"new" C4S and engine rebuild; bad bore score

New to the 996 forum but been over on the 958 forum for quite a while. I now have a lovely black 2004 C4S to compliment my black Cayenne GTS. Quite a good looking combo We also have a black 987 Cayman S, silver 996.1 cabriolet and 997 cabriolet in the extended family. I was looking for a new project and found this 2004 C4S with 86,000 miles on it, basically as a roller as it needed some serious engine work. I was looking for something to do to keep my sanity but most importantly something that my kids (6 and 8) had shown interest in...this was something we could make memories for years to come in and I feel like I deserve it. The previous owner had owned the car for many years and had obviously taken stellar care of the car...but the dreaded bore scoring reared its ugly head. The car had been off the road for some time before he deiced to sell. I found the car online and had been watching it for a few weeks; it had sold twice before but got re-listed again!! I was a bit cautious but decided to reach out and see. So glad I did, the owner was a super nice guy and extremely open and honest! After some serious online discussions which turned into FaceTime calls, lots of pacing on my side and finally a deal.This was my first time buying anything of the magnitude sight unseen and had a load of questions. I was looking for a C4S in particular, wanted a manual but ended up with a Tiptronic. I may swap the transmission later on, we'll see. For some reason I really wanted a car with a rear wiper, must be the Brit in me?? However, there are so many plusses on this car, I can overlook the wiper. Car was delivered to me via enclosed trailer on my wife's birthday, which was fitting as my Cayenne was actually built on her birthday. A neat connection, I think. The C4S ran under its own power but had very noticeable piston slap and smoked. I had to jump the car to get it started upon delivery and figured I'd take it for a quick spin. The piston slap and smoking on start up was pretty bad but mostly dissipated after 15 seconds or so. The slapping noise was bearable but the smoke became so bad once moving, I turned around after about 200 feet. I was afraid it would grenade in front of my house! So I've driven my new to me C4S about 400 feet since owning it.... So after a few pics with the kids and a thorough inspection inside and underneath to see what I had, the 996 has claimed its new spot in the garage and is ready for some TLC.... Car is in phenomenal shape, with only 1 small ding below the drivers door. I felt great about it because I could tell the PO took care of it and kept it in tip top shape. The rear spoiler and front bumper will need some paint work to be perfect but overall I was/am extremely pleased. Everything works; AC is cold, no broken or missing bits, even both of the vanity mirrors in the visors are 100% functional. Few additional goodies are the GT3 rims, new touchscreen double din receiver with all the latest fancy tech, integrated bluetooth microphone, H&R lowering springs with Bilstein shocks, adjustable suspension arms, GT2LM wing, new engine mounts, Fabspeed exhaust and near perfect condition inside and out. The frunk has flat black vinyl on it which I may remove. Options included: X46-Aluminium Tiptronic selector lever X54-Stainless steel tailpipes X71-Alu-look instrument faces X98-Handbrake lever with aluminium inlay 249-Tiptronic transmission, 5-speed 288-Headlamp washer 342-Seat heating 416-18" 996.2 GT wheels (width specific to model) 432-Tiptronic buttons for steering wheel 601-Litronic (xenon) headlamps 680-Bose sound system (analog) LONG GONE! 939-D raped leather rear seats 982-Draped leather front seats 09991- has leather dash, brushed 4S door sills, alcantara headliner so I'm assuming these were part of that exclusive package? Still trying to sort out what this option package has. Plans are Nickies 4.0 build and maybe back to the original wing. Undecided on whether or not to leave the rear lights and reflector strip on the deckled as tinted. I do like the look though as it matches the oem tail lights on my GTS. I like the ride height but will honestly need to go back to the oem turbo/4S springs to get around town. More to come....

Oh wow man that's a nice set up of cars.

Good luck, sounds like its in pretty rough shape engine but a great starting point to build around otherwise. Feel like if you are thinking about doing a manual swap the time to do it is with the rebuild. Not sure how involved it is on these cars though.

Fast forward 4 weeks and the engine has been totally pulled apart. The block halves are up at LN Engineering, waiting their turn in line and the heads are at Hoffman automotive. LN is providing all the of the parts for the Nickies 4.0 block and IMS shaft service. Hoffman has pressure tested both heads and now has them in cue for a full refresh and stage 1 port and polish. I was convinced that one of them was cracked due to the coolant in oil but they both passed. Thinking now that the oil cooler had failed. I have a new one waiting but would love to know the actual cause. Thanks to my fellow Porsche nut who has been helping me with the teardown and provided the 101 Projects for the 996 book. He's on the hunt for a 996 as well so hopefully we'll add one more to the "family" soon... Fabspeed exhaust coolant in oil, this was a bit of a surprise.... sludge, yeah ignore the Glyco bearings, they're not for this car.

When I first cranked it up, the the oil pressure was good. I checked the on board computer and it said the oil level was full to the top. I didn't know about the coolant in the oil at this point but was thinking something was wrong. I'm glad I didn't drive too far as the bearings were toast..... tiny piece of metal, not sure what this is from. IMS bearing seemed to be in great shape. guides weren't too bad... Not sure what this is? Any ideas?

Is the e30 a real Alpina or a tribute?

best part of all was the bore scoring ....... Previous owner had it scoped out by an independent shop and knew what was going on here. He was very up front about the condition and started the car for me over FaceTime so I could hear it slap. We both knew it would require a new engine, but that's exactly what I wanted. smooth as sandpaper Cost to date is just over $13,000 in all new parts and machining services (almost done), I'm currently at a point where I'm basically waiting on the block to move forward. I will change the brake fluid between now and then and may replace the rotors/pads. They have some life left in them but...... The crankshaft was sent off to be magnafluxed and thankfully had zero issues. It was within spec and perfectly balanced so just had a nice polish and I picked it up the same afternoon. It's now installed in the cage (clearances checked on rods and mains) with 3 rods connected. Assembly is wrapped in plastic on my work bench and now we wait. Anticipated time frame is 8 weeks for the block halves and 10 weeks for the heads. I spent maaaaaany hours price shopping across various sites and have a pretty in depth spreadsheet of part numbers, costs, torque values, tips and tricks for when the rebuild starts up, etc. I've watched countless hours of YouTube videos and referenced a lot of awesome build and info posts from this very forum. Injectors are hard to find at the moment. Make sure your Bosch replacements have this hologram and code to enter to ensure they're genuine. all new bolts throughout All wrapped up and waiting.... Nothing like a good book next to a gas fire hahaha....

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Thanks!! I've read differing stories, some say impossible but that's more fuel for my desire to do so. haha While every piece on it is true Alpina, it is a tribute. Bought new back in 1987 and built up to C2 spec since they weren't available in the US. Decided to put an S50 M3 engine in here a few years ago. Original paint and original interior (except for the drivers side bolster).

" glad I didn't drive too far as the bearings were toast....." ^^^ You can say that again! Good call... beautiful looking car - it'll be amazing when you get the new engine in The "Alpina" looks pretty amazing in it's own right... Almost forgot... Did you even realize that there was an intermix?

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Beautiful car and the S50 is a nice touch. I did a Hartge tribute.

A lot of work, but I’ll bet it will be worth it. What pistons you going back with?

Great update. Those bearings were toast, wonder why this engine had those issues.

Well, this escalated quickly. Looking forward to the outcome. The rear of the 4s seems to squat pretty low. Factory suspension?

very cool! when you get the cylinders and pistons back, I'd be....we'd all be very interested in the piston to cylinder clearance.

You guys are so lucky! I’d love to have a 320 of that vintage. Maybe I should start looking... I’be got an ‘04 C4S and I’m getting closer to taking it up to Ft. Meyers for the solution install. I’d sleep better with that done and they’ll look at the bores at that time. Great watching the engine rebuild! TC

Great thread! Very impressive project and storytelling. The 996 looks beautiful and it will be a keeper when the motor is sorted

Nice, Looking forward to updates, I'd love to get a copy of that excel sheet - ya know, just in case I am guilty of seizing on to others hard work for my own benefit. PS - I would LOVE to see you take the opportunity to put a 6 SPD in the car while she's under the knife.

Great project! The engine designation that you are working with notoriously has tight bearing clearances. I can see based on the bearing wear, that this one was a classic example of this. A lot of times replacement bearings end up being even a little tighter. I would definitely measure every rod and main bearing clearance. Great work thus far!

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I did not!! Was a little bit of a surprise. Thanks! Love the Hartge tribute!! Great color, is it Henna?? I think it will Pistons are part of the 4.0 package through LN Engineering. I believe they are JE Pistons. haha, it did and thanks! Suspension is not oem but H&R springs with Bilstein shocks. It sits pretty low.. Thanks! My daughter has already claimed it for when she gets her license (she's 6....) hahaha That's what this forum is for, sharing information!! I am seriously debating a 6 speed swap. I'm so eager to drive this car though that it may be a project for later. Cheers for that. And thanks for sharing all the info you do. I've watched your live feeds on YouTube and scoured your posts on here. I remember somewhere you writing that the crank wouldn't turn until the last case bolt is torqued and angled properly. You weren't joking!!!

A little bit more tinkering done today. Removed the Tiptronic shifter and emergency brake assembly...just to see what's under there while I contemplate a 6 speed. I did find over $2 in change Tiptronic shifter came out in no time! Console, shifter and emergency brake removed. Checked out under the frunk as well, the brake fluid reservoir already has the clutch feed nipple so that was a nice surprise. The grommets and mounts are all there for a simple bolt in of the clutch master and all the hydraulic lines. Again, as everyone has said, the bolt on part is easy. The wiring will be the challenge. I'm scouring through workshop manuals and wiring diagrams to sort this out. "IF" I swap in the 6 speed, I'll probably leave all the Tiptronic wiring and module in there but unplugged where I can. Not worried about the weight, the C4S is not exactly lightweight. clutch line nipple Lucas? There's a joke there for lovers of old English cars... under dash, looking up where the clutch pedal would go Everyone seems to say the wiring harnesses in these cars are specific and not universal. I haven't researched anything on this yet but does anyone know what this plug is for? random plug under batwing same plug to show the wiring colors Managed to get the engine oil guide in place with gaskets and torqued down, also new chain guides and hardware installed for the intermediate shaft to crankshaft chain. The intermediate shaft is going off to LN Engineering to be pinned, so this was more of a photo opportunity than anything. Comparison of the old and new timing chains. Just a little bit of wear and stretch. I was on the fence about replacing these but glad I did. new versus old chains just a little bit of wear on the old chains (first and third) The wait to get my block halves back is agonizing!!! I've organized, cleaned, moved stuff around and even sat in the car making engine noises. It's going to be a looooong 10 weeks. May just have to source a 6 speed kit in the meantime.....

I'm contemplating adding some paddle shifters to a used six speed steering wheel, that is once I get past making sure I don't have your problem creeping up. The controls on the wheel the way they are now don't do it for me.

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Former MGB and early Land Rover owner here. It's for the phone option. 12v switched and unswitched If you want to use it without hacking the plug off, you can buy a pigtail from Becker Autosound. Yes, Henna. It's a '84 323i European market first sold in Frankfurt. Is yours Zinno?

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Really nice work and write up. Thanks! Did you get a chance to look at cam deviations before taking it apart? It looks like one of the chains has stretched more than the other. It would be interesting to know whether the cam deviations match this.

I read through the posts but did not see if you mentioned what caused the intermix? Did you find a cracked head or cracked cylinder?

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Cool, thanks for that tidbit of info. Saved me a bit of time. Henna is a great color!! Yep, my e30 is zinno. My mum bought it new back in 1987, I remember riding home from the dealership in it. Thanks! I didn't even think to check the deviation. It ran fine and idled smooth, just a bit loud and smokey from the piston slap. Not 100% sure yet what caused it. Len Hoffman said both heads passed the pressure test. I did not see any visible cracks in the cylinder bores but a couple of them were in a bit of a sad state with scoring. Have not heard back from LN Engineering yet to see if they found anything but will update when I do. I'm leaning towards oil cooler. Head gaskets were both in great shape when I removed the heads.

Found the transmission control unit pinout for a 996.1 in the workshop manual. Does anyone know if the pinouts are the same for the 996.2? I want to say I've read they are the same but the wires may be different colors? Seems like there's not as much .2 workshop info out there (that I've found)?? Diagram attached for anyone that could use it

The bentey manuals have the diagrams

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Glad to see this is a thing, I work in the UAV world(aka drones) and our ground control stations have a big *** access panel... we warn people not to open them and let out magic dust because we're doomed if we do.

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👍🏻Part 107 Remote Pilot here. Love to see one of your birds!

Nice rebuild, the wiring for the 996.1 tip is different. It's really not the wiring or mechanical side of the swap it's the programming. The tip is tied into everything they all cross check each other, you simply can not just unplug the module. When you get the wiring diagram for the 996.2 tip you will see it effects many systems, Instrument Cluster, PSM, Engine DME and more. If you get it done it will be an interesting journey, good luck I'm in for the count.

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Thanks! Ive been talking with a couple of other members that have done a tip-->manual swap already, so I have a bit of a crutch now! I've reached out to a few local places regarding the PIWIS but haven't heard anything back yet. I'm dying to drive this car this summer so I may end up putting off the 6 speed swap until this winter. 50+ hour work week, a 1st and 2nd grader doing the school thing from home, a wife that works full time, daddy duties, etc. etc. My "free" time is hard to come by and I don't want to miss the nice summer nights with the windows down and sunroof open.... Since I'm bored, I'm looking for stuff to do before the block halves make their way back. It must be the English in me but I love the look of the rear wiper on the C4S, so going to add one. Yes, the drilling in a pristine body scares the hell out of me (I'd rather do a 6 speed swap!!!!) but its not too bad of a job overall. The C4S has a specific part number for the rear motor ( 996.628.080.01). N ot sure how it's different from the other 996 rear wiper motor (.00) but I'm not planning on chancing it. I keep reading that the rear panel will have to be cut out and the correct one welded in. Rather discouraging but since I had a bit of time, I decided to pull the back trim cover off. Lo and behold, the rear wiper assembly bolt mounts are there and a hole in the first layer of metal to use as a guide..... So now I may as well add a rear view camera I've been debating about at the same time. Why? Well... My head unit is a double din and has the back up camera function built in. My console, shifter and emergency brake are out. Already 75% of the way there removing interior and exteriors bits anyway. I'm feeling old today and have a muscle pain in my neck LOL So if anyone has parts of the harness, plugs, rear wiper switch, rear wiper arm etc, let me know! I've been talking with a guy on eBay about his C4S specific motor....It's a really good deal so I think I've got that sourced.

C4S rear wiper motor and dash button incoming. Wiring is fairly straight forward per the diagrams. Does anyone have a parts car with a rear wiper that wouldn't mind cutting the pink plug at the dash button, the 3 prong plug at the rear wiper motor, the rear wiper arm and as much of the wiring as feasible? I know its a long shot but I figured I would ask The plug looks like this yellow one ..... but is pink Plug needed at rear wiper is the 3 prong connector at the top right, Also, waiting on the rear view camera to arrive today so I'll have something to tinker with this week...... Cheers....

part number for pink connector is 99965011140 Still trying to decipher the 3 pin plug for the rear wiper motor. (pic below originally taken by pbfz)

Rear wiper arrived. Interesting thing is that the wiper harness connector I've been pulling my hair out over has a BMW part number on it. Still trying to track down the part number for it's "mate" Also ordered the rear view camera, check out what was on the back of the box. I might get something done on the car this weekend. Looking like I'll be pulling the rear seat and carpet up in an effort to track down the future harness routing for the rear wiper and cabling for the rear view camera.

