3rd tow truck ride for my 2000 996!

I love this car. It�s amazing to drive and I don�t regret buying this 118k miles, 2nd owner 996 Cab. That being said, I am so thankful for my AAA membership. I�m about to call in my 3rd tow truck ride. Is this normal? The good news is this car has NEVER left me stranded. Here is the tow history. 1st- I pick up the car in SC. Next day getting ready to drive 1000mi to MA the coolant leaks out. Fixed by local indy. Plastic cooling line couplers failed. Easy fix. 2nd - Major oil spill in my garage after a drive. LN engineering IMS oil line hose was rubbing on something for 2-3 years and eventually caused a major pressurized oil leak. Thank God it didn�t happen on my 1000mi drive! Towed and fixed. 3rd - While on a pleasure drive yesterday the shifter cable broke or became dislodged. Car stuck in 1st gear and I drove home 2mi in first gear. Being towed to Indy tomorrow. Im not a DIY�er obviously. My question to you guys is this: What�s next? - Coolant lines are all good. No corrosion - Engine and transmission are solid - Radiators and drainage lines are clear Is there anything else I can do to proactively prevent catastrophic failures in my high mileage 911? Car runs strong and I want to keep it going.

OMG! These cars are not for the faint of heart. Either learn how to fix it, or open your wallet and have it done. Having to call a flat bed 3 times seems a little over the top, but hey if that�s what you feel you have to do� so be it.

Start with: AOS Plugs Coilpacks Fuel injectors Water pump +Low Temperature Thermostat Fuel Filter Serpentine belt, rollers and tensioner Flush all fluids I did all of the above plus: IMS Solution Clutch Flywheel Rear Main Seal Timing Chain Tensioners 996 ownership isn�t cheap

Yeah, it's a great car but it's 20 years old. Nothing is wrong with the car, but parts need to be refreshed. If not, little things may brake. No need to panic or worry. All you have to do is get your hands on the service history and you can pretty much tell what will need to replace and when. As an FYI, I just went thru my second parts refresh in 10 years. Have owned the car for 20 years. Tell us what's been done and when. We can help you to think thru it. Phil already gave you a heads up on some of the major items. Its all doable and can be cost effective. But it starts with a list and plan. Tell us Your car and its service history.

Most of the above noted items above were taken care of by the prior owner. I have all records dating back to 2005. From 2017 onward the following have been done: - IMS - Clutch - AOS - Flywheel - Spark Plugs - Rear main seal - New Top and associated components - Belt Tensioner and serpentine belt - Coolant Tank - Various AC components - All filters including fuel filter, cabin and engine - All fluids (Tranny, brake, steering, coolant) - New motor mounts recently - Performance exhaust - Driver side window regulator Prior owner provided $37k in receipts from 2005. I have invested 4k with another 4k expected to get the suspension done and new shifter cables. To be done next week: - Replace cam position sensor (minor leak) - Shocks and struts, drop links, mounts As I said the car runs great. Except for occasional 2nd gear pop out and grind (5%)if not shifted confidently above 4k rpm. No error codes Car burns no oil. No smoke on startup No issues starting Brakes and rotors have 10k left Car always garaged and we�ll used as a daily driver by prior owner. So I�m thinking the new shifter cables should be the last of my unexpected failures. Am I missing anything?

You most likely don�t need new shifter cables�

You got a great looking car by the way. Looks like you have all of the major items done since 2017, which means you have the major engine failure points covered as well as the big costs covered! But you may want to consider replacing a few more items not on your list such as: MAF sensor, engine air filter, oil cooler and hoses, and AOS w/ the UAOS Track version. MAF is the center of many cells, its relatively cheap and very easy to replace. Engine Air Filter - always keep a clean one in there. Go with oem. They are cheap and easy to replace. Oil Cooler - they are very durable but the seals do break down after 20 years and so does all the rubber tubes and bits. Relatively cheap but your indy will have to do it since your not a wrencher. AOS - very brittle piece of plastic. Replace with UAOS Track version. While you may not track your car, the beauty of this devise is that it's not only more durable than the oem aos, it will allow you to run an extra quart of oil over full. So this means that you can run the engine oil at full without fear of accidentally overfilling it. In essence, you wont lose any sleep. But yeah, your indy will have to do it for you. Now it's down to replacing sensors, rubber and plastic tubes, connectors and wear items. These items can go at any time if old which you have seen with your cooling and oil leak issues. Your shifting issues are probably from a cable popping loose and is an easy fix. If you want to be certain that all of the bits are in good shape, you can have your indy snake thru the engine compartment and cooling areas to identify rubber/plastic bits to be replaced in advance. I just went thru my second 10 year refresh with all the parts listed on this thread, but here is how i did it with my indy in three phases. Phase 1: started testing my oil over the last few years to see what the analysis shows. All good nothing to worry about. Phase 2: March 2022 had my indy drop my sump to see if any bits were in there. It was clean as a whistle. Had them cut open my oil filter. Clean again. Had them scope my bores from the sump and then again from the spark plugs. Good news, very smooth, no scoring at all. Had them do alot of other little things such as go thru the suspension, get an alignment, go thru the brakes etc. But this phase was critical because I wanted to make sure the engine was in good shape before I spent some real money. Phase 3: in this phase I had them drop my engine to go over it with a fine tooth comb. Had them replace my IMS Retro, RMS, look at the clutch and flywheel, rebuild the LSD, replace the oil cooler, replace the motorsports AOS with the UAOS Track version among many other things. Importantly, When your engine and transmission are sitting on a stand in front of you, it's very easy to find things to replace or fix as a "just in case" or as a "while you are in there might as well do it". Yep, it's expensive to drop an engine, but if you are like me, u would rather make sure everything is in good shape so I don't have to worry about it for 5 or 10 years. Other guys are gifted wrenchers and can fix or replace when broken. It comes down to personal preference. Plenty more to talk about, but i will stop there and take a breather. Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for the excellent list of items to consider. I really appreciate it.

