claudiu

Herewith my promised feed-back:

Using Loren's instructions, my mechanic has yesterday positioned the left exhaust pipe in the correct spot, the two pipes are now perfectly symmetrical, thanks again dear Loren.

The adjustments are on the tailpipe itself and the whole muffler bracket (3 - 13mm nuts on the bracket to chassis mount).

When exahust work is done it is best to leave all the bolts loose and then tighten them while someone else holds the talpipe/muffler in place.

Many thanks dear Loren for your super-fast response, that I shall pass on to my mechanic. Hope to be able to provide positive feedback soon...

I know it might sound petty, but I noticed a few weeks ago that my left exhaust pipe in my 2000 C4 was lower than the right one by about 2 cm and I do not have a clue how this could have happened, but I recently had an air/oil separator and the water-pump replaced. To fix the sagging exhaust pipe, another mechanic removed the tailpipe clamp which was rusty with great difficulty and replaced it with a new one, adjusting the height to be in line with the exhaust pipe on the right. However, whilst level on a horizontal plane, the left exhaust pipe is sticking out by about 1.5cm (half an inch) in a vertical plane towards the rear of the car. Is that normal, are these pipes meant to be asymmetrical, or can they be adjusted further, please? The mechanic said he could not push the left exhaust pipe any further in, neither pull the right one further out... Please help!

The C4 is the business, isn't it?

I have had a similar problem relatively recently. Mine is a C4 2000, so I suspect the same cause might be behind the a/c failure in your car, i.e. one of the two small radiators/condensors behind the front bumper must be leaking. I have replaced both although only one was leaking and it cost me around £500 but the work was done by an a/c expert, not by the Porsche garage. Prior to diagnosing the leak, the expert introduced a green fluorescent dye. Good luck!

All,

New owner here just saying hello. Last week I picked up a 2000 C4 millenium edition #833/911.

Good for you! Enjoy...

I would like to know what mileage everyone has on the 996. Also, if there has been problems with the car, please list it.

Thanks!

Daily driver, C4 2000, at about 45,000 miles air conditioning condenser leaked, battery went flat but otherwise no real problems (some irregular revs at starting till sparkplugs were changed and some squeaking noise from the belts on reversing after washing the car or raining). On the whole, a great car!

Had to get a new windscreen (another story) and that seems to have solved the problem

So I'll need a new windscreen as well to get rid of the interference...interesting!

Well, I think I've worked out what was wrong, for those who are interested.

When the battery was disconnected the alarm controle module went back to the default settings. On UK cars we have an alarm siren and tilt sensor, and the default settings for these devices is "active". I have deactivated these, so now I am back to normal operation. The only snag is that there must be something wrong with either the tilt sensor or siren. Oh, well. Do I worry about it? I was blissfully ignorant about it before................

Ignorance is blissful sometimes...

What a coincidence! I have also replaced the battery this weekend, having gone flat, but there is no chirping. However, I didn't know about the trick with the key in ignition, hence I have been almost totally deafened by the siren till I got help over the phone from the Porsche garage...

My helmet is off as well! Well done!

2000 C4, nothing wrong with the engine at 45,000 miles, had to replace recently both air con condensers due to a leak in one of them (the initial quick fix of regassing the system proved futile) but otherwise hardly anything to complain about. The pleasure I get from driving it and showing off in it is immense!

1998 996 carrera 2.

Standard Sony Radio with autochanger

Wondered if anyone can please help identify the cause of this problem and possible solutions. Couldn't find an earlier post.

My car is experiencing radio intermittent interference from the windscreen wiper (?motor). Noise coincides with period when blades are moving. It only happens when it's raining, and pretty heavily.

Thanks

Chris

Happens to my 2000 C4 as well, but I'm not too bothered...

I realised later on that I had pressed the car key in my pocket against the side of the chair I had sat in and the radio signals from the key activated the unlocking of the door and beacause the pressure was applied for longer than a few seconds the windows also came down

You mean I can open the windows using my remote? I have a 2001 US version. What do you have?

Mine is a 2000 Carrera 4. Richard has already answered your query about actioning the windows through your remote, and he is spot on.

Shortly looking for new rubber. Currently have Pirelli zeros on my 18" wheels with sports susp.

Any recommendations vis a vis rubber Co?? My own view on existing rubber is that they grip well but wear out more quickly than others....

I'm very happy with Dunlop 9090, but I have never taken my 2000C4 on the track...yet!

Anyone have any idea what this could be? My steering wheel vibrates quite a bit after I hit 80 mph. I don't have matching tires - (Backs are pirelli's, fronts are OEM) would that affect it? Car is '00 Cabrio with 35k miles. Thanks.

My Dunlops 9090 are fantastic, no vibrations, no noise and I think a Porsche is worth matching tyres, although I do not think that having a different brand on the front from the rear should matter as regards vibrations....but wheel balancing does!

Hi, the car (996 C2 my 2000) had been standing in the backyard of my house for six days (of course locked). Today I noticed that both windows are down and also the car is unlocked!!! Any idea of the reason? The humidity has been very high during the week and it has been raining almost every day. The battery is just six months old.

Thanks,

TV

It's happened to me in slightly different circumstances. I was at work and when I went to the car (2000 C4)to drive home I found it unlocked and both windows down. I phoned Porsche garage and left them confused. I realised later on that I had pressed the car key in my pocket against the side of the chair I had sat in and the radio signals from the key activated the unlocking of the door and beacause the pressure was applied for longer than a few seconds the windows also came down...My chair at work was in a room next to the car-park where my Porsche was parked. So I think you must have done something similar and there is nothing to worry about, really...Remember, these remotes work through radio rather than infra-red signals and you can activate the system from indoors...