@e30rapidic From your earlier post: " I keep reading that the rear panel will have to be cut out and the correct one welded in. Rather discouraging but since I had a bit of time, I decided to pull the back trim cover off. Lo and behold, the rear wiper assembly bolt mounts are there and a hole in the first layer of metal to use as a guide..." Do you think that's true of all 996 4s?

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not sure, the parts diagram shows two part numbers specific to the 4S and references the M425 rear wiper package for one of them. Mine doesn't have the package but has the proper rear panel. May be worth a look? took 10 seconds to pop the back panel off. http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-p...section=801-35

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Are you looking for a complete Porsche harness or just the female plug? If you just need the plug you could use the BMW part.

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Perfect!!! Thanks for that! Wouldn't happen to have the complete harness from dash plug to wiper plug by chance? Would you consider parting with it? Actually got a bit done tonight, pulled out the rear interior to run the rear camera wire through the brake light grommet. I intend to add all the new wire in with the existing harness, not just random quick paths. Bose subwoofer and factory carpet removed. I used this grommet that had an extra nipple in it. I passed the front half of the camera wire through here and out by the left rear tail light. Corrugated plastic looking line is the rear sunroof drain line. side panel removed. You can see the sunroof drain line run down the roof line and out above the rear wheel. Seat belt tensioner is unattached ind rotated forward in this photo. A but tight in there. But hey, the upper shock mounts look to be in decent shape. wires pulled through larger grommet and then through the taillight wiring grommet. The camera harness comes in two pieces...I put the connector here so I can easily unplug the two halves and leave the camera in the bumper should I need to remove it. I'll tap into the reverse light wire here and use a local ground point. So here's a top tip for ya..... If you have the battery disconnected and plan on ever doing anything in the back seat, make sure you move the electric seats forward before disconnecting the battery. If you're anything over 4'3, working back there with the front seats all the way back is, well, a bastard. Nothing like trying to get a bolt out at a weird angle and having your calf cramp and not able to stretch it. Backing out of the door was a bit like an elephant being born backwards I suppose. Not much faster either.

little more progress, got the knock out panel for the rear wiper shaft out. Dug out my 90 degree drill to put a pilot hole in the knock out plate. Used a unibit to drill up to a 1/4" hole. Unscientifically checking depth to the exterior body panel using a screwdriver. Depth gauge to exterior panel. I then used a 1/4" drive extension on a socket to break the tack on the knock out plate. A bit of wiggling and one side popped out. Bend back the other way and the knock out plate popped right off.... And now I take a deep breath. Not willing to push my luck anymore today (not to mention nervous about drilling into the exterior panel) so I'm going to wait until my buddy comes over tomorrow for a second set of eyes.....

Today, I decided to drill a hole in the my 911. I bench tested the wiper motor I got from eBay, and all was well. Then my rear wiper switch showed up. So...... Measure and mark your pilot hole five times from the inside, then five from the outside. Build a tool to centre the pilot hole. Then hit the drill bit on the hole from the inside. Remove everything and make sure the drill mark is lined up. Put it all back together and take a break. Come back to the car, sit in the back seat and stare at it. Take another break. Look at pics of C4S's on the web to make sure you think the drill will pop through in the right spot. Face time with your old man. Take fifty pics from inside the car, Get out the shop light and work mirror. Swear under your breath. Pull the trigger on the drill and nothing. Realise you unplugged the drill getting in/out the car. Plug the drill in. Damn, now I've lost my nerve. Verify again. Close your eyes. Hear the metal of your 996 screech as the drill starts turning. Drill for 20 seconds and then the drill bit punches all the way through. drop the F bomb and realize your way past the point of no return... 20mm socket will fit perfectly into the hole from the knock out. Tiny socket inside the larger socket to get a centered pilot hole drilled. My pilot hole centering tool in place. This is where I stopped and took my first contemplation break. Tiny pilot hole drilled from the inside, then one size larger hole drilled from the outside. One hole larger, let there be light.... Pulled out the unibit to get one step larger at at time, then back into the car to see how the wiper shaft was lining up. FInally!!! Poking Through.....and I'd say I nailed it. Used the unibit to drill out to 7/8", that's as large as my unibit will go. The hole needs to be 26mm but works just fine for the mock up. Grommet installed and wiper motor bolted in. Test fit. I still need the speed nut for the back hole. I'm stoked. I'm one of the few that actually love the look of the rear wiper on these cars....

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I was about to say earlier, in all my years on the Porsche forum, I've never seen one person want the rear wiper. My 996 had it stock and the past owner scratched the paint by putting it in service position while washing the car. Pressure washing it one day and the pressure hit the wiper... It snapped back and spun around... and.... scrrrratch! But if you like the idea of having the wiper, then more power to you. Good thread!

Rear wiper arm and motor connector were finally delivered today. With that I got motivated to run all the wiring for the rear wiper and continue the rear camera wiring. To do it properly, I pulled the carpet and interior trim up and ran the wiring in the factory harness. Easy to pop the tabs, open the top of the tray, insert wires and pop closed. I ran the wires in the harness all the way to the front of the drivers door. Ended up unbolting the drivers seat and rotating it for some extra clearance along the rail. new wiring routed inside the factory harness tray test fit! Now I have to hook the wiring in on the front end, then tie in to the fuse and switch for power. I removed the rear wiper arm, don't want to test the switch and my wiring skills with the arm on there. I bench tested the motor but have no idea where in the sweep it is.

Did some more tinkering today. Kind of like three steps forward, one step back though. Pulled the front bumper off as it needs to be repaired and repainted; it got backed into it in its previous life and cracked the paint. Will also fill the front plate holes. I'm also debating on having the large rear bumperette holes filled and painted over but my paint guy wants to see it in person before he commits. Otherwise I'll paint the bumperettes. Since the front bumper was off, decided to pull the air shrouds and clean out between the radiator and condenser. Not too much crud but enough to make it worth the five extra minutes. Part of my plan was to pull the GT2 wing off and replace with a stock decklid, and put on a set of turbo twists in place of the GT wheels.....but it looks like the GT2 wing has scratched the decklid. So it's probably going to be put back on after some TLC and the GT wheels will remain. I have to flatten the slope somewhere, haha. Front bumper in need of some paintwork... Thankfully no major damage, just cracked and chipped paint. Very few leaves in the passenger side. A few leaves and some silver foil in the drivers sides. Not sure what the spot is on the condenser, hopefully not a leak. Not visible on the back side and the AC works fine. Removed the GT2 wing as I was contemplating running the stock wing. Unfortunately it looks like the wing has marred the paint up pretty badly. I'll take a closer look later but I'm pretty sure they're scratches and not buildup. Bit of a bummer. Coolant is still dripping from the car, even though the motor has been out over two months!! Ugly. Ugly again. Was indifferent about the flat black vinyl on the frunk but decided to pull it off. Had some help for about 2 minutes. They decided this was no fun at all and went back to riding bikes and playing basketball All the wrap removed. Some rock chips but overall the paint is in good shape. The marks are from where the wrap pulled off; some elbow grease and wax will make it look much better. One last pic because it shows how wide the rear tyres are that lovely fender curve!

If you haven't put the rear bumper back on, can you see a model number for the connector for the license plate lights, the car side? Mine, there's almost nothing left to it. The bumper side is fine, and while I can substitute any pair of suitable two pin weathertight connector, I'd like to source the real thing if I could. I'd rather not cut up a used harness for one small connector, though having some spares for other parts is tempting.

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Just hook the battery back up and move the front seats... better yet, just take them out (you�ll still have to move them forward to do this though) only 4 bolts each! 👍

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I pulled the plug out but no part number on it anywhere. Looking through the wiring diagram and picture, it references 999.650.013.40 but that shows up as a cable clamp? Not much to go on, sorry. Yep, I ended up pulling the fuel pump fuse and hooking the battery back up to slide the seat all the way forward. A couple of days later, I just removed the seat. Laying on the floor with legs up on the folded down back seat is actually quite comfy. 👍 I stayed in that position for a while staying up at the pedals, contemplating the work on the six speed swap. Again....

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Thank you for looking. I wanted get back on the road so I spliced in a similar, but not oem connector from Oreilly's. It'll work for now until I find the correct part.

Think it will look much better without the random matte vinyl hood. Its also a black car so you are fighting a losing battle one way or another, don't know if I can bring myself to ever own a black car again.

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Agree, it does look better without the matte hood. I've got two black Porsches now When they are clean, they look phenomenal. Five minutes later...they show every speck of dust haha

exciting day today.... A couple of boxes showed up from LN Engineering......and a couple more from Hoffman!!

4.0 Nickies block and associated parts from LN Engineering as well as refreshed and ported heads from Matt & Len at Hoffman Automotive.

Sexy stuff, looks like all you are missing is my video and workbook!!!

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Better than Christmas! It's gonna be great!

Looking good, how long did you have to wait for everything?

Looks great. May be going through the same process as well later this year. Any concern with the stock rods and 4.0 displacement? I’m debating 3.8 vs 4.0.

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If you plan on ever autocrossing or tracking the car, upgraded rods are a must when going past the 99mm.

Some progress last night, spent about two hours doing the rings for three cylinders. I love this type of stuff. My engine building buddy is coming over this afternoon, so we'll put these pistons/rods together, make sure the ring gaps are aligned how they need to be and get them in the block half. I have to wait for the intermediate shaft to come back before I can drop the crank case in and connect them. We'll get the other three rings gapped and pistons put together, ready for the next step. Slow and steady, lots of preparation, double preparation, checking, double checking, cleaning, double cleaning and care. Did I mention I love this type of stuff?

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Thanks for everything you have and continue to put out there to help us with these builds. I have your vids in one of my shopping carts, if I get in a bind, I'll order them. Thanks! haha it IS better than Christmas!!!! I was originally quoted 10-12 weeks for the block but they came in right at 10 weeks. So thanks to Charles and all at @ LN Engineering for a nice surprise, I know they are crazy busy. Heads took the same amount of time. I shipped everything out in the same week and it was just pure coincidence that I received everything on the same day. Was on the fence but it's not going to be "tracked" outside of some Charity Laps at VIR. I did upgrade the rod bolts for some peace of mind. Thanks for this tidbit. but it won't get tracked or auto crossed. Not saying it will be babied but it will certainly not be abused. Its going be spirited drives home from work and to the kids soccer games and dance recitals BIG Thanks to all of you at LN Engineering, especially George and Stephen!!

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Based on your plans that you stated for assembly order, you need the video now. You just don�t know it yet. That�s the thing about the video, it saves your *** without you even knowing it.

still soldiering on.... All rings gapped at .0020" and .0018" and assembled into the pistons. Oil rings only stated a minimum of .0015". I had well over .0020", not much I can do there but call it good. The wrist pins have been in the freezer since I received them (don't tell the wife...also don't tell her the IMS bearing is in there too). Wrist pins slid in nicely with just my thumbs...but a 5/8" socket also works perfectly. garage temp wrist pin temp 5/8" socket will work perfectly to push the wrist pin all the way in. Still waiting on the intermediate shaft so no other assembly I can do at the moment. While waiting around I got a wild hair (aka bored) and wanted to see what I could do to help someone on a budget rebuild their engine. While there is no substitute for the real tools, I did dig around and came up with an idea for my own circlip install tool using things I already had. I got a piece of 1" o.d. conduit cut down to a manageable length, polished up the inside about an inch deep and deburred the edges where I had cut it. I used a 14mm deep socket and long extension as the "plunger". The JE circlips do not have the hook on them so I didn't need to notch the end of the conduit. However I did mark (or index) the outside of the shaft so I could line up the opening of the circlip with the notch in the opening once installed. Call it backyard, shadetree or even hack but as you can see, it worked out really well. I used plenty of assembly lube but wiped it off for the photos. Hopefully it will help someone else out to save a few $$$'s and keep it fun. 1" conduit before cleaning the end up cut to length in anticipation of it working and using it to install the circlips inside the case half fits the piston skirt hole perfectly testing various size sockets to use as the "plunger" final result (after wiping the assembly lube off for the photo). Other side will be oriented 180 degrees in case I ever need to remove the wrist pin. One thing to note, since these circlips don't have the little hooks on them, you want the opening of the circlip away from the notch in the piston skirt hole. Makes it much easier if you ever need to remove the circlips down the road! quick video I made, don't laugh! You Tube

Had a free morning and some time to disassemble, clean and reassemble the exhaust lifters. Quite a bit of oil/coolant mix in them, pretty funky stuff. The exhaust lifters are all reassembled and squishy waiting in the lifter tray. I'll soak them in all in new oil and use a vacuum pump to get them primed back up before final install. When disassembling, I labelled each lifter with the location but kept both banks separated and wrote on the outside of the ziplock bag which side was which. The sharpie marks on the lifters were kind of hard to see so if you plan on storing them long term, stand them upright or the oil will dilute your markings off. plunger removed and disassembled retainer, spring, check ball, 2 piece plunger assembly and spring, then lifter body. the hole in my old skool pliers held the retainer cap with spring and ball perfectly to help with reassembly. Lifters lined up in order. One wipe and the Sharpie markings came off so make sure to do one at a time so you know the order. Here are drivers side, numbers 2-6, all soaked in oil/coolant before disassembly. This was a pretty messy operation with all of the old oil mix draining out. A necessary step though as I didn't want any contaminated oil circulating through the engine for break in. Now I need to sort out if/how the intake lifters are rebuildable. Can anybody chime in? Happy Easter....

Slight change of pace this weekend. New Mahle valve cover gaskets (with slight film of gasket maker), Beru ignition coils and Bosch spark plugs in my Cayenne GTS. I change the oil every 7,500-8,000 miles and use Ceratec oil additive and LiquiMoly 5W-40 with each oil change, have done so for the last 80,000 miles. Re-pinned Intermediate Shaft arriving from LN Engineering tomorrow, so the M96 4.0 build can continue. Also going to pick up another 996.1 C2 on Sunday for a close friend. Almost as excited about that one as I am with mine! Going to be a fun summer....

Got the final piece of the puzzle delivered yesterday; reconditioned and pinned intermediate shaft from LN Engineering!! New IMS bearing installed, new chains and guides attached. Will have some more interesting updates coming soon..... And don't worry, the paper towels are for wiping hands and the workbench.

