Further information on 996 Power Kit and other questions

Hi, I am going to look at a '99 996 next weekend and it is advertised as having a 320bhp engine kit fitted that apparently was a �6500 option at the time of purchase (~$13k). As far as I can tell, 320bhp was the stock engine power of a 3.4 996 in 1999 so does any one know what this option may be? Also the car has done 61k miles (~98k km) and there is no record of any RMS problems apparently. Since a lot of places report a near 100% failure on RMS, is this something that I should expect to go in the future or is it the case that once you have done xxx miles/km with no issues, you can feel fairly safe that it is not going to happen? And finally ... any other good things to look out for when I'm going round it? Many thanks and happy motoring! Ian

stock rated power according to manual was 297hp for 1999 3.4 good luck!

Thanks pszikla, That clears that up - so I assume he means he has the X51 kit fitted. Any thoughts on the RMS and other questions? Cheers

I would feel fairly confident that if the car doesn't sit for long periods that your RMS would be okay. Of course I wouldn't care that much either since it's a fairly inexpensive item to replace.

RMS was slighltly leaking earlier but waited to have it changed at the same time as clutch at around 49000 miles.

should also mention DON"T DRIVE THE CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is something so insidiously addictive once you've driven it that you simply cannot resisit and you will find yourself owning a Porsche!! I'm warning you!!

Fortunately this is not my first Porsche ... so I'm looking forward to seeing the difference between the '80 911 I had many years ago and the 99 996 I'm looking at. Yes, they are insanely addictive and yes, the heart can rule the head with such emotive cars However, knowing what to look for when going to see a car you are unfamiliar with can make the difference between having a love affair with the car or an experience that will sour your relationship with the brand forever. In the spirit of the 'how long is a piece of string' questions that I am asking ... on a car with this mileage should I look for a replaced clutch somewhere in the service history? Assuming no tracking, what is the expected lifetime of a 996 clutch roughly. 50k? Thanks for the advice. Fairly inexpensive covers a multitude of sins though and can move the expected cost of a vehicle from reasonable to unreasonable though. Still - it's comforting to know that it probably falls into the category of "if it was going to go, it would have gone by now". Thanks to all who have replied so far.

Mdog, in my case, the clutch still had some life on it, probably 25-30% according to mechanic but decided to do both items since it saved one labor charge. From what I have been reading, I think that most people that don't abuse the clutch can expect anywhere up to 100k on it, but probably the average is closer to 60-70k. If others disagree, I am sure they will chime in on this with their own experiences. Cheers!

i purchased my 99 with 62k miles in July. now with 67k the clutch started to slip and if was left idling she'd leak a lil anitfreeze. so i just had the coolant bottle replaced, clutch replaced, flywheel was badly grooved so yup that was replaced as well and while was in there did a 60k service. As well as RMS for the hell of it. the Porsche certified tech that did my work said avg expectency of the clutch is 30-40k depending on driving habits and conditions. He works at Porsche in Manhattan in NYC and has done many with under 30k miles on them. Flywheel n clutch kit were approx $1175 FOR PARTS ONLY ! BOTH OEM. after repairs were done doesnt even feel like same car. can press clutch with 1 finger and grabs right off the floor...i enjoyed before the repairs and enjoy it that much more right now !! AWESOME CAR

if it was a city driver clutch may have been done once or twice already, if it were highway miles then its a mystery

from what i've read and been told can usually get to clutch replacements out of a flywheel as long as its not stressed or grooved

Quotes source post: 4589930

Thanks for all your posts - this sort of info is invaluable to a new purchaser! Cheers

Clutch life is too dependant on driving habits to make any judgment on. I'm at 85k on my original clutch. No issues. Mdog, by relatively inexpensive I mean ~$800.

I looked into the power kit back in 2001 for the 3.4. IIRC it was almost 20k installed. It was too much for me at the time. If you can buy a car withe the kit installed it would be a good deal IMHO if it were priced right. I don't have the hp conversion, but have to following: "The Carrera Powerkit offers an increase in power output from 221 kW to 235 kW on all 911 Carrera models up to 12/00." The factory retrofit kit for your 3.4 liter engine includes: - modified intake system with cast aluminum manifolds - new cylinder heads - new exhaust headers - different valves - different cams - oil pressure kit pump for cylinders 4 to 6 - oil pump update for oil pan - new ECU (DME) - third radiator kit