Jump to content

Welcome to RennTech.org Community, Guest

There are many great features available to you once you register at RennTech.org
You are free to view posts here, but you must log in to reply to existing posts, or to start your own new topic. Like most online communities, there are costs involved to maintain a site like this - so we encourage our members to donate. All donations go to the costs operating and maintaining this site. We prefer that guests take part in our community and we offer a lot in return to those willing to join our corner of the Porsche world. This site is 99 percent member supported (less than 1 percent comes from advertising) - so please consider an annual donation to keep this site running.

Here are some of the features available - once you register at RennTech.org

  • View Classified Ads
  • DIY Tutorials
  • Porsche TSB Listings (limited)
  • VIN Decoder
  • Special Offers
  • OBD II P-Codes
  • Paint Codes
  • Registry
  • Videos System
  • View Reviews
  • and get rid of this welcome message

It takes just a few minutes to register, and it's FREE

Contributing Members also get these additional benefits:
(you become a Contributing Member by donating money to the operation of this site)

  • No ads - advertisements are removed
  • Access the Contributors Only Forum
  • Contributing Members Only Downloads
  • Send attachments with PMs
  • All image/file storage limits are substantially increased for all Contributing Members
  • Option Codes Lookup
  • VIN Option Lookups (limited)

Silver_TT

Contributing Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    774

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    15

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Silver_TT

  1. Silver_TT
    I'm OK with it if this is just means a replacement of the 4 sensors but it seems too coincidental that Bank 2 is now throwing faults. In other words, what are the odds of Bank 1 and Bank 2 both independently crapping out at once? As Ahsai said, it makes me wonder if there's something else going on further upstream. Just seems weird that Bank 1 and Bank 2 would both start to show problems at the same time. I've seen other posts about this same problem on RennList and 6speed, but unfortunately those posters never never followed up on their threads as to what the conclusion was so all I know is that someone else has had this same problem in the past. I'm a little bit worried because I don't want to damage the cats while I drive around clearing codes trying to figure out what's going on if there really is a problem and it's not just the sensors. Making matters worse, I have a number of track events coming up in April that I can't afford to attend with the car at less than 100%.
  2. Silver_TT
    JFP & Loren, Everything was fine the last 2-3 weeks but today the CEL came on again and when I got home tonight and hooked up the Durametric it's showing (see attached): P0420 Porsche fault code 40 - Cat. conv efficiency bank 1 P0430 Porsche fault code 45 - Cat. conv efficiency bank 2 So the original error message did not reappear but now I'm getting these two. Weird since I wouldn't expect to all of a sudden have problems with the cats on BOTH Bank 1 & Bank 2 simultaneously when everything has all been fine up to this point. I had ordered the pre-cat and post-cat oxygen sensors (1 of each) which I had planned to install on Bank 1 here shortly. Should I continue with this? I read these oxygen sensors are good for about 100K miles and I just rolled over that a month ago or so. How should I proceed in troubleshooting at this point? As always, your expertise and guidance is greatly apprecaited.
  3. Silver_TT
    TSB = technical service bulletin There is not a video or DIY to replace this wiring harness that I know of. As JFP stated, the cable needs to be replaced. It will require taking the alternator out -- which is easy to get to, but in my case was a real bear to get out. There are DIYs on getting the alternator out however, which is a good portion of the work. While the alternator is out I would have it fully load tested. Be careful having a shop like Autozone test it. In my case at least, their equipment only did a basic test which passed the alternator as OK -- however, as I stated earlier, the alternator was only half working....it performed to spec at lower RPMs but not higher RPMs, and their equipment did not catch this. My suspicion is that their equipment isn't as expensive/sophisticated as a dealers would be, for example. Good luck. This shouldn't be too expensive... ~ $375 for the alternator and ~ $50 for the harness.
  4. Silver_TT
