Chuck Jones

I just went through and did the 30K service with Loren's help...but changed out all the trans oil, differential oil, oil and filter changes, gaskets, GT2 headers, new struts in the rear, spark plugs, air filter, 997SSK. had Loren run the ECU on the PIWIS, and did the usual "visuals" that Porsche makes a huge list of as items that make up justification for a $2,000 30K service charge????....and after all that, I just couldn't see the benefit of installing a new "pollen filter". I am not "cheaping out", but I just don't see the benfits of installing a filter that is virtually useless when you roll down your windows, open the sunroof...or have a cabriolet. I just took it out, blew it out with an air compressor, and stuck it back in. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like an unnecessary expense. Maybe if you're an allergy sufferer it might be different, but the efficiency of that filter is questionable to me.

Loren speaks from personal knowledge. Yesterday "we" changed out the plugs on my 02 996TT....and Loren used the DIY writeup to perform the step-by-step procedures....and like he noted, we both looked at the center bumper heat shield and other than the two screws on the opposite ends....couldn't figure out why you had to take off the whole enchilada. Also...I didn't get the top right (passenger's side) intercooler hose properly into the intercooler....my bad...and on the way home, I noticed that even slightly putting the gas to it would register boost....so I was careful not to go WOT...but alas, in passing a car, I heard it blow off. I had visions of having to take everything off again to get the intercooler hose back into place, but stopped at a friend's shop (Ron Kain of IPB for you folks in the Sacramento CA area). Ron took a quick look at it and immediately saw that the hose had blown off....all he did was take the hose completely out by lifting up on the wire circlips...this mean wrestling it....or neurosurgery with a hammer....then he put a little lube on both of the metal ends on the hose, especially the side with the green O ring, and wrestled it back into place until the audible CLICK could be heard as the wire circlips grabbed the notches. He yanked hard on the hose to make sure it was securely in place then smiled and said...You're good to go. So if you have any problems on the re-install and blow a hose off...you don't have to take everything off again to get to the intercooler .....just muscle it in. I find that I'm too much of a tenderfoot when it comes to wrestling things around....no need to put on kid gloves to do a lot of the projects....I usually spend way too much time trying to be overly careful not to break something...too much finesse'....not enough progress. Also.....Loren had a great idea...as we took the plugs out of their respective cylinders, we took a magic marker and numbered the plugs as well as the box they went in. This gives you the ability to later inspect each plug, or have a more knowledgeable person do so and comment on the "health" of the individual cylinders insofar as the color and condition of the plugs will tell you. Publicly, I'd like to thank Loren for getting me thru the DIY plug change....I am being overly complimentary to myself when I said that "we" had changed the plugs....Loren did most of it. Oh...another thing...you really dont need to take off those aluminum foil looking side heat shields in front of the coil packs...again, not for the faint of heart, but just bend them up on the sides then back down again when you're done....you'll never see the crease or be able to tell they were bent up....much quicker than taking them off.

I have a spare faceplate for the CDR220 that I bought just before my car caught fire...never put it in. If you find out they're interchangeable....which I believe they are, email me at fishoncj@aol.com. Don't mess around with the CDR23...it's a fibre optics setup which requires an entirely different setup... You are a newcomer so you dont have the PM capability. Chuck

This is going to make your VISA scream in agony.

If it turns out that the problem isn't the plastic part, but is the actuator....I have a spare that has a broken shaft that you can take off the one that doesnt' work and replace it.....I'd be willing to donate it to you just for the shipping if you need it. I accidentally broke the plastic actuator shaft that slides into the hole...so I had to replace the whole unit. It doesn't sound right that there is any sort of sensor in that plastic hole that the shaft slides into....so I am wondering if the beep is being cause by the fact that the actuator isn't sliding forward when you lock the car. Loren.....can you see any sort of electrical micro switch in the plastic part that would either activate or de-activate an alarm signal? I don't see any way....the only electircal impulse would come from the actuator itself going into the forward or locked position. When you ran the PIWIS on my car and we didn't realize it didn't have that cheap plastic part...the only alarm we got was from the front trunk micro switch that erroneously triggered an alarm indicating that the front wasn't shut. That was a micro switch problem...not the gas cover actuator. Chuck

I replaced that part in my 996...it was only a couple dollars from Sunset....Loren had the part number.

Similar to "function analysis", I went with the Europipe system and the 100 cell cats. No CEL's...nothing but great sound and performance....expensive yes, but worth it...yes. With the EP system and without a flash, I'm running a .9 bar boost in my TT.

