Preventive maintenance ? Other than IMS/water pump/AOS

My car is a 2001 996 with 24,000 miles 6sp What items should looked at other than the much discussed IMS/water pump And AOS ?

I'd say the drive belt given the age of the car, as well have the brake fluid or coolant been changed?

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IMS (B) is not a factory recognized serviceable item. If you want to go to an after market IMSB replacement that is something you'll have to decide. Is the water pump making noise? Showing any signs of leaking? Is the serpentine belt developing a sharp edge? If not then the water pump is ok. The AOS will let you know when it is time to replace it. Now even if the serpentine belt is ok -- no missing sections of the small V's and no other signs of distress -- it could be due to be changed on time. Consult the owners manual. Spark plugs likewise could be due to be changed based on time in service. Consult the owners manual. Engine air filter and cabin air filters might be due. Consult the owners manual. I can add that while the cabin air filter may not be that dirty they can develop an odor. Fuel filter might be due to be replaced. Consult the owners manual. The replacement interval might be based on miles only. I do not recall any replacement based on time/age. However, , although the replacement interval might be miles only, there being no time factor. BTW, while I have pointed you to the owners manual it is advisable to confer with your local dealer's SM to get a up to date service schedule. Sometimes Porsche revises the service schedule. It of course informs the dealer service department which is your best source for what needs doing when. Now before you jump to conclusions in a few cases the intervals are extended. Have you had the brake fluid flushed and bled? This is due every 2 years. Do the clutch slave cylinder at the same time. Is the space saver spare tire properly inflated? Even though the car has low miles I'd have the cooling system drained and refilled with fresh coolant were it my car.

I will say I just replaced the waterpump on my 996, its an 03 with 21k and I did it since it was 10 years old and some people are saying it should be done every 4 years of 50k. That being said the waterpump I took out was in fine working order and the impeller was not even close to being a little brittle... So that will have to be a decision you make.

cannot go wrong by following the recommended maintenance schedule

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I really liked reading this, thank you Macster. I was researching water pumps and deciding if I should just plan to replace it as a maintenance scheduled item.... Mine isn't making a noise, no leaks, and I just replaced the belt and the edges were not sharp. I'm planning to leave it alone. What is an AOS? I'm struggling with wanting to keep my car running 100% but don't want to do unnecessary work and replace perfectly good parts. I also know I am driving a 10 year old car with only 57,200 miles as of today. When I purchased the car at 50,000 mile 12/2012 I only new the clutch was recently replaced. I studied the factory recommended maintenance schedule and completed the following DIY: -Replace cabin and air filter (both dirty) -Spare tire worked when I got my first flat tire -Changed the brake fluid when I pulled all the wheels for new tires. -Replaced the drive belt. -Replaced the spark plugs and coils (coils had small cracks) -Changed oil and filter. I had two parts fail on me that I DIY replaced: -Turn signal switch -Frunk actuator the brakes seem to have 40-50% pad remaining and the drilled rotors are smooth with very little lip. There is a small amount of oil present on the right rear shock, but the tech though it was still fine and keep an eye on it. I don't even want to talk about the IMS, but I don't know any history of it with the prior owners so I'll assume it's original. I'm choosing to let it be. I'm thinking maybe the engine mounts are due for replacement and plan to ask the Porsche tech next month during inspection. What else is there to do?... I think I'm just going to drive it like I stole it and keep the maintenance schedule going for another 150K! Am I missing anything? Do I just wait for the water pump to "tell me"? Like I said, I'd like to keep the car's performance as close to 100% as I can without wasting time and money on unnecessary part swaps while achieving minimal risk of damages. Is that a hard goal? I'm interested in the feedback on that thought....

