Newbie - 996 - Lots of general questions !

Hello All Ive Just bought a 85k mile'r 2001 - 996 Carerra Tiptronic jobbie last weekend ..... its the second porsche ive owned now as had a 944 s2 some years ago I have a few general questions rgds a few things - ive had a mooch around the site and have seen some info rgds the below, but thought id ask a few direct questions ...... hope you can help ! 1) The car always seems to be red hot at the rear end and whiffs a tad of 'hot' if you know what i mean - is this the norm (water levels / oil etc etc all ok, no leaks). I would say i drive the car a 6/7 on a scale of 10 (10 being thrashed around - 1 driven by your granny) 2) the alarm does not sound when it goes off. The alarm often randomly goes off, flashing the indicators but with no horn. In fact i havent even heard the horn for the alarm once. Is it supposed to chirp when you arm /disarm etc ? and does anyone know where the sounder unit is locate d 3) a rattle sound from from right when low speeds - sounds like something loose in the front end - nothing loose in the front bonnet area .... anything obvious or common which goes ? 4) the car has a sat nav screen (panasonic ?) with a remote control that has a small joystick on it ..... i have no books for this car apart from the service history etc ... is this the PCM system i have seen talked about on the forum ? ..... it is painfully old and is just about useable ...... i have seen some bits about Vauxhall discs will work etc ....... seen lots on EBAY for 10-20 quid, but have no idea whats what .... any info appreciated 5) I think it has Lintronic Zennon headlights that auto level ????? (i think thats what they are called) .... is there an in car level adjuster ..... i cant seem to find one 6) is there any good sites to download any related manuals for the car from ? ... ie servicing, owners books .. PDF files etc 7) the car sounds a little more throaty than other 996's ive seen / heard ... i was wandering if it had an aftermarket exhaust ..... how can i tell ? 8) it has drilled discs all round ... is this normal ? 9) my last 944 had a suspension setup called MO40 i think it was ....... do 996's have this option and again how would i know ? 10) it has a few things fitted to it, and i was wandering which of these are factory extras, SUNROOF, ZENON HEADLIGHTS, SAT NAV, TRACTION CONTROL (i think) Thats about it for now ! any info much appreciated ...... over all seems a good car ..... i only Paid 13k for it, so it seems to be a good price from what ive seen, a friend of mine has a glasses guide and trade price says its 17k and garage price 21k Cheers ! rgds Dave

They do smell hot and rubbery after a spirited run, especially around the rear arches. The silencers are in there, and they are quite close to the tyres, so catch a lot of road rubbish. It sounds to me like the alarm horn and siren have been disconnected, or are both faulty (unlikely). They don't chirp on locking/unlocking, unless a compartment has been left open. Sounds like it might be an anti-roll bar drop link. Very common. If it is a Panasonic, it isn't PCM. PCM is made by Becker, and certainly doesn't have a remote. There is no interior level control for Litronics. The beams can be adjusted for alignment if they are out of line, but have automatic level control. You can download an old version of the workshop manual from www.cannell.co.uk/Manuals.htm. It is pretty out of date, but better than northing. Owners manuals are available from Porsche, and only cost a few quid. Maybe it has a Porsche Sports Exhaust. Check the VIL options sticker on the underside of the luggage compartment. Look for XLF. Yes. Standard. M030 is sports suspension. Again, check the options sticker. All of them were options. Thank Goodness!! [ ] [ ] Edit: Oh yes, it sounds like you got a bargain! Well done.

Hello Richard Thanks for the replies, some good info for me to check ..... ill advise about the sticker under the bonnet ...... also good gen about the sat nav ..... must be some kind of aftermarket jobbie ... ill see if i can get any more info on it ...... it does look very 'factory', but i guess this may just be the result of a good fit when new ...... i was considering just junking it and fitting a large srceen tom tom in its place with an external ariel ?

By any chance, is the satnav fitted to the very bottom section of the centre console? If so, I think I might have seen your car before.

Hi Richard yes the sat nav is in the centre cosule - lower when you say you think you know this car - do you mean this 'actual physical car' ? because that would impress me !!! the alarm is still playing up - and is starting to really annoy me .... im thinking of getting a mobile alarm fitter out to A) either sort this one that on it or b) junk it and fit a new thatcham one also one of the rear number plat lights was out, when i looked at it the housing was all corroded and the plastic perished, so i guess its a new one of these too ! cheers dave

Check that the tilt sensor isn't full of water - that's a common problem which causes random false alarms. There are some photos here: http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/fb.asp?m=477991 The licence plate light holder is part number 964.631.620.00.01C - £13.78+VAT. Yes, I mean your actual car. I have only once seen an aftermarket satnav fitted to the lower section of the centre console. That was a tiptronic too. My friend Tony Wright at Wrightune did some work on it a couple of years ago - it belonged to a lady named Cat (Catherine) I believe.