More progress.....and SUCCESS! Pistons 1-3 are easy to install, come to find out pistons 4-6 are easy to do as well. I don't want to say disappointingly easy but certainly anticlimactic. Since this is a one-off build, I decided to improvise rather than drop the silly money on the special tools for a one time use. For the spacers, I just double stacked two 1/2 drive sockets and used the old head bolts. For the wrist pin insertion and wrist pin lock tool, I used a piece of scrap electrical conduit and a 14mm socket on a long extension. I have thirty feet of aluminum oxide cloth roll so made sure the edges were deburred, level and smooth. An old e30 axle flange was the hammer......it fit in the hand great and has some nice mass to it to ensure the locks seated properly. Is it jackleg? Yes! Did it work perfectly? HECK YES! Quite a sense of accomplishment in that I improvised successfully and seated all three wrist pin locks the first time with homemade tools. Double stacked sockets for spacers. Heres the jackleg wrist pin and wrist pin lock insertion tool that I made out of electrical conduit and a 14mm socket. Above shot for reference, you can see the socket aligns everything perfectly. Borescope pic of first wrist pin seated...on the first try. Satisfying!! Although the iPhone picture is 500x clearer as the borescope resolution was on its lowest setting. oops Better picture of the middle piston with the wrist pun lock in place. Black marks are not scratches but assembly lube off my glove Final wrist pin lock inserted, ready for the cover to go on. Crankcase halves are now a whole. Next step is to install the guides, button up everything in the sump and put the sump cover on. Haven't decided yet if I want to turn the engine around and mount in the stand from the front or just put it on a hydraulic table to install the rest of the bits. My oil pump housing is nasty looking as I haven't cleaned it yet. I can't put it on looking like it does. I'll get that cleaned up and installed before I put the IMS bearing cover/guide in place. And then Sunday, this happened. 702 mile round trip with a buddy to pick up his 1999 Carrera. What a blast!!!

Got a free hour after work while the wife and kids were playing tennis. Managed to get the oil pickup, swirl pots and lower sump cover installed. Test fit of one cylinder head, just to see. I took over 1,000 pictures when I disassembled the engine but couldn't find one with the timing chain guide layout. Something to look up tonight....

Been a while since I updated this thread...but a lot has happened! Engine/trans is ready to be installed into the car! Filled with Driven BR oil and new transaxle fluid. NO drips haha Over the course of the six month build, I managed to lose the AC compressor spacer. New one on order but back ordered until 04JUN. Not a big deal as I disconnected the AC compressor from the engine but left the hoses attached. Everything else can go back in except the serpentine belt.Hope to get the engine installed this week and then just wait on the AC spacer. Bought a bigger boat for the family so we plan to spend a few days at the coast with it. Life is good! roof racks - why not?

I see your water line to AOS plastic connector broke. Did you replace with metal one?

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no, replaced with the plastic one

No fuel and pulled the fuel pump fuse, just to be safe. After a few short cranks on the brand new battery, the oil pressure started to build. I'll prime it up again, then put some fuel in it and try to give her a start on Friday or so. I'm getting a brake pedal fault code that wasn't there before, which is weird because I haven't done anything to the brake system. Also an airbag fault which is new. Minor issues.... Now I have to wait for the AC compressor spacer for final fitment and serpentine install, and front driveshaft seal before I can take for a spin. Will be a looooong 2 weeks

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Tex gave me this part # 99610622652PRM. I ordered from Rockauto. It�s metal instead of plastic. My plastic one just crumbled when touched!

small update - IT LIVES!!! Added 3 gallons of fresh gas but ran rough. Threw a bank 2 crank sensor code....turns out the sensor wasn't clipped in tight. Clipped it in and it ran so much better. Intake isn't on tight so its still a bit rough.... Now I wait for the AC compressor spacer so I can put the compressor, serpentine belt and intake back in and driveshaft seal for the front driveshaft. Its loud......

I've been following along, it's been a cool journey to watch! Are you planning to dyno the car? I'd really like to see the power gains. Nice work!

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Congratulations! What a journey! Can't wait till it is running right and back on the road!

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Appreciate that. I'll get her on the dyno for a proper tune and post the numbers. Hopefully I'll get that 6 speed swap done this winter. Thanks!! me either, excited to finally drive it!! Want to know what awesome customer service is? Steven from LN Engineering reached out to me. He had an extra AC compressor spacer and sent it to me!!! How cool is that?? What an awesome gesture on his behalf! I can't say thank you enough! So tonights goal was to get the AC compressor back in and the serpentine belt on. Things went so well I managed to get the intake and air box all buttoned up as well. So you know what came next..... Primed the engine, replaced fuel pump fuse, turned the key and it instantly fired up. What a great feeling. Only let it run for a few seconds as its air cooled right now and not water cooled. Hopefully I can get the transmission and cooling system filled up over the weekend and of course get all the dash warnings to turn off. Video You Tube First drive is so close now!!

What a great feeling it is to fire it up and hear it run, isn't it. The guys at LN are great. Awesome thread.

Great thread makes me wish i took mechanical engineering or worked in a high end Porsche shop to do my mechanical work instead of paying for it your thread made it look less scary Good luck with the Porsche and if you every decided to sell please contact me especially since we are e30 relatives thanks Mike

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Thanks! I never had any formal training. just grew up without any money so had to fix my stuff when it broke. Then got into racing where I HAD to do my own work or watch everyone else..lol Nice e30 M3!!

cold start! You Tube

I love the red S so had to do one myself... and FINALLY out of the garage under its own power!!! Didn't go far though, just into the driveway for a much needed bath. Still need to bleed coolant and verify the trans is full. Ride height is a bit too low for me though, want to find some ROW or stock TT/C4S springs. Hopefully off to the DMV to get her registered this week and start cruising. A true detail is also in the near future.....

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Curious, what suspension is on the car now? I did the same thing with my "S", but I bought a new one and painted it single stage catalyzed red I had from an aircraft I painted. It does look much better doesn't it?

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H&R 29466 - have they just sagged? The H&R site says 1" drop front and rear but I'm almost 2" lower than the other 996. I've even doubled up the bottom spring perch in the rear. I don't want to put a set of Eibachs on if they're going to be just as low. I'd prefer stock.

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Thanks for the reply. That's pretty interesting that those would do that. I have no experience with lowering springs other than my sons 350Z with Eibachs. He has had no problems so far and they have been on the car for about 6 years. I understand not wanting it THAT low, it's just a pain. I would like to go to "030 Row" height. I have been following your post, very exciting. Wishing you good success with this project.

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Appreciate the kind words! I've had a set of Eibach on my e30 for at least 20 years. I don't drive it much but I did notice that the front end had a lot more understeer that normal on my last drive. Everything checked out so I'm wondering if the springs have given in? Can't complain though.....

Added 15mm hub centric spacers and longer bolts all around today. No time to get the car out of the garage for better pics but I'm totally pleased with the results. Hopefully I can get plates tomorrow and actually get out of the driveway..... Chemical brothers detail kit incoming shortly so I can give her a full detail. The C4S is quickly becoming my favorite car to look at in the garage..... BEFORE INSTALL: AFTER INSTALL: The "to do" list is getting really short now..... suss out the ride height (need to raise a bit) possibly swap colored Porsche crests on the wheels in place of the 4S set bumper and rear spoiler re-spray full detail roof rack accessory for the bike and board red seat belts manual swap is still on the wish list

Took her out for the first official drive, what a fun car!!! Had some oil smoke burn off from the residual oil in the exhaust pipes but it's almost all gone now. Did an easy 3 mile round trip to the park to see the kids and the gas station. Wanted to show some love with the LN Engineering sticker. I just need one now from Len and Matt at Hoffman Heads! few additional horsepower from the LNE sticker barely make it out the driveway not worth replacing the front lip anytime soon.....

What a fun car!! started out with a few small drives close to home, then a few drives to work and finally bit the bullet and did a 240 mile road trip. Will pop over 500 miles this week and ready to drop the sump and do the first oil change. The 4.0 is smooth as silk and really comes alive after about 3200 rpm's. Its running great on the stock tuned ecu now but plan to dyno tune sometime in the fall. I have turn around and look at it every time I walk away. Took this pic walking up from the driveway, angle was perfect. got all the toys together for a family pic The kid hauler doing a photo bomb and father in laws cabriolet A friends 996 C2 ​​​​​​​

Beautiful build, nice to see the journey from when you got it to now.

Small update, got the key fobs working! Put in a new battery and got the multimeter out. Tested the fob button circuits, all was well, and the battery was fully charged. Everything work separately....but not as a package. Then I realized that the board was not getting any power as the metal prong that sits tight to the battery was broken. I performed a hack to see if it was the culprit and it was!! The car now lock/unlocks and pops the trunk from the key. Man, talk about stoked! haha. You can sort of see the red LED lit up... Going to swap out thew drivers side valve cover gasket on the Cayenne so the 996 will be my DD for a day or two. Happy motoring...

This is fantastic. Great work. Nice E30 too. I had an S52 swapped E34 amongst about a half dozen other E34s and E28s How do you like your 958? GTS? Turbo?

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Thanks! e30 with the S50 is a fun car. It went from the m20b25 to a home built m20b28 stroker, then to the s50b30.Not much of the original car left but body and paint now hahaha I love my 958, its a '13 GTS. I bought it on a whim and only planned to keep for 2 years. That was 5 years and 90,000 miles ago now. I'll get a newer one some day but its been a solid SUV.

next project is to refresh the suspension, just waiting on the springs to ship before I go any further. I ordered them a month ago but they are on backorder. I've ordered from two other places now so hopefully a set will come soon. Jumped the gun a bit and replaced the lower control arm and wishbone on the front right, the old parts are what you see. I have scheduled a trip to the Tail Of The Dragon in 4 weeks. Also have an e30 show one weekend and a house move to sort out between now and then. Never a dull moment..... I've put over 1000 miles on the new 4.0 now. Fun stuff!! (and the valve cover swap on the GTS was a success, no more oil drip...woohoo)

I replaced my 996 4s front lip with the turbo one, less than a $150 part and the turbo lip has a nice look to it vs stock 4s lip

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Well, the new tires were supposed to go on but when I showed up for the appointment, they only had one front there!!!! No idea where the other three went. new appointment set for Friday am. I suppose now is a good time the thoroughly clean the inside of the wheels... Most all of the new suspension is in. Major rear end stuff is torqued up, still have the front to do. Then f/r drop links, sway bar bushings, and steering tie rods left. Not a bad job, just time consuming. Thanks to the contributors of the linked thread suspension torque values ; made it easier to sort out rather than dig through the manual. Front shocks were a bit soft and the front bump stops had deteriorated pretty badly. Everything else was in good condition. 83k miles. And just over 1,000 FLAWLESS miles on the 4.0.

New tires today. Fair to say the old set was flat worn out and dangerous... Car had some serious negative camber as you can see; pretty much maxed out. I've dialed the camber/toe as close as to possible to oem at home. Will have a proper alignment done shortly. Left front... Left rear... New rubber installed! .

New tires and suspension on and looks/feels awesome!! (Overlook the garage mess, we're in the process of packing/moving....) Also did the first oil change and dropped the sump for inspection. Everything looks awesome! A Loctite 5900 booger in the pan but no other foreign bits. Oil filter looked good, nothing scary in it. My buddy with the 996 and I are heading to the Tail Of The Dragon early Saturday morning to meet a few other Porsche folks (Jay Read and auto.ameteur from Youtube are organizing it). Will be my first time there, looking forward to it.

OP - You probably are aware: If you don’t have a few hundred miles on the suspension to settle things out, you may feel a little bit of oddness with compression and rebound. On my previous 996 w/ B8/HR my left rear was a bit ‘springy’ for the first couple weeks, until the suspension had a number of cycles. The Dragon will be a good break in run. Great job!

OP, feeling super inspired, some metal was recently found in my C4S oil filter and has been parked ever since and debating on what to do next. I thinking about buying the Jake Raby videos and following that verbatim, any other pointers you got? I�ll take any and all advice possible.

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Not to butt in but I also own a C4S and found metal in the oil. I had taken the car in to the local indy to have the LN-E Solution installed when the metal was found. The IMS bearing had started to go, it was a stage 1 failure in that it had just started. The car had 92,000 miles. So when people say your ok past a certain amount of miles it's not true, it can happen anytime in the life of the car. I debated for a week or so about what to do. The indy said he could not install any of LN's products due to the car not passing the prequalification. He also said my choices were, flush the engine the best they could and install a standard off the shelf bearing and hope for the best. Second, send it to Jake at FSI, this would take the longest and cost the most, but a great option. Third, send my engine to LN to do a RND rebuild, this would take 3 months and although costly it would guarantee a great motor when done. Fourth, rebuild myself, at the time I had no time to do this I was working my butt off. The LNE option is what I finally decide to do, it had all the updates that Jake performs but with stock power. In hindsight I kind of wish I had gone with a FSI performer option just for the extra grunt a 4.0L would give, but such is life we make peace with our decisions. If you decide to rebuild your self, Jake's videos would be a great way to go and sounds like a lot of fun too. I hope this helps you in some way, sorry guys for the highjack.

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all good, just glad I�m not the only one going through this. Mine was rebuilt at 55k with OEM bearing and appears to be failing at 101k. It definitely helps.

I love those wheels, car looks aweosme! I bet its a riot with the 4.0

How many miles are on it now since the the rebuild

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Don't know if you were asking me or the OP but I have about 2500 miles and 4 autocrosses. Engine has had zero issues. My big project next year is to install a UAOS, this should really make it a very reliable engine. I believe LN is now installing those with the rebuilds.

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sorry for the confusion as I was wanting to hear from the OP

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For the Jake Raby videos, I did not buy them. I hear they are good but I have no opinion to offer. I did use a pdf copy of the Porsche workshop manuals and did research quite a bit. There are a quite a lot of excellent resources out there now....and quite a few builds documented on YouTube. It's not a hard engine to work on at all, despite all of the horror stories. Just think of it as a V6 with a really high angled V haha. Thanks! it really is a load of fun with the 4.0 and new suspension. WOW what a car!! Just a hair over 2,000 miles on it now. I put 935 miles on it alone this past weekend on a trip to Tail of the Dragon and Cherohala Skyway. I really hammered on it and could keep up with the 991 S in front of me. SO PLEASED!!!! More of the weekend drives to come....

A few pictures from our quick trip to Tail of the Dragon, what an awesome weekend. Buddy and I got to meet Jay Read and Auto Amateur from YouTube and a few other nice folks. Will definitely go back with them on their next outing!! The 4.0 liter hung with 991's on the straights...and in the curves! Following four of them at full bore was music to my ears. The collection of 996's there was great as well. The silver 996 with Martini stripes and a ducktail looked awesome! Best part was in the rain, didn't phase the 4S a bit.

Subbing. Great writeup!

Headlights got some love. They were aimed a bit too high for my liking and just not that great. I knew it had LED bulbs but never saw the system self level when they first came on. Took them out to investigate and discovered some potential wiring issues on the passenger side and the adjuster arm disconnected on the drivers side. Haven't had the chance to drive at night yet to see results but the system is now working as it should. Depending on the light pattern, I may put oem bi-xenon bulbs back in.

Also got a new toy!!! No more airbag light..... (don't turn the ignition on with the seats removed....ooops) And just because everyone asks to see the rev report, here it is...

What an amazing thread. I wish I had the skills and drive you do! Fantastic work and agree the gt3 wheels look so good!

Turned to the tail lights this weekend. Someone had pulled up behind me and said they couldn't see my brake lights in the sun. I knew they worked since I had seem the light up the garage wall but figured the tint may have something to do with. I just assumed I had the stock bulbs and began researching upgrades. I ended up deciding on a set of Silverstar 2357, they have the same base pattern as the oem 1157 but higher lumen output (402 vs. 503). Oddly enough, when I pulled the tail lights out, there was some sort of LED bulb in there. Funny thing is the 2357 is brighter than LED as both a running light and as a brake light. It's tough to photo the difference with an iPhone in the garage but you can see that a typical halogen bulb seems to work better than there LED "upgrade" in the stock housing. halogen on the left versus LED on the right.

Good move getting rid of those LED bulbs. There are so many out there that are junk.

