Y cable replacement nightmare.....

So the car started to be a bit of a pig to start - very slow turnover of the engine and worse when warm. A search in these hallowed halls of knowledge revealed the likely culprit to be the cable that runs from alternator to starter motor and battery positive. Buoyed by my recent success in replacing all the suspension and fairly confident at twirling spanners i thought "how hard can it be!".......:?: ...... Well as it turns out it can be a bl@@dy nightmare! Removed the inlet plenum after some difficulty as previously the clamps had been done up with the fasters at the back in between the two cross tubes - evidently done when the engine was out at some point in time and by a sadist that likes to torture folks attempting home maintenance. With the cable now accessibly it was on with the job, starter first i thought, the nut securing it to the solenoid would not budge, penetrating oil over night made no difference. then a little bit of heat to see if that would work? Nope - still solid, more heat, more penetrating oil etc etc. Success! Slowly it started to turn and then it broke free....... of the starter motor solenoid :sad: spinning the post in the solenoid housing and not undoing the nut. :duh: So now I'm committed to having to remove the starter motor and sort that destruction out. Looking at the job i thought, at this point its two bolts to remove the alternator and rather that risk damaging the post on the alternator if its just as corroded I'll take it out and it will provide better access to the second starter bolt as a consequence. Having removed the fasteners for the alternator I proceeded with getting it out - as those that have done this are aware, there is a bush on it that when you fit it is dragged out of its housing to provide a snug fit and clamp it onto the block. I commenced the process of gentle tapping and wiggling to get the bush to move back enough to release the alternator from its mount. Its not the first time i have done an alternator on the 996 so it held no worries or unknowns - that was until the casing of the alternator just decided to shear across where the bush is mounted ...... :sad: :sad: :sad: :damn: So here i sit...... awaiting a new alternator and starter motor to be delivered to go on the nice shiny cable that started this whole process off. Still at least whilst its all apart i got the oil pressure sender replaced without issue! ..... still love it though! :floor:

I must admit I looked at doing mine myself and same as you thought how hard can it be - it's awkward more than difficult. But when I got a quote of £90 to do it that was enough for me to back out and give someone else the headache. The feeling of job satisfaction when it's all back together will be off the scale though so it will all be worth it.

Sorry to hear that OP but thanks for the 'heads up' as I think I'll be attempting this soon.

Sometimes jobs just go tits up .. im well aware of that and see it often .. all i can say is chin up .. your doing a good job and any garage would have had the same issues .. You are saving yourself a lot of money labour wise . I can also say that over the years there has been a " few " jobs that i have really thrown my toys out of the pram .. to the point with one particular job i turned around to management and said .. if you ever give me that to do again ill be telling you where you can stick your ( expletive ) job and im history .

That's bad luck... I did same job and actually replaced starter at same time. A tip on the y cable remove the plastic post box by soaking in boiling water, then once installed snap the box back on.