Silver_TT

It's definitely a marketing ploy if you ask me. If you read about the technology on Porsche's website they tell you "this is the exact same thing as a real dry sump! we just integrated it into the engine thereby reducing plumbing and saving space! rejoice!" Also, I believe it is "Mezger" -- no "t" :cheers:

If the cats are broken inside you can hear it very easily. Shake the cat and you should not hear anything. If you shake the cat and it's broken, you will hear the broken element pieces inside. Some folks say you can test by hitting them with a rubber mallet with the cats still on the car......however, if you have the cats off the car it will be trivial to tell. Also, when you go to a scrap yard to get $ for the old cats, I noticed they poke into the cat with a long stick........... if they can poke far into it, that means the element is totally broken up. They use this as a very rough estimate to try to figure out how much of the cat is broken up inside.

I'm not an expert on the "integrated dry sump", but I don't see how that could be true. Time will be the judge but the Mezger definitely will be a tough act to follow........

Agree that the rhodium silver TTS is a very sharp looking car and agree about the dash layout. There are a lot of things about the 991 TT that I find better......but, so far, the engine is not one of them. I will let time be the judge but I don't think the latest generation will be able to match the Mezger. Another member of this site who worked for PCNA said Porsche had consulted Toyota on production and Toyota was blown away with the cost and sophistication of the Mezger to the point where they wondered what the heck Porsche was doing. While I don't have any inside information, it certainly seems that there's a lot of truth to that from everything I have read so far. I'm sure the 991 will be an outstanding car in many ways, but a move such as going back to a wet sump (no matter what they want to call it) is definitely a step backward if you ask me. I'll get off my soapbox but this is another reason I think the Porsche owners community (buyers) really got the 996 TT wrong. The cost is too cheap and not priced correctly. $40K for a low mileage 996TT is just plain ridiculous if you consider the sheer sophistication of the engine -- it is an engineering masterpiece in many ways. Just a prediction but I don't think the 991 changes things and the Mezger still goes down as one of the best -- if not THE best -- engines Porsche ever made.......

Do a search. This cable has been covered ad nauseam. As logray said, it's very common.

That makes more sense. Yes, I definitely would have expected the bearings to be at least pitted, so no surprise there. I know I speak for both myself and JFP in wishing you the best of luck. Keep your eye on the oil and maybe you catch a lucky break. I would be very curious to know how this goes so let us know how it goes in the future as you put some mileage it. All the best.

Ya, I know it's not recommended when you have had metal debris like that. A lot of knowledgeable folks would say the textbook next move at that point is a complete rebuild of the engine -- that flushing it won't be possible. But I have read posts similar to yours where people tried to flush the engine and it seemed to work (either that or they never followed-up on their post after the fact). I'm also not sure how much debris those people had, but that pic of your IMS is shocking -- there's nothing left but a metallic paste.

Yes, I would say that bearing is completely toast. I would be curious how much metallic debris you find the next time(s) you drain the motor. With the bearing that far gone, that means a lot of metal was in there -- I'm surprised that he was able to flush it out with just 3 drains.

Yes, that's exactly right, 987_RDC. I believe that the IPAS codes are the "database of car codes" that Kim was referring to. The indy I use has a good relationship with a dealer and I'm sure that's how he gets IPAS codes when he needs them. At any rate, if your indy is similar and has a PST2/PIWIS, then all you need is the key head and the code on the card that came with it (and be sure to save this card, without it the key head is worthless if you ever want to transfer it, etc). It literally takes 5 mins but most dealers will charge you an hour. Richard Hamilton, another member of this forum, has a lot of expertise in this area. If you're driving 6 hours though, I would relay this info to your indy to be sure everyone's on the same page. You might also want to consider giving Sunset a second chance if they are the only dealer within 6 hours of driving for you. You can do 99% of jobs without a dealer but it's a good thing to have a relationship with one, I think. Every once in a while they can be useful. I have no experience with Sunset service dept but I have bought parts from them for years and I would give them a 10 / 10 for outstanding prices and top-notch service As with any mechanic, you have to keep your eye on what they are doing, how they are doing it, and what/how you're being charged for it -- and a "stealership" is generally the worst culprit so Sunset may be no exception on the service side....or maybe you just caught them on a bad day or two. But it might make sense to maintain a relationship with them at some level...even if that means always getting quotes for the work they do and preauthorize them to be sure you're ok with it (per your concerns about the tension wire overcharge, etc). Good luck!

The P0139 indicates you might need a new post-cat o2 sensor

As Ahsai said, you will want to do the due diligence and read the O2 sensor values (very easy to do with a Durametric, especially if you read that post) but I also think your cat is bad given the code and what you have said. I went though the same thing on the exact same car. Also, this isn't a fact but it's my strong opinion after doing a lot of reading back when that post was made: The 2002-2004 C4S have cats that seem to go more often after 60-80K miles (the C4S in fact has cats with a different part # than its brother and cousin, the C2 and Turbo). This is disproportionately more common on the C4S cats for some reason. I don't really have the exact answer to why that is but one thing I noticed after switching from the C4S to a Turbo was the Mezger seems to run with a lot less vibration in the exhaust (making them last longer). Just my personal opinion as the result of my own experience with the same issue.