I finally installed two new Sylvania fog light bulbs today. Passenger side was working but went ahead and dropped two new ones in and will save the old one as a spare. Not an upgrade this time, as replaced like for like, but at least I have two functioning fog lights now.... I've decided my days of rolling around on the concrete floor are over! Bought the tall version so I wouldn't hit my head and the wifes Suburban will fit under it if needed. I've ordered the bracket to remount the hydraulic pump on the side, so we'll have bit more clearance parking beside it. 996 is on bottom as I drive it more. Remounted the garage door for lift clearance a few weeks ago, used a kit from DDM Garage Doors and a Chamberlain side opener from Amazon. DIY instructions from DDM were easy as was the side opener conversion. I'll be doing our 2nd garage door soon.

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@e30rapidic thank you for this thread. Quick question, but are you referring to the plug coming off the variocam solenoid here? Any tips on ensuring it is full connected? I threw a 153-something code for bank 2 and fiddled with the connector too and it has been working for me - interesting to come across this thread and see you had the same issue.

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great, glad you got something from it!! If I recall correctly, I used a flat screwdriver to get a bit of leverage and the plug "clicked" in place.

Finally got the time to get the rear wiper working like it should! Ended up digging through the wiring diagrams and had an epiphany of sorts. Since I had already ran all the wires, I just needed to tie the constant power, switched power and the ground and voila, a working rear wiper. After locating the BS locations and following the wiring across a few pages, it dawned on me. I could have tapped in power anywhere along the harness but did take everything back to the body splice point to keep it somewhat authentic. For some reason I thought the wiper only did one sweep but turns out mine does two. Chuffed..... These are the BS locations from the wiring diagram. One of the splice points removed. I cut up an old e30 connector to get the pins with pigtails. The splice point is basically a set of jumpers. Splice point removed for a visual that's it really is just a distribution point. You Tube Not sure what to do next. I still plan to do the 6 speed swap but throughly enjoy driving this thing!

Next part of the project will be starting soon! Luckily the slave and master cylinders were new and the dual mass flywheel is well within spec. Transmission housing needs a good clean but looks about the same as the engine and tiptronic when I first got the car. Clutch disc was "okay" but pressure plate had some scoring.....so trash pile for them. After taking an inventory of everything vs. my notes and the parts diagrams, I realized I was missing a couple of bolts and one clip. So ordered them along with a new clutch kit, new brake/clutch switches for good measure and the manual transmission coolant hose. Have a spare booster and brake master cylinder now. Will try the clutch pedal without the helper spring first and see how it goes. I've scoured through wiring and parts diagrams and ready to tackle this one... I did find a random spring in the box of stuff, wondering if that's for the brake pedal. I have not investigated it yet. ​​​​​​​

I must have missed something - You're converting this from a Tip to a manual?

Ambitious! I'm on my way out to the garage shortly to install new shift cables on the targa. Speaking of which, did I see any in those pics? Maybe in the box of stuff, but they really don't take well to bending that sharply...

@e30rapidic any chance you have a video of the bore score prior to rebuild? And as I've already said, thanks for the thread - great stuff (love the e30 too - we have an '87 and its been running ITB's on the stock M20 for a few years now - great mod I would highly recommend).

I converted my 996.1 from Tip to manual. Not that hard at all. Hydraulic lines were hardest to source. I ended up using a braided line and designed new fittings but would've preferred the OEM lines. Make sure you find the correct year shifter cables and CV axles, I made that mistake! Good luck!

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yes, I've been talking (and writing) about it for a while but finally bought all the stuff to start it! they were in there, just didn't have a good pic. Thankfully not bent, the shipper did a great job of buttoning everything up. I may replace them and the shifter eventually but want to see how these feel first. Nice move on the e30 and I'm glad you're getting a good read from the thread!!! I do have a video of the engine running from when it got delivered......sounded awful and smoked a lot. You Tube Actually followed your build thread for incentive on doing this!! I got all of the parts from a wrecked C4S: rear axles, shifter and cables, pedals, basically everything needed except the firewall grommet and the clip that goes on the end of the pedal shaft.

Did some work on the tiptronic to manual swap. I can confirm that the pedals can be swapped out WITH OUT removing the dash. I did remove the drivers seat though so I could lay flat on my back to work. Its tight up there but if you unhook the relay carrier on the footwell, it will move out of the way and give you all the room you need to slide the longer pedal bar in and clutch pedal assembly on. Just needed to source the two bolts holding the clutch master cylinder and top nut for the clutch bracket brace from my stash. I do need the clip for the end of the shaft though (on order) Clutch master cylinder is in and both lines are poking through the grommets in the firewall. Next steps are to drain the hydraulic fluid and route the clutch line from the firewall to the back. I've decided I'm going to drop the engine down. manual shifter photo op removing the automatic brake pedal was easy only difference between the assemblies is the length of the pedal support rod. Other than that they use the same parts. comparison of the auto brake pedal and the manual pedal. Added rod length for the clutch pedal I decided against using the clutch helper spring. Relay carrier moved down a little bit to get the pedal rod aligned and through the bracket holes. I also removed a few of the tall relays for added clearance. Pedals in! 3 pedal tiptronic eh? I need this blue clip. Any idea if can even be ordered separately? Or anyone have one laying around??

Nice documentation! I think my BMW Z4 clutch master had that clip; I also think I threw all the old stuff away. I'll take a gander in the parts bin though.

Are you replacing the clutch master? If so it will come with that clip. I don't believe it's available separately.

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thanks....and thanks! I would appreciate that. Wasn't planning to, this one only has a few thousand miles on it. I have found a VW part number, not sure if it will work though. 7M0721431

Kudo's to you for doing a Auto-to manual swap. !! I have done a few of them but I swore off doing them a couple decades ago. The last one was my oldest son's T'bird Turbo-Coupe... I said never again... ...I'd rather do a ground up tube chassis Race Car than a Auto to Manual swap....

Yes, been there done that....with a F-150, I cobbled together using an 85 frame, 87 cab, 90 bed, 94 sheet metal front end and changed the wiring from auto to manual using four wiring sets courtesy of the local boneyard..... It was like opening up a real can of worms, even with the help of some engineer friends who worked at Ford at that time.....Even under the influence of many scotches served neat, would I ever, ever, ever do that again...but my hats off to you for doing it.....enjoy!

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haha thanks! I built and raced cars for years. Last one was a full tube frame LMSC that I ran. Built everything except the transmission. Full tube frame car, 358 SBC with a Holley 2 barrel. Fun times. Haha, cheers. Working on cars is my therapy. Hope it remain that way after doing this!!!

progress! Got the first clutch line segment in, hydraulic fluid reservoir, clutch master fill line, and the wheel well liner back in place. Spent most of the day unhooking everything from the engine in preparations of dropping it and the trans out from under the car. Taken a load of photos but will only include a few here, thinking I may start another thread on the six speed swap. Hydraulic line fittings have to be separated to run through the body. They're compression/lock fittings. Master cylinder line routed through the factory hole in the grommet. Tiptronic and manual reservoirs have the same parts number...but obviously the clutch feed line is sealed on the tiptronic version. Fluid siphoned from the reservoir is in the water bottle. New manual reservoir with clutch feed line in place and fluid filled to the clutch nipple. The paper towel is to see if any drips appear while I'm working on it. Using oem grommets for all firewall pass throughs. First long segment of the clutch line is routed. Black cover was removed, held on by three 10mm nuts. Clutch line snapped into the existing brackets. front differential part number on my tiptronic is the same as all of the manual ones I've seen on eBay.

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I found the Porsche PN for that clip the the GT3 PET: 996-423-614-00

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awesome, thanks!!!

Do you have the Part# for the small grommet on the clutch master supply line? I can't find that anywhere. PS, all front diffs are the same for all 996's, Turbo, C4, C4S, manual, Tiptronic.

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I ended up reusing the grommet that was already in there. I just cut the nipple off and ran the line through the hole. Thanks for confirming that! I wasn't able to find much on it but all signs pointed to them being the same.

a few more progress pics. I've been reading a lot about can bus programming, its quite fascinating! I'll see what I can do with my Duramteric for the PID's and maybe try to write something. However I'll just probably end up going the PIWIS route and programmed the DME since I've wired the car to be exactly like the factory manual harness. With a bit of luck(and time) I can get the tiptronic off and the clutch and manual transmission bolted up this weekend. making new harnesses color coding stuff made it so much easier to follow have a new manual gauge to get rid of the tiptronic lights on the way in from Germany. testing the reverse lights with a jumper. They work and the rear view camera turns on. obligatory pic from underneath axles are radically different lengths between tip and manual. That's the tiptronic plug wrapped in plastic and zip tied out of the way so it doesn't get coolant in it before I remove it. That **** is still dripping after a week. manual trans mount on the left, tiptronic on the right. Same hardware but different mounting holes.

Amazing work!

Wouldn't it be easier to get an ECU/DME from a manual car? That's what I did. Of course it's then required to get the new ECU/DME matched to the immobilizer. I haven't dealt with that yet as I am still waiting for my manual gearbox to get rebuilt.

Ecu doctors in FL can do the reprogram and marry componants. They may even be able to just flash a 6sp program to the original dme.

ECU doctors told me they couldn't set the VIN in my manual cluster to match my car. I think they can do it for 996.1 only. He told me that he can reset the VIN in the ECU to match my immobilizer. Palo Alto Speedometer told me they can't reset the VIN in my manual cluster, either. They can reset the odometer to match my car. The dealer can reflash an auto ECU to manual. Whether they will or not is a different story. The dealer can also VIN match a used ECU. Again, they may not want to but they can. So I think the PIWIS is the tool needed. I don't have a PIWIS. Sometimes I wish I did.

all new stuff waiting this is the tiptronic coolant hose, you can see the T for the transmission cooler. The hose for the manual is obviously different....and on back order. So I may have to plug it and wait. Console is mostly back together.... lazy mans way of holding the crank from spinning. I just used what I had on the floor with me nice to know that I don't have any oil leaks...

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From what I've deduced, PIWIS is the easiest. It will just change the program in the existing DME from auto to manual. No recoding or swapping immobilizers/keys needed. We shall see.....

Man i have that hose with only a couple hundred miles but its for a 3.4l and i think they changed the hard pipes on the engine side for the 3.6. If u think its the same i can send it out.

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Cheers for that offer!! I'd already ordered it and will just plug the T if it doesn't come in before I get the car running again. Also ordered the 2 hard pipes and 2 coolant lines to wrap the manual transmission. So, I plugged up the durametric to see how awful the codes scenario is. Engine is out so obviously it threw a few more faults than there really are but not bad... I'm pretty confident that I'll be in good shape if I get it on PIWIS to reprogram the DME from tiptronic to manual.... Fingers crossed! obviously since the engine is out..... As expected, time to get to work! drivers seat is out, hence the airbag code. Not sure what's up with the HVAC code?! Now I'm down to these....I've had an intermittent ABS/PSM fault so put a new brake switch in with this swap. Don't remember seeing the steering angle sensor so that will take a bit of learning. Now that I think about it, I think i'left something unplugged near the steering column. hmmmm, could that be it? brake fluid level is low because I've kept it below the clutch master cylinder fill line. That one is an easy fix. The hard plastic "head to AOS" breather hose had cracked so I will wait until that comes in before I put the engine back in. The power steering tank also had a small drip so I removed and cleaned up the pipe end, and reworked the orings. Was easier to just remove the intakes to do it all and clean the top of the engine.

Steering angle sensor code has gone away, I had just forgot to plug it back in. Oops. That blue clip I needed for the clutch master cylinder has been sourced and replaced by VW part 7M0721431 (although it's silver but who cares). Worked like a charm....

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Glad to hear it, and congratulations on making such good progress. I looked through my BMW bits, never found the old master cylinder, also never got back to you about it. Apologies for that!

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Hello OP, I too have installed a four post lift in my garage and often contemplate if I could do an engine R&R with a four post. In one of your photos when swapping out to the manual transmission, it looks like you did while on the lift. Earlier photos show the engine/AT removal as an entire unit (before you owned the four post lift). I too used a side mount door opener to gain ceiling clearance. Really happy with the results. I have a 59 Impala on the bottom with my nephew's 57 Bel Air on top (without wheels, resting on the suspension) in a 10' garage. If I were to do an engine/transmission removal, could I do it with my four post lift with the wheels/suspension still on the car? It appears that is what you did. Can you confirm? Thanks for the awesome documentation of your project. I dream of finding a nice 996/997 that may have engine issues. I'm gaining confidence that I could do an engine swap - perhaps not the rebuild but at least attach the accessories and reinstall. Thanks Russ

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Go for it! these engines aren't hard at all!!! I dropped the engine and transmission out of the bottom with the wheels and tires on. Wasn't "easy peasy" but a lot easier that using jacks!! Lowering it down on to a hydraulic table (or two) would be ideal, then you can just raise the car up. I had to brace the engine up about 2' in the air so I could still slide under the ramps (with lift locked in place of course) in order to remove the transmission hanger bolts. The clearance was tight, I had to remove the mufflers and had maybe 1/16" inch clearance total. I could remove one of the muffler braces and have a lot more room but it worked. I'll remove one brace when I put the engine back in. I have Auto Lift Car-Park-8-PlusP 8,000 lb. Extra Tall Capacity 8,000 lbs. Lifting Height 82.3" Overall Length w/Ramp 222.5" Overall Length w/No Ramp 190.7" Overall Width 109.4" Runway Tread Width 18.7" Runway Length 180.5" Runway Height 4.3" Column Height 94" Clerance Between Columns 100.3" Clearance between Runways 42.2" Outside Runway to Outside Runway 80.7" Clerance Under Runways 78"

I'll probably get flamed for this one but its a fix that's holding.... I found the source of my power steering leak, it was the end of the return pipe where it sticks into the power steering reservoir. At the lovely red clip. Long story short, It was in rough shape so I cut all of the black plastic like coating off and hit it with aluminum oxide strip to smooth it out. I put it all back together but it still had a small drip. After scratching my head and going through all my o-rings in the stash, it dawned on me that the inner diameter of the o-rings weren't quite sealing on the pipe. Googling to see what I could buy to coat the pipe in turned up nothing. In a last ditch effort to not have to buy a new pipe, I thought about heat shrink tubing. My Cayenne GTS has wires in the transmission pan with heat shrink tubing. I mean its all hydraulic fluid so..... Fitting is snug and more importantly dry. I'll keep an eye on it but feeling pretty confident.

I love it. That pipe gave me fits for months.

Going to try my best at doing this project 100% in my garage. Have an old Windows 7 laptop that I use Durametric on, now running PIWIS through WinXP on a virtual machine. Quirky but I get to see what PIWIS is all about. If I can't get it sussed, no harm. I've got a place in town that has PIWIS. Plus there's always the dealer....

