PorscheServiceThen529Plan

Thanks JFP. Turns out it is the passenger side fan. The fan blade rotor is loose - I can push it back and forth / it is loose along its axis just enough to develop a surprisingly harsh wobble. I am guessing this means a new rad fan unless maybe I find something that could be tightened up? Maybe I get away with just new motor? Also driver side fan does not work at all but relay is fine and blades spin freely so I am guessing that is ballast resistor. Thanks

Thanks Loren Does it seem likely that the fan failure on the driver side could be causing the heavy shaking that is most definitely coming from the passenger side radiator? Do I have two problems? thanks, Todd

OK both low fan relays pass the fingertip click test when I turn ac on. No fans with ac off. With ac on, passenger side fan works, but drivers side fan does not. So sounds like drivers side ballast which I will order but why does all the sound come from pass side where fans works? Also thought I saw in another thread that when you turn on ac the high fan is activated not the low (as in ballast resistor for low would not matter) but that cAnt be right if your are supposed to finger tip test the low fan relays when starting ac. Many thanks for the guidance. Will buy Bentley mAnual to reduce ignorance on these questions. Thanks

There is a rumble that shakes the car at idle only when snowflake/ compressor button is on. Source is right behind driver side headlight. I am thinking based on some research (and very thin actual knowledge) that it must be a condenser fan failure. Does this sound right? If so anyone know if this is an easy/intermediate fix? I have not tried doing much since working on old british leyland engines which were lawn mower engine complexity, but would like to try tackling harder things. thanks in advance

OK I now know that it is coming from the drivers side radiator/airbox! What could it be that is triggered by the snowflake / compressor switch but is shaking the car from the driver side radiator? Any help appreciated! thanks

Tonight even worse temp warmer at 29 degrees. Really shudders when you hit put it on auto and snowflake light is on. As soon as you turn off snow flake button its goes back to nice smooth running. Then when I turned the car off tonight instead of the 1-2 second windown noise after the engine stops, there was a rough shuddering wind down. Does anyone know if the compressor is supposed to still spin and wind down for 1-2 seconds after the engine has stopped or is this another sign my compressor is toast? I am wondering if a bearing has gone bad somewhere in the compressor and at idle its making the engine labor, hence, the rough rumble? and maybe the compressor is still spinning against bad friction after the engine is off?

2001 C4 Cab 58k miles. First I hear an odd ticking at idle that I would swear is coming from the driver side dash, the tick moves with RPMS and disappears at 2k rpm. Second when I turn off the engine, I occasionally hear a whine that last a second or two as/after the engine turns off- this is new too. Third tonight at idle I hear a loud rumble at idle that I thought must have been a big diesel next to me, but after a couple lights at idle I realize its coming from my car, the sound almost like that annoying rumble you get when you open only one window on the highway or a big truck engine rumble, and it will disappear if you turn off the compressor with the snowflake button, and come back when you turn it on, so it must be the compressor? Are bad things headed my way? Also it is pretty cold here in Boston now 10 degrees maybe that is making things act up? Many thanks in advance for any insight. Itching to tackle intermediate difficulty repair, if its compressor is it hard to replace?

Many thanks for the potential solutions. I think I will be able to have an OCD-fest under my car with a few of these things once things dry out a bit in the east.

Good Idea! but it was blizzard cabin fever that made me go crawling under car looking for trouble in the first place.

Cant get the file attachment button to work, trying again here

Got some jack stands and went exploring under the front of my 2001 C4 Cab and was pleased not to find any really bad stuff, but there is one part that is headed for rust trouble. It appears cosmetic but actually was somewhat grainy rust that would mostly dissolve off with a petroleum solvent called Corrosion Block that is good on boat parts. It is a pretty volatile/thin solvent so while it makes a big difference, I cant imagine it will do much beyond a few days, especially in boston winters as a daily driver. The rusty part in the pic below is a bell housing looking part coming right off the front differential. I might be anal but am feeling the need to stop the decay. Is a Brass brush followed by rustoleum an OK approach? Any thoughts on this appreciated, is there some better solution? Guessing that aint a cheap part to replace. Many thanks in advance.

2001 C4 cab. Brand new noise at 57k. Ticking sound at idle. Not loud and softer than tappets, and I could swear it is coming from behind dash on drivers side, but seems impossible if it's frequency is in synch with rpms. I think it's coming from near alternator when I stick me head in close. What stumps me is how it could move with rpms and sound like its in dash. Any possible explanation appreciated. Thanks

Have read posts and DIY for sticking ignition. On my 01 C4 the key periodically gets stuck in the off position. With a lot of jiggling (beyond the ordinary slight steering wheel jiggle that helps with the locks) and retries it works fine once you unstick it but I see the potential for some very bad times with this. No other problem with it. How do I tell if I can get away with the cheap 10-15 dollar fix versus the whole steering lock assembly for $187 ish. Many thanks, in advance. This forum is an awesome resource.

Thanks to all for the input. Got the Vredestein Wintrac Extremes 225/40 18 265/35 18 today. Very pleased with dry handling and can't wait for some snow. Tried peeling out on wet pavement within the first 10 miles just to test traction and it held way better than I would have thought, especially given some of what I have read about them needing a 100 mile break in. Only bad news is that they said I have badly bent rims, but they don't seem too bad to me. A little vibration over 80, but I don't have $600 worth of motivation to get the rims straightened. at least not yet.

Road Session, Problems Solved!! I am all set with an install appt for the Vredsteins at Direct Tire. That was a spectacular steer - MANY THANKS!!! Best part is they do free changeovers so I don't need to buy a second set of rims - so thats a $1k+ save to boot. PS I Don't get the bikini chick in a snow tire ad either, but I approve nonetheless.

