Yet another new owner - 2004 4S

At last I have mine - I have been looking for quite some time, brought home this gem yesterday. Its been raining steadily ever since so the garage shot will have to do for now :-) Its great to be back in a Porsche, I started my career with a '77 924, then a '80 931, an '87 924S and most recently a '86 951. I worked on all of them myself and I look forward to doing the same for the 911! The car is a 2004 4S with 83.5k miles on it. Not massively optioned - has the sport techno wheels, supple leather and Bose. The previous owner took excellent care of it, dealer servicing at Barrier which really shows. I am amazed how solid it feels for a 10 year old car. Solid PPI done at Chris German - I had them check compression and pull the oil filter so I'm pretty confident all is well in the engine compartment. What needs to be done (besides removing the pumpkins and the front plate )? Since it was dealer serviced, the IMS is still original. Actually in 2011 the dealer replaced the IMS flange to cure an oil leak so they have been in there but the bearing is original. The car will probably be going to Chris to have the LN ceramic bearing installed. There is no evidence that the water pump has been replaced - I plan to DIY this and add a lower temperature thermostat soon(ish). I'll install new engine mounts at the same time, I did feel some vibration at idle. Other than that, it will need tires soon and the radio apparently sometimes goes on the fritz so perhaps an aftermarket conversion is called for. Anyway, I have been lurking here for years researching the 996 so it will be nice to finally be able to contribute to the community! Also thanks in advance for answering the masses of questions I'm sure to ask... Cheers, Michael

Congrats! I recently bought an 02 C2 Cab and am also a patron of Chris'. If you want an extra pair of hands for the water pump, let me know - I'm keen to diy what I can and plan to change the belt and do brakes soon.

Looks great!

Nice looking C4S, congrats on your search and purchase.

Congrats! That's a great looking car.

Congratulations on the purchase Michael For more information on the parts you're thinking about replacing in the near future, Click Here. Enjoy, and post a few more photos after it quits raining.

Nice..love the Sport Techno's

Looks great- congrats

Nice, but someone sooner or later is gonna complain about your mobil1 usage in the background.

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That car is doomed!

Congrats, it is interesting how many of us get to a 996 by way of a 951. I sold my 86 two years ago and bought a 03 C2, love it.

Welcome aboard, don't get it dirty!

Congrats and welcome. The price of 4S's must be on the rise with the so many recently added. I just got mine 3 weeks ago.

Nice looking car...I like your mods plan. 2003 Carrera 4S Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 Rust Red

Congratulations! You and I chose the same car. Which means you have excellent taste! :-)

Yup sold my 86 951 to get into my 03 996.

Enjoy!

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! I'd love to ask for some advice on IMSB options considering my particular circumstances. My 4S has 83k miles on it, apparently with the original bearing. But I have good records & I know the local Porsche dealer replaced the Rear Main Seal and IMS Flange in May 2012 at 77,490 miles (5k miles ago), due to a leak. The clutch has 10k miles on it. The current conventional wisdom is that one should replace the IMSB with the clutch but in my case, I don't think that will happen for quite some time. I got a $2.5k quote to install an LNE IMSB and do the AOS preventatively - I know this is a tough question to answer but do you guys suggest this given the nuances of my cars history? Does it help to any degree that the dealer changed the flange recently? Cheers, Michael

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you've managed to nail down the endless debate on this particular forum: to retrofit the IMSB or not...that is the question. Seems that lower mileage cars are more prone to failure. Regular oil changes around 3000 miles, with a high quality oil, and keeping her topped up factor in as well. Inspecting the oil filter for metal bits is a must, as is adding a magnetic drain plug. Some debate still about retrofitting to an aftermarket no bypass filter mod, but probably good to replace the stock plastic filter housing, some anecdotal evidence that the oil bypass spring may become weaker over time, and it's cheap insurance. Oh, and there is some thought that you shouldn't dog the motor, get it up to high revs once warm. Hmmmm, what else for a stock motor...? 2003 Carrera 4S Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 Rust Red

Shame on the dealer for not throwing in a new bearing...but then that admits a problem... 2003 Carrera 4S Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 Rust Red

Mike, I had mine done at 87k. It had been serviced regularly, and even had the front bearing seal replaced at one point. I had no signs of failure, but wanted the peace of mind. As it sat on my desk for the following weeks on a paper towel, the oil coming out was metallic. Removing the seals revealed a slight bit of axial play and a rough "spot" every 4 or 5th rotation. To me this signaled the early signs of degradation. Since you have no mechanical indications, the question is how much would peace of mind be worth. Everyones situation is different, but if you have the $ available, its something that will need to be done eventually anyways My .02

You would hope/assume that if the dealership was that deep in, they would have inspected the bearing as well. Of course that's also assuming that the tech was competent and not totally indifferent.