Small update today. Thought this would be a two minute job since I already had the gauges out. Just pop the needles and swap faces. Oh no......!! Hadn't read anywhere about those little plastic grommet things that hold the gauge face tight. They're hard plastic and compression fit, so a bit of a bugger to get out. Luckily they are completely hidden behind the needle. Still thinking of swapping all the gauges out for red, that's what I have in my GTS and love them. But for now, there is one less tiptronic reminder in the car.... Had a visitor watch me on the front porch. There are actually two and we think they followed us from our old house (we only moved a street away haha)

Ran into a no start situation, it eventually threw a P0355 code for crank position sensor. Verified all the wiring as it ran perfectly fine when I took it apart. Wiring checked out but the sensor gave some funky readings. New CPS delivered today and installed......It fired up instantly. Kind of surprised that the sensor completely died like that but glad it did while up in the air. Car finally moved under its own power! Only forward and reverse a couple of feet as it's still on the lift. But everything felt like I expected it to and no weird noises/feelings. Starts in gear with the clutch pressed and shifts through all the gears while running. No leaks and the clutch pedal feels solid (I left the helper spring out). PIWIS interface comes in Wednesday, not sure I'll be able to get much else done before my daddy/daughter excursion this weekend but its getting close. Just programming, tidy up the wiring, install the metal coolant lines around the transmission, fill coolant, and put the seat and interior panels back in. Been looking for a nice manual steering wheel but I may just keep the Tiptronic one. See who notices...?

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I have one with air bag if u want to pm me.

Fantastic progress!

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Cheers, I may take you up on that. Thanks! I actually drove it off the lift and out of the garage under its own power today! Just went down the driveway and then backed it up, I need to finish adding and bleeding the coolant before its goes anywhere. The e30 is back up on the lift, with the 996 on the ground. I have a very short list of things left to do now but the biggest is finish the programming. At least its mechanically complete. All the Tiptronic parts that were pulled/swapped out. The harness and TCU are still in the car. Few pics of the PIWIS tester clone I picked up. Works fine, I just need to learn how to use it properly and not brick my DME So close......

How much did that PIWIS clone cost you? It looks like the real deal, just the unlicensed ( illegal by Porsche and ethical standards ) .. Did it come it a laptop of hard drive?

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It was a couple of hundred. I was back and forth about it but since I own Durametric and icarsoft as well, I've already committed the crime I guess....? I used an old WIN7 laptop we had in the attic and loaded the PIWIS software via a WINXP virtual machine. I got all of the instructions and software download to do that part off this forum. It worked well so I bit the bullet and bought the PIWIS interface clone. Just trying to figure out my way around it so I don't screw anything up. Makes me a bit nervous, to be honest. A local Porsche dealer did give me the codes for my car though.

I started a new thread for more tiptronic to manual swap stuff https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...ith-a9635.html I've also got an RSS underdrive pulley (thanks @TexSquirrel ) that I need to install. Eventually swap the tiptronic steering wheel out for a manual one. Not sure what my next project will be for the car? Maybe red seat belts? Respray the front bumper or even wrap the whole car?

Still poncing about with the PIWIS. I have the Tiptronic emergency run message still. I'm going to put the TCU back in and see if that does anything. I'm reading that I may need to swap the cluster for a manual one but then also reading that the clusters are exactly the same, except for the Tiptronic gauge face. Model to model of course. Once in the DME, I realized that it was replaced back in 2006 and is showing the car as an 2004 Carrera 4 cabriolet (different VIN as well). My local Porsche dealer has been super helpful with things to try and gave me all of the codes for both the DME in my can and my cars VIN. Long story short; still have the red tiptronic error message, still learning PIWIS, and still looking for help.....

Worse case open up the cluster and kill the light.

Plug in the Tiptronic switch that's in the console if you still have it. If you don't have it I can check which pins to jump on the connector to simulate the Tip gear lever being in P or N. That ought to shut it up. I probably can't check until next week though. The instrument clusters have the same PCB, the software on the Tip vs. manual is different. So I have been told, anyway. You may be able to reflash the cluster through piwis if you can figure out how.

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Its the big red one in the middle of the dash! Putting the car into limp mode now I had that switch in the console still, was in Park. I moved it into N (watched it change in PIWIS) to see if it would do anything different but no luck. I plugged the TCU back in and no longer getting the instrument cluster error but the dme is getting a tiptronic timeout error now. P0600 CAN Tiptronic (no signal). I'll research this but in the meantime I have disconnected the battery in desperation. I may just need to take it in or at least hire someone who could walk me through it.

been fiddling with my PIWIS 2 and a friends PIWIS 1. I'm now down to one code: 9112 (TIPTRONIC CONTROL UNIT), and it appears to be stored in the instrument cluster. For some reason, the VIN is showing up with a different number in the instrument cluster and I haven't been able to change it (yet). I used the PIWIS 1 to delete all of the Tiptronic related options and added 480 for the 6 speed, that seemed to be the ticket to fix the DME.

Seems like you're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

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Its a flicker light, from an old gas lantern ugh!!! Chipping away at the instrument cluster. I've updated the VIN number in it now but still can't do anything about removing the tiptronic signal the cluster is STILL looking for. Almost at the point where I'm going to look for a used manual .2 C4S cluster. Probably a waste of $. ​

Sucks because i have a mk1 cluster i would let go.

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I'm not 100% sure about this as it's been a decade since I have done it, but I think you need to go into "instrument cluster" and then to "programing" and it will ask you to verify some things like maybe engine type, transmission type, ect. after you answer/select the correct options/questions, it will ask you if you are sure you want to re-program?.. click "yes"...lol.. All the relevant different programs are stored in the PIWIS tester. Oh, before you start, run a "VAL" ( Vehicle Analysis Log), it will list all the current hardware and software numbers and lots of other stuff. Then after you re-program, run it again, and compare the software numbers for before and after the re-program..

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Cheers for the reply. Pretty sure I've done all that but I'll go through it again one last time tonight, maybe I did miss something. I want to say I get to the cluster but when I dive in further, it stops at the country code (ie it's blank). I'll try to get a pic. I'll break out the PIWIS I, My PIWIS II laptop is not happy with me now as the USB drivers don't recognize the tester anymore. FUN!! haha

Parts car.

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Cheers, sir!! And a huge thanks...... Shame about that car, I bet it was quite a looker!

sooooooo a HUGE thanks to @Mpfaff is in order for this one. I plugged in the cluster he sent me and voila, no more "tiptronic emergency run" error message. After about 30 seconds, that gas gauge started to rise as well. Went for a quick ride and it was so nice to feel the engine at full song again. I'll drive it around as is for a few days to make sure...but I don't expect that the fault will come back after that drive. Fingers crossed. New cluster has the navigation module in it, so it's looking for the PCM. Hence the 9114 code. I'll sort that out at a later date but for now I'm not going to mess with it.... So for now, my concensus is that you need a manual cluster to do this swap. PIWIS I nor PIWIS II could code the tiptronic out from my original cluster.

and some more fun... an RSS under drive pulley. Why not? Had to grind down the timing boss (which was honestly a pain in the ****) but used the original length belt. No AC, charging or power steering issues.

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And... The verdict is? Dremel?

How long did it take to swap the cluster? I need to do this still and I think you�re one of the only other Tip to 6MT swappers!

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Long live those willing to take a little risk! or are we just a little crazy??? I can have that dash pod out in a couple of minutes now. I'd say 10 minute to fully remove the dash pod and have the cluster separated from it. hardest part is getting the hazard switch disconnected. I've done it a hundred times now hahaha. But now the tach has stopped working on both clusters. I swapped the original in but nada. Surely not a coincidence but possibly something in the car wiring. Ordered a new set of connectors for the back (blue/green/grey) but that didn't sort it. I have rpm signal at the OBD plug and everything else in the cluster works perfectly well. Car drives great as well. Weird.... Back in the e30 days, it meant the SI board batteries were taking a dump. I'm going to see if there is any way to bench test the tach.

last day of COVID quarantine and finally have some energy/desire to do something. Took my old tiptroinic cluster apart to diagnose. After multimeter tests were no help, I decided to pop the cover off the stepper motor. You can see where the worm gear came out of its guide and therefore not turning the needle. It must have happened when I pulled the needles off the gauges to swap the faces. Went back to my second cluster, same thing. Popped the gear back in the notch and it worked perfectly fine as well. Since I was on a roll, I pulled out my third (parts) cluster and fixed that stepper motor as well. Now I have 3 clusters, 1 tiptronic and 2 manual. you can see how the stepper motor cases had come apart, this must have been when I removed the needles. Here you can see where the end of the worm gear popped out of its "notch" popped back in its place... This also fixed my "parts" cluster! Just need to sort out the right hand side display and get the *****, then I'll have a spare manual cluster. Kinda chuffed about that.

had a weird slow start happen twice so put a new Y cable in, seems to have fixed it. Easy swap, just removed the airbox, throttle body and rear intake plenum, couple of nuts and done. I did pop off there plastic terminal cover so I could thread it through between the AC compressor and the intake. Maybe 30 minutes after all was said and done. Decided to tackle the e30, new brake pads and new hydraulic fluid. The old fluid was NASTY. Proof it doesn't do cars any good to just sit. new Y cable popped this plastic piece off so I could feed it through tight spaces. This is all I took off to swap the Y cable out. old Y cable had a little corrosion. tiny e30 brake pad! almost comical nasty hydraulic fluid from the e30, car has mostly sat for a couple of years. The black fluid on the left came from the clutch line. wow! the car "to do" list has gotten much shorter....

Not much has happened lately, been enjoying the last bit of summer. Had PaloAltoSpeedometer correct the mileage to the car. No frills there but the transmission swap is now 100%.... Resprayed the cowling with trim paint, looks so much better. Finally got the last of the suspension overhaul done, inner and outer tie rods. Passenger side was simple but the insert came out of the spindle on the drivers side. Hit up the local parts store for their loaner tool and popped it off. Pulled the toe plates and laser out for an alignment on the lift and the car tracks straight and the steering wheel is centered!! Slow crank was still happening a bit after the y cable swap so put a new starter in. Next weekend, back to the Tail of the Dragon, Cherohala Skyway and some other roads in the area. Looking forward to it!

Still going strong: smooth shifts, no error messages or check lights, and enjoying every minute of it... I decided to purchase the Function First shifter rebuild and cable ends combo. Installed the console bits today and the shift action feels so much better. Throw is obviously the same but the shifts and shift pattern are so much tighter and feels more gated now. The 5-4 shift is so much crisper too. Cable ends will be replaced once I get the car back one the lift. No hurry there...

Great progress! I have an OEM 997 SSK in my car which I really like but have been contemplating if that bushing upgrade would be a noticeable upgrade. Btw, do you know the part number for the HVAC frame and shelve unit in one? Didn't know they came like that - only as separate.

That's part of the Metra 99-9605B DIN/DDIN In-Dash Kit. Amazon Amazon

Happy Holidays to all...

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Amazing - thank you!

Very impressed with your skill set! I’m considering rebuilding my ‘02 C2 Tip myself with LN Nickies. I’m a bit hesitant due to the air of mystery surrounding the M96 rebuilding techniques. I have successfully rebuilt two air cooled 911 engines, 3.0 and 3.2 but have zero experience with water cooled Porsches. My car isn’t worth putting $25-30k into a motor at this point so rebuilding myself, factory short/long block, or just disclose and sell are my only reasonable options. Would you be willing to share your approximate parts cost for the 4.0 engine rebuild? Thanks for taking the time to share all the details.

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Cheers! I documented every single part had just over $15k in parts for my engine, that includes the cost of the block and headwork. There are quite a few builds out there on YouTube now, as well as this forum, so don't let anyone tell you its difficult. You've got the air cooled experience, so you know what to expect. I did buy the timing tools but homemade that 4 million dollar circlip driving tool out of stuff I had laying around.

Finally got around to working on the other end of the shifter cables and put the Function First shifter cable ends on. I'd say with the Function First overhaul, the shifter feel is exactly where I want it to be. I had quite a bit of play in one of the rubber bushings that I hadn't noticed before. Anyway, nice little mod and I'm glad I did it. Also got some time to show the e30 some love and got the supercharger install wrapped up. I'll be honest and say what a PITA! But it should be a fun one when it's all sorted and polished.

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lol, yes, that's a tight fit. I had forgotten you have a m50 in the car. That baby is really going to scoot with that supercharger. If it ever stops raining long enough, I'm going to get my e30 going too.

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good looking car!

Anybody have a set of yellow 996 coupe seat belts laying around that they'd let go? Thinking of putting a splash of color on the inside. New wheel well liners, front spoiler and the oem rubber mats purchased. Also going to give a go at touching up the front bumper and a crazed spot on top of the rear wing, too.

You could get yours redone. https://www.safetyrestore.com/conten...red-seat-belts I ended up going a different route on my seat belts, but everything I read about them was positive.

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perfect, thanks for sharing!

The special bushing tool made this job a cake walk! Well worth the purchase!! Start to finish was less than an hour. Ended up using a jack stand in the metal jack tray of my lift, lowered the cross member down so the transmission lowered on to the pry bar securely. The first movement of the old bushing made a giant pop/crack sound that scared the bejeezus out of me. After that, the speed wrench pulled it right out. After the new bushing went in (just as easy), I used the pry bar to jiggle the trans up and down when reinstalling the long bushing mount bolts, also levered the transmission back up to the car so I could thread the cross member bolts in by hand, then torque. Next up is to replace the relatively new transmission fluid with brand new fluid (basically used current fluid to flush out the transmission since I don't know the transmission history before I swapped it). Then adjust the gear selector position using the proper tool. old bushing on the left was in good shape, must have been changed sometime in its previous 86k mile life. pulling the new bushing in I'm going to attempt to fill the front licence plate holes and repaint the front bumper. If I fail, I have a good body shop waiting. Also, realize its not everyones cup of tea but thoughts on doing one of these Martini liveries??

a couple of people had asked about buying the tiptronic but I can't for the life of me remember who? I shouldn't delete old messages.... Reach out if you're on here and still interested. I've just upgraded to a member so I can list stuff for sale but wanted to reach out to those who showed interest and have read this thread first

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Those would be great. I like the top variant. Haven't seen that one before. Either way they're both the schizz. Use the Porsche tranny fluid. Matt Monson told me to do that and I have not regretted it.

got the livery installed took about 6 hours. Apparently I like cars with stripes... I still have three large Martini logos and numbers for the hood and door but thinking I'll leave those off. Because not racecar I washed the car in dawn liquid soap and clay barred it before I put the graphics on, so now I won't sleep until the paint gets some TLC. Also installed a rennline phone mount in the 996 and the Cayenne, so that should be helpful.

Love the stripes 😎

You need a @yaz996 phone mount. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...one-mount.html I like the combination of colors on the car, and I've always loved Martini liveries in general. Good choice!

Wow, sourced those quickly. Well done!

Got the hood taken care of. Received black door numbers with the kit but thinking of ordering a white set instead. Wasn’t planning on numbers at first but I think they fill the doors a bit better and may as well pose to the max. But hey, 32 and 36 were my car numbers when I actually did race. Also had something else in the garage to tinker on. Resurrected a buddy’s Harley Road King that his dad gave him years ago. Didn’t run but really simple to work on. It’s almost road worthy, needs new tires and some minor carburetor adjustments.

