mxt_77

Glad to hear that it seems you found the culprit. Do you have any thoughts on why the noise seems to be intermittent? Does it maybe correspond to the thermostat opening/closing? The grind/squeal in your video seemed harsh and sudden, which is why I thought it might be related to something switch-activated (like the a/c & compressor clutch). Do you think there is a trigger that causes this grind, or is it purely random?

Don't forget to come back and keep us updated as your investigation progresses. :-)

Does it do it with the "A/C off" button turned on? Maybe it's the compressor clutch or something? Really hard to tell from the video.

0356kid- I've had that happen to me once, but I chalked it up to pump issues, since that's the only time it has happened in 4000 miles of fill-ups, and it was at a station that I don't normally use.

Probably the lock-up of the torque converter. This decreases slippage with the primary purpose of helping improve fuel efficiency.

I did a google search and found a good post by Loren in the 996 forum. Unfortunately, I can't easily copy/paste from my phone, but maybe you can find it by searching for "tiptronic torque convertor lock-up".

Paul,

I realize this is an old thread but I am surprised by your comment on rear sway bar. Unlike my buddy's 997.2, my 997.1 S overstates in the track. I thought a rear sway bar would make matters worse.

Eric

I've learned that just because someone is quick to offer a reply, that doesn't mean that they know what they're talking about. The following quote emphasizes that:

For track I would add a rear sway bar. Good for 5 seconds.

How can someone make that claim without even know what track is being driven? 5 seconds on a small 1.3 mile course is a huge improvement, whereas 5 seconds on the Nurburgring is still impressive, but not quite as huge.

Click here for another example example of this same poster's insight. Apparently a 6-foot torque wrench is needed to remove bolts if the part that they are securing is heavy duty... regardless of what size/type of bolt or the number of bolts being used.

With all due respect, sometimes if you don't know the answer, it's better to wait for someone that does, rather than spouting misinformation.

To the OP... TWC is right. If they can align the car to factory specs without the DogBone kit, then you'd be wasting your money by buying it. Also, I suspect that the camber is not what is killing your tires (unless you're sitting at more than 2.5 degrees negative camber), but it's more likely to be the toe. I don't know the exact specs, but on the C4S, I think you should have either 0 toe or just a hair of toe-in on front and rear tires. Either way... start with an alignment (the cheap fix) and go from there.

... And never go back to any shop that would install lowering springs without automatically performing a 4-wheel alignment.

Get the wheel part numbers (on the inside of the wheel)

Aren't the offsets also stamped on the wheel?

From what I see in the 2008 Parts Catalog, the fronts are 18x8 +57. The rears are either 18x10 +58 or 18x11 +51.

I've been having trouble finding it anywhere online.

The parts catalog is available from the Porsche web site.

My first google search for "camshaft timing" gave me this result on the first page:

http://www.imps4ever.info/tech/camshaft.html

Based on that, looks like it is:

(intake: open degrees before TDC) / (intake: close degrees after BDC) / (exhaust: open degrees before BDC) / (exhaust: close degrees after TDC)

I'm no expert though, so hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Why does the car have a 6-disc changer and an individual player?

That's an odd question, but here are a few possibilities:

1) So you can actually choose from 7 different CDs without swapping any discs in/out.

2) Since the 6-disc is in the boot, you can't swap those while you're moving down the road (at least not without putting yourself at considerable risk of death), so the individual slot in the dash allows you to swap as many different discs as you can carry.

I don't know what else to tell ya.

I gotta say that there are some peculiar replies in here. Lol!

Personally, I'd start with the simplest attempt at a fix. Change your transmission fluid. According to my maintenance booklet, the interval is 120K miles on the trans fluid, but that just boggles my mind. I've never driven a vehicle with an interval greater than 30K miles, and I'd change it well below the interval on any car that was driven hard. I'm sure Porsche has a reason for indicating such a long interval, but I'm pretty sure some fresh fluid couldn't do anything but help. Plus, it'll give you a chance to ship the old fluid off for analysis to see if you really have any reason for concern.