    Regarding your comments about the voltage at idle vs higher RPMs: 1. Yes, it is possible it could be the wiring harness. I believe there is a TSB and an updated harness addressing this known issue. The harness is known to exhibit increased resistance, especially at higher temperatures. You can usually see the corrosion if you have the harness off and look at the old one vs a new one side-by-side. Ie. this could have more to do with the temperature you measured idle, and then subsequently, higher RPM voltages at after the warm was warmed up on the highway. 2. As JFP stated it could definitely be the voltage regulator or something else in the alternator. When mine went out I thought it was the voltage regulator and it was tricky to diagnose because the new regulator caused the voltage to stabelize -- however, the alternator was working just fine at lower RPMs, but wasn't working consistently at higher RPMs. In my particular case, which may or may not be the same as yours, the solution was to replace both the alternator and the wiring harness.
  5. Silver_TT
    Thanks, JFP. That's really good information, can't thank you guys enough. Ya, I believe the Durametric can monitor these voltages. Since these sensors are 100K miles old, I will keep my eye on the fault codes. If this re-appears I will just go ahead and replace both the pre and the post. They are only $150 a piece or so for the Bosch.
  6. Silver_TT
    Ahh ok, thanks Loren, that's an important clarification. If I do a replacement I will replace both the pre-cat and the post-cat sensors on Bank 1. For now I have cleared the code and will see if it comes back. Thanks to both of you for the information.
  7. Silver_TT
    Thanks a bunch. Last but not least, can you confirm that this error code is referring to the post-cat sensor not the pre-cat sensor or both (I believe Loren implied it was the post-cat in the post I referenced). In this scenario is it recommended to replace the post-cat sensor only? Or do shops normally do them in pairs (pre + post)? I don't normally fix what isn't broke...but 100K miles on my vehicle.
  8. Silver_TT
    Thanks for the response, JFP. Is the Durametric saying that the oxygen sensor part that's throwing an error is part # 996.618.660.15 (see screenshot from my post above)? This is what it shows for "Part Number" in the Durametric screenshot... but I show part # 99660616801 for the pre-cat and 99660617801 for the post cat. 2/27/13 UPDATE/CORRECTION: The Durametric is just identifying my Motronic 7.8 DME as part # 996.618.660.15 -- it's not attempting to identify the part # of the oxygen sensor that's throwing the error (see above). In other words, I was mistaken in my interpretation. Identifying the part # of the part that's throwing an error would be a cool feature maybe for the future, but is not what the Durametric is attempting to do here.
  9. Silver_TT
    2002 C4S (US) I was driving today and got a CEL. Got home and hooked up the Durametric and got the following error: P2096Porsche fault code 16 - Oxygen sensor ageing Delay bank 1 Loren, I found this archived post in which you were very helpful: http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/13925-cel-error-code-p2096/ First, I have cleared the code and will monitor to see if this comes back in the future. Just thinking ahead here though because my car does have 100K miles on it, If I understand you correctly, this error above is for the post-cat oxygen sensor, correct? Is there good reason to replace the pre-cat sensor at the same time? Also, I know bank 1 is on the drivers side. Loren, in the post above you advocated cleaning the contacts after clearing the code. I was just wondering how accessible this sensor is and what the recommended method of cleaning the contacts was. Thanks very much in advance.
  10. Silver_TT
    To finally close the loop on this debacle, the solution was to buy a new keyhead from Sunset ($125 + $6 shipping) and have my local dealer program the car with it (1/2 hr labor = $75). If you read my troubles in this thread you will see this issue exhibited some strange behavior that made troubleshooting somewhat difficult to isolate: the issues were intermittent, a new battery fixed the problem for about 3 months but then it stopped working again, etc. My best guess about the original key remote is that it either stopped transmitting the correct frequency to the car 100% of the time as the hardware aged, or else it somehow became "out of sync" with the vehicle -- but I will never know about the later as the original owner did not provide me with the key codes when I bought the car so there was no way to try to "resync" using the code. Either way, a new key head/remote did the trick for $200. Not bad. So in the future if you're having these problems then replace the battery first, and if the problems persist then just buy a new key head (996 637 244 42).
