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YOUR RESEARCHNew Member/Owner : Any advice / recommendations
Leading reported evidence
Use local shop here in the dc metro area
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I used a local shop here in the DC Metro area to do the following: IMS Solution install, RMS, air/oil separator, Clutch, Fly-wheel, Clutch Slave Cylinder, water pump, low-temp thermostat, drive shaft flex disc, coil packs, plugs, new battery and a few other things too.
Leading evidence: 'Use local shop here in the dc metro area' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Check aos by way of crank case pressure' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Suggestion
Check your AOS by way of crank case pressure test "AOS also has sines of failure by smoke from exhaust".
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Suggestion
I did a pretty basic inspection from under the car checking basic wearable items, for leaks, and anything that might have been worrisome.
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Suggestion
Check your drain tubes both in frunk and for top, if they get plugged can cause havoc.
Check engine mounts, fairly inexpensive and a diy job
Suggestion or failed attempt
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Suggestion
Check your engine mounts, fairly inexpensive and a DIY job.
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Suggestion
Do your own oil changes, cut open filter and inspect, send oil sample for analysis (only $28.00 from Blackstone), Opening filter yourself is very gratifying and you get to see for yourself how your engine is doing.
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Suggestion
I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy a car if they have no prior experience servicing them either, but if you're at least fundamental you can do a basic inspection yourself, but, it obviously will only tell you a very small story, and yes it can be a gamble on these cars.
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Just got into the porsche game with my first. It's an '00 C4 Cabriolet Silver/Black w/53k miles.
Once I take delivery of it, first thing I plan to do is get an DOF IMS Kit installed at/by TuneRS. Luckily, they're right by my house.
After all the reading i've done, I really like the idea of oil injection for the same price practically as an LN kit.
I ordered a Foxwell NT510 also so I can read codes (if any) and make sure I'm not flying blind to any issues.
I bought the car online, so, aside from a bunch of pictures, videos, carfax, and blind faith, I haven't seen it up close myself yet.
What do you all recommend I look at and, any information you think I need to know in advance? I've tried to read as much as possible before buying a 996. I think I understand the caveats and probably understand 4 or 5 of the 100000000000 MOF's, but, as has been said before, i think most cars have some sort of fatal flaw in them. Particularly high performance cars driven .. well.. in high performance ways. lol.
It's supposed to look like this. i guess we'll soon find out!
I bought mine sight unseen other than pictures a couple states away and didn't opt for a PPI. I did a pretty basic inspection from under the car checking basic wearable items, for leaks, and anything that might have been worrisome. Everything was dry, RMS was leaking a little bit but nothing worth fussing over.
If you can, at least get the car up in the air and get a good look underneath if you aren't have a PPI done, other than that you're limited in what you can actually inspect.
Can't really note on the DOF system as I went with LN after I purchased the car, maybe someone else can chime in that's used that product.
Aside from that, what do the service records look like? Looks like a solid example of a C4 cab, and if it comes with the hardtop that's a nice addition as well.
would never, ever recommend any body buy a car with out a complete inspection, unless it is at a dealer and you are getting a factory warranty.
youre on your own
Thanks, the place looks pretty good. A+ reviews on BBB, clean carfax, etc. I mean, its an 18 year old $20,000 Porsche with 53k miles. We know what we're getting into at the end of the day.
There was no history of IMS/RMS/AOS work done, so, looks like that's on my very short list of things to get done as soon as i take delivery.
I just got my paperwork (Title, etc), so, ... so far so good.
Fingers crossed... and thanks
You're the one doing the intro followed up by a wise *** comment. Good luck with the car. Looks like it has an aero front bumper and sideskirts. Looks good.
gotcha. so the "you're on your own" comment was totally necessary by this guy.
whatever.
just delete this thread admin.
sorry i bothered to post on your site.
Thanks for all the positive private messages. My faith in humanity has been restored. lol.
reopening my thread.. was just bummed my first thread degraded into negativity in .000003 seconds.
lets move on..
