Pending Projects

There is probably a thread on this topic, but heh... What projects have you planned for your 996? As most of us are pretty meticulous when it comes to maintenance it would be interesting to see what other people have on their list. Here is mine: Short Term Preventive Maintenance (PM) Plans: 1. Water Pump, LT Thermostat, Coolant Flush, Coolant Line inspection, Serpentine Belt. 2. Bumper removal and radiator clean up. Long Term PM Plans (or when I'm forced to): 1. AOS 2. Brakes/Rotors 3. Been reading a lot about chain guide issues and I wonder how intrusive of a PM that would be and how much $$$? 4. I believe the suspension is beginning to show it's age. Upgrades/Mods: 1. Bluetooth ... I hate browsing through radio 2. Fister D or Gundo Hack 3. 997 shifter (maybe) 4. Body color paint of center console and horseshoe 5. Suspension? That's really it for me. I'm also interested in "must have" suggestions.

1) Taking my crank pulley back to stock. 2) Time for some new pads, or maybe pads and rotors, depending on what the caliper tells me. 3) Repaint the passenger-side rocker. I'd like to pull the clear bra off the nose, but I am certain there are a couple of cracks in the paint from collisions with cones/pets/whatever over the years, and the thought of peeling huge sheets of paint off of the bumper is preventing me from tackling this job. It's going to turn into a respray, and I don't want to spend that money right now. The 996 is in good shape, so most work will be to keep it in good shape. The Corvette, though... 1) Need to repair the center console 2) Need to make a couple of hatch carpet repairs 3) Find (or make) a CF roof panel - the acrylic is going to bust before too much longer, and I don't want to be roofless 4) Swap out the line lock switch for one less noticeable, so it's not OBVIOUS that the car is set up to be a burnout machine

Car is still very new to me, but I now have a pair of mufflers with the PSE mod I hope to install soon. Also plan to change the serpentine belt and inspect all of the pulleys/idlers/water pump and go from there. Down the road - have the front bumper repainted and begin a regular oil change regimen with analysis at each change. I am also considering using Reviver to freshen the color of the convertible top.

I'm doing serpentine belt with my WP as well. I edited my text above. Schnell, curious why you going back to the stock pully? Any wisdom you'd like to share?

Short Term Preventive Maintenance (PM) Plans: 1. Maybe a bumper respray - everyone tells me it looks fine, though 2. New wheels Long Term PM Plans (or when I'm forced to): 1. AOS 2. Brakes/Rotors - last oil change my indy said they were at 70%, so I've got time 3. IMS when the clutch is due (currently also about 70%) 4. Shocks - they just seem a little dodgy to me... Upgrades/Mods: 1. Maybe new wheels belong here 2. Possibly look at some suspension stuff

For brakes & rotors, I usually check them periodically myself and wait for the sensor to come on. One time a dealership told me my brakes are at 8%. I came back home and checked it myself and the pads still had half their meat on them. I'm skeptical with Indy brake recommendations.

Minor cosmetic things, since a bunch of the typical mechanical things have been recently done. (Clutch, IMS, RMS, all fluids, water pump, LN thermostat, coolant tank, etc.) 1. Car is scheduled to have the windows tinted in a couple of weeks. Doing 40% all around. 2. Getting rid of the awful shift ****. I cannot stand the shape of that thing. I have the OEM plastic retaining piece for the boot on order, as well as an e-bay alcantara boot. Didn't really want to cut up the original, just in case. Still trying to decide on which **** to go with - it's between the Function First, Rennline, or an OEM 997 ****.

First on my list is a new suspension (shocks). Car is a 2004 with 56k and it seems soft and squishy in and out of corners, probably time, thinking OE or Bilsteins, but not a track setup.

chase a vacuum leak after i replaced the AOS and had all of the hoses off. replace plugs alignment rebalance tires

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I put the UD pulley on the 996 because I planned to use it for as many or more driving events as the Boxster it replaced, and the UD pulley has some benefits for that application (less parasitic loss, less chance of burning up the power steering, and (this is open to debate) potentially less cavitation of the water pump at redline. However, the fairly delicate nature of the 996's black paint has interfered with my driving event plans, so I've been using my Corvette more for stuff that involves potential cone impacts. I'm also having a very occasional issue with the ABS/PSM lights coming on. This may be due to my LED tails, but I'm wondering if it's being exacerbated by the UD pulley resulting in the alternator turning slightly more slowly than intended. I absolutely still recommend the UD pulley as the cheapest way to wring additional performance out of the M96.

If you plan to do the shifter ****, might be cool to go all out and go with a short shifter kit ( DIY here if interested). Of course, if you find it necessary. Personally, I actually like having a road less traveled with my shifting, but it's not for everyone. While you're in there you can replace your shifter cables too. Your list looks good so far! If you plan to DIY these and need help don't forget to check out our tech articles here . What type of suspension upgrade were you thinking of doing?

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Thanks, but I already have a 997 shifter installed, which I like.

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My post was directed to the OP. (@Rubik).