Just had mine done at 78k...no symptoms, no leaks, but no record of it ever being done. Bonus: mine's a double-row car. yay! Very glad that I just went ahead and did it.

Awesome! I love seeing all these C4S' popping up lately

Sunday was a beautiful spring day in Seattle - the perfect time to take an early-morning pic of my new toy: I have ordered some things already - was badly in need of a set of new mats so I went with the Lloyd mats. The Proclip mount for my smartphone is installed - works great. So far the standard CDR23 head-unit is working nicely (was intermittent for the PO) so I figure I'll take my time to decide on a replacement. Lately the double din units have been looking more appealing... I'm watching the oil and coolant levels closely - so far there is no sign that the car uses either :-) Beginning to dig into the engine bay a bit more. I removed the air cleaner assembly and serpentine belt in order to check the various pulleys. I cannot detect play or issues with the bearings in any of them which is unexpected given that the water pump is apparently original (83k miles). Lastly, I'm planning to DIY the IMS using the FVD Brombacher IMS retrofit kit - probably later this year (fall). I hope to see some more good results from other Rennlisters in the interim! More to come...

Congrats, looks great! Does anyone know if there is some sort of DIY get together in the Seattle area? As bal mentioned I've been thinking about DIY-ing my brakes as well. I dropped a fortune into Chris's so need to learn to do some of this myself. (02 C4s)

Congrats on your 4S. Seems like a lot of new 4S owners on the forum lately.

So I am planning some preventative maintenance this fall - water pump, engine mounts, AOS, coolant tank and IMS (my car still has the original bearing fitted at 88k miles). Maybe clutch but the current one has 10k on it. Its the IMS replacement that I'd like to ask for some advice/opinion/experience. A short time ago, there were not many options but there is quite an array of possibilities now. Note that I want to DIY this job and will have the engine out - the DIY aspect seems to limit my choices as shown below. Also, this list is constrained to just the options pertinent to my car - an 04 4S with a single row bearing: - LNE ceramic hybrid single bearing - the usual selection, DIY feasible. - LNE retrofit to a double row bearing (not DIY friendly, massive cost of 'faultless' tool and complexity of installation). - LNE plain bearing with oil feed (does not appear to be a DIY option) - Pelican Parts replacement bearing - sealed bearing similar to OEM - cheapest option, easy DIY - TuneRS Direct Oil Feed (DOF) - with either a steel or ceramic bearing - EPS Cylindrical Bearing with oil feed (supplied by Vertex) - FVD Brombacher - ceramic bearing with grease seals in place. Did I forget any? I'm leaning towards the TuneRS DOF with a ceramic bearing because it seems to be the safest approach in that even if the oil feed fails, the bearing will operate just like the commonly fitted LNE bearing. Anyone DIY'd the TuneRS DOF kit? Compelling arguments against this solution or for another?

Enjoy the car. Great looker. Hope it hits 100k very soon. These are amazing cars especially at the current depressed prices.

Congrats... You bought the car I was looking for....lol I ended settling (my way of justifying extras I MUST have..lol) on a black one. My car was similar to your as in it had a great service history, but was on the original IMSB. I had my LN done at DBC Tuning here in San Antonio for piece of mind. They are an authorized LN shop and it was $1500.

Wow $1500 is a great deal! FYI, I was quoted $2619 for a Dual Row LNE upgrade by my local Indy (Chris' German in Redmond). The quote included an AOS (which did not add additional labor and the cost of the part is $160). Shortly after receiving this quote, the DIY alternative started looking more appealing, especially since I really need to change the water pump since its also original, and the engine and trans mounts doubtless need replacement too.

Your shop is a little steep, but not by much. Shops that do a lot of these are really efficient at pulling the trans and getting it done. My $1500 included new oil/filter, LN parts ($600) and the R&R. I think I got a buddy discount, but when I did a PCA run this past Saturday Berk at DBC said he would hook up other Rennlisters if I told anyone.