30 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCH99 996 Project
Leading reported evidence
Repair before
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
Len Hoffman recommended getting a new to me head that has not been repaired before.
Leading evidence: 'Repair before' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Clean intermix out' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I now have a poorly repaired crack, coupled with a new crack.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
The only information I have on the heads is that bank 1-3 has cracked before, and was repaired poorly.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
The build sheet I have states a "used" throttle body was used during the build.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
The build sheet I have states a "used" throttle body was used during the build.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
30 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T135432Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Staring this thread to document my 99 project. I aquired the car from my brother-in-law after it sat for 9 months or so with a shop diagnosed "blown head gasket" (Cracked Head 1-3).
After I got the car home, I started pulling it apart and discovered the dreaded intermix (oil in coolant) all but confirming the cracked head. Pulled everything apart and got the heads sent off to Len Hoffman for repair. He confirmed a cracked head and also informed me that the spark plug bore for cylinder 1 had cracked previously, before my brother-in-law got the car. This repair was done poorly by a shop in Southern California back in 2013. I now have a poorly repaired crack, coupled with a new crack. Len Hoffman recommended getting a new to me head that has not been repaired before. So project is stalled for now until I can find a head. If anyone has a lead on one, please let me know! Hoping to get this thing back up and running soon.
Also will be doing the Oil Cooler, Oil Seperator, Clutch, Flywheel, IMS, Front & Rear Crank Seals, Water Pump, Rear and Front Head Lights, Short Shifter, and I'm sure more that I am forgetting to mention.
If this is the case, you're going to want to replace ALL of the coolant lines. That rubber does not like intermix. If you need them, I have a couple of OEM radiators in great shape I'd let go of cheap. I upgraded to CSFs a little over a year ago.
Interior is Black Leather. That Natural Leather you have on yours is incredible. I am a big fan of tan interiors. My 986 is Black on savanna beige and I love it.
Just tracked down a head, with matching cam bearing caps and cover, through DC Automotive in North Carolina. They are shipping it to Len to pair with my good head. Should be ahead of schedule now.
Appriciate the advice. I have all the ruber coolant lines ready to swap out. I was able to flush the rads using a Shout/Hot water mixture suggested by Jake at Flat 6. Thanks for the offer though.
Jake from flat six would be interested in your car if you want to sell it. He stated so in the rencast when they were talking about 996, but of course he would like to buy it blown.
Not sure. It was rebuilt at 86k and now has 130k. From the information I have, the block came from somewhere else and has been bored out to 3.8L. I do not have any info on the history of the block before it was installed in my car. The only information I have on the heads is that bank 1-3 has cracked before, and was repaired poorly. Bank 4-6 is still good. Not sure if the heads are original to the car, or came from somewhere else at the time of the rebuild at 86k.
Thanks for that suggestion.
I am pretty sure each cam has one bearing cap that is machined with the head and cover. The rest of the cam is held down with the cover itself. All three components (Head, Cam Bearing Caps (2 per side), and the Cover) need to have matching numbers. Thats how I understood it at least.
It has been a while, but I have finally been able to start installing the fresh heads for this project. I am running into an issue where it seems like I dont have enough slack in the chain between the IMS and the cam to get the sprocket fit onto the cam. Has anyone else experienced this? Or, have any suggestions?
I can fit the sprocket without the tensioner (shown by the blue arrow), but with that tentioner in, I cant seem to get the sprocket on the cam.
U r not suppose to put the tensioner in until after u put on the cam gear. Snug the bolts, then put the tensioner in hand tight. Confirm timing with the tool then torque cam gear bolts.
