nick49

Obviously it is in the persons best financial interest to suggest that you replace all four. As I am sure you are aware, most people in business are unscrupulous when it comes to helping someone out. They would rather help out themselves at your expense by preying upon your ignorance. Seems the rule rather than the exception in most all businesses, professional or not. Enough of the rant. I would suspect that you may be able to clean your O2 sensor. Just over a month ago my 996 suffered from a slipped sleeve and over a gallon of coolant ran out the exhaust. I pulled the exhaust header, cats, and muffler and flushed them with about 10 gallons of hot soft water. New motor now, original cats, mufflers and O2 sensors. Everything is fine. Most O2 sensors that get replaced are actually still good and can be bench tested with a sensative volt meter and a propane torch or heat gun. You need an honest tech!

Shudder may be caused by a slight amount of oil or grease that has mixed with spent clutch material and is on the clutch plate. This makes the friction plate or disc stick or adhere somewhat to the pressure plate and or flywheel when just starting to release or engage it. This is most noticeable when cold because the disc has been squeezed between the PP and flywheel which are cold also. When things warm slightly, this sticky film on the disc becomes more viscous and slides freely resulting in normal operation.

I may be wrong but I think a clutch plate is an expendable item not covered under warrenty. I don't think your clutch is slipping, as slipping is most noticeable in higher gears and especially at lower rpms when trying to accelerate. Drive at 35 mph in 6th gear and floor it, if the engine races and your speed hardly increases, your clutch is slipping. Porsche clutches are a little different and the engagement point doesn't seem to be where you think it should be. The clutch pedal is initially hard to depress and it gets easier the further down it goes, seems reversed when letting it up. I had a new clutch fitted last week with my new motor and it feels very much the same as the old which was about 50% worn. I kill my car a lot when starting off, mainly because the sensitive feel is absent thru the heavy and stiff hiking boots I usually wear. I do much better in shoes. If the squeak is back get out the oil. Good Luck, Nick

I know exactly how you feel, my '99 Carrera dropped a sleeve and I had a new motor put in earlier this week. Tech said the new motor had larger intermediate shaft bearings like the newest M96 version and all the latest internal upgrades. My car feels brand new again, and I am happy to say Porsche and my dealer stepped up to the plate and helped me out with this issue on my long out of warrenty car. KEEP THE FAITH!

Engine oil should type should have a very minor effect on fuel mileage, it's possible your speedo calibration is off or another electronic related gremlin is causing this. If rotors were free it would be best to replace them every time with pads, but it is permissable to have them resurfaced if lightly scored and within the permissable wear limits. If they are evenly worn and smooth I would run them as they are with new pads on my own car but cannot recommend it as the best and most professional way to do a brake job where the customers ultimate satisfaction and the dealers margins are a consideration.

The best, most knowledgeable, and most reputable, in Salt Lake City charges $56.00 for a 4 wheel alignment. He did my 996 Carrera a few months ago and it handles terrific. He has also done a Jaguar XJS and an XKE for me and a 911 SC over 20 years ago. He is one that always did SCCA racers cars in the '60s,'70s and '80s and his son, who is not a young man runs the shop today. An experienced tech can do a 4 wheel alignment in 30-60 minutes including jockeying cars in and out of the bays. It is an easy and straight forward job on a relatively new car but many shops prey on the ignorance of customers and charge like it is an extremely difficult and super high tech operation to correctly align a vehicle.

It sounds like you have a bad ground and the signal or fog light is trying to ground thru the others power lead. Remove your headlight assy and unplug the fog light and "meter" the terminals to check for proper voltage and resistance or lack of on ground. Do the same with the signal leads and you will most likely find your problem.

I just bought a new clutch kit for my '99 Carrera C2 and received it today. I got the disc, pressure plate assy, and bearing for $339.00 with free shipping. It is all genuine Sachs and made in Germany.

I've got a sealed Red Optima battery in the Boxster and Carrera that I relpaced the originals with. No corrosive acidic vapors to be vented which is a BIG plus as far as I am concerned. They are easy to adapt and work very well. The Battery Tender is an excellent alternative to the Porsche Maintainer at probably much less $. It can be left on unattended for months and keep your battery at 100%.

Hello, I'm not familiar with that particular kit, but I am with Turbo and supercharger kits in general. Both types of kits increase torque and horsepower by pressureizing the intake tract forcing more air/fuel mixture into the cylinder than can be drawn in under normal unaided conditions. This essentially dramatically increases the compression ratio and stress loads on most all internal parts. The cylinder head, liners or walls, connecting rods, crankshaft, all related bearings, valves and other parts are loaded well beyond their original designed parameters. Factory boosted motors are usually lower compression initially and built to deal with these extreme conditions and are built much more robust than a simular naturally aspirated one. In my opinion you may enjoy the excess power but you would be much better off buying the factory Turbo model, or if cost is no object, buy a turbo motor and fit the surpercharger as the lower end and related parts will handle the additional loads.

I agree, sounds like a MAF issue. Try cleaning but you may need to replace it for permanent results.