I, too, have noticed much more resistance when shifting in this car compared to my previous vehicles, particularly when the trans is still cold. Two things that I've found which help are:

1) Don't let the revs drop too much. It seems this car has a relatively light flywheel and the revs drop more quickly than other vehicles I've driven. If they drop too much before you switch into the next gear, you're forcing the synchros to do more work bring the transmission back up to match the engine speed. From this perspective, "rev-matching" is important in downshifts as well as upshifts.

2) Figure out where the gear is, and don't force the shifter to go somewhere else. Personally, when I used to shift into second, I'd pull the gear to the left and continue pulling the shifter towards me as I moved it down into second gear, however I've found that it'll slide into 2nd more easily if I pull straight back once I get it far enough over to drop into 2nd.

Good luck! Please be sure to update us as your troubleshooting continues, especially if you find a solution.

Are you confident that you didn't leave an interior light on or something? If the battery tests good and the charging system tests good, then it seems entirely possible that there was a current draw over the 2 days that it was parked that pulled the battery down. This would even seem more likely if you hadn't noticed any other symptoms before or after this incident (slow starts, headlights dimming when the a/c or other accessories come on, etc).

It's an '08. I bought it used with 34K miles on it and it was already exhibiting the symptoms. Based on service records, the battery had been replaced about 3-5K miles before I bought it, so I suspect they were trying to remedy the same problem... with no success. So, I'm guessing it had been ongoing for a while.

Score another one for the alternator-to-starter cable. Dealer replaced mine today (under warranty), and now she starts like a champ!

Thanks. I think that's the info I'm looking for (although not really the answer I wanted, lol). Much appreciated.

Not sure why I'd need a 6' torque wrench. Obviously, I still don't have a Porsche shop manual so I don't know the official recommended torque spec, but all of the torque specs that I've seen for crossmember bolts on other cars & trucks have been between 40-80 ft-lbs. I don't know why the bolts on this crossmember would be any different.

I'm still interested in hearing an answer to my original question, which was: "Is there any room for adjustment or movement of the crossmember just by unbolting it and re-installing it?"

You may want to get some adjustable a-arms if you need the car

in perfect alignment. Should be OK if it is close.

Look into GT-3 a-arms if you want to go in that direction.

I'm planning to get the GT3 LCAs just because I want more camber up front anyway. However, I'd like to ensure that I'm starting w/ a good/straight setup before I start putting parts on there.

The stabilizer bar adjusted will not help you. I assume that is what you are calling the cross-member. A torsional brace on the top of the shock towers would not be needed in a 2008 car.

No, I'm referring to the crossmember (as it's labeled in the parts catalog). It is the large, H-shaped part that appears to bolt to the bottom of the frame, and all of the lower suspension bits connect to it.

Take the car to a reputable Porsche suspension and alignment shop. They should be able to tell you if it is a wear/damage problem that parts can replace or if the car be straightened or if the car can not be repaired.

You will don't want to take any chances with a car that will likely be driven at over 50 MPH. That is my advice.

That's fair & sound advice. But as a bit of a DIY'er, I'd like to at least get down there and see if I can resolve the issue myself before paying $150-200/hr to have a Porsche-certified tech look at it. Plus, I can throw parts at it just as easily as they can. :) I see no indication of frame damage (i.e., all of the body-panel gaps are straight & even throughout the car). So, I believe it's just a case of something being knocked slightly askew. Since both wheels appear to be pushed in the same direction on both sides, and the crossmember is the main connecting piece that spans both sides, that seems like the logical place to start looking.

I'm just wondering if there is any adjustment that can be done by unbolting it, moving it and re-installing it, or if it has no adjustment and therefore must actually be bent/damaged. If anybody has pictures of this part of the suspension, that would be useful, too. I haven't actually been under there to look at it, yet.

I'm wondering how difficult it is to move/shift the front crossmember a little to one side. Is there even any way to adjust it?

I know that my car ('08 C2S) was previously in a minor front-end collision. When I took it in to get an alignment, the tech found that the maximum camber adjustment on one side was less than minimum adjustment on the other (by about 0.25 degrees). In other words, there was no way to set them to the same setting on both sides.

I assume this is due to the crossmember being shifted to one side. Most likely this was caused by sliding into a curb or something. I'm just wondering how difficult it would be to unbolt it and move it a bit, and also if there is a way to determine exactly where dead-center is.

And finally... anybody know where to get the official service manual?

Thanks!

-Marcus.