slbates

This picture might help to go along with the part number Loren posted.

Find another shop. The rack does not need to come out to replace the outer track rod. I didn't take the protective cap off before snapping the pics so you can't see the threads of the ball joint.

Thanks for the clarifications. So can I stop hyperventilating? The diagram which I will try to post tomorrow shows a main housing gasket that is not numbered. My dealer states that this means it is not available and therefore not serviceable. Other than the oil leaking there has been no other issues. I had the tech top off the fluid to buy more time. What kind of expense are we talking about? Where should I go to have it fixed? I would not belive everything a dealer tells you. Local Dealer said I had to replace my entire steering wheel because they could no longer get the parts to make my horn quit blowing everytime I hit the brakes. Called Sunset and they had the frame in stock! I fixed it for $40 with the help of the instructions on this board. The seals on the tip can be replaced. They may not show up in the parts diagram, but my Indy sourced one for my tip and it has been bone dry for 3 years now. The tip fluid will have a red tint to it whereas oil will have a browish tint. The rear mains can leak in the turbo motors, but is not a common problem. If the dealer cannot/will not source the part find a trusted Indy. Call Jeff at Sunset to get the part. If the rear main is leaking, I would not worry too much. It is more of how much you can personally tolerate. My 911SC had a rear main leak that required me the replace the cardboard on the floor every few days. Despite this, it never got to the clutch. I finally could not tolerate the drips any more and had it changed. I was surprised but went ahead and replaxed the clutch anway since I already had the parts.

I can't tell you what the spec is supposed to be but I can tell you what a 92k mile motor that was running very strong postedresults were. compression 160 psi on all cylinders All cylinders were at 98% per the leakdown

I capped off the hose locations with vaccum caps and hose clamps. I used a universal rubber cap with a valve in the top. I have had it for quite a while, but I think I may have bought it from a local NAPA dealer. I had to use a clamp on it as well to get it to seal. I put around 15-20 psi IIRC and left it overnight. I have a guage that reads from 0-40 psi on a 2 inch dial. Zero pressure loss overnight. The tank and cap was new, but I wasn't taking any chances. It took me quite a while to get the old tank out. I cut off a piece of the tank that seems to have no logical use but to make the tank difficult to get back in place. Went back in place in no time. It looks like the piece may have been there to hold a circular hose or something??

Loren is correct. There is no seal. I pressure checked my tank before installation without the sensor even installed and it held pressure. It is a PITA job and I did not want to install a faulty tank. The sensor is a dry sensor and does not come in contact with any coolant. If you look closely in the tank cavity that holds the sensor you will see that it is completely sealed.

I don't know how big a deal egas is. The 99 is missing some of the luxury features, like heated and power seats, but those things don't make it go faster. Appreciate your input! Thanks. My 99 (early) has both heated and power seats (drivers with seat memory) and you should be able to add them if you really wanted them. I personally like the non-egas better...not saying it is better, just better to suite my taste. Some can tell no difference between the two. I would buy the one that has been best maintained. I have some friends that only change their oil when the system (BMW) tells them to do so...15k miles is a long interval! Option codes for seating listed on my hood: 139 seat heating system, left seat 340 seat heating system, right seat 437 comfort seat left, electronically adjustable 438 comfort seat right, electronically adjustable 537 seating position control for comfort seat, left

Although I have never had an RMS leak on my 996, I did have one on my 81 911. I didn't throw away any cardboard for several months (keeps the floor clean). It finally started leaking quite a lot of oil and otherwise annoying me so I had it replaced. I also replaced the clutch at the same time but not from oil contamination. With the pie-plate sized oil spots under the car I would have thought oil would have been all over the clutch...not the case. The 80's engines were not trouble free... I had a valve spring break as well at 96k miles on my 996. I think I talked to about 3-4 others who had this happen as well. One (on this board I think) did elect the replace the spring. I did not elect to go this route since the replacement engine was only 7900 including shipping costs. At this price I just did not feel like experimenting with engine longevity since the reman engine comes with nearly everthing new except the AC compressor on the 99 model.

Lenny, FWIW, I would try an epoxy repair before throwing in the towel (if Porsche doesn't help out) . Back in the early eighties a friend hit the water jacket when he tried to go just a little too large on the intake ports. Rather than throw away a set of heads he had been developing over a period of a couple of years (bracket racing) he decided to give a epoxy repair a shot. Believe it or not it worked very well and was still holding up 5 years later. The cooling system is not under a huge amount of pressure. I don't know what the spec is on the pressure relief valve, but it is probably is not mor than 20psi or so. If the leak is only in the waterjacket and not at a critical location, such as at the combustion chamber or head gasket mating surface, then it can possibly be repaired. He had originally purchased the epoxy to do some plenum shaping on a custom intake, so the epoxy was designed to be fuel proof and heat resistant. I will give him a call to see if he has any recommendations. I don't talk to him very often so this will give me a reason to get in touch. Today's epoxies should be much better than those of 20 years ago. Get the surfaces prepared properly and I bet you would have an excellent chance for a sucessful repair. Find out the exact location of the leak and go from there. You have nothing to lose.