I woke up yesterday (Saturday) morning, had my coffee, and thought I would vacuum the hall and kitchen floor before work. I opened the garage door to get the vacuum hose and to my amazement both overhead garage doors were open and my wife's new Lexus RX 400h was gone. I got that kind of dizzy surreal feeling you get when you witness something that's difficult to imagine. Anyway, I had driven her car late the night before and put her key on the key rack in the kitchen right next to the hook that usually has my Carrera key hanging on it. I'm thinking now had my 996 been in the garage rather than than in the shop, it may have been stolen as well. The theives, after opening the garage doors while we were sleeping, entered our home, found and took the Lexus key, and drove off. This is a Hybrid vehicle and makes no noise when starting up and moving off. My wife's Boxsters doors were opened and the contents of her console were strewn about the seats and her door opener had been taken. Luckily she keeps her keys in her purse. This whole thing may have been prevented, had I taken a few simple precautions like locking the car even though it was in a locked garage. Also lock the door between the garage and the house and keep the keys out of plain sight. And finally having set my home alarm system. We have no ideas who could have done this and think is was a random attack of professional car thieves. My Buell with the key in the ignition was next to the Lexus and my Harley was next to the Boxster with the ignition unlocked. Expensive tools, bicycles and sporting goods were totally overlooked. You may want to reaccess your security related practices.

Before disassembly mark each half as to put them together exactly as they were originally. On some wheels they are machined accurately or trued after assembly to make them round and easily balanced. If you mix up pieces or bolt up original halves 180 degrees or so apart you could end up with an eccentric wheel. Mfg processes differ between makes. I learned this at the "School of Hard Knocks".

This should be repaired the simpleist way possible. A windshield even installed by a pro is usually never as good as the factory installed one. Removal of several plastic surround parts is required and often little fragile tabs get broken in the process and never put back exactly right. Also most replacement shields are not centered perfectly top to bottom or right to left and the installer makes the most money by installing it as quickly as possible. After the Porsche windshield is installed he may do a 1971 Ford van, then who knows what. The guy that put one in my wifes Boxster in the driveway was using the wrong thing for loosening a fastener and I told him to wait while I got the correct tool for him of of my garage.

Your temperature seems ideal, handling could degrade when the roads get hot. I would say you are getting maximum grip right now. Having taught motorcycle roadracing classes, I would work on driving technique as it is by far the most important thing to increasing cornering speeds. SMOOTHE = FAST

Being that you like to DIY measure the rotors with a mic and see if they are within spec. Don't have a mic? They are not expensive and it is a tool that is indespensable if you work on mechanical things. If they are still good you can take them to an auto parts store for resurfacing. This gives them a flat new type surface so your pads will wear in evenly and quickly.

Providing you use a plug made for the proper application, it makes little difference as to the manufacturer. Some people disagree and use the same logic, Chevy good, Ford bad. Some brands may work slightly better in certain applications only because there is not an exact cross reference between brands. Three different plugs made to interchange will be slightly different in heat range and may perform slightly different depending upon how the vehicle is driven, ambient temperatures, elevation and possibly other factors. Very expensive plugs, if not required for the particular application are of usually no benefit. Precious metal center electrodes like gold, platinium and others generally need less voltage to fire, may generate a stronger spark in higher compression motors, and will generally last longer. I use Accel plugs in my Harley and they are made by Nippon Denso, an OK plug. I used NGK in the Suzuki GSXR for roadracing. I use Beru in the Porsches, Autolite in the F150 and the Jeep, OEM in the Lexus. I often may choose the most readily available or least expensive.

I have calibrated VOES (vacuum opreated electrical switches) using a Mity Vac pump for the vacuum source, but I also needed an OHM meter to know at what point electrically the switch opened and closed. Also a vacuum gauge is often needed to know how much vacuum is created and at what point. I don't know if this will help you.

Humor your dealer if he will do an accurate alignment for same price the oldest and best alignment and suspension shop in Salt Lake City will do it for. They charge $58.95 for a 4 wheel alignment which includes tow, caster and camber. They have done my Porsches and Jags and even vehicles where the design doesn't allow certain changes like a twin I beam Ford truck front end. Actually tirewear won't change alignment at all, maybe you shoud mention this to your dealer. Alignment is WHERE in space each axles axis is relative to the others. Accidents, extreme suspension bushing wear and extreme road shock can cause alignment issues. If a relatively new car needs alignment it was most likely never aligned correctly from the factory. Alignment is no magic or difficult thing to do. I have very accurately aligned my Jeep in the driveway after installing a lift kit and having both front and rear suspensiond completely removed from the vehicle. Dealers often charge extreme prices for the simple service becaues it is a P car and their owners usually don't question them.

After spending a month dealing with a more pressing family issue, and studying options regarding my failed motor on the 996, I decided to have it flatbedded to the dealer. We have pretty much ruled out a blown head gasket and think that this was a slipped sleeve, or possibly a severly cracked or broken sleeve. If this is the case, I would not be able to repair it myself because of limited parts availability or ease of having the cases refurbished in the USA. I am waiting for the dealer to contact me.

This is often a big end con rod bearing with excessive clearance. Could also be a lifter that is bleeding off with low oil pressure.

A safer way is to use a can of starter fluid or contact cleaner with a thin straw type nozzle. Spray in the area of the suspected leak and the RPMs will fluctuate either speeding up or slowing down. Also a vacuum gauge can be tapped into a suspecting hose and will show a leak.

How does he know that it is a valve related problem? If so it is usually very unlikely that all 4 on one cylinder would need replacement. What event does he suspect lead to valve failure? I was under the impression a failed intermediate shaft is usually what causes valve damage. If so it is unlikely it is on just one cylinder. And you would not be driving the car if this is the case. Another point is that $1300 sounds really inexpensive in my book to remove the motor, pull a head, remove and replace 4 valves, recut the seats, replace 4 seals, replace head and related gaskets, reinstall cams, timing chains, etc. and reinstall the motor in the car. If you don't understand what to ask the tech, I think you may have a difficult time disassembling this motor and repairing it yourself. Lots of special "Porsche" tools are required to do the job without ruining things. This is nowhere near as simple as a typical American V8 or even a Japanese DOHC motor. Good Luck!