Cargraphic makes a mesh for $300? I think it's either here or over on Rennlist that a fellow went to Home Depot and bought a short length of the mesh rain gutter screen for about.....oh....somewhere around $2.00 and had a GREAT DIY on how to install it. So you can have a fancy $300 Cargraphic, or a $2.00 Home Depot special...and I can't tell the difference....honestly...go take a look....I'm sure you'll come to a similar conclusion... But then, who want's a Home Depot front screen when you can have a $300 one?

I've done my own ever since I've had it....only I made good friends with a fellow who has his own shop with a lift...and I just take the oil and filter to him, he jacks it up, drains it for the specified 20 minutes, puts in the new oil and filter and I give him $25 and buy a pizza for lunch. I've also done it myself, but I'm getting a bit older and it's becoming more difficult to get under there....especially when I finally get set under there and find out I need a 10mm and I brought a 13!! In reading over this discussion thread.....I think that nasti has made up his mind and no one is going to change it....although I am having a bit of difficulty with the relevance between a car wash and an oil change. I wash my own cars too!

That's what I heard....was that the folks on the continent and in the UK had access to this weight, but it wasn't readily available in the US.....that didn't make sense to me, so I went on a hunt and Voila! Next time I do an oil change I'll switch over. Especially in this area that doesn't see the sub zero temps at all, it doesn't make much sense to run a 0 viscosity....other than the fact it's what Porsche recommends. I don't think it makes any difference for the turbos since a viscosity of 5 would still be a good lubricant, and my 930 turbo is running 20-50.

I've been reading on the various forums how folks can't seem to find any distributor who carries Mobil 5W-50...and that it's apparently on the list of Porsche approved oils.....but there were no outlets who carried it. Most of the folks are running the Mobil 1 0-40 as the Porsche recommended oil....but with the heat here in the Sacramento Valley, I was looking for something with a bit more viscosity....hence the search for a distributor. I also found that this outlet also carried the Delvac 75W-90 gear oil which is the Porsche approved replacemnt for the 996TT manual transmissions as well as the front differential. I had a series of discussions with a number of the recommended tuners and builders and was informed that you needed to use the Delvac rather than the usual off-the-shelf stuff from Kragan's or Autozone....but I could only find it back east and they charged me $42 a gallon plus $11 for shipping! Well guess what...I found the distributor right down the road in the town of Ceres, CA who sell the Mobil 1 5W-50 in the six pack quarts (won't sell broken cases) for around $35 per six-pak. He also sells the Delvac 75W 90 for around $25 a gallon and will break the case lots and sell by the gallon. If you're planning on changing out your tranny fluids, you need just shy of a gallon for the tranny and about 1.5 quarts for the differential...so you'll need to buy two gallons. These guys sell their products for about half of what I paid to that dogone company back east. If you would like to order, you can call Vine Fuels at 800-464-8363 and tell them you're with the "Porsche Group". I set it up so that they'd give you any break they could if you were with the Porsche group.....but remember that with the price of oil fluctuating the way it is, there could be a dollar or two difference in the prices at any given time. Any guys in the Sacramento area can contact me and I could do a group buy and make a run to Ceres and pick up case lots to save you all having to do it separately. My email is fishoncj@aol.com. Ceres is only about an hour's drive down Hwy 99 from where I live. Their website is www.vinefuels.com Hope this helps those of you who might want to change out your own tranny fluid and save a couple hundred dollars. I'm wondering if the 5W-50 might be a little better to run in the summer heat around here. I know I usually run thru a quart of the 0-40 about every 1500 miles or so....maybe the heavier viscosity would cut down on that a bit? It's not a big deal becasue all the TT's usually eat a bit of oil as a normal part of their "diet". Chuck

Porsche uses those pressure clamps....which I've found have caused leaks several times...once in my diverter valves. I take them out and use the stainless screw type. Loren's suggestion to take off the front bumper and look at where your hoses connect to the radiators is the best suggestion yet....I seriously doubt that you'd find BOTH radiators need replacing....but you very well might find the clamps on the hoses that connect to them to be the cause. Betcha' a beer!! The fact that BOTH are leaking is curious to say the least....

If you replace it yourself, read up on cleaning the MAF by doing a search. You don't want to touch the wires at the end...just spray them with the CDC electrical connector cleaner....It's not a major project, just be careful with the wire sensors. Takes all of 10 minutes if that.

Red orange liquid? Does it feel oily? If so, could it possibly be a leaking strut? Usually the oil from the strut is clear and oily. IIRC the OEM coolant is either pink or greenish.