Sounds like the compressor is the problem...........maybe time for a new one.

You may well be right...thanks!

Dear friends,

Not long ago I was happy to report on the aircon failure being fixed cheaply by re-gassing the system. A few weeks later I am getting a whining sound, increasing and decreasing in intensity when revving the engine, it's like a sad orchestra singing a bad tune and it's all nice and quiet when I turn the aircon off...Any ideas, please?

Last week my car (99 Cab) started making an audible noise at startup idle. The noise is intermittent and cannot be heard while driving. I was concerned and took it to an independent who thought it was the clutch but he wasn't sure. This a.m. I took the car to the dealer for some reassurance and he called this afternoon with the devasting news that he thinks it is internal - the intermediate shaft going bad - and the engine is a total loss. The dealer wants $11,000 to replace the engine.

Is this a common issue? Has anyone been able to get Porsche to cover it out of warranty period, if it is a known problem? Should I have another dealer inspect the car? Are the new engines any better? Can a fairly adept mechanic replace the engine with one from a salvage yard?

Needless to say I'm a bit shocked and depressed. I've only had the car a year (only 48K on the car) and if I traded it in as is, I'd be underwater another $20,000 from what I bought the car for. Any knowledge or help may be needed.

Kevin

This is terrible news! I would certainly get a qualified second opinion, then I'd try to approach Porsche headquarters because even out of warranty this should never happen at this mileage, but failing this I would try and find a less expensive fix like you yourself suggested...Good luck!

Hi,

First I would like to thank all contributors to these great forum, I did use it quite a lot since I purchase my first Porsche last April/May. This help newbies in the Porsche ownership world to have a better understanding of the car.

As mentioned above, I purchased a Porsche 996 Carrera 4 convertible from 10/2002 with only 20,000 miles so far. I was very happy with the car and purchased it from a Porsche Centre in Hamburg as a Porsche Approved car together with the Porsche Warranty for one year.

Yesterday, the steering wheel assistance broke down. Apparently this is mainly due to some dust being present in the tank that blocked the valve. Porsche Centre West London first told me today that this would not be covered under warranty as I need to take care of the vehicle on a regular basis. After a few reasonably heated discussions, it was agreed that this would be covered by the warranty. Especially after I checked the Porsche Approved check list posted by Loren earlier on.

The second piece of news to me was the state of the tyres. When I purchased the car, it was with 17inch wheels and I changed them to 18inch wheels. I told the Porsche dealer that as part of the deal I would need new or near new tyres. It was agreed and mentioned on the invoice that those tyres could not be worse than 75% of new. When the car was delivered I checked them from the outside, and they looked OK to me. However, I am not pretending to be a pro.

Today, Porsche UK told me that the tyres urgently need to be changes as they are fully used inside due to a bad wheel alignment of the car. They want to charge me nearly $3,000 for a new set of tyres including alignment.

I showed the invoice to the UK dealer arguing that tyres when purchased were supposed to be 75% from new (which obviously they are not anymore). First apparently the Porsche network is not a proper network as one is independant from the other and cannot accept claims on behalf of a different Porsche centre. Also, wheels alignment is not part of the Porsche Approved system and that it was for me to check it.

Now tell me, how can you check wheels alignment. My car goes straitght, but I cannot check if there is a strong negative camber on the car?

Anyway, I was just a bit surprised by this and thought the overall quality of the service would match those of their cars. In the end, I guess I will purchase a full set of new tyres and hope not to deal again with misleading Porsche Centres.

Best of luck to you all.

JC

Living in the UK myself and relatively soon needing a tyre replacement on the front wheels, I have obtained a quote for Dunlops 9090 (I am very happy with this model, I've had no probs such as noise or vibrations)and it was just £133 for the front and £200 for the rear per tyre, all inclusive, i.e. valves, balancing and VAT. The wheel alignment can't be much more on top and I would recommend "Central Tyres" where I have had a good service on previous cars, rather than go to Porsche garages...

I use PIAA xtreme white plus (same wattage as the standard) in my other cars and they're great. They're DOT approved so they're legal in the US, not sure about in EU.

Philips Vision Plus claims to produce 50% more light but have not tried it personally. Not sure about UK spec'ed cars but in US, '99 uses H7 55W for low beam.

- Ahsai

Thanks for your help!

Hi,

I have a UK spec (C16) '98 996 C2 and have noticed the lights arent up to much on the dark back roads (non Xenon)

I was hoping to be able to get a higher wattage main lights - but does anyone know the type and wattage of the standard bulbs? And what you can go to for a bright light while staying legal?

You are right, the usual lights are not great, but I don't know of a solution. Hopefully now that you've raised the question in this forum I'll benefit as well (2000 C4).

You will find elswhere on the Forum that leaves and other debris collect in the far corner of the AC condensers close to where the condensers and bumper material meet. This creates a moist claggy mess that promotes corrosion of the condenser - requiring a replacement.

Thanks for the info, any idea how much replacements cost?

Prices are detailed in a previous entry on page one...

Hi All

I have had my 996 A/C checked over, appears theres a leak from under the front bumper. The garage

are talking about removing the front bumper to establish the exact cause of the leek, then ordering the

replacement parts. Anyone had the front bumper removed to check the A/C? Is this a common problem with

A/C on the 996?

Regards

I've been lucky enough (for now) to escape with just regassing the system...