Change out the water pump before it starts to fail, unlike the IMSB which can grenade the engine quickly, the common believe of impeller blade debris from failing water pump is that the debris can plug cooling passage in the cylinder heads to silently cause localized overheating, which can lead to cracked heads even though the coolant temperature gauge shows normal temperature. The water pump is a bit of a pain, you WILL need a 10mm 1/4" drive deep socket and a 1/4" universal joint to get one of the water pump bolt out, you also need the universal to get a couple of the thermostat bolts off, which is what I did last summer putting a low temp thermostat at the same time as the water pump. Bleeding the system can be done much easily with the UVIW 550000 pump, it really does the job quickly, thoroughly, and effectively.

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AOS=Air Oil Separator. It WILL fail. But not a catastrophic event. Water pump might fail. Could be very bad depending on when it goes. IMS might fail. Probably not but but if it does, well....the time to deal with that was when the clutch was replaced. The oil leak you mentioned could be the rear main seal (RMS). Did your tech mention the source of the leak? If so, also a good time to do the IMS.

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First I've heard of the Air Oil Separator - thank you. I'll research it next. I inspected under the car with the tech. My PPI detected it too. It is a small amount of oil on the right rear shock piston. Both said not to worry unless it got worse. Hasn't in 7k...... I forgot to mention RMS. There is a small amount of oil located at the seal. The tech pointed it out and I see it every time I raise the car. It doesn't drip no matter how long it sits, but theres oil there. I wish I had asked the prior owner what all was done during the clutch replacement. So I am keeping an eye on two small oil sources under the body. Okay. Water pump=potential risk. When is the right time? I think 4 years 50K isn't right for me... I'm struggling to get my head around this one, but I understand the scenario.

I did all above plus, plugs, belts, water pump, radiator overflow tank, radiator fluid and transmission fluid at my 60k. The one thing I have learned is doing as much as you can while you are there is cheaper in the long run.

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NOW. So you get to worry less and enjoy driving more

Great advice on this thread. Most of which is included in either the recommended 30k or 60k service. The only thing I didn't see listed is the transaxle oil change. Here's the official Porsche schedule: http://www.porsche.com/usa/accessori...anceintervals/

Transaxle is one I have not done yet but am contemplating even though all is running fine. When are you guys replacing that?

Rather than just arbitrarily replacing the water pump, you may want to remove the serp belt and spend a moment verifying whether you can wiggle the water pump pulley from side to side. If the bearing is starting to go, you'll get some side-to-side play. If it isn't leaking and has no play, you're fine. It sounds like you've decided to replace the pump, but you need some way to gauge whether it (or its replacement) is starting to wear...otherwise, you'll just be chucking water pumps at it. Once the bearing starts losing integrity and allows the shaft to rock from side to side, the impeller blades (as you know) get sheared off and may get pumped throughout the cooling system, so this is a part that needs regular observation. Once the shaft starts to loosen up, replace it. If a leak develops where the shaft exits the pump, replace it. If neither of these are true, drive it. Rapidly. With gusto.

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Thank you for this recommendation.

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+996 and while you're at it, check the color of the coolant and think about flushing it. If you go the diagnostic route of the above, might as well do a alkaline test on the coolant to see if it even warrants replacing. I say look at the color of coolant as if they used the standard green stuff, there's a chance that it could be the phosphate version and prematurely wear your waterpump seals and other components in which case you'd want to flush it regardless and not take that chance.

As one who has had a water pump fail while driving I can assure you it is much easier and cheaper to replace it at your leisure than it is to miss several hours work while you wait for the wrecker to tow your vehicle to the shop to have it replaced or home to replace it yourself, in addition to the inherent hassle that goes along with that scenario. By all means check the bearing as described but since you don't know the pump's history it might be prudent to "start from scratch" with your maintenance plans, assuming the wear items need replacing. My two cents...

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Porsche says every 120k. I did mine at 96k, no idea if it had been done by a previous owner or not. No significant improvement in shift quality, so it was obviously doing its job. Yup. Far easier to do it as preventative maintenance on your own terms. When I buy cars I always catch them up on any scheduled maintenance that I don't have records for, as well as any common issues that could potentially leave me stranded. As someone that actually drives their Porsche, preventative maintenance is far cheaper than it breaking down in another state.