I agree with Loren....very unusual to get the intermix on a TT.....however I'm beginning to like the scenario that perhaps a hose or something let loose before he bought it and the dealership replaced the errant part and refilled the system without letting it burp out the air. I know in my 99 996 when I replaced the cracked coolant tank....it seemed like it took almost ten days of coolant levels dropping down before it finally burped the air out of the lines and the coolant level stabilized. Up until that time I was going crazy trying to figure out where the coolant was going....it wasn't going anywhere....it was just the level stabilizing. Once you get it filled it should stabilze out.....if it doesn't, then with that amount of coolant being lost, there has to be a major leak somewhere, but my bet is that it wasn't filled correctly to begin with. I'm more concerned over your comment that you went to the auto store and bought "a can" of some replacement coolant....what did you buy that you put in there? Did you buy the Porsche coolant? Some of those other coolants don't mix well with the Porsche brands.

This probably doesn't belong in this forum, but I picked a forum with a lot of exposure....Loren will move it if it violates protocol. I'm working on my 87 930 and scrubbed off the black wheel well undercoating thinking it was road grime....then found out that it's not and that Porsche put it in there to help keep rust down and to act as a buffer for rock chips and debris. The newer cars have the plastic wheel well liners in them. I don't know what product they use or what they might call it....and I need enough to re-do one wheel well....thank goodness I found out before I did them all. Anyone know what that sort of rubberized product is? Any suggestions would be welcomed. I tried a search but there isn't anything here on the older cars other than some DIY articles.

If it was the cap with that amount of fluid loss, you'd defiitely see the white encrusted residue around the lip of the top as well as the telltale white crustation down the side....he doesn't indicate he sees any indication of a point of origin for the loss....so perhaps the he should look up towards the front radiators? Porshe likes those dogone clamps they use kuz they can be assembles so quickly....and whenever I run into them on a project, I replace them with the screw type stainless ones. As Loren said, the 996 TT has had more than its share of blown radiator hoses....mine blew on the passenger's side...and that side seems to see more blown hoses than the driver's side. What seems strange to me is that with the amount of fluid you say youre losing....that you cant' see an exit point. Two litres is a LOT of fluid to come up as MIA.

"Yop up"??? I take it that's the new hip-hop word for "top up"?? The muffler Darin did for me was on a 99 C2 coupe...so the top was always up....(being a bit facetious here)....but my ears are ultra sensitive to drone or any harmonic warble...and there was none. I passed on buying several cars just because of the exhaust noise in the cabin. I don't mind the louder exhaust, but not in the cabin. It did have a bark when you got on it, but when cruising at normal speeds....say in the 3K rpm range....there was no drone. I went with the Mark II mod. Now one has to realize that no matter what system you have, at a certain rpm under a certain load, there will always be a bit of a drone...but the important factor is that it passes quickly and doesn't roost at that rpm where you normally cruise so that it drives you nuts. Some (not all) of the Fabspeed guys will know what I mean. I had a discussion with Stef....the owner of Europipe before I went to their system....and even Stef admitted that regardless of how much you spend...any exhaust system will have a tad bit of drone at a certain point. Anyone who tells you that there is absolutely no drone is blowing smoke.

As I recall, I think they were cheaper than that at Sunset.....I bought one "just in case" I broke it during the change out of the coolant tank. didn't need it after all.

Bud: I'm 67 and somewhat conservative...I had a long talk with Darin before I went ahead with the mod....and it wasn't too loud for me.... I honestly don't think you'll be disappointed. You can still hold conversations and listen to the radio....at least as well as you can with the wind blowing over a dropped top. He has several iterations now....some a bit more sedate than others.

Actually you can test it quite easily...no need for 100 presses. Leave the key off...depress the clutch about 20 times and it should become a bit stiff....but not really hard. It sounds like youre expecting it to become very stiff. Then start the car and wait about two seconds, then depress the clutch....it should feel very light and easy to depress.....if it does feel light...your accumulator is working.

Go down to the Work on Cars Day forums at the bottom of the main page....and go to the discussion regarding the Work on Cars Day in the Roseville, Sacramento etc....... on the page #4 there's a series of pictures taken that day along with a picture taken of the underside of my car in post number 64.....that's the only picture I have of the underside for comparison. Chuck

I just went and found it in Rennlist under the topic title of "Please post pics of your tinted windows". Do you know how to use the search function? You can click the feature that says....Search titles only and find it. There were some pics of cabriolets as well as coupes with varying degrees of tint. Hope that helps. You can also use the search function and just enter topics like .....Pictures of tint or other identifiers to find other posts on the subject. Good hunting.... chuck Oh...and BTW....."on the outer banks".....playing golf? Geezzz....must be nice to be independently wealthy....what's par?

You need to go check into a five star hotel with a wireless lan.....Motel 6's are the pitts. Here you are driving a $100K car and have to use dial-up? :D

Do they use salt on your roads? Your engine casing looks a bit oxidized....that's the advantage of California...usually the undersides are clear of rust and oxidiation. Yeah..yeah....I know....we have earthquakes and fires....