Ready to buy but have a question- cam tensioner leak

Hi everyone. First, I want to thank you all for spending your collective time to make this web forum such a great exchange of information. The forum has been invaluable, (if not a bit scary at times) in helping me through my 996 selection process. I am a lifelong car guy who previously had a 2000 Boxster S from 2002 to 2004 (trouble free) and a 30 year string of Alfa Romeo's. But I sold my Alfa's and am going German! I have always done nearly all my own work and have a pretty good garage setup. I made the move from Alfa because they are getting pretty old here now, are somewhat underpowered, and the 996's are such a screaming resale deal. Also, my GTV6-3.0 had a rubber timing belt and an interference piston/valve design. The belt detensioner's in these motors have chronic oil leaks and that to me is a deadly combo. Here's the deal. I found a very clean 996 cabriolet with 56k miles on it. I had a PPI done by Euro motorsports in SF. I don't know Euro, but I picked them because they seemed to have a lot of Porsche factory experience. They said the car checked out fine, but had a faint oil leak in the cam solenoid system. I noticed a small amount of oil on the back of the engine (opposite of the flywheel side) . They found some alarm codes and a dead battery code. That was all. No RMS leak or IMS noise. The owner said (FWIW) the car has been completely trouble free since he bought it with 19,000 miles back in 2004. The car has perfect paint, never been hit and the full leather interior package (dash etc.). It is ocean blue with the tan leather interior and looks amazing. The leather is in excellent condition. It's a 6 speed and shifted easily, no hard clutch pedal with new rotors and pads. It drove nice and tight and (compared to my Alfa's) was fast as hell. So here is the question, is the solenoid seal job a tough one? Would it be a good opportunity to change the waterpump, drive belt, AOS and any other commonly found 996 maintenance stuff? I wouldn't mind offering the seller $1,500 less and doing the repair myself to get to know the car. Euro Motors said the job was mostly labor. Or is this a tricky job not suitable for a new Porsche owner? Thanks for your input! Doug

the cam solenoid is a 30 minute job - I have done it - parts are about $30 2 screws each (left and right) and a wire (quick disconnect) DONE It can even be done w/o taking off the wheels, but easier if you do Pics :

Sokol and euromotors is a good shop lots of experience and very good rates. Couldn't comment on how difficult the job is, but offer the guy less and see if he takes it.

Looks like an easy fix.

Hmmm. I wonder if they changed the solenoid design. According to the workshop manual, the flange that ivangene installed was a part from the solenoid, not a seperate piece. see: http://www.cannell.co.uk/996_Worksho...0From%2015.pdf page 123 / 15-135 it still looks pretty easy, but if the flange is not seperate I might be buying the whole solenoid, not just the flange. Thanks

Ed probably has 4 or 5 of those laying around. He could probably sell you one. Just kidding.... just a jab at Ed! Doug, Welcome to Rennlist! It sounds like you found a nice car. If you buy it, make sure to post pics for all of us to see.

NO, if you buy the whole thing its well in excess of $1000 for the part, requires extensive tear down to replace and special tooling needed (or shadetree equivelants) It is rare for the actual solenoid to leak. That is a problem I faced when addressing mine. Even tougher to diagnos, so the best plan is to replace the part shown watch the results. An actual solenoid replacement would be a major PITA OH, sorry for not welcoming you, Ihave been extreamly busy and just popping in and out for quick posts. <pic of solenoid assy - borrowed, thanks Dharn >

OK, the deal is done. $21.5k as is. It's not a steal, but a good price for a 56k miles straight clean cab. We exchange money for pinks tomorrow. I'll post some pic's once I get it home. Now to get rid of my Alfa Spider and Jeep FC 150 to free up some room. KBB lists the price as $24.2 private party and NADA trade in is $24.1k and $29.6k retail. Only the Porsche Dealer would dare ask $29k! $23-$24k is more the local asking market.The 60k service is coming up so I will start rounding up the parts! One bit of advice that I learned here, is get the PPI first, then negotiate price. That helped me get the seller to understand my reduced offer, which we both considered fair. It seems obvious, but when you get horny about a car, there is a temptation to negotiate first.

OK now I get it. That flange seal goes on the end of the solenoid. Otherwise that solenoid would be sticking way out of the case. I thought that new flange was at the base of the solenoid, not the end. makes sensenow.