Just picked up a 2003 40k mile 996 - now what?

So I just picked up a one owner no accident 2003 996 that is completely original. It has been well maintained and all necessary maintenance done but most parts on this car are now 20 yrs old. What would you start upgrading or replacing first? Not necessarily for performance sake just for age sake? Maybe top 5 things I should deal with? IMS and clutch have been done.

Welcome! I�m three months into a single owner 04, loving the car, but working through the little issues. Check out the muffler tips, if they aren�t �snug� to the body, you will need to replace the motor mounts. Made a big improvement to shifting in my car, and now the muffler doesn�t look like it�s drooping. Next for me is the transmission mount in front�� if oil pressure doesn�t read zero with the car off, then it�s oil pressure sensor time�. -Eric

The next time 5 items I replaced after the IMS Solution and AOS Fuel injectors Spark plugs/coil packs Water pump Fuel filter All fluids

Check the coolant reservoir. If it is yellowed it is about ready for replacement. Check the reservoir cap, if it is black replace it with the upgraded blue cap. Check for proper engine vacuum to determine if the AOS needs replacement. Enjoy your car, they are great fun!

The sound system

I'm rather tall, so the first thing i did was the centre console delete. deletes the CD rack (in my year of car) and gives loads of room for your left knee (UK car). Another common issue is faulty HVAC - wont stay hot. Theres a tons of resources in the forum for fixing it - essentially repacing foam on the little doors that control hot/cold air flow as over time it degrades and crumbles to dust.

another one i've yet to do is checking the front radiators - leaves gather inside the front bumper, get wet and can cause corrosion.

I don't believe there is a fuel filter to replace on an '03. You say the IMS was replaced, but what was it replaced with? Some options also require follow on replacement. All fluids. Transmission, brake, motor oil, coolant. Water pump.

FastTrack1 congratulations on pulling the trigger on the 996, where are you located? if up north check coolant condition for cold temps, change all fluids, oil, gearbox, brake, etc. while changing fluids do a visual check of all components that are visible. Enjoy your car Rich

No pic - never happened.

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Oops You are correct, the �02 + doesn�t have a replaceable �fuel filter�.

Motor mounts probably need to be addressed.

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great info. Thanks

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replaced with LN Engineering bearing. I found the serial number sticker and talked to LN to verify.

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thanks Rich! I�m in South Carolina. Looking forward to being part of this group. Driving the car back from Florida in a couple days.

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yes that�s one of the ones that made my list.

I would also suggest you proactively replace both window regulators. They dry out over time and then a new owner starts opening and closing the windows and their age quickly shows.

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Do you mean the mandatory exhaust upgrade?

All control arms/struts if you want it to drive like new.

OP - Congratulations on your acquisition! If you wrench at all, you’ll want a Durametric or equivalent. Even if you don’t wrench, it’ll save you thousands knowing what’s going on with the car. Baseline as much as you can, taking budget into account, as soon as you can. Many great suggestions here for your consideration. Prior to colder weather, you want to know your fuel trims, O2 sensor performance and also determine your injector health. Winter fuels, improper ECU readings, vacuum leaks and bad injectors will cause cylinder damage over too brief a time. My two bits on to-do now. New stock motor mounts. Check your exhaust condition and cat health. All fluids as soon as practical. Start an oil health monitoring process. Upgrade your shifting (6 speed?). Have a $3,000 budget tolerance for short term (not counting your desired upgrades). It was said a few years ago, by some pretty smart dudes, a sorted and dependable performance 996 will be a $35,000 car. Today, I’d probably add $5k to that. Your car averaged 2000 miles annually, so not a lot of normal use. Good and bad with that as far as hoses, reservoirs and plastic bits. And pictures or it didn’t happen.

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I�m not a huge fan of proactively replacing due to age, but instead, condition. Although water pump isn�t a bad idea. Otherwise, my car is 4 years older than yours and still has many original parts on it. I do agree with all fluids, motor mounts, and then just have the car thoroughly inspected for items that are worn. Kind of one of those 100-point inspection thingys by a Porsche expert in 996/997 cars.

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yes thank you. I plan to carve some mountain roads so I will have all of that addressed.

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thanks for that perspective. I don�t want to go crazy just for the sake of it. But I do want a safe car for windy roads. No intention of tracking the car.

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wealth of info there. Thanks so much. Can�t wait to jump into it. Enjoy turning a wrench but not a gear head. But my neighbor is and has a lift, etc so we plan to work on the car together. Below is a pic. Driving it 800 miles back from Florida in a couple days