Unless there has been a change in the last few years, it takes more than the diagnostic computer to program the car (not the key). PCNA maintains a data base of car codes and access to this database is required when programming the car to accept a new key head. Not really. The code comes on a little card with the key head (and should be saved by the owner for this purpose). If you have this, then what wross996TT said holds true and all you need is a PST2/PIWIS.

This thread is a few months old and has already been resolved. As already stated previously, it's not advisable to use anything other than a Porsche-specific reader (eg. PIWIS, PST2, Durametric) with these vehicles. The Durametric is both an inexpensive and a very capable tool.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply PDK would have long-term reliability issues or that they are generally problematic. My point was only that if a problem does occur and the unit needs to be worked on, you're probably looking at a replacement unit from Porsche and they are expensive. As opposed to the manual -- which can be rebuilt at a much lower cost. Again, not knocking the PDK, just stating the facts.

Also, to JFP's point, you may want to at least consider a manual transmission instead of PDK for exactly this reason. If your gearbox ever needs to be worked on or the oil needs to be changed, you won't need a PIWIS and will have a lot more options. As JFP said, if there's a problem with a PDK gearbox that's anything more than minor you're probably looking at a replacement reman transmission from Porsche = $$$$. Even if you prefer the PDK, that's ok, I think it's just important to understand this distinction upfront.

Glad you got it sorted. Gotta be careful with after market stuff and I'm personally not a fan of it at all. As I alluded to, adding aftermarket flashes, parts, etc -- you're taking the car away from a known, heavily tested configuration. Your car is an amazing car just as-is, stock, in my opinion. Very happy you are back in business.

Porsche 356 Speedster?

Anything is possible and one's always more paranoid when it's their own car. But any reputable OPC isn't going to put a different engine in your car. But ya, one of the best things about this site is it helps you understand your car better. I always prefer to know as much as possible about what's going on, whether it's my car...... my doctor........ my investments, etc. May hire a professional to do some work. But it's always a good idea to understand what they are doing in detail. Good luck with your car. I know that's disappointing but if you get a new engine out of this it might not be as bad as you might have thought when they first told you this was a possibility.

Yes, I think that goes without saying.

Was just about to say something similar to JFP. It's not like your car was in an accident and needed a new engine. If they pull the lump in its entirety and replace it under warranty, then you basically have the most up-to-date engine (could have upgraded components above what was pulled if anything was superseded, etc) with 0 miles on it. I would think that would actually help the value of your car. But it often comes down to selling to an educated buyer.......

Not very often assuming there was never any moisture in it, etc (although not impossible). I know it sounds like they already have but I would just double check to make sure all the connections and downstream wiring are good.

Actually there have been a number of folks who were victims of IMS failure that had no warning signs. Just driving down the road, minding their own business, then CEL and dead car. As JFP said, just be really careful of what your mechanic is recommending. In addition to checking the filter and sump, you can also inspect the bearings and make sure they look good and are not pitted. If they have been wearing, then the debris has gotten into the oil and you will need a new engine or a complete rebuild. Trying to flush the engine doesn't work.

I'm sorry you think I have come across as upset or otherwise not calm. Don't get me wrong, it's your car and your money and this is a free country; you can do whatever you want and I have no problem with that. But this is a moderated site and comments like yours need to be caveated. If you want to run a non-OEM oil in your transaxle, that's fine. But you're doing so at an increased risk of causing damage that will be very expensive if it does in fact occur. Aside from your tests over the last 10K miles, if you do your homework on this you will see that there are a number of people who had to figure this out the hard way. Shoot, just call Stan at Gbox and ask him about it since he sees these things every day for a living and has been doing so for the last 30 years. He has seen everything under the sun with Porsche gearboxes and no one is more qualified to opine on this topic than he is. You saying "they probably got sand in it" just isn't a constructive response or one that makes it very interesting to have a conversation with you. The last thing is that those teeth aren't "broken". That's what metal-on-metal wear looks like when you don't have proper lubrication.

Did you not look at the picture I uploaded? Look at the teeth. I'm not sure where you get your "science and specs". I have spoken at length about this topic with Stan, the owner of Gbox. I'm sorry, but there's frankly no way I'm going to be able to take your advice with your tests over his 30+ years of knowledge from working on Porsche gearboxes. Ask around, people in the know respect his knowledge. I had a conversation with him about this specific topic and he told me that if you use non-OEM gear oils you are playing with fire. Might take a few thousand miles, might take tens of thousands of miles....but over time you're running a higher risk. You never really know what shape your gearbox is in until they get inside it. It really is incredible, these gearboxes are extremely complex. I just like for other people out there to know the truth: Frankly that if you use any other oil aside from OEM fluid, you're rolling the dice and taking a big chance for very little upside. Sometimes what's cheap is expensive.

Along the same lines as what binger is saying, if what you stated is the case I think it still could be the software flash rather than a hardware problem with the DME. I'm not saying this is definitely the case, a hardware fault would not be completely unrealistic. However, at this point I still think it would be prudent to try the stock flash just to baseline what's going on here. You need to do your best to take this back to a known configuration to get to the bottom of this seemingly random erratic behavior that the car is exhibiting before start-up. As I mentioned earlier, this takes just 5 mins with a PIWIS or with your tuner's software and a laptop. I've done this myself and it's so easy. The flash file for your car is just a few hundred K in size (less than a megabyte if I recall) or so -- tiny. It doesn't make sense to me for you to spring for a new DME $$$ until you've ruled this out and are operating in a configuration that is known/tested/etc.