Glad to see you back online. Hope to see some more pic when you get the car. Enjoy and keep us up to date. These cars are just a blast to drive and you can never learn enough about them.
thank you. I gotta say, I'm pretty excited. Gonna be a big difference from what I'm used to. Currently have a '70 F100 390FE and Dodge Ram 1500 with 37" tires.
Yes, big difference, Ram 3500 Diesel, Ford F250 Diesel, Toyota FJ40 & 1949 Dodge B1PW "Power Wagon" here. my Porsche is the only non 4wd vehicle I own (guess I should of got a C4, lol)
I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy a car if they have no prior experience servicing them either, but if you're at least fundamental you can do a basic inspection yourself, but, it obviously will only tell you a very small story, and yes it can be a gamble on these cars. As is with any. However, doesn't mean you're on your own, happens quite often.
and by records, are there service records available for maintenance over the course of the 53k miles? If not, it's another toss of the dice.
I have a few recommendations to consider and since your a member you can use the search for allot of info and help :
Clean your radiators, this is something that's always forgotten and is an easy DIY with no costs.
Re-route your manual frunk and engine hood manual cables "in case you lose power" again no cost.
At your 60k Service, replace your water pump, many will say low temp thermostat also but read up on this.
Check your AOS by way of crank case pressure test "AOS also has sines of failure by smoke from exhaust".
Check your drain tubes both in frunk and for top, if they get plugged can cause havoc.
Check your engine mounts, fairly inexpensive and a DIY job.
Do your own oil changes, cut open filter and inspect, send oil sample for analysis (only $28.00 from Blackstone), Opening filter yourself is very gratifying and you get to see for yourself how your engine is doing.
There are many other things that this site is very helpful on.
Excellent. Thanks again for the great info. I'll defiitely continue to read all I can (I spent what felt like 17 days reading every post in Cuda911's thread hahaha... really leads you to question the validity of any kind of PM ... j/k).
I just want to make sure I maximize my first visit to TuneRS when I send it in for the DOF. They're already going to do the RMS/IMS. I didnt know how much more I wanted to tack on to that bill. AOS? Water Pump? Spec Clutch? Flywheel? ...etc..
After that 1st visit and at least some peace of mind from the IMS repair, I can definitely do alot of the DIY stuff myself. I'm no stranger to mechanics. I wrench on most of my own stuff (outboard motors, radars, depth sounders, audio equipment, 2 stroke engine rebuilds (outboards, motocross and pwc engines), 4 stroke engine rebuilds (motocross and atc engines), carburetors, ignition systems, ...etc.
I know enough to know that I dont know enough yet about the M96/97 motors to do a large, critical repair just yet. I need to wade into deeper waters slowly..
I'll probably start with simple stuff like intakes/plenums/double-din/etc (obviously oil changes and minor maintenance like that as well).
I'm looking forward to the oil changes and cutting filters and analyzing.. reminds me of my dam 6.0 Powerstroke days...
Welcome! I recently bought a 04 C4S after several years of 964 ownership... I spent a lot of time researching the 996 and love the value you get with this series! I bought mine out of state but was able to inspect it before I purchased it with 38K miles. Like you I wanted to address the IMS right away. I used a local shop here in the DC Metro area to do the following: IMS Solution install, RMS, air/oil separator, Clutch, Fly-wheel, Clutch Slave Cylinder, water pump, low-temp thermostat, drive shaft flex disc, coil packs, plugs, new battery and a few other things too. I also bought a set of refurbed winter wheels and new winter tires so I can use it year round. While it added up quickly I wanted to get everything squared away so I could enjoy it! Good luck and hope to see an update soon!
Nice! Thanks for that input. For my first pass, I was trying to get all the tranny-related stuff done as from what I understand, they don't have to drop the engine.
I'm trying to keep my first indy visit cost under the price of the car itself hahaha. :-)
No worries, it's a good bunch here. Just stick up for yourself and all is fine. And, don't build your own IMSB in your garage.
53K miles for 20K, sounds like you did very well in the purchase!
Thank you ...
It hasn't been shipped yet. We're having trouble finding a shipper (due to the holidays), so, I'm not really sure exactly what I got myself into yet. Car is still 1,500 miles away. hahaha.
