Porca911

That's good to know! My week day drives are only couple of miles each way so my car never warms to operating temp which I know isn't ideal. I have noticed this issue too. But as the coolant level doesn't drop, and I change the oil every 6 months (and have added a magnetic sump plug) and the oil changes seem clear each time I have not been too worried about it. I must say I was worried when I first noticed this but it doesn't seem to get too bad. I clean it up and drive the car on a long run as often as I can and at least once every few weeks to once a month and it's manageable.

Hi, having read similar questions in the past I believe the thing to do is to connect up your meter in series on your battery and monitor power draw while you one by one pull fuses until you see a drop in the meter. They you should be able to isolate the circuit to focus your attentions on.

Jaypee, fair enough so you would be changing the rims too. You should factor that in to your calculations. Just how much do the rears cost out there? I can get a pair of Continentals for around €347 each. If you don't drive like you stole it I would have thought you would get loads of miles out of a new pair. Out of interest what would you be saving do you think if you did do what you were thinking? I also agree with earlier posts that your car would look like Pee-wee Herman from the rear, it would handle worse, accelerate slower. and is generally a bad idea IMO.

Are you serious? The rears are 265 or 295 depending on which wheels/model you have. The fronts on my C4S are 225. I really don't think that would work. The rear rims are too wide and you would mess up the ride as well as loads of other things. Why don't you just buy a cheaper make or part worn tyres if you don't want to buy new? In the UK we have lots of cheap affordable and very good condition part worn tyres because, as I understand it very tight legal rules in Germany which means there are lots of good part worn tyres exported here.

Same problem here, with my 2002 C4S. Hmm interesting to note its the same age. Hopefully just the remote in the key going bad. I have 2 other keys which came with the car, where the remote doesn't unlock/lock the car even though the red light works. When I did some digging I discovered that a new key was the only way to resolve this as I didn't have some long serial code number which comes with new keys and is (as I understand it) needed to be able to reprogram an old key with the alarm again. Be interesting to hear other peoples experiences on this mysterious key issue.

Thanks for sharing that info. Was there any further explanation behind the oil change every 6 months or 5k? I have been following that practice since my purchase and also installed a magnetic sump/oil drain plug for what it's worth. I did read it was a good step to take as metal particles won't do the engine any good. And with the sump magnet you can at least see straight away (if there is anything more than normal). Then you can stop using it and investigate further before thing really go South.

Out of interest do you know if it was the sparks of the MAF which fixed this. I had similar problem where the engine felt like it wasn't getting any air and you really had to rev it to get it to go while cold and the odd misfire many years ago on my Boxster (but I didn't check for error codes). This happened some time after I installed a pre oiled performance replacement air filter by K&N. Someone recommended cleaning the MAF which I did and if fixed the issue for me. Out of interest have you replaced the OME air filter with a performance alternative?

Hi all, I purchased a 2002 C4S tiptronic at the start of the year and I have noticed that there is a whirling type of noise when I drive it which is most noticible at around 25-30 MPH. Now you need to be tuned into it to realise it's there but now that I have I can't hear anything else. I have changd the oil on the front and rear differentials to see if that made any difference as I read some threads about the front diff being not the strongest, but I don't think it has made any difference. The front diff's oil was clear which may suggest that it has recently been replaced, the rear differentials oil was rather dark so probably needed changing. I think it is coming from the rear of the car, and you can also hear it if you engage neutrul as you drive along. Not sure if that rules out the tiptronic box - thoughts? So I was wondering if there is any way that I can try to figure out where the noise is coming from. Obviously a wheel bearing would be the easiest or cheapest fix and probably my best case scenario. Would I be able to figure out if it is a wheel bearing if I jack up the car and spin the wheels and listen carfully? Do they fail or are they a common failure? I have never owned a car which has had a worn rear bearing in my years of driving so far. But I have watched some vids online which say that the gearbox's also have sealed bearings like the IMS bearing which can fail/wear prematurely for the same reasons as the IMS bearing, so I guess it could be one of a number of things. So have any of you experienced a similar issue and do you have any tips on where I could start or is this a specialist garage job? Thanks, Sam

Out of interest does anyone know if adding one of those gearbox/differential additives which claim to reduce noise and add extra lubrication actually work? If so I was thinking of trying that with an oil change before going down the differential rebuilding route. And if it is indeed the differential making the whining noise is this most likely due to worm bearing/s? Does anyone know what oil to use in the diffs? 75w-90 semi synthetic? Thx

Hmm now I think the noise may be coming from the front and after some internet searches I have discovered quite a few C4S's and 996 Turbo's which have had front diff problems - noise etc. Was you able to replace the seals and this fixed the noise? Does this also mean that the noise is because the oil level has become low - if it is the differential that is.

Hi Dennis, can I ask if it was easy to diagnose once the car was in the air. Was there any visible wear which lead you to that part or did a mechanic figure it out?

I have noticed that there is a whirling noise coming from the rear end of my tiptronic C4S once I start to drive at over around 30MPH. I don’t this it is coming from the engine as if you engage neutral while driving the noise is still there. I am wondering if it may be coming from the gearbox or drive train. I think I remember someone once saying that if it were a wheel bearing then it should be more obvious when I go one direction or when I change direction but during a quick test last night it didn’t appear to be any less or more obvious based on which direction I was driving. As this is my first 911 I don’t know if this noise is ‘normal’ per say but I doubt it. Any ideas on what it may be and has any of you ever experienced this on your cars? Many Thx

Hi all. While we are on the topic I am planning on doing my first oil change in my recently purchased C4S. I know I need a special bit to get the sump plug out, but I dont know what to expect with the OEM oil filter/housing. Do I require any special tools to remove and refit the oem oil filter? Thx

IMO it sounds like you may simply of over filled the car with oil. Always a good idea to let the car sit for longer than 5 minutes on a level ground to let all of the oil settle before you check the oil level. I would check the cars oil level using the dip stick under the hood. With any luck it is simply a case that you have over filled the car with oil. In which case as you say you are not very mechanically inclined simply go to a reputable garage and get them to change your engine oil (and oil filter) with a good quality fully synthetic 5w/40 seems to be the oil grade of choice on older cars like ours :) Good luck and let us know fi that sorts the issue out for you.

I have been speaking with a few specialists today and they tell me the reason the price is more for the C4 is that the whole engine needs to come out. Can't remove the gearbox while the engine is still in as you can on the C2's. So it's more time consuming job. I was surprised that one specialist said that they don't do the retro fit. They would change the seals (on the IMS and the RMS) but if the IMS bearing had play in it then they would tell you that you have had it or I suppose recommend an engine rebuild!! Yikes! Another told me that a lot of RMS leak and that Porsche had changed the design of them on a number of occassions to try and resolve it. I was advised that if it's not leaking much then to try and live with it. Also during the discussion it was mentioned that if the leak is from the IMS the that is the seal in the triangle cap which bolts onto the engine. What I am not clear about is if the oil is leaking from the IMS does that mean the seal on the bearing had failed and the lifetime greese was probably getting washed away which then means expect excessive wear?? Any ideas? And finally one specialst suggested that the bolt on the IMS bearing can snap, I was under the impression that the failures happen because the bearings lose there greese and the bearing wear's excessivly and can break appart. I never knew that the bolt comming off of it can also break... As my car is a tipronic I have no clutch to change. I do feel if I did at least that would help to justify the job a little as you need to change that eventually.