Motorcycle is done, up and running like a champ. Cayenne GTS is gone and has been replaced with a Panamera GTS. Bought on a whim but wow, what a great car. Been thoroughly enjoying the Panamera so decided to try my hand at paint and body work on the 996. The front bumper had some paint damage and indentations where it had been backed into under previous ownership. The rear spoiler had some paint fade and was cracking on the top of it. I sanded, filled, primered, sanded, filled, sanded, filled, primered, painted, then clear coated it (did I mention lots of sanding???). I need to cut and polish the spoiler but very pleased with how it has come out! Front bumper also got sanded, stripped and filled.....and has a test strip on it to see how smooth I got the curvature of the nose. I need to rework a small area around where I filled the license plate holes. I hope to get it all painted up by the weekend, then install the new wheel well liners and front splitter. Once all the paint and clear has been put down, I'll wetsand, cut and polish the whole car. Lastly, I'll put a ceramic coating on it. Won't be much left to do to the car now. Maybe recolor the wheels in a gold/bronze? I'm going to need a new project soon!!!! the car was filthy as it was my daily driver for a while. I didn't clean before body work - no point really! paint/clear is down. Will need to block sand a bit and cut/polish. Front bumper damage close up first pass of sanding/filling after more sanding/filling and even more sanding test strip Hopefully the next post will be of a somewhat complete car, in one color! Cheers...

wow.

Black is so dang hard to photograph. Most of the paint work detailing is done. It's not perfect but so much better. It's a daily driver so bumpers and paintwork is a solid 9/10. Have some more detailing to do, like scrub the rear bumperettes (will either paint or delete) and clean up some of the stripes where the edges have a bit of compound on them. I also polished the tail lights, I'm really pleased with how they came out. Going to drive it as is for now, may spend some more time filling rock chips on the front fenders. I also replaced the front wheel well liners and cleaned out the grills when the front bumper was off. I have anew front splitter but not sure I'm going to put it on yet as it sits a bit low. https://youtube.com/shorts/VnnDLyDcR3g?feature=share

Nicely done.

It's weird, having the car just sit there and not needing anything be done to it. Just get in and drive. No drips, no smells, no leaks, no bangs, no squeaks, everything working like it should. Hate to say it but its a bit boring not having something to tinker on

Amen to that. it is a great deal of satisfaction to work on these cars and stand back and appreciate the results. Then you just want to do more and more. I guess is sucks to have a perfect car!

Car is still running like a champ, just passed annual inspection. Managed to score a free Thule cargo box! Previous owner had lost the keys and put it out to pasture. Got two new keys from the code on the lock and it popped right open. It has some light scuff marks; if they don�t buff out I may paint it black. No Martini stripes though 😬

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Yeah, he's my hero too LOL!

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How did you paint....rattle cans or gun? what did you do about dust?

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Thanks! haha, thanks! It�s all rattle can; but like everyone says, it�s all in the prep!! I ordered the paint online and used 4K clear coat. I put a load of clear layers on as I knew I�d need to do some sanding afterwards to make it super smooth. I�ll sand even finer this winter, now that it�s had time to cure. As for dust, I just picked calm days to work on it. The whole car and immediate area were draped in plastic. I kept the garage doors open for ventilation. Luckily no bugs or nibs in the paint! For the stone chips on the hood, I got one of those pen style applicators and dabbed each chip. Took quite a while. Then sanded everything flush with a block and 2k sandpaper. That was a bit scary at first.

And now we�re back to black. Going to try something different. Not sure what. Maybe paint the section of new fence finally?

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Wait, what? I was betting that the next step was going to be matching stripes on the rooftop box! Great looking car, with or without the graphics.

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I had thought about it!! appreciate your comment

Continuing to work in the Tiptronic to manual conversion underworld. is there anybody that may have a later style circuit board from a manual C4 or C4S instrument cluster they�d let go for cheap? Or let me borrow to download the code. Or better yet, download and share the coding!! I�ve been working with someone on their swap and they are way more advanced in the electronic and programming world that I am. We�re collectively trying to sort out the hidden differences on the fuel tank size algorithms for a 2 vs. 4 wheel drive 996. Our goal is to download and compare the fuel usage formula hidden in the cluster. Hoping to help future swappers to be able to use c2 clusters in a C4/S and vice versa. Cheers!

Replaced new stuff with newer and better. Developed a random click in the upper strut mount so put new upper mounts and bearings in, along with Rennline bump steer adjuster kit. String, toe plates, degree level, and tape measure alignment on my lift but a quick trip around the block says all is well. Pulled and rebuilt the front CV joints as well, easy to do but super messy. No need to remove any suspension pieces, just a brace and crossmember! Underside of my Panamera GTS, pretty cool.

When rebuilding the axles, did you replace any of the internal parts, or just clean everything, repack with grease, and put on new boots? If you used a kit, where did you get it?

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Everything inside the CV joints was in good shape and moved freely/quietly, just that the outer boots were torn and leaking. None of the internal parts were grooved, shiny, or pitted, so I reused them. I got the re-boot kits with grease, clamps and new snap rings from FCPEuro. About $80 and I have "like new" CV axles again. It was a messy job though, went through 2 rolls of paper towels!

4 wheel alignment time; old skool but worked out well.

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Im amazed at how acurate i can be with a few strings and a ruler. At $250-300 a pop for a shop alignment it equates to an extra track day of savings every time i make an adjustment. Looking good.

Awesome job rebuilding the engine yourself and converting to manual. Crazy how bad that original engine was in the bores. Would you say you came out ahead with the purchase just from the engine rebuild standpoint? Or was it a wash but you got a 4.0 out of it? Bumper and wing repair looks good. Did you paint the bumper yourself?

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Thanks!! 😊 If I was to sell as is (assuming I'd get comps on what a 3.6 manual C4S is going for), I'd still make a few bucks on it..... but the knowledge gained is priceless. I'd like to think I'd get a bit more out of it for being an "almost like brand new" car with super low 4.0 engine but who knows. I enjoy the car and wouldn't consider selling though unless a random offer came up above $50k. I did paint the bumper and wing myself, it needs another round of wet sanding now that its fully cured but I'll wait a bit on that. I'm currently touching up every paint chip by hand and paint refurbishing one panel at a time. So it will take a while....

Bought yet another cluster (now have 4 but donated 1), this latest one is from a manual C4S. Determined to crack the fuel gauge level thing�.. Found a piece of foam lodged in the air vent, so did the blend door fix. Got both blend doors done from accessing behind the radio. Never removed the heater core. Lastly, I decided to add a 5 channel Alpine amp in the trunk and get rid of the MOST adapter stuff. De-pinned the oem amplifier connector and clipped to the wires there, rather than cut anything up, and added wiring around the underside of the frunk carpeting. Sounds a lot better but I still want more highs, so will look to replace the stock dash speakers soon.

Hey -- I have a dishtowel like that in the garage too!

Well, stuff just went sideways. Filling in rock chips on the wings and frunk by hand became an "F all this" moment. If I'm going to this much effort, I may as well paint the whole thing. Rear bumper and frunk were my test panels, feathering check using crappy black spray paint primer I had laying around. Paint prep for the whole car now. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? I've watched enough videos to become a certified YouTube certified painter....

Too much coffee?

I like coffee. A little update....Learned a lot about bodywork and painting and can appreciate the cost and effort of a quality paint job. I still have to buff the whole car and put all of the missing bits back on. I'll take the door handles out disassemble them for paint when the time comes. Would I do this again? Yes. But I'll move the car over a bay and buy an inflatable spray booth. This week is out due to the holidays but hopefully I can get it finished the week after. I'll re-tint the rear lights and give them a polish. I still want yellow seat belts... prep work test fitting the bumperette patches I made. look at that factory orange peel plastic welding and plastic filler home made paint booth had to be done paint booth selfie new oem wing test fit. Everything from a regular Carrera bolted up. Bracket on the extendable hinge is different though. larger C4S bracket, versus the regular bracket rear bumperettes are gone heading outside to get some curing time and now on to wetsanding all sanded, 1k, 1.5k, 2k, 3k, 5k. A few ares need redoing but hey, it's my first time. functional wing in place, may leave the rear Carrera 4S emblems off no front license plate holes or frunk badge holes

Thanks to anyone that is still following this and commenting/liking. Polishing is taking forever but wow is it coming out awesome! A buddy came over with his buffer and detailing tools, you can see his reflection in the second pic. I had bought the Chemical Guys "kit" but will say that the 3M three stage polishing system absolutely blows it away. I've probably got 50 hours in the polishing now, almost done. I have an F up that I need to fix on the rear wing. There was a reaction in the paint that I didn't catch until polishing time. Tried to compound it out and burned a spot. I also need to remove the door handles to disassemble and paint properly. Big party coming up, people are flying in from all over the place, so I want to have the car to show off. I'll fix the blemishes during the holiday break (I hope). Rusty, our 16 month old field retriever, playing QA and inspecting my wet sanding. He hangs in the garage with me a lot. We lost his brother last week (16 years old) so he sticks to us all like glue. Super sweet dog. reflection in the right rear quarter GT3 throttle body upgrade coming sometime in the future, this is the same throttle body my Panamera and Cayenne have. I need to find a larger plenum though...Found a deal on a used IPD and bought it but realised too late that it was just the 74mm stock one (ooooopsie)

Sweet Cheetos that reflection is amazing! I have considered wet sanding mine too but it always has fallen lower on the priority. Someday. I look forward to your impressions of the 82mm TB. My 4.0 has great low and mid range but the top end falls off (only 3k mi so maybe it will get better). I think the big bore engines are restricted by stock TB and manifold.

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sounds like its in pretty rough shape engine but a great starting point to build around otherwise

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??? bot? Anyway, that must have been some coffee. You're a maniac. That's insane. I think that's the best way to do the bumper delete. What did you like about the 3M polish kit? There's always a possibility that I might get around to doing something like that.

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haha, I enjoyed it but I'm glad it's almost over. I've learned that that hand sanding is way better than machine sanding and that polishing a car is quite therapeutic. I still need to polish the bumpers and touch up a burn through on the passenger roof rail. oops.. That will have to wait a while as I'm going to drive the car for a few weeks. The 3M system leaves almost zero haze and I feel like it's just shinier. Not sure about the crest delete on the front end. I filled the holes but may just put the badge on anyway. I was thinking of the GT car sticker emblems but meh. I need to order the Carrera 4S emblem for the back, anyone have the template dimensions handy? I wrote them down but must have thrown them out. ​​​​​​​

My opinion install the front emblem but leave off any rear decals/name plates . It looks very clean .

I am in the same camp! I know that I purchased a Porsche, and I do not need to be reminded of it by adding a Porsche script engraved on everything.....I have the parts repair receipts to prove it! However, that being said, I like the look of your car as it appears to define the design elements without all the rubber maid appendages. It is just beautiful!!!!!!!!!!

Progress on the 996 has been slow over the last month, I've been driving it and thoroughly enjoying it! And best part of all is that I can say the gas fuel level and mpg readings are now accurate. Small win there....! When allowed, I finally spent some time working on the e30. That car is so basic compared to the 996. I put the supercharger in last Christmas but had not been able to get the VANOS to function properly. After a lot of time idling in gear on jackstands , trial and error, and multimeter testing, I narrowed it down to a failed diode on the speedometer board. The speedometer output (VSS) signal was not getting back to the S50's DME, so it was in a limp mode of sorts. I ended up buying a replacement speedometer off eBay rather than trying to rebuild it. I did reflow all of the solder joints but now have a fully functional VSS signal to the DME....and fully supercharged S50 . Once the intake goes back together in the 996, I'll be able to move the 996 and take a spin in the e30. I have a feeling it will be comical. The e30 is NOT leaking on to the 996, that streaking is from cleaning the nooks and crannies of the 996 with a toothbrush. Back to the 996 and bench testing. I bought a Cayenne throttle body off eBay for $22!!! It's the same part as the larger GT2 throttle body for a fraction of the price. I also have a larger IPD 82mm plenum inbound. Got that for a steal as well since it had a blemish in th casting. Can't see once installed and zero affect on the performance. I'll get that installed this weekend. In the meantime, you can see that the neck on the 996 airbox is almost the same size as the larger throttle body. I also have some left over charge piping that I may use as the intake piping instead of the silicon hose, just to be different. I know the chatter about the IPD plenum "upgrade" but figured I have the Hoffman ported heads, underdrive pulley, and larger displacement engine would somewhat work together. I'm going to figure out how to disconnect the front driveshaft without the front diff leaking (plug the diff snout?!?!), and take it in for a dyno tune. I can't justify the cost of the 2WD conversion spindle, just to get it on a dyno. Here is a good shot to see how smooth the airflow would be if I end up using the charge piping. test fit of the old e30 intake adapter from when the S50 had the larger euro MAF on it.

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Cheers. I agree with you; the front does look like something is missing.

Air box modifications in process. I thought the foam was there to absorb any water that may have made its way into the airbox so began a google search. Apparently it's for noise reduction. So no need to replace that..... I had a cap in the resonator to block off the resonator flow "mod" but hardly noticed a difference in sound. My larger throttle body setup won't utilize the resonator tubing, so I thought up a quick way to clean up the top of the air box, without using a brightly covered and logo-ed cap. I cut out two pieces of the same ABS sheet I used to make the bumperette delete panels. Larger disc goes on the inside and smaller disc goes on the top. I didn't have the correct size hole saw for the larger disc so had to trim an oversized one down by hand. It's glued in place and out of sight. I'll fill in the edge around the top with plastic weld to clean it up and make it flush. If it looks subpar when I'm done, I'll just find some sort of round sticker to cover it up. And I saved .8 pounds Here's a photo of the Cayenne 82mm throttle body I bought. I'll add more to this post once the larger intake system is in place. Photo below is the inspiration for my next project....Aurum gold wheels. Also need a way to temporarily (and safely) convert to 2WD for the dyno run. Any ideas? or anyone with old (ie CHEAP) front axles for sale that I could take apart?

My preferred 991/992 order would be Aventurine green with aurum wheels, GT3 wheels in Aurum would be awesome, looking forward to it

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Ouch that is striking!

Im sure there r many threads in the turbo section for front axle elimination. While i have not done it cant u just get 2 axle stubs from a junk yard like dc auto, remove the front diff, axle shafts and driveshaft and be done? U dont need to swap uprights or shocks eventhough it would be best for suspension geometry.

Aurum Gold Rims - Prismatic Powder Color? - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums

You can remove the cardan shaft without anything leaking from the front diff. Just unbolt the guibo from the transmission and pull the cardan shaft out.

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yes, I managed to get two axles stubs for a killer price, they'll be here Friday.

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I've been looking at the parts diagram to see where the seals are....good to know...thanks

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dont forget the stub nuts r 1 time use so grab a couple from the dealer or fcpeuro

For plugging the airbox you can use this cap with the o-ring from the original fitting. Amazon Amazon

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I just gave away a set, lol. I reuse the axle nuts because the old ones have a floating washer which the new ones don't. I doubt the locking element has much effect on a 400 nm torqued nut anyway.

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i dont dissagree but i just send them back to fcp for fresh ones. The ones i get have floating washers?

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If I could get those I would. The last few batches I got are one piece and I really don't like them. Send me that PN so I can get some!

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The bag part# paf001784 is a valid number in the Delaware porsche online catalog. The original number i got off autoatlantas site was 99908464101. This part # matches the bags i have from fcp and they were all floating washer too.

Managed to get the 82mm IPD plenum and �GT3� throttle body installed this afternoon. Did a throttle adaptation beforehand and it cranked right up first time. Hopefully I can take it for a drive early tomorrow� You Tube

That thing sounds very, very good. What mufflers are you running? How did the connector pipe from the air box the TB work out? I need to work this out as well.

