front cv boot, and the cv joints in the front are much smaller than those in the rear.

JFP, thanks for this. Just what the doctor ordered.

Thanks for all of the input. How do you go about backflushing the system? I can see using a hose and tap water, but do you follow that with a couple of "regular" flushes with distiller water?? If you are using a hose, where's the best place to open the system and what becomes the drain point?

I flushed the system 4 times with distilled water, and by the fourth it was running clear. I've got an old coolant tank cap that I drilled a hole in, and I use this to plumb in my air compressor to push the last of the fluid out of the system. It's surprising how much can be pushed out after the system seems to be finished draining. Anyway, here's how things look after a couple of driving days. On the interstate @ 71mph, temps stay between 178-180. Outside temps have been anywhere between 38-75. Before, highway coolant temps were 185-195. In traffic, temps have climbed as high as 213, but that's it. Before, temps were going as high as 223. Now, it also seems that temps fall more rapidly once the car gets moving and out of traffic. From 213, the temp falls pretty quickly down to 200, then continues at a slower pace down to the 178-180 range.

On Thursday, in the rain, I stepped out of my car at work to the smell of coolant. A quick look at the back of my car and the steam cloud coming from the engine cover told me I was screwed. I'm very happy to report that here, Monday AM, I'm all back together and riding cooler. Two signs your water pump is going: bearing squeal on start up/ while running & the accessory belt had "walked" to the rear of the idler pulley nearest the water pump. The failure was the water pump bearing. I was very surprised the pump had not leaked earlier and that I had not smelled coolant. The bearing was completely toast, having more than 3mm play all around. When I pulled the pump, the plastic impeller fins had all the corners broken off, and you could see on the block where it had been "polished" by the impeller. A metal impeller would have been disastrous!! I replaced the pump with a Peirburg sourced from eBay @ $234 shipped w/ gasket. While I was at it, I also replaced the T-stat with a MotoRad 160 degree unit (also eBay, $60). This AM on the 1-hr drive to work temps never got above 185, and stayed at 178 on the highway. Outside temps were mid 50's. On the old t-stat temps were typically 6-10 degrees warmer. I'll report later about how she does in traffic. Coolant police, please read no further!! I replaced the coolant with Prestone Dex-Cool 50/50 and a bottle of water wetter. This was done after 4 flushes with distilled water, run and drained under pressure from my air compressor. About 5 years ago I had to replace the pump on my Boxster and I used the same mix & procedure. She's still running fine. Thanks to all who have posted water pump DIY's. The job went as described, with only one bolt being a real PITA. Honestly, all of the flushing/burping took longer than replacing the pump and t-stat.

The front bumper on my Carrera 4 needed to be replaced, so I took the opportunity to make an "upgrade". I really didn't like the 996 smiley-face look, so I went with a Boxster S bumper. Had to do the RS vents in front of the hood, too. Am I excommunicated??

Back in the spring I got the Dashcommand app and the Elm 327 OBD2 wifi transmitter, so I started monitoring a few different parameters. One of the first things I noticed was that with the spoiler up, intake air temps would be 3-6 degrees cooler than with it down. The next thing I noticed was that coolant temps were reaching 223. Ouch! ( although they seemed a degree or so lower with the spoiler up) I knew I needed to pull the bumper cover and clean the radiators. Got it done this weekend...and also opened up the fender liners so the radiators would exhaust into the wheelwells along with under the car. Today was the hottest day this summer, and it looks like the effort paid off. The highest temp I saw today was 207, and on the highway, where temps used to run 210-215, today it was right around 199. Two other bits I noticed: it took much longer for temps to climb to operating and highest, plus things cooled off much quicker. Cool!

+2 on Gbox. I had my trans redone by a local P-car shop in Richmond. I added a Guard Torque-biasing dif, had the second gear synchros replaced, and did the 2nd gear detent. For what I ended up paying, I could have bought a Gbox unit.

Got the same code...which one is cylinder 3? Is it drivers side front?

After doing my clutch, etc I have developed a creak from the front trans mount. It is most noticeable driving away from a stop in 1st or reverse. I've removed the two trans mount bolts and lubed the junctures, but the creak persists. Any thoughts? 1999 C4

I know I am a bit "shade tree mechanic", but I just did the clutch, IMS and RMS in my 99 C4 using stands and a jack. Safety, common sense, and creativity can lead to success.

+1 on the Blackstone labs oil analysis. I've also got a 99, and at 77,000 miles I just had to do the clutch. The old clutch had an 03 date, so mow this car is on its third. While I was in there, I did rms and IMS. The old IMS felt perfect, but it is good peace of mind.

I have earned my IMS merit badge! Got the car together yesterday, but needed 3 litres of Delvac 75W-90 to fill the trans. Filled up the trans and got it running this evening. Since I had to pull the chain tensioners, there was some racket on start-up, but that quieted down right away and the car runs smooth. I replaced the clutch with a Sachs unit. The clutch pedal is nice and light, and with the new trans oil and new engine mounts, shifting is like butter. A while back we had an Infinit G35 6MT coupe, and now my 996 shifts as well as that car did. All in, replaced : the clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing IMS with LNE dual row IMS kit Rms with Pelican PTFE RMS Engine mounts with new stock units Flushed clutch with Ate gold :)

Paint it. If you are planning to sell in the next few years, the value will be higher. If you are trying to keep an all original time capsule, you are probably out of the market. I can guarantee that there are dozens of others doing the same thing with cars that have under 5000 miles and are currently kept in heated storage facilities.

Forgot the mileage...76,000.

I pulled the IMS from my 996 (1999 C4) and thought I'd let everyone have a look. The dual row bearing spins smoothly and has zero play. The shaft it rides on looks good, too. The cover has a rough edge inside, but that surface does not contact anything. Strangely, the cover has no markings. Most that I've seen photos for had "Germany" or a part number on them. The rubber o-ring is flattened and definitely shot, which I'm sure contributed to the leak I found. I've got the LNE kit to replace the bearing. So, jury of my peers, what are your thoughts on this... Did I just spend $$ to replace a good part? Did I just save my engine? Does the personal learning experience alone justify the similar-to-3-credit-hours cost? I really want to pop the seal and look inside, but in order to have the LNE warranty, I need to send them the bearing. What would Jesus do?? BTW, sorry to those who saw this over on the 986 forum, but I'm looking to get as much info as I can.

Just for comparison, I got my 986 @ 60k miles and replaced the clutch (original) at 142k. That clutch was still ok, but I was having the 2nd gear pop out and need a trans rebuild. Got my 996 C4 @ 50k, and now at 75k I'm doing the clutch...and it looks like it was done before. When I did the 986, theRMS looked good, and I figured if the IMS had lasted this long, that I'd let it go. She's at 166k now and looking forward to another season of racing!!

Got the trans out today, and I definitely need a clutch. The $800 question is, "do I need a flywheel, too?" And I definitely need to do the RMS...and now I'm in the whole IMS fracas. Replace or not, and if I replace (almost certainly), which one??? By the way, the job was pretty straightforward until the pressure plate bolts. The previous mechanic had f-ed up the Allen holes, so I had to slot them with a die grinder then use this flat bit screwdriver socket on an impact wrench. Nothing as fun as a die grinder in a tight space!