  11. Silver_TT
    Thanks, JFP, always value your input. Yes, I have read about the Metzger engines and I know they are legendary. So that said, I realize the engine is completely different. As Mike questioned, I was just wondering if there were any specific weaknesses I should be aware of in the engine design specifically. I realize there will be other little issues like the window regulators or whatever, and I apprecaite those being pointed out very much, but at this point I'm more concerned with the fundamental design of the engine. At the $50K that JFP cites, I want to know what I'm getting into. I have really gotten into tracking my car and I know at some point I will outgrow my 4S, as much as I love the thing to death. The 996 Turbo with X50 seems like a very affordable upgrade when I'm ready. Every car is going to have little things here and there, they are machines, but I want to make sure the the engine is completely sound, especially since I would look for one with higher mileage (~75K+ miles). Also agree that forced induction on a M96 is a stupid thing to do for a number of reasons. Thank you to all for your input.
  12. Silver_TT
    Thanks a lot for the response and for pointing to that thread, I had not seen that before. Is this a comprehensive list of known Turbo issues? Because I don't see anything on that list that I would really consider as "major", like IMS. The window regs, oil pressure sensor, alternator, etc are all common to the 996 as well, but I don't really consider those major issues. Any mechanical thing is going to have pump and sensor failures. I'm more concerned with things that could destroy or significantly damage an engine (ie. $$$$$$$).
  13. Silver_TT
    I'm not in a rush but I've been considering selling my 2002 4S and getting a 996TT with X50 -- nothing wrong with my 4S in the least, I just want more horsepower. I'm intimately familiar with the 996 and I know what the common issues and design flaws are (IMS, blah blah blah). I've fixed a lot of the things on the car myself and it's a fantastic vehicle. I've read a lot about the Turbos but not owning one, I haven't paid as close attention over the years. I was wondering if anyone could articulate what the shortcomings and common issues of the 996 Turbo are. I've read that these 996TT engines are "bulletproof" but surely there has to be at least some issues. I was wondering what those issues were and how severe each is. I wanted to get clarification on this because I've searched and looked on other sites like 6speed and saw conflicting information. Really annoying when people make statements or talk about things they really aren't qualified to opine on (therefore perpetuating false rumors). Thanks in advance.
  14. Silver_TT
    FYI - Well the battery that I installed literally 3 months ago today, to the day, has stopped working. Put a new battery in the FOB to verify and, sure enough, the new battery made it start working again..and from long range again (it had decreased recently). My remote entry key is either eating batteries every 3 months now or this $.99 "Panasonic" battery off eBay is garbage... I'm going to guess the later and try a different battery that hopefully will last longer.
  15. Silver_TT
    Before you take that shop's advice you might want to read this: http://www.flat6innovations.com/broken-crank I believe this is what JFP was referring to. Specifically (and these are Raby's words)....... I feel that this failure was attributed to by a couple of things-1- The engine was "upgraded" to a lightened flywheel. This new flywheel was installed onto the existing stock engine without being balanced to that assembly. This created an imbalance in the rotating mass AND it did away with the factory dual mass flywheel.2- The dual mass flywheel was removed to alow the single mass lightened unit to be installed. This eliminated ALL MEANS OF HARMONIC DAMPENING!! The crankshaft was forced to absorb ALL harmonics from the engine and transaxle when the dual mass unit was removed..So- adding the light weight flywheel was a double negative, not only did it create imbalance, it also eliminated the harmonic dampening of the dual mass arrangement. Due to this I feel that adding a lightweight flywheel to any existing engine is not a wise decision, and that they should only be added when the entire rotating mass can be balanced and indexed to accomodate the lightweight unit. This means engine disassembly, so I'd only add one of these when doing one of our performance upgrades so the entire assembly can be precisely balanced.
  16. Silver_TT