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Thanks, appreciate that! It�s a full Fabspeed exhaust with an X pipe. I used the IPD supplied boot for now; tight fit but that could be because I flipped it around to hide the logo. Realised one thing I do need to work on though, I totally forgot the Tiptronics used a Venturi tube to bypass the throttle body. I�ll get the manual version installed one day as I don�t want to install a breather vent. So for now the open end is blocked off with electrical tape. Yes, electrical tape. And the engine bay needs a dang good clean since I painted and wetsanded it. Kinda embarrassing to be honest.

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Dumb question - what are the jumper cables for? Is that a trickle charger setup? In the engine compartment?

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correct, I keep it and my e30 on separate trickle chargers.

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Thanks. Dumb question #2 - isn 't the battery in the frunk?

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He is connected ti the engine bay jump points. Basically the ae as being connected to the battery.

New front spindles with new nuts 😉

Last piece of the swap puzzle. After being scammed on the last wheel I �bought�, I scored this one for $100

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Nice score ! I am looking for a black wheel to shake up my gray interior . 👍

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Cheers! Manual or tiptronic?

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Manual . But I have to decide if I want OEM or aftermarket . I am thinking a flat bottom wheel would make easier ingress/egress.

So pleased with the �new� steering wheel!! I�ll miss those little shifter buttons And another scanner added to the collection haha. Same ease and functionality as my POR 2 but will work on more brands. Already diagnosed the failed parking sensor in my sisters Tahoe. Nowhere near as powerful as my PIWIS though but much more convenient to use for oil service reset etc.

I will definitely say that the low end torque on this thing has improved. I would love to find a local C4S driver to swap out with for a drive to feel the difference.

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Not local, but if you ever find your way over towards the Blue Ridge foothills on 421, there�s a decent run of twisty�s south of Wilkesboro to try. My 03 C4S loves them, or maybe it�s just me.

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I love that area, will be heading that way for a long weekend in May!

Well this is a kick to the gut. Had no symptoms at all so no idea when it happened. Removed the underside pans to do the 2WD �conversion� and the broken piece fell out to the floor. I was like WTF and had to figure out where it came from. No vibrations, no hard shifts, no noises, nothing. At all. Possible to get it rewelded? Or do I need to hope and find someone with a broken transmission and get a replacement housing?

Sheesh 🙄. I've never seen that one. Ask jeeper. He welded up his old motor. I think.

It it were me i would pull the trans and weld it up. Then have an aluminum band bent around and welded as a reinforcement. Any decent machine shop can do this and hone the bore to make sure the mount fits correctly. Or its a good time to swap in a 2wd trans? Bummer either way. I figure that break is either from a crack started during a trans mount install or even corrosion between the mount and case causing it to swell. 2nd case i have seen do that.

Strange... Good chance that didn't just bust up on its own. Something caused it to break. Might want to try and figure out the why, before it could happens again..? Didn't you just convert from automatic to 6 speed, or am I confusing your project with someone else..? jmo

Wow, rotten luck. Is that a stock trans mount?

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2WD transmission would be easier to find and cheaper but I want to keep the option for making it AWD again easily. Especially if I sell it. Just changed the bushing a few months back and it went in super easy, and all the bolts slid in easily afterwards. Only thing I can thing ok is that there was a stress fracture internally, and everything just made it fail. I didn't force anything on the install and feel I woulf have heard/felt the snap as well. Weird. you're correct, this is the car that I just converted from tip to a manual. All factory parts used and everything bolted together smoothly. Even the engine mounts are new. Yes, Lemforder I believe? Old vs new...

It must have been cracked already when you installed the new new bushing, as the bushing should not go in "super easily/smoothly". It looks like there's quite a bit of oxidation/corrosion in that area. This may make repair/welding difficult, but I'm sure it can be done by someone that competent. I think DeJeepers idea of and extra piece/strap around the outside is a good one

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This sucks but the same thing happened to me. I discovered it when I was getting my state inspection done and asked the shop to replace the transmission mount. I was able to get it fixed. My shop has a good aluminum welder they use for funky stuff like that. It wasn't cheap but much less than a new transmission. It's probably stronger now. Mine also broke in a similar spot and I feel very lucky that the loose pieces were still there!

Man, sorry to see that. You are fortunate to have caught it before it failed entirely.

bought a tall transmission jack, made the removal pretty damn easy. I'd say an hour and it was out, 10 minutes later and the casing was separated. I've got someone that will weld it, so I'm going that route for now. $700ish for a new case half from Porsche NA, not terrible. No corrosion on the case, the stuff scraped off with my fingernail. The mount must have failed a long time ago, as it was quite deformed. I turn it 90 degrees for each photo. Inside of the transmission and fluid looks good, magnet wasn't bad at all. Hopefully she'll be repaired in a couple of days and back on the road shortly thereafter. I did remove the driveshaft to the front diff so I can get a dyno tune done soon.

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Glad to see this wasn�t a complete disaster. Also appreciate the fact you�re working in sandals.

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Andre, what is the cost for welding/repairing the mount? All things considered, $700 for a new case half from Porsche is not bad and would seem like the structurally better route than repair in the long run.

Are those steel toed sandals?? I need a pair of those.

Did you get a quote to machine it after welding? Wondering about the interference fit #’s. Good luck with repairs.

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A former trade partner, now friend, is a certified welder by trade and builds those off road buggies (hill climbers?) or whatever they�re called. He feels like he can repair it as good as new but will give me his opinion when he actually lays eyes on it. I 100% trust his judgement. Haha. We aren�t supposed to wear steel toes anymore; all my steel toes got replaced with composite materials. thanks, no quote but I�ll certainly give him some money for his time.

Might want to see if the broken piece can fit back on perfectly in the cracked areas. Kind of like a connecting rods 'cracked cap' fits. If it does fit back on, and you can clamp it on to get a accurate measurement of the bore, that will go a long way to telling you what the amount of interference is in the fit. Then once its welded up good inside and out, you've got a idea what size you need to bore/machine it to for the proper interference fit of the trans mount steel bushing to the tranny mount hole bore... As interference fits can be anywhere from .0001 to .0015" or more, depending on bore size.... and probably won't take long for to tight or to lose mount to cause problems.... jmo

Nice work boots. How many toes do you have left?

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noted. Understood and thank you. That piece, does fit perfectly. Quick measurement with bore gauge and it’s still round. All of them, as you can see . I just had my pedicure so wear closed toe shoes while working on stuff like this. Otherwise I’m barefoot.

I have a 1999 911, it needs engine rebuild or replace bad rod knock. I haven�t done any research on buying/ rebuilding engine. I have to get motivated. Good luck..

What brand trans bushing is that? Wondering if it was manufactured with the wrong interference and stressed the trans case.

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x2, this was my immediate thought. Do you have a good set of calipers (ideally, a height gauge with multiple touch-off points) to measure the bushing OD? I'd recommend measuring the new trans ID and trying to get the old trans ID if you can, although it'll be hard to do since it's broken right in the middle. I dig the shop sandals...in the winter I transition to crocs with wool socks...but I'm all 'bout that shop sandal life.

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I went back and looked, it is a Lemforder bushing. Shop sandals are my jam. I don't know what the heck I've done with my calipers so can't measure it at the moment. I need to clean up and hopefully they'll appear. Ordered a new case from Jim Ellis Porsche last night, then promptly got refunded this morning with an email saying they made a mistake on their website. OK. So now I've ordered a brand new casing from Rose Passion. Should be here in 2-3 days. Will be interesting to see if it has the bearings pressed in, I'm guessing not. If this order gets kicked back, I'm going to look for a 997 box to put in.

Welding did not work?

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sounds ridiculous but free time to get over there is my limiting factor.

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Thats not so ridiculous. Having a part show up and you can bolt it together when you get time is a lot easier and less stressful than the welding aspect. Welding is likely cheaper but you�d also have to worry about the size of the hole afterwards. It could crack again if welded up and the bushing is too large. I�d check that bushing size and compare to original or OEM new before pressing one back in.

Rose Passion in France came through. Pleasant surprises with the needle bearings being installed, as well as the main bearing race, new brass shifter sleeves, shifter seal, and fresh oem rubber mount. Only piece I need to replace is the seal for the output shaft. Just happened to have an extra in my stash. Now to find the time to put it back together and back in the car!! Hopefully a few more nights in the garage and it will be done�.

That was quick,happy assembly.

20 minutes later and it�s ready to go in!

Nice! I recently ordered from Rose Passion and was extremely impressed with the speed of order fulfillment and delivery. This might be a good time to drill the shift cable brackets for safety wire...

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thanks. good call, didn�t think of that. Cheers.

Becoming a pro at this mess now. Thankfully I have 6 forward gears and reverse (and 2WD until I hit the dyno). The shifter sits slightly further to the right than I remember. But it could be in my head as I�ve driven the e30 a couple of times since. Was hoping to go for test drive but ran out of time; the battery had gone flat, and family obligations. So it will sit on the car trickle charger until Friday. Then fingers crossed for a smooth drive� I am glad that I replaced the case and not welded it. I took a sledge hammer to the old case to vent 😆

Back up and running. 5 mile test drive and all is well. Hardly any difference in how it drove with the broken mount versus the new unit. I feel like the 2-3 shift is a bit smoother but no drastic differences at all. 2WD drive conversion? Zero noticeable difference in acceleration. A hint of understeer but that could be cold tires on a cold day. But wow is this car a fun drive, glad it�s back up and running 🙂

I got hold some dark grey center caps to strip and refinish with my wheels but they need new crest emblems; does anyone know of a source for them? Not really interested in the thin foil versions or stickers, that�s all I can seem to find outside of buying brand new caps. Cheers!

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Awesome. Maybe feel a little different in the turns , 100 lbs lighter? I also wonder about parasitic drag.

The traction light flashes under hard acceleration now that the car is only 2WD. Kinda wild. Finally swapped out the 4S centre caps for a set with the Porsche crest on them. Pointed at the valve stem of course.

Traction light, never heard of it!

Finally got it booked for some dyno tuning time on May 20!

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I'm guessing 325WHP if it's on a dynojet. Good luck ! dyno days are the best and the worst, I hope you walk away happy.

Flowcoat with Cromax and a quick buff/polish. Needs some deep cleaning in the crevices but I'm totally pleased with how my garage paint job has turned out. Few more areas to touch up with the buffer, deep clean all the nooks and crevices.....then ceramic coat it. Wheels need to be refinished now. I do like the stock silver but thinking of neodyme or aurum. Now, it just gets driven......

So today was the day. Peak 305.52 wheel horsepower and 296.98 wheel torque. If someone knows what the typical drivetrain loss is, please let me know. I figure somewhere between 10-20%. I was mostly concerned with AFR and drivability around town so didn't go hard core on the tune. I'm really glad that I had it tuned as apparently the engine had been running lean, hence the early shutdown on the first run. So yeah, I'm glad I got it tuned. Peace of mind for sure. Stock DME "handled" the larger displacement but was not optimal by any means. Final number from the dme tweaks alone were +15 hp and +12 tq over what we started with. That's about what I've seen from tuners advertising on the web., We left some timing out as I wanted a comfy daily around town and not worry about blowing it up! I was expecting a little bit more on the numbers but I am really pleased with how the car drives now. Power delivery is so much smoother than it was before the tune. The low end torque is great, really makes flat power delivery. It was wild watching the different tunes do different things. Peakier numbers but a sharper curve, lower peak and a flatter curve. flatter curve = more overall power. We discussed headers to get a bit more power out of it but doubt I'll do anything else outside of enjoy it. Hey, the power and torque went up.....and now I know it won't blow up! Hearing/seeing it on the dyno running at redline like that did make me nervous AF. I had the original AOS let go at redline and was cringing about seeing that again. They wondered why I had a purple wire attached the DME, so we ending discussing the overall project, transmission swap, and paint. They complimented me on the build which gave me the warm fuzzies. I'll take my supercharged e30 S50 to them one day. You Tube First aborted run showing AFR. Just seeing this made me glad I was getting it tuned properly!

Im here for the E30 updates, but the black car is cool too #r3vlimited

After reading through this post... it came to me... Your definition of a project is way more advanced than mine. Good on ya!

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THATS where I know your name from!!! haha awesome hah thanks. I enjoyed it. Was just thinking today of what to do now it�s just about done. All my friends cars are fixed now too. Might be time to get another project�.?

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Yup, that place is still alive, but on life support. Shame the group hasnt seen the updates on the vert. Pretty freakin awesome. I havent owned an E30 in ~4 years, but still over there harassing people and posting all my non-E30 projects. They were the ones who made my avatar. They never got over me selling my MR2 LOL

I'm just a 991 guy lurkin' these waters but wanted to chime in that I read the whole thread this morning and couldn't help but comment how much fun it was. What a great build! I'm sure all of this documentation took a considerable amount of time but there's at least one reader here that had a blast scrolling through this thread.

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thanks for sharing that, pleased to hear it! I�ve enjoyed learning and sorting through it. Pretty proud of the transmission swap. 😬 I am sensing a 991.2 in my somewhat near future.

Quotes source post: 19453069

here ya go. Showed the ol� single stage paint on the hood some love. Been on there since October 1986.

New Alpine front speakers installed, couldn't justify the Focal cost. Bought the adapter rings and factory connectors. Plug and play for less than $150 and 20 minutes per side. Hardest part is getting the Torx closest to the windshield. I haven't listened to them yet. Started renovating the hardwoods and kitchen..... so the garage is full of my old kitchen cabinets. But I did manage to get the e30 all shined up and all the shadow line trim repainted. Just about ready for a photoshoot and sale ad...

Great journey! (and thanks for teaching the rest of us!) I have a 03 C4S and had the back bumper off (to change the plugs/coils and try to get to the left cam sensor. Got 5/6 plugs done, couldn't get to #4, and no joy on the cam sensor). I saw the stainless pull cable in my engine compartment, I am assuming it is an emergency boot (since you are English) release, but where is it supposed to go? Having it in the engine compartment is useless... I see yours comes out under your left tail light. But you need the engine lid open to get to the screws to remove them. For anyone reading this: Shouldn't it go under the left wheel well liner ? (as at least you could get to that if the engine lid wouldn't open...) Thanks, Paul

My garage is a mess and my car is filthy but I don't care. We finally got all of the old and new (except one) kitchen cabinets out of my garage (house renovation) and I just couldn't wait anymore to get my new x-pipe with 200 cell cats installed. I just felt like the emissions thing is right to comply with. I had no issues with CEL or passing the yearly inspection but I figured I'd do my part... Only driven it once since my inspection is past due but...no difference in sound or the way the engine runs between the two x-pipes. I can say the exhaust doesn't smell so much now, which is a definite plus. I went with the larger diameter Top Gear unit, made in my home country of England. I ordered on a Thursday night and it was delivered the following Monday. Excellent shipping time. Looks to be a quality piece and is definite cost effective. Now time to do a couple of drive cycles to reset the DME monitors and off to get it inspected.

Curious about your impressions on fit and eventually longevity of those cats. I want this for my car, but those cats need to work for many years for the buy-in to be worth it in California.

As you are an Alpina fan, they raced with cats in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) late 80's to prove performance with Cats.