After everything you've been through, you're probably laughing like "aww man, thats nothing, let me tell you a story.... " :-)
I was actually hoping Mr. Raby was going to use your motor for one of his classes. I was bummed to see he didnt get it in time.
Ha! Want some stories? Haven't even posted here about my Boxster issues. Today's bill was $4,368. Last month it was $2000, and the month before it was $1,500. Figured WRONG that Boxster racing would be more affordable than 996 racing. I need to find a good place to hide the invoices from the Sig Other.
LOL.. i figure mine will let me back in the bedroom after another 3-4 days... Yesterday I finally gave her the "honey i just bought a porsche" speech. hahaha
I'll know for sure next week after the holiday. I worked delivery into my deal, so, they're taking care of it on their end. They ship high end cars all over the place all the time, so, I'm sure they'll be able to handle this. The guy I'm working with was saying that it probably just hasn't gotten picked up by someone coming this way yet because noone's taking loads this far south right now because of the holidays. I think that sounds logical/reasonable. Hopefully I can get it onto a truck next week and if all goes well have it here sometime around the new year.
Let me get this straight ... you put about $8,000 in a car that's worth about $8,000? Saaaaweet!
oh, and please teach me how to purchase and maintain Porsches without the "sig other" knowing. I'm all ears.
Save some $ on the shipper and buy yourself a airline ticket, and drive the car home! It's a great way to bond with it and learn all the little noises and idiosyncrasies of your "new" baby...
The dealer picked up the tab on the shipping, so, our agreed number included whatever it cost them to ship.
If i didn't know what an IMS was, I would totally drive it home. I bought a motorcyle on ebay 20 years ago and drove it home across about 8 states. Best road trip ever. However, if you told me there was this bearing in the engine that could explode and tear a hole in the space/time continuum, I never would've done it.
I could just picture myself driving the 996 home with the radio and a/c off, biting my nails, and straining to hear every sound the engine makes. lol. i cant do it. i'm driving it from the back of the truck straight to the indy for the DOF IMS kit install.
I see... isn't that the same thing I'm taking it to TuneRS for? I guess their version is called the DOF ?
I didn't see anything about "prequalified" on that site. Am I missing something?
They are not the same. The TuneRS keeps the ball bearings......the IMS Solution replaces the ***** with a single bearing.
Look at this.
http://theimssolution.com/2016/09/16/how-does-it-work/
You can also look at the pre and post procedure checklist on that link. That is where you'll find the prequal info.
Interesting... I didn't know all of that. I'll probably end up going with TuneRS's DOF since they're local. It's probably not as good as "The Solution", but, probably still better than a non oil injected LN? I think that's reasonable logic?
I'm guessing since it's so hard to find a price, it's probably not cheap either. :-)
Looks like about twice the cost of the DOF. I'm sure it's worth every penny. I think I'm gonna stick with the DOF so I can get a bunch of other stuff one at the same time (water pump, AOS, RMS, clutch, plugs, etc) while I have the car in the shop.
she's home!!!!!! i just took her for a spin. Holy Frigin Sh*t. I own a Porsche.
I'm in love.
first major thing i see wrong.. Headlights are really dim. Gonna try some new bulbs tomorrow.
looks like my "dim" headlights were just both low beam bulbs were burnt out. That makes more sense now. lol.
Fun weekend in the 996. I put about 150 miles on her this weekend. To my surprise, the wife LOVES the car! This makes my life so much easier/better. She feels safe in the car and has no objections rolling around town running errands in her.
I found a screw in one of the tires today , so I had to do a little tire patching today as well. Feels good starting to get my hands a little dirty here and there with the car already.
The wife and I did a little tag teaming on the hard top too over the weekend.
All in all, so far so good. Tomorrow I make my IMS/RMS/AOS/Clutch/tstat/etc appointment.
Good stuff. Having your spouse involved with the car is definitely a plus if you work well as a team. I settled for "I'm happy you have it and do whatever, just leave me out of it."