Based on my limited experience, every time I have had a battery failure it has been sudden without any other symptoms (until I tried to start the car). The alternator only needs a little bit of power to "excite" the field and keep everything going. However, when I have had alternator or voltage regulator failures the guages go crazy. This included my old 911SC. When the alternators go bad the tach tends to go wild, bouncing all over the place. I had a dead cell on my 996 and had no warning signs until I tried to restart the nothing. This same thing happened on my wifes Toyota that was only 3 years old. We just got back from a 300 mile trip, unloaded the car, then I was all set to go get bread and milk and the car would not even click. No warnings at all. I hope its just your battery, but based on my experience it may be you alternator or regulator.

Don't know what an IS shaft failure sounds like. Ask me what a chain tensioner failure sounds like on an air cooled engine and I could tell you though. I would not rule out the muffler. I had a stock muffler on my 996 fail and it can sound really bad. Internal weld failure caused the rattle. It doesnt take very long to remove the muffler to check. You may need to shake or bang it with a rubber mallet to replicate the rattle. It was a good excuse to replace the originals with GHLs.

Check your spring type hose clamps for the source of the radiator leak. I have had two that have leaked. I think Porrsche released a TSB on this, but I just bought a stainless screw clamp from Lowes since I didn't want to wait for the "official" Porsche version. The cap can leak...even the new style is not immune to leaks.

PCA has a good comparison http://www.pca.org/panorama/sample_article_3.html

I have GHL's regulars on my 99 tip and I had absolutely no problem installing them. Direct bolt on, no mods required. I put them on 2 or 3 years ago when my stock muffler had an internal failure.

Loren, that was what puzzeled me as well. It took me 2 weeks to find the culprit. I had the air box, rear bumper off, checked everything I could find that could possibly be loose. I didn't cut open the old muffler, but the only thing I could deduce was that a weld probably broke on one side of the internal tubing and when it got hot enough it expanded enough to wedge itself in place. I dont think the internals rusted away because when I banged on them nothing came out of the inlet or outlets which is not typical of a rust gutted muffler. The only reason I even hit the muffler was I found a stress crack on the muffler hanger and thought it may have been allowing the muffler to move. I hit the muffler with the rubber tile hammer to see if I could get it move and that how I found the noise. Pure dumb luck.

Loren may be on to something. It could also be your muffler. I had an internal muffler failure that sounded like crap. I finally found the noise when I banged on it with a rubber hammer. One pair of GHL's later an d no noise. The noise was really bad when cold and only happened once or twice when fully warmed. Thsoe cold starts though can startle you when you hear things like this.

I drive my 996 C2 year round. I have not had any problems except damaging the plastic undertrays on frozen slush that exceeded my ground clearance. Yoy will need to buy snow tires. This is a must. My 18 inch summers are worthless just from freezing temps alone! I like the Blizzaks in 17 inch, but had had Pirellis which I judged to be marginal. They put a lot of sand on the roads around here so I also use the Tweeks clip on mud flaps to keep from sandblasting the rear quarters. I did manage to damage the clear coat on my front calipers last winter. The spoke clearance to the calipers is not great and when the abrasive laden snow/slush ifrom deep snow just took its toll. This will be my 6th winter in the 996.

The pin is giong to need to be pulled out further (see pic). I keep spares handy for my daily driver. I try to get mine done each spring. Yes, both parts (actually all one piece) have to come out. Good luck.

Did you look for a crack in the AC box? This happened to me. Either my wife kicked it with her feet or something. The AC box is only protected by a thin piece of dense foam (that is probably more of a sound absorber) on my 99. It is held on by a couple of plastis pins/screws if I remember correctly. The crack was very small but it did leak all over the passenger floor. I fixed it with plumbers goop since i was 300 miles from home at the time. It has never leaked again.

If I had to guess, I would say it is your ignition switch. It is very easy to change and is cheap. I am on my 3rd one. Do a search and you will find some install instructions. It will only take 15 minutes tops. Be sure to remove the negative battery cable before you start. You may want to check/clean your battery terminals as well. This can cause sporadic no crank issues as well. Last, but not least, your battery my be developing a weak/dead cell. I have had all three issues on varoius cars over the years, but I will put my money on the ignition switch.

Possibly the fluid from the engine mount. I think they are fluid damped and the fluid looked really clean in your photos.

I think Izzy may have it. I would not start the car again until you have done a complete drain and refill of the ATF (with filter change). You can damage the pump and the front bearing by running low on fluid. The whine you hear my be the pump starving. Fluid pressure is require to make the valve body work correctly. I think the Tips go into limp mode with 4th gear only operation.

If you check out club races in the Noreast you will find 3 to 5 996's in C. Just Riesentoter region has 3 996's in the C class. 2003 996 C2 with X51 with 6000 track miles and running strong. This oil change I am going to start doing oil analysis so I can better gauge the life of the engine. 6000 miles translates out to at least 60 hours which is the life span of a Cup car engine. I hope to get 10k on it. Wow Ed! That is some serious time on an a track engine. Did you perform any mods to the engine?

Ignition switch.

Great thread. I just fixed mine with a new frame from Jeff at Sunset. I think it was about $45 shipped. It is nice not having the horn blast every time I hit the brakes. It had gotten so frequent I had to remove the fuse and go without a horn. The rubber bushes were not torn, but were very spongy and soft. Local dealer said I had to buy a whole new steering wheel! Glad I looked here first since I didn't really know which part was failing from the PET diagrams.