getting ready for summer

Just finished fitting new radiators and air con rads. Not bad price actually from porsche apart £97 each for air con rads and £117 each for water rads. All went smoothly and done in around half day, thats off and on. Might look into front grills later as i'd like to protect the rads a little. Jacked the car up high at front so only lost a little water when hose pulled off. Topped system up and all looks fine. However, didnt have porsche anti freeze so will need to adjust next week. First question...is it 50/50 mix and is it only porsche thast sells the correct coolant. Everything else i believe has drained out as radiator had a hole develop. Is it x stream G40? Second question, im in cannock, does anyone know of a good air con place for re-gassing. Is it R401a or MP39. Or did all 1998 cars have R134a as reading some forums there seems to be confusion. Would have done some photos but Steve Oz has beaten me to it. Oh, thanks for the tip with the slight mod on the cowls. Next, onto replacing front and rear discs/break pads. Has anyone used Pagid as these are being recommended by Eurocarparts. Bring on the summer !!

I don't know who makes the coolant for Porsche, but if you are basically starting from scratch, any decent HOAT coolant should do the trick. The danger is with mixing coolants of different type. According to the workshop manual, all 996's use R134a refrigerant. You need 900g refrigerant, and 195cc ND8 lubricant. Take it to Kwik-Fit. They have the same gear as everyone else, and charge less than most.

Thanks Richard, read a text posted by someone else which stated that the book says all 996's have R134a but I believe the earlier cars had R12 which is now banned. I am informed that a straight replacement with R134a would require a complete strip of all seals and pipework. Hence, i read it should be replaced with an R12 'drop in' replacement, such as R401A or MP39. Have you heard of this? I know quick fit should be ok but want to know a little about this so as i dont get a youngster who messes things up. I also believe that as the system has been opened, they should create a big vacuum first to draw off all moisture and air. My god, i think i'm starting to become technical !!! Ha Ha. Anyway, i will try tomorrow to see what they have to say.

If it's comma you using then the g30 should mix with your existing coolant fine. Even porsche coolant is now a different colour to that pre 2005. The pre 2005 coolant is yellow and the later one pink but they are both fully miscible and compatible.

Just to double-check for you, I looked back to my 1997 workshop manual, which clearly shows to use R134a refrigerant. Edit: Here you go:

thanks Richard

Had air con gassed today at kwik fit. Air con now working. However, as I havent ever used air con, when on, the idle speed increases from 750 revs to approx 850 revs when idling. Is this correct or is it about bedding in. thanks. Secondly, after topping up with coolant, after a short drive, the pressure relief valve lifts. I'm assuming therefore that the system has air in it. Any tips or is it a case of just unscrewing the filler cap to release the air and the system gradually sorting itself out.

Yes, it is normal for the idle to increase when you switch it on. Try running with the relief valve clip in the raised position for a couple of days. It may run slightly cooler, but don't worry. Keep an eye on the level, and top it up when the engine is cool.

Nice one, I didn't post up and pics on actually replacing, just moving them to clean the gunk out

Really pleased with the results Steve. Your posts help as does the support from others, in particular Min and Richard.

I'm using pagid discs and textar pads on my car. Porsche pads are made by textar which is part of the tmd friction group. They also own pagid and mintex so figured the pagid discs would be fine. Sebro and zimmermann discs are good too. Try the brake package from design 911. It might work out cheaper. For the cost they were I also included caliper bolts and 2 spare screws that hold the discs in place. They frequently corrode. Figured 40p wasn't too much an outlay if I didn't need them. What a lot of people don't know is the same guy that owns design 911 also owns Eurocarparts. I found textar pads and zimmermann discs from Gsf cheaper for the carrera.

Interesting. I have Sebro discs and textar pads. However, the brakes are nowhere near as good as other cars i have had. I don't understand why the pots are not larger or more. I agree with you, i think I bought mine originally from GSF who were cheaper back then. Ive skimmed the front discs and am going to refit. If these go well I will skim the rears. The beauty with eurocarparts is that they are nearby. May look at Pagid or textar for pads and think its a good idea to buy the additional caliper bolts and disc screws. Wont know if the discs have been skimmed parallel until fitted. Its not the cost of things its just the satisfaction of being able to resolve things. Why produce discs which have enough capacity to skim and still remain within tolerance if you just simply throw away once used?