I would get to know the car perhaps just use it a bit to get to know it... obvs the obligatory fluids check of the levels first... cooling is very very important on these cars... i am in Louisiana so for me its doubly important in the summer, someone mentioned the leaves and front radiator... i asked my indy about it and he dismissed it saying we will blow out the leaves no problem.. he didn't try to up sell me i suppose... (trying to be positive) To clean the front radiators properly you will need to take off the front bumper.. and believe me there will be some significant amount of debris, but do not fear it is frustrating but not that hard... and you will get to know your car... you tube videos are out there but i couldn't find a really good one, rather i had to watch bumper removal then another one to replace the front radiators.. it took a little searching to find two good videos.. in retrospect i would take off the front wheels as well, which leads to jacking procedures and axle stands, which leads to buying the Porsche jacking pucks .. ect ect having the front off the ground would have made life a lot easier... The debris is between the condenser and the radiator and i would estimate my car had 20% blockage on each of the two radiators... what sucks is after i could not see a noticeable difference on the gauge... but just to be clear the engine is supposed to run at full operating temp so that kind of makes sense, i was hoping the OBC would thank me for removing all that sh*te.. but i can say i felt a lot better about the car once i knew it was done... and to clarify you don't have to open the cooling system or the AC system, if you are careful with it... but it is also good in that you can visually inspect the rubber hoses for bulging swelling and dry rot, so that is a bonus also.. i used a strong shop vac with an adapter and a tiny nozzle, so some real suckage, and i agitated the debris with a small paint brush... The subject to address at the same time which is controversial is...." mesh grills" to install or not to install in your front bumper.. the idea is if you install them you stop a lot of the debris from getting in, the counter argument by some very smart people is ... the mesh grills affect the cooling negatively... here is my uneducated non scientific opinion... debris bad ... badder than a small amount of reduced airflow... and i'm lazy so i don't want to remove my front bumper every year to clean debris... and i do not intend to track my car at this time, so in regular use on the road i'm not sure the reduced airflow is much of an issue, a further thought is when i'm stuck in traffic there is no airflow to speak of the fans kick on and keep the heat at bay, then when i finally get out of traffic and the air is being pushed through the bumper on to the radiators the coolant temp on the gauge goes down when driving at speed.. so on balance i'm sticking with my grills i put in...

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I bought mine in Fort Lauderdale and rove it back 850 miles in one day... in summer temps, i got stuck on the Mobile AL bridge in nose to tail traffic for 45 mins, i watched that temp gauge like a hawk...

Did your PPI include dropping the sump and checking for bore scoring? I�d do that before dumping a ton of parts and money into your 996. Be proactive Replace the items that could cause engine damage if they fail IMS AOS Water pump Fuel injectors You said the IMS was replaced so I�d do the other 3 once you verify the health of the engine

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they checked for bore scoping via access via the spark plugs. Is that good or bad? They found nothing. Car doesn�t leak a drop of oil.

Congrats on the purchase. You will love the 996.2. First thing I would do is enjoy the drive home and get to know the car by listening to everything and feel for everything on the drive. forget the radio. Your soundsystem is the car. Second, I would take and oil sample when you get home and send it into speediagnostics to see what you have in your oil. Third, I would organize the complete service history of the car to see what was done and when. This will tell you how many oil changes to what parts were replaced with what and when. This will allow you to develop a proactive or reactive hit list (depending on which mindset you have) to your next steps. Next, I drop your sump and cut open your oil filter to see whats in both. Then i would scope the bores from the sump to see what you really have in your bores. Then, assuming the bores look good and your oil test is good, I would then develop a hit list of service, part replacements etc. Based on the service history dates and procedures. Bullet proof the engine first, then suspension, brakes, tires. Save the pretty stuff for last because it does nothing to keep the car running nor handling properly. When bullet proofing the 996.2 would want to pay attention to the 4 key areas of catastrophic failure, all of which are easily mitigated. 1. AOS failure - can lead to intermix (coolant and oil mixing) as well as hydralock (cylinder cracking). Look at getting the UAOS track version as a replacement. 2. Water Pump Failure - can lead to a plastic fan blade bit breaking off and lodging in engine causing excessive heat and cylinder cracking. Replace the oem pump with another oem pump every 5-7 years and you should be golden. 3. IMSB Failure - you mentioned you had an LN IMSB. The question is which one and when was it put into the engine. If it was the Retro, you will have to replace it with a new one after ~7 years or so. If it's the Solution, you will never have to replace it. 4. BORE Scoring - assuming you dont have it after testing the oil and sump oriented borescope, then you need to employ a set of common sense procedures to prevent it. Sure, more frequent oil changes, fresh fuel injectors, common sense start up procedures are pretty easy to do if you are aware of them A well serviced 996 and its M96 engine is very durable and can be enjoyed on the track and street. The more the previous owner did, the less you have to spend. Records are key and will fill in the roadmap. Looking forward to hearing more about it. Enjoy.

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This was excessively helpful. Very much appreciate the detailed write up and will follow those instructions. Flying down to FL on Thursday and driving it back home. Super excited.

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Looking forward to hearing all about it. After nearly 22 years of ownership, I get just as excited when I walk into the garage and see the car and then drive it, as I did when I first bought it. These cars are aging extremely well.

Here are some steps you can take to help prevent bore scoring: https://lnengineering.com/products/w...e-scoring.html Also, since it was mentioned that the car possibly had an IMS Retrofit previously fitted, here is where you can look up your installation (if registered, by VIN or IMSB serial number) and when the bearing should be replaced: https://imsretrofit.com/ims-check/

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Thank you for that info. Unfortunately they did not register the IMS retrofit although there is receipts and an IN engineering sticker on the car. I spoke to IN to see if they happened to have it based on that serial number or VIN but they don't. I'm still pretty confident all is good on it. The prior owner was just not the type to register it or understand the importance. He didn't even know it was an issue until they recommended a replacement while the vehicle was being serviced for another issue. I did have it bore scoped but only by pulling the spark plugs which I realize is not the best method. Once I get it home this week, I will pull the sump and also have the oil tested.

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Fastrack, just as a heads up, Charles Navarro is the owner of LN Engineering. Pretty good guy to get to know.

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UAOS IMS Solution when the time come up again

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Appologies in advance to the op. Have to give bill some $hit everytime he pops back in. Or just install a really nice new high hp motor right @808Bill . Hope all is well bill, weather is getting cold on the east coast....still need some help?