    I have a 2002 4S (3.6L). Hit 100K miles yesterday. Bought it at ~80K miles . Has needed a clutch (prepurchase inspection identified a RMS leak & seller credited for it...clutch job didn't cost much more than the credit covered and RMS is dry as a bone now with the updated seal) and alternator (wasn't a big deal) since purchase. Car runs smooth, zero issues. Burns a little oil (OW-40), not much, and I get up into the higher RPMs (no abuse). I would be hard pressed to identify a better value in retrospect. Despite some shortcomings of the M96, the 996 seems like a pretty good value to me.
  17. Silver_TT
    If it was the clutch switch or the ignition it wouldn't be slow to turn over..... it wouldn't try to start.
  18. Silver_TT
    Not unless you think your clutch switch only works on a cold engine :) Again, I would: 1. If you have a Durametric I would see if there are any error codes. 2. Have the battery tested first (even if it is new). There is no limit to the weird problems that can happen if your battery isn't 100% working properly. 3. If the battery checks out, have the alternator tested and also check the resistance at each point along the wiring harness from the alternator to the starter. This can be done without taking the alternator out of the car and it should take literally under 10 minutes.
  19. Silver_TT
    Logray, who is it that is producing this solid bearing that is in testing? Is this a 996 retrofit? Is there anywhere to get more information on this or is this discussed in other threads?
  20. Silver_TT
    If you have a maintainer and you're leaving it hooked up then this problem shoudln't have anything to do with not driving the car often. If it was the clutch switch, the starter wouldn't be trying to turn over the engine. In other words, I interpreted your message to say that it's slow to turn over, not that the car doesn't try to turn over the engine on start. This recently happened to me and it turned out that it was my altnernator. I had Autozone test the alternator and they said it was fine, but it turned out that it was only charging at higher RPMs, not lower RPMs and therefore short trips like you are describing would drain my battery quick. Since you have a new battery I would have your alternator looked at. They can usually test it without taking it out of the engine. Don't neglect the possibility that the wiring harness from the alternator to the starter may need to be repalced as well. These are known to go bad and cause resistance in the 996 and earlier 997s.
  21. Silver_TT
    I have the same car.. it idles just under 1K in neutral. 800RPM or so.....
  22. Silver_TT
    If you don't drive the car often I would recommend keeping it hooked up to a battery maintainer. Your battery is running down on charge or isn't being charged back up which is why it manifests itself on short trips. If the maintainer doesn't do the trick it's either the battery, cables, or alternator.
  23. Silver_TT
    Mark, you said you had the spark plugs done at the service. Just wanted to be sure you've looked into making sure those plugs are nice and tight. Loose plugs have been known to cause a rattle.
  24. Silver_TT
    Agree with JFP as I just went through this myself a few months ago and he was very helpful in helping me get it sorted. The cable harness from the alternator to the starter is known as a weakness in the 996 and 997s... and this especially manifests itself in extreme temperatures like it did to me this summer when it was 100+ F for multiple days. To Lograys's point about testing (Logray, like JFP, is also one of the more knowledgable around here), just be careful of having your alternator tested at a place like Napa or Autozone. I replaced my voltage regulator in my alternator since it seemed like it was just that....and then had the alternator tested there. They passed the alternator saying it was fine and I assumed that the voltage regulator was all it was bercause a lot of the problems went away. However they didn't all go away....it turned out that the alternator wasn't working 100% at all RPM levels and I continued to have minor issues until I replaced the alternator. The alternator is pretty easy to get to, but not always very fun to get in and out. In the future I will probably just bite the bullet and spend the extra $300 to replace the whole alternator at first problem isolated to it. My car had 90K+ miles on it anyway with the original alternator, so throwing a new one in there probably wasn't the worst thing in the world.
  25. Silver_TT
    sounds like your AOS needs to be replaced. are you seeing any smoke from the tail pipes (on start-up, etc).. ??
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.