MANY THANKS!!! I am doing that tomorrow.

Hi RoadSession, after I read your post that was my new Plan A - what works in the winter on the pike will work on 93, but here are all the places I struck out on the Vredsteins in 17" or the 18" specs you had: Tire Rack, Preferred Auto, Sullivan Tire, Porsche Dealer, Town Fair Tire. Where did you get yours? Seems like these oddball sizes are made in short runs annually and pickings get pretty slim about now.

Is it a bad idea to put Dunlop Winter Sport 3Ds on back and 4Ds in back - same model tire just different model years on the front and back with some supposed improvments? I know its not ideal, but is it an outright bad idea if I want that brand and there is no other alternative for my preferred tires? Aren't the back and front always going to have different traction anyways? Many Thanks for the responses on my prior winter tire question. I am pretty close to finding a solution but would like to know if anyone sees a mistake in the making here. The world seems very very sold out on winter tires for the mighty 996 if you want to stick to porsche recommended sizes (forget N spec). I am having a really hard time finding either the 205/50 17 & 255/40 17 staggered combo or the 18" inch version: 225/40 18 & 265/35 18 that are the porsche recommended sizes. I think I could throw in the towel and just get Blizzacks and hope they are not all sloppy floaty on dry road, but I am hoping to get the top 3 or 4 tires that seem to be the best balance of dry handling/cornering and all around abilities based on input here, porsche recommendation, and consumer reports: Dunlop Winter Sport 3D (4D this year), Pirelli Wintersport 240, or Vredsteins. The only combo I could find is the mix of 3D and 4D. A very knowledgeable guy at Tirerack says Dunlop says that you can mix them, but wanted to see if others here see that as a bad idea. MANY THANKS.

So I have read a lot of posts on winter tires but can't find what I need and a stumped. I plan on using my car as a daily driver 1 hour each to work and back all winter in Boston - just got it 4 months ago. I have Falken Ziex 912 a/s 18" on 225/40 18 fronts and 265/35 18 on rears. I have a Jeep if its deep snow, but want to have confidence in 2-3" if needed. I have concluded from reading that the A/S that I have are not that great in cold weather dry or in the snow (or maybe anything) from what I have read - no winter experience yet. I think I need true winter tires to deal with snow days and Porsche recommended winter tires are only the Pirelli Snow Sport 240s or Dunlop Winter Sport 3D. The dealer could not find any Porsche approved snow tires for my car. period. They were stumped, but I am not confident that they really know their stuff. I was going to get new rims - same size just to be safe that I am not going to get new issues going to new rim sizes and I like 18s (but would do 17 if needed), but now I can't find the Dunlops or Pirrellis ANYWHere in my sizes, not Tirerack, not anywhere. So Question 1: should I just be going for the 17" rims even if I had the choice of 17 or 18 because 17s are better for snow tires? Question 2: Either way If I can't find these even in 17" 225/40 and 235/65 (which I can't do far on tire rack), does anyone recommend another performance winter tire that as a first priority can handle snow and cold dry, and secondly handles as well as can be expected? many happy thanks givings in advance ps I just learned that the oem rims were 17s and that they recommended 7 jx17 h2 rims with 55 offset and 205/50 R 17 89 T in front and 8.5 j x17 w 50 offset with 225/45 R 90 T in rear for winter tires - thanks,

Thanks for the knowledgeable replies! I am using 0-40W Mobil 1. Feeling better already. After the initial post-PPI $9k beating I fear every new sign of trouble because I will eat whatever bill it takes to keep this toy running right. Would never have thought to make sure I was using new oil for the baseline, but will do. thanks!

I bought my 2001 C4 3.5 months and 3,000 miles ago. Dealer did a PPI and full maintenance (including preventive IMS and clutch and all) and no doubt topped the oil up to middle of the fill range - at least I assume. It just took a quart to go from bottom of the range to about 2/3rds full on the fill range, which implies that I lost about a quart over 3,000 miles. I was used to a quart per fill up with old British Leyland cars, but with mostly newer cars for the last 20 years I can't recall what is normal versus concerning because they never burned/lost a drop practically. Is this a sign of trouble/ ring wear? there are zero visible signs of burning oil ( I have crop dusted many a highway with white smoke but that is not happening here), and zero visible leakage. Hoping that you will tell me no sweat as I am already in deep - totally worth it though!

If the oil level gauge on the cluster shows it to be just below the bottom line. OK to add a full quart or am I going to be reading the threads on how to fix an overfill? thanks in advance

Many thanks for the replies and I will pull some wheels. The weird thing is that all three times the light came on when really wet and all three times the light goes off once the wheels have dried off. So its off now, but I will solve the mystery! thanks

Loren, thanks! It will be wheels off this weekend. "Open" Makes sense, I should have realized that based on what I read in other posts.

I have an 01 C4. Just had PPI and $10k of service at dealer (that ruined the car seat leaving window open in rain) done 3 months ago with no mention of brake pad or rotor wear. Brake light came on first really rainy day in a while and does not clear turning car on and off . Light only came on briefly weeks ago only right after I washed the wheels. Dumb question probably but Before I start pulling wheels: is there a way to measure the pad or rotor thickness without removing the wheel or is the water causing a short - is that even possible on a 12 v circuit? Check other posts could not see anything about water. I drive in rush hour half the time and beat on the clutch and brakes pretty hard. What is enough thickness for pad and rotor, if I am within a few months of having to do it I will just do it. Read the DYI tutorial - is this pretty easy? Would love to get Suncoast parts and just do it instead of blowing another $2400 already. many thanks in advance