My car was pretty low optioned to start with, so I've added a few things and have plans for a few more -- On deck: Pads/rotors eventually ... still OK but probably will need replacing next year Suspension ... will need a refresh sooner or later T96 steering wheel ... just got it a couple days ago and haven't installed it yet Onboard computer hack ... have 4 stalk switch and wiring harness, was waiting on new steering wheel Shift cable replacement ... have Numeric cables sitting in a box RemoteTOP controller ... also sitting in a box, as I just got it recently Radar detector ... haven't figured out a good way to mount the laser antenna yet Heated seats ... on the drawing board, probably in conjunction with re-covering the front seats Already done: Wheels/tires ... replaced the 17" twists/OEM Bridgestones with 18" Sport Designs and Michelin PSS Kenwood nav head unit Gentex auto dim mirror with Homelink LN deep sump kit, stainless baffle, spin-on filter adapter, and magnetic drain plug New water pump, serpentine belt, and low temp thermostat Numeric Racing shifter TWM stainless steel shift **** Center radiator kit and coolant tank replacement Zunsport intake grills (more expensive than Home Depot DIY, IMO better looking) Bi-xenon headlight conversion (currently out of the car as I need to rewire the parking lights) LED tail lights Body color bumperettes

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Me like!

- change the oil soon, didn't think I was going to do about 6000 miles in 4 months - clean my rims, they look terrible - got the oem mufflers in the mail, have to put them on so my rattle stops - cut the old mufflers apart and make them louder as well as mount a electric bypass valve - remove cats Since we're talking cars, the Jeep's list - get it to a shop that can take care of a heat shield that's flapping around - put a new stereo in (cheap one) and run some new rca cables to the amps - put a new drivers side switch in the door so the windows and locks may actually work again - maybe get a new steering wheel cover

i really like the new function first **** - feels so much better

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i really like the function first classic **** - feels/looks so much better

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Any pics of it installed?

Eurocharged Stage 2 package. 630hp/700 lb-ft of torque.

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this is the only one i took - i did the gloss colored console and horseshoe as well its not the best angle and its before i realized i needed the washer to make the pattern line up - ill try to post a better picture later. this is the delrin one, im exchanging for the aluminum because it blends better with my gloss black console. the shifts feel so much stronger though

I have just added the spin-on filter, magnetic drain plug and DT40 oil. Next up and hopefully within the next two weeks I will be replacing: - Coil Packs - Spark Plugs - Match Trigger on my USP45

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this is a better pic of someone elses

Nice

Some important wanna dos/haveta do's: If you do the AOS on your own (which is a royal PITA on the MKII 996s), a few pointers and WIIT (While I'm I There): The Replacement AOS will have a small plastic extrusion that is not on the original AOS, and must be dremeled off. Otherwise, no way, no how you can get that last bolt in place. GO ahead and replace the oil filler tube. Not something you want to go back and do after you just did all that. It's cheap and easy. Just be VERY careful pulling out the 2 bolts and reinstalling so they don't disappear by falling into the oil sump. Replace the plastic barbed coolant line fitting with the brass 3/8" dual one from hardware type store. Again..sucks to go back and do it afterwards. Just unbolting all that stuff and moving it around can snap some of this plastic easily. I also replaced a few of the coolant hoses (like the one under the expansion tank, since you have to remove the tank to replace the AOS), though I admit, they looked and felt just fine. Also, replace the 4 O-rings in the oil cooler. once you have the intake runners off, it's sitting right there. All 4 of mine had leaks. It's a mess removing it, because it is upside down, you just have to be very fast with the towels when you lift off the cooler to prevent much from flowing out of the cooler when you lift it. Don't forget new motor mounts. Makes a world of difference.

On my list todo: Short shift kit (probably just 997 oem one) Suspension (M030 RoW, though coilovers seem fun if I ever get around to the occasional track day). Current suspension is stock original with ~84K miles and starting to feel bouncy. AOS (no record of it being done before I had car, may just do proactively) Water pump/thermostat (done by previous previous owner ~50K miles ago) Windshield replacement (all scratched and knicked up) Pull front bumper, clean radiators, install mesh grills (maybe) Respray front bumper (that's a pretty common theme for us, hey?) Serpentine belt replacement. Current belt has roughly 20K miles on it, but some no-name, non-OEM thing that mechanic didn't recognize. Done ~10 hour detail (last weekend), wheels off, on jack stands, etc. Looked good for that one day afterwards. :roll eyes: Oil & Filter change ~1300 miles ago Plugs / Coils Front Pads/Rotors IMS/RMS Replaced Clutch Replaced Coolant Tank Replaced Replace OEM stereo with Pioneer AppRadio4 Double-DIN. Hunted down rattles with info from thread here in RL. [/LIST]

Still searching the net for anyone that has any Unicorn semen left as mine has run out for awhile now. I'm afraid if I don't treat my IMS soon, I may experience a failure. In the mean time, I plan on replace my blinker fluid again.

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Good advice. Although, AOS is way too complicated for me. I'll pay someone to do it for me.

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I'd like some of that blinker fluid. Where do I pick some up?

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Here...

My right side blinker always seemed to blink a little slower and was quite noisy. I did a blinker flush and now both work amazing. This is definitely a Pcar must.