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I also like the rear wiper. It is so unusual in the "typical" american car offerings, japanese, american, whoever, that I really like it. I went to great pains to fit a rear wiper for a 930 "whale" lid because I liked it. I have a C4S and will try to do the same. It takes effort to find parts and such, do the work, skip the fear, and make it happen. Different strokes for different folks. YMMV cheers

Photo opp at the local dealer

Rear wiper switch never lit up but I feel like it should. Started wondering if the white outline was screen printed but a back light confirmed it�s not. I can�t get continuity across the led circuit though so maybe the led has given up the ghost�? Will carefully try disassembling another switch to see if they are similar. More to come� edit - disassembled, threw some heat over the circuit board (reflow of sorts) and now it�s fixed. Lights up like a champ. 🙂

Nice work, it�s impressive to see you work through these issues so diligently. Edit: Found my answer in a latching relay that allows a single momentary switch to open a circuit continuously.

Quotes source post: 19660639

Thanks! I saw the email reply notification and I think you and I are in the same thought arena. I�ve been thinking of a way to make the rear wipe function operate as a continuous intermittent wipe and/or a constant wipe for heavy rain. Possibly using an intermittent wiper relay and a switch like a heated seat switch that has off, low and high? I need to get back into the wiring diagrams and have a think.

A true hack� the flanges on the airbox snout wouldn�t hold tight so the snout kept coming loose. If it wasn�t aligned up right with the hole above, closing the deck lid would knock it off and to the side. So here�s my hack to hold it snugly in place until I find a 997 airbox�..and somehow change the 3.8 badge on it to a 4.0.

Put two clip nuts in there and it's no longer a hack, it's OEM lol.

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Send that 3.8 badge this way when you replace it

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There's a guy on here (I think!) who does them. I had him do one for my FSI 4.0. If you can't find him, let me know and I'll do some digging. You won't want it. They come off ugly. Try to find that guy...

Upgrade! well not really. I found a drip of coolant on the ground, and after some digging, the only coolant quick connect on the system had a leak. I�m sure I could have just replaced the o-ring but figured the hose would probably blow right after. Sods law! Or as the Americans call it, Murphys law. 997 quick connect hose, and a new coolant neck. The kit came with new bolts and a new gasket. Job done in about 30 minutes! I�ve been daily driving the car for a while now, unreal how dirty the engine has gotten 😳

Daily driving her now, so driving in the dark to and from work. Light output was shockingly bad, so the headlight film/tint had to go. The light beam depth was cut really short, not good for the county roads.

This may help some of you with plastic rear windows on early cars or other cars in your stable. I think the e30�s top and back window is 26 years old now. Hit it with some chemical guys #32 polish and was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting that I�d need to replace it. Won�t be long before it�s BaT ready. Took it out for a spin yesterday, it�s damn quick.

Quotes source post: 19822589

Might want to wait a little while as selling a convertible in the winter isnt the best time. I will have the 2024 BaT E30 numbers ready soon. Dont forget to check r3vlimited... BTW I just picked up a Brilliantrot 325iS Auto that I'm giving some love to and then I will sell it next year on BaT also. Needed to scratch the E30 itch again, and its nice to drive a survivor but not really tempted to get back into one.

Wow. Nice

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At the rate I�m going, it will be next summer before its ready anyway!!! I�ve been tinkering on it for over a year now. 😆 I know I�ll miss the e30, been staring at it in the garage for 38 years now. I still miss the �88 325is I had years ago�..but I want a 997 GT3 or a 991.2, so need to free up garage space and $$. Hope you enjoy that 325is�

Ok, sitting here looking at 6" of snow that fell overnight, fireplace going, waiting for Super Bowl and just read thru this whole thread!! What an amazing job and a real education for us newbies!!! Thank you and please keep posting! I think you aren't done with this project yet. And, I cringed at the stickers but than fell in love with them!!

Quotes source post: 19891497

I appreciate the kind words! And I�m glad to be able to share the knowledge gained.

Snow last week, 71 degrees today. Pulled the wheels off and gave the the wheel wells and calipers a good clean. Half tempted to repaint the wheels too. Wild how wide the back wheels are compared to those on my e30. I rebuilt all the calipers on the e30 this morning, removing those 7 and 8� wide wheels seemed comical. The calipers are tiny!

Test fit of the new wheels, 20�. Going safari mode! Nah�.Finally put the new inner tie rods on the Panamera today and wondered what its wheel would look like on the 996�.or if they�d even fit (did not fit in the front).

Sneak peek! I am so freaking pleased, can�t wait to get them on the car. Don�t look too different indoors but outside they pop. Car needs a clean before I will dare to share photos. Weiss Gold 539

First wash and real drive of the year. Totally please with the new wheels; they seem to shift from silver to light gold. Now that the paint is fully cured, I can protect it properly. Then what?! End of the road for the projects I think. saw this 992 Carrera T and the want is off the charts. A couple of other attention grabbers

That is a block or head plug that must be the source of your coolant intermix. Known problem with M96 engines. They are commonly called frost plugs designed to prevent the engine or heads from cracking and are supposed to pop out. The M96 had many of those failures�including the 3.4 996 motor that was in my Boxster.

New project and a slippery slope. headlight stopped working swapped bulbs - nope swapped ballasts - nope checked wiring - nope but it was falling apart rebuild parts of harness - nope here�s where things escalated. I put the light in the oven and removed the lens cover to clean figured I was that far in so new projectors, bulbs, and harnesses for both from adriantaillights. Still need to clean off the butyl residue and reseal the drivers headlight, then do the passenger side. Pretty excited about this one. SOME WORDS OF ADVICE: Use the kitchen nook table, not the dining room table as this is more acceptable to the wife. Do not use your wife�s monogrammed beach towel to protect your headlight, NOT acceptable to the wife (even if you colour coordinate your attire).

Good news, the harness can be replaced without taking the lens off�.. it�s still a pain in the **** though.

Very nice! That would not fly in my dining room (or kitchen). I am relegated to the basement for such matters.

Great thread e30rapidic ! I subscribed. Bonus that you're in NC. What part of RDU to live? I'm out at 40/42 by Cleveland schools and have bought my first 996 c4s Christmas of 2024. engine is going 124K miles strong, but I suspect a rebuild is recommended in my near future and when that happens, I'll need your experience. Cheers!

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Seems we will all be in this situation at some point. Nice job. What high beam bulbs are those and how do you like them?

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Nice, I am fairly close by, in downtown Raleigh. We should meet up sometime. Thanks, I agree. I had started re-wiring them a couple of years ago but the wires I didn't touch had gone to **it. I went with this full kit https://www.adriantaillights.com/sto...non-p747957701

Is that almost $100 in additional tariffs? Am I reading that right?

Quotes source post: 20218465

yeah, it�s the retrofitlabs kit from Germany. So 15% tariffs�

Wife�s Escalade blew up so she has a sedan loaner, so we had to take 2 cars to our son�s soccer game. I�m in charge of the team canopy and also wanted to confirm I fixed the cruise control issue (which I did). So put the roof rack to use, got some funny looks.

Cruise control is fixed and working perfectly. The sunroof headliner panel is installed and secure. Only thing left to do was replace the rear badging. I reused the original emblem with new 3M tape. Now what?

Now what?.....drive more

�The sunroof headliner panel is installed and secure.� did you do anything special to secure it? Mine seems solid but keeps popping loose. It seems to only have 4 hooks that slide forward to lock it in place. I can get it secure but it will eventually pop loose when I open the sunroof. Any way to tell if the track is impeded somehow?

Quotes source post: 20254304

This is exactly what was happening to mine, slide it back, then forward, and the back end would drop down. My fix was just to raise the front of the metal sunroof panel a tiny bit (maybe 1 mm) and reinstall the headliner panel. Worked like a charm.

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awesome! Thanks for the tip. Will try it this weekend.

I managed to fit the wheel from my Panamera GTS into the C4S. Matches the color scheme perfectly lol. I have not tackled the wiring yet but I've figured out what to do. I need to put this wheel back in my Panamera (it's my daily), then suss out which steering wheel I want for the 996 (991 manual or Macan GTS). I'll modify that steering wheel harness for the airbag connection and post a how-to. Reaching out to see if anyone could 3D print a filler plate to tidy up the gap at the top of the column a bit? Not noticeable from driving but I will want to clean it up a bit.

Some notes on dual stage airbags. Stage 1 fires the 70% charge, Stage 2 fires the 70% charge AND secondary 30% charge at the same time. One airbag but two igniters. Dual stage airbag is one airbag but you have a split airbag inflator charge; usually something like a 70% charge and a 30% charge. Both sit side by side in the same inflator housing. You'll probably see four thin wires coming out from the inflator instead of the usual two. If only one inflator fires in a real crash, then the airbag is softer and that is a good thing when the collision is not so severe and you need just enough protection that airbags should fire to protect you. During a collision, the airbag 'brain' receives inputs from all the crash sensors, the speedometer, the brakes, even things like the seat track adjustments and the seat belts. From this data, it instantly calculates whether both charges should fire off (100% charge) or if maybe just one of the two charges in that airbag need to deploy. The larger one fires first in a real-world incident. The smaller charge is typically designed to heat and heat until it cooks off by itself. The second deployment will generally not be such a powerful charge as the initial one. During a crash, the larger inflator portion fires first if only one charge is needed. What happened in your case was that the "thermal timer" for the second inflator charge activated due to the heat from the first charge deploying. The heat from the first deployment warms up the second, un-deployed charge, until it also self detonates. For one reason, this is because the automaker does not want their car leaving the scene with a live charge still intact. Also found a video explaining the same thing... You Tube

Is the inside of the console, under the armrest, painted as well? Anyone painted the detached side pieces the same colour? Or leave them black? I�m painting a 986 console I got on the cheap. Using cheap spray paint I found in the garage to make sure the imperfections and sanding marks don�t show through.

Quotes source post: 20411929

I use a black LVP spray for cleaning up those areas on ones I refinish. Works really well when you get all the soft touch coating stripped off.

One more mod. This popped up for sale about 25 minutes from me. Timing was perfect since I already had the console out. I know what the fuss is about now. Also resanded the console and hit it with a better paint match. Still need to clear coat it but the high temperature is barely above zero for the next few days. Also sorted out a way to get the shifter off without losing a tooth or breaking your own nose. The opening of the vice grips loosely fit around the shifter nicely. Shift boot is lathered up in leather conditioner for now. My Christmas tree house pants are warm AF.

That shifter really is quite fantastic. My wish would be for a reverse lockout. I have almost gotten reverse on some fast 3 -> 2 downshifts on track.

what shifter did the Numeric replace? looks like FF metal internals - would've thought this was pretty close to the Numeric how would you describe the difference?

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correct, it is the function first setup. I have no complaints about it for a stock throw shifter. It was nice and tight, and a huge improvement over what was in it, I just wanted a shorter throw like my e30.

Great progress. Would you say there was a lot of slack in your shifter before fitting the Function First SRS? Still on the original 6 shifter, not a 997 unit correct? I don't recall how miles you have now. Thanks Really considering adding it to mine when I decide to refresh the center console area.

Quotes source post: 20427928

yea, the original shifter I put in had a lot of slop. Quite disappointing to be honest. But I had never driven a manual 996 and was only comparing it to the UUC short shifter in my e30. The 996 shifter and transmission I bought had 80,000 miles on them when I swapped them in to my car. The function first shifter upgrade made it a lot better but I still wanted a slightly shorter throw. I was on the fence about getting a used (worn out) 997 shifter and transferring the function first metal bits over to it�but this numeric came up, so I scooped it up. I can not say anything bad about the FF pieces, well worth the money. I just prefer a short throw. Let me know if you�re interested in my FF setup, it has roughly 2,000 miles in it.

I responded to you long time ago in another thread about your using a dual stage airbag wheel in your 996, and I tried to dissuade you from doing so. I happened to stumble upon the reference (posted to two different forums) and I want to share them with you. https://www.audiforum.us/threads/aud...t-do-it.10870/ https://www.tyresmoke.net/forum/topi...ge-airbag-pic/ Don�t worry, this will be the last time I pester you about this. I simply felt my previous message was incomplete without these references.

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Pestering? Nope. Thank you for sharing, I do appreciate your concern! I haven�t done anything yet, still researching it. My �87 e30 doesn�t even have any airbags and I think about it everytime I get in the car. Getting old, and hopefully wiser. Me, not the car 😉

Done!

The console turned out really good 👍🏻

A somewhat functional work in progress. Macan GTS wheel swap; it�s the same size as the 996 wheel but with a thicker grip. Currently have a resistor in place of the airbag but I�m leaning towards wiring in the stage 1 bag. If I can safely test wiring both stages together, I�d rather do that so it somewhat �matches� the characteristics of the old 996 airbag. That part is TBD. It�s pre wired for the steering controls through the 996 clockspring but not hooked up (I repurposed the tiptronic button wiring). Future project maybe? I have all the steering wheel controls in a box, cost of a reliable linbus to analog converter pushed me to back burner this part for a while. Clockspring needed modifying, I bought a spare to make a cleaner version. For now, it�s fine as is. Horn works as it should. I would love to be able to 3D print a new steering wheel trim piece to cover the clockspring and fill the gap but I have never touched or even seen a 3D printer. Anyone willing to help out with this part? 😊 Took a bunch of photos, one day I�ll do a write up. As for the airbag, I really want a proper fix. I got nailed in our Escalade a couple of weeks ago from a red light runner. Heck of a hit in the drivers left but not enough to set the airbag off. Bit surprising no bags went off but I don�t want to test my luck�..

Update-ish.....still tinkering with this project. You can break the tabs off the old 996 clock spring and reuse it but then you lose the turn signal self cancelling function. I ran like this for a while but I want my car oem+ and for everything to work. So I n ow have a 3D printed clock spring with a larger opening and the tab to self cancel the turn signals. Splendid. I covered the clock spring in mole skin so it will turn smoothly and quietly. Zero issues. Need to get the car inspected this month but have been so busy, I took the easy way out on the airbag for now with the resistor.. Since I converted my car from a tip to manual, the clock spring for a tip has three more wires that I've repurposed and will use for head unit control buttons (the controls came on my new steering wheel but I've removed for now). The horn wiring is simple as I reused the 996 horn wires/connectors through the clock spring. I did add an extension to one of the wires though. I do want to change the steering column trim one day; it now exposes part of the clock spring if you look directly at it from above. Nobody has ever noticed it or said anything to me but I know it's there. That will need to be a 3D printed part. One day,,,, No errors, no lights, and best of all the steering wheel is no closer to you like with those 4" adapters. Also performed the annual oil change. Was still clean, as was the filter. As expected. VAG spline adapter 3 extra wires in the tiptronic clock spring have been heat shrink wrapped together and will be repurposed to go with the steering wheel radio controls. I removed the controls for now. Resistor was put in place to cancel the airbag light (temporarily). Everything connected properly and tucked out of the way under the horn ring. The horn functions as intended. Photo of the 3d printed clockspring, one with moleskin on it to keep it smooth and quiet when turning. Bottom of the original clock spring cover in the middle of test fitting. This opening was why I lost the self cancelling tab and prompted the printing of a new clock spring cover. Jut noticed that I've got the manual clock spring pin the photo (3 less wires that the tiptronic). Top "half" of the clock spring during test fitting. I reused the original nut and washer but did buy a second M20 washer from my local parts store to take out a little wiggle. The M18 washer would be ideal but they didn't have one. Hopefully I'll be able to do the airbag wiring soon.

Re-Engineering at its finest!!!

fantastic work!

Another annual inspection passed (3 months late) with flying colours! NC is getting away from the registration stickers on the license plate now, so removing that few ounces of dead weight. I also realize I don�t drive this thing anywhere near as much as I should.