�Replace with UAOS Track version. While you may not track your car, the beauty of this devise is that it's not only more durable than the oem aos, it will allow you to run an extra quart of oil over full. So this means that you can run the engine oil at full without fear of accidentally overfilling it. In essence, you wont lose any sleep. But yeah, your indy will have to do it for you.� Not to detract from the nice list of projects mentioned above� While the UAOS is an excellent recommendation, the track version (and the extra quart of oil) is absolute overkill and a frivolous expense in this case. It�s already going to cost him (way?) north of $1k to have the UAOS done (not to mention all the other work that�s been outlined)� Do you really want to add more $ to every oil change when all is said and done?

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I wouldn't call it frivolous at all. You are mechanically inclined and detail oriented by nature. Many aren't. How many times do we get a thread on someone that is worried sick that they may have overfilled their oil. Then we get everybody and their mother either insulting the guy or giving him 20 ways to drain the oil. Sure, the UAOS Track version gives you the opportunity to run an extra quart of oil if you want. But you certainly don't have too if you a just streeting your car. But what it does is give you the peace of mind that if you put a little too much oil in, you don't have to worry. FAB - Features, Advantages, Benefits

I have a 2k cab with 118k and never broke down, I almost did due to a dying flywheel position sensor. sounds like you had a run of bad luck these cars are 22 years old now so it is what it is

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Aight� fair enough, I still think it�s overkill but I suppose if it gives peace of mind, so be it.

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Good luck this week at the indy. Please let us know how things went. We all love this stuff because we live it daily.

Run of bad luck! I have a 2000 996 (54K) and my car has never needed a tow. I bring it to my indy (in Sterling MA) in the spring and he goes through it looking for preventative maintenance items and - nope! He started to do the coilpacks this year and stopped - they were in great shape. I'll need my brakes done next year. My main concern is I am only putting 1K miles on a year - not enough. Hang in there.

Thank you. 54k is like new. I went for a high mileage 996 thinking it was well used and it had $37k of work done over the years by the prior owner. But 118k is a lot of miles and much needs to be refreshed. Having suspension done this week as it�s still all original. I�m enjoying the project so far but also learning a lot.

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How did things go at your Indy?

EPE found the shifter cable dislodged at the transmission and added new clips to make sure it won�t pop out again. He tells me these clips are commonly added to track cars as they are prone to coming off. The added bonus is that my 2nd gear grinding issue is now GONE so it seems loose shifter cables can impact shifting. New Bilstein B4�s were added. The handling is much improved. Two small oil leaks still exist. RMS and cam sensor area. He says �keep an eye on it and check oil frequently� so those will be addressed in a future visit. Is it common for people to live with minor oil leaks on these cars? Since purchase in May I�m in for 7k of repairs. But car runs great and I�m looking forward to some smooth sailing ahead. Thanks to all for your helpful comments.

The RMS leak isn't a big deal. They pretty much all do it. The more you drive the car the less it will leak. Unless the RMS is a gusher, you can wait to replace it until you plan on dropping the engine for a clutch/flywheel etc. Don't remember your imsb was upgraded. If not, you would do it at this time, uaos, oil cooler as well. You will probably have a few more issues with brittle parts that haven't been replaced going forward. But thats normal. Eventually, it will be sorted and worry free. If you are proactive, you can build out a spreadsheet on what was replaced and when with the service history you referenced in earlier posts and figure out what items to replace from time to time. Because you had an owner that serviced the car, with records, you are light years ahead of many. Unless you are mechanically inclined, you gotta figure approx $15k in refresh parts and service costs every 10 years. This doesn't count suspension upgrades, tires, brakes and other items wear items. Nor does it cover just regular maintenance items. Given that you got into the 996 recently, pretty good chance that the big refresh costs will be mitigated by 996 values rising going forward as interest in the 996 increases. I bought my 2002 996 in 2002, plus refreshed the car twice, plus boatloads of aditonal service and improvements. It will take me years of 996 appreciation to break even. But I don't care. The car and all the fun I have had with it on and off the track was worth it.

GC that’s why your my hero on this list great info and knowledge!!!

Hah! I got bit by the 996 bug 20 years ago as a 37 year old. One of these dsys I'll be in NY and would love to buy you a beer and see your cars. My family is in phila and my wife is from NY.

Gc anytime you can meet our local gruppe of 911 guys OUTLAWS some very tasty cars GT2RS 3 GT3RS a couple of 1000hp turbos and 1/2 dz. 993 various one of our guys is a capt in the state troopers so we get a pass sometimes lol but a very dedicated group of aficionados please come

�The RMS leak isn't a big deal. They pretty much all do it. The more you drive the car the less it will leak.� Really? How was it determined that it�s the RMS?

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Never said it was.