With regards to your headlights - was it the fogs acting as a backup to your blown bulbs? Or were you in a total blackout situation?
LOL.. yeah.. my wife usually hates every car I own. She's kinda like that too, which is why this really surprised me. I couldn't believe she was helping me take that hard top on and off (and with a positive attitude!!!).
So, I was kinda in a half-denial state-of-mind where i was telling myself the headlights normally worked that way and you're supposed to pull the switch out when driving at night (i was purposely avoiding that section of the manual while i'd look up other stuff). I didn't want to admit to myself that i had no functional low beams. I finally got over it today and went to work on the lights. It was even easier than the posts/videos online make it out to be!
You get over that IMS fear pretty quickly with the key in your hand and your brand new to you porsche within an arms length. It's a challenge to keep to the plan which basically goes flying out the window.
Dropped her off today for the IMS DOF Kit install, AOS, RMS, Clutch kit, Low temp tstat, and oil/filter change. Hopefully I don't get a call tomorrow for a longer list of items needed. :-)
There was an invoice from the PO sitting in the passenger seat when the car was delivered last week.. He dropped $5,000 in service in May of 2017 and a water pump and brake bleed were in there. As well as plugs, a battery, a couple of CV boots, hydraulic rams for the frunk/engine, all new speakers, etc.. a bunch of misc stuff
Alright gents. I've been blooded in by the holy ritual that separates 996/997 NA porsche owners from large stacks of hundred dollar bills. IMS DOF kit is in and I'm ready to run with the pack.
Original Dual Row IMS bearing and RMS were still in car
Artists rendering of new IMS DOF kit being installed
Fancy shiny marketing brochure that lured me and my debit card in
You might want to have them check the engine mounts and coolant reservoir while the engine is out. They should be able to cut you a deal on the labor for the engine mounts, seeing as how there's no incremental labor. A bit late, but here's the link for the IMS prequal
http://imsretrofit.com/pre-procedure-qualification/
Should be fine if there as no metal in your oil and the IMS looked good when pulled. Dual row failures are very low anyhow.
Make sure you check oil (via dipstick) and coolant levels regularly - manual says at every fill up (I like to do it after the engine has cooled down after reaching full temp). Some oil consumption is common.You might want to condition the soft top if it hasn't been done in a while. You want to operate the soft top regularly to keep in working properly. Regarding the drain plugs, there was a TSB where they removed the lines - this greatly reduces the likelihood of clog and makes maintenance a lot easier.
Congrats and happy trails
Thanks for the time/advice. Much appreciated.
So far so good.. the mounts looked ok. I was more than willing to put in new mounts if it needed it. The coolant reservoir is one of those projects I intend to do at home. I want to start doing more of the work myself. I just really wanted the peace of mind of having the first major service done by professionals.
The wife and i have been taking off the hard top and spending the weekends driving around with the soft top up/down. I want to buy a new plastic rear window and have it professionally sewn/glued in. There's about a 1 inch section along the bottom seam I dont trust.
I need to read up more on the drain plugs. I'm not familiar with this issue/TSB.
My wife was not happy with me driving on the highway yesterday at 85 and taking a call on my cell (could have been my office), so, she "made" me buy a new double din stereo with bluetooth. That's my current next project. :-)
The IMS bearing now lives alongside my piston of shame on my desk at work
I tried building up one of my 200X motors as crazy as i could and i overlooked the fact that I put in a high compression piston (flat top) as well as a cam with a lot longer duration. Oops.
just wanted to follow-up with y'all
its been a fun trip so far! the 996 has been a great car so far!
it's a fun daily driver and has been very reliable.
i put a new soft top on the car and just had an issue with clogged drains. other than that, it's been trouble free.
Yes they never stop being fun!
Wish my indy would have let me keep my old IMS bearing! I guess they have to send them into LN engineering for eval or something...
Yamasaki
You're in Fort Lauderdale....(well, sounds like Coral Springs, but) we have a nice local group..I'm sure you are PCA member .......right !!
You just missed our 3rd Thursday Happy Hour....but be sure to get in touch with me if you have any interest in meeting some local PCA members.
Daniel
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