1998 996 C2 manual rolling restoration

So I’m lucky enough to have a super low mileage 05 Turbo that we use for road trips , just back from 1600mile holiday to Holland , Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Car went like a dream and nice to be able to open the taps for long periods in Germany. But a few weeks ago I bought a very cheap 98 C2 manual coupe with no options to speak of. It was cheap due to an engine issue but I’ll come to that later It’s actually a pretty good car, virtually no corrosion at all, it’s had a few £k spent recently on “good stuff” meaning OEM parts that always need replacement But I’m not driving it yet, I thought I’d do a budget restoration, meaning replace as little as possible unless it is kaput and the first area is front suspension and brakes. I’ve removed callipers and struts and apart from them being rusty (top mounts) , they seem fine , even the bearings are good, So I’ll do updates on what I do and how I’m going to save money by not just replacing things that look a bit grotty. A complete OEM front strut is going to be several hundreds so twice that for both sides Here’s where I am

Best of luck, watching with interest.

The rusty parts have been soaking in white vinegar for a couple of days and the first part to come out is one of the cup washers / caps …it’s looking like new but with no protection so I’ll get some Lanogaurd on it

The top mount is not ready yet but it’s getting there Part number and arrows visible

... Are you reusing that rusty old top mount?

Top mount bearing stripped, cleaned and inspected..all good just needs fresh grease

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Yes as there's nothing wrong with it just superficial rust which will soon be gone. White vinegar for a few days gets rid of it. The actual rubber bush is still perfect..a pair of new ones with VAT and Postage is £150. I'm currently unemployed so I have to be careful where I spend the little money I have. The bump stops are the only part of the shocks that I'm replacing , everything else is cleaned , protected and reused.

Top Strut Mounting fits PORSCHE 911 996 3.4 Front 97 to 01 99634301804 Febi New | eBay Type Suspension Strut Support Mount. PORSCHE 911 (996) 3.4 Carrera Coupe Petrol 08/1997 07/2001 RWD 24 301 221. PORSCHE 911 (996) 3.4 Carrera Coupe Petrol 08/1997 07/1999 RWD 24 320 235. PORSCHE 911 (996) 3.6 Carrera Coupe Petrol 10/2001 08/2004 RWD 24 320 235. www.ebay.co.uk

I had seen those but I'd rather stick with OEM. I'm sure they're good but I'd rather stick with these.

Great to see this, I am doing a similar thing with my 1998 C2 cabriolet, I don't have a huge budget and the car has spent some time by the seaside so some of the bits are super rusty and fight me at each removal but it is amazing how well some of the parts clean up with a wire brush and a angle grinder disc!! I just did the same with my top mount bearings so hopefully they will be fine Just finished doing the front suspension set up amd about to reinstall new Rads etc then onto the rear! It's great to see other people doing it on a budget/hands on fixing parts (makes me feel a bit less mad doing the same as you )

That’s the parts out the vinegar and waiting for bump stops to arrive before I reassemble the shock I’ll paint the top mount but the other bits are covered in Lanogaurd grease

Yesterday I replaced one of the radiator brackets that was in bad shape. Managed to pick up a really good rust free one on eBay that I gave 3 coats of stone gaurd as well to prevent future corrosion. Managed to swap it over without removing condensers or the radiator ( didn’t drain coolant) …well pleased with that Just need another one of the clips that hold fan assembly to the radiator

Been working on drivers side front. Completely stripped and parts replaced where necessary New wheel bearing pressed in today and reassembled I bought BF Goodrich ss hoses to replace the original flexi ones and the way they fit isn’t great , they don’t have the little tangs to stop spinning instead a 14mm spanner to hold it but they don’t have a flange and are not far from going right through the hole (if that makes sense)

Zero rust anywhere thankfully I’ve had to buy new wheel arch liners as they were bust up real bad and pieces missing New radiator frames fitted now and the car came with brand new rads and condensers so up front all good

Here

Front callipers seals today. I went for seals from Big Red as they’re much more affordable than Brembo’s ( which I did use on my Turbo) We’ll see how they do The original seals were still perfect after 26yrs ..unbelievable

I’m fitting new front wheel arch liners as the old ones were destroyed basically I’ve offered up the passenger side first and hit a problem There is a turret that is on the outer corner and it has a hole in it as though it’s used as a fixing but it doesn’t match up to a hole in the radiator frame and also creates a big gap between the frame and the liner Anyone any ideas why it’s there? Photo includes the same turret on the driver side for clarity Last photo is passenger side The whole triangular part was missing from both sides so I have no comparison

A quick video

This is a better view

Power to your elbow UM, thanks for sharing....

Anyone know why that raised part is there? Is it just a stand off to create a big gap??

So I thought the car was completely rust free but alas after removing the sill trim piece in front of the rear wheels I encountered this Not too bad and very localised but shows what can happen when something’s covered up The other side is perfect thankfully

This week I’ve fitted new gear selector cables as 2nd was very hard to engage and stay in, i tried everything else first but still no good so I found a NOS set on eBay and fitted them Monday, all good now thankfully, 2nd fires in easily like all the others..very happy

This week I’ve fitted new gear selector cables as 2nd was very hard to engage and stay in, i tried everything else first but still no good so I found a NOS set on eBay and fitted them Monday, all good now thankfully, 2nd fires in easily like all the others..very happy I must say the old cables were a b@stard to get off , corroded badly to the bracket , took about 1 hour

I should say I haven’t actually driven this car yet, I need to get on and weld up that hole and get it back together

Looking back at the hub photo did you use white vinegar to clean it. If so did you take the hub off and submerge it or did you spray white vinegar on and left it to work.

how hard a job was the gear cable change - was it the full cables?

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Yes I submerged them for a couple of days, all that crap just washes off.

Yes full cables , hardest part was getting the old green cable off the bracket. Red rubber grease on the big grommet and work it in, much easier if you had someone in the car to guide the news ones in.

Been looking at the sill pictures posted and on the image showing the 'perfect' side it looks like the cover has seam sealer or similar ? I'd be wanting to remove that to ensure you don't have water sat begin rotting away your sill...hidden from view ?

Been looking at the sill pictures posted and on the image showing the 'perfect' side it looks like the cover has seam sealer or similar ? I'd be wanting to remove that to ensure you don't have water sat begin rotting away your sill...hidden from view ?

Yeah you’re right I might do that It’s the factory seam sealer, they laid it on pretty thick

The Turbo came out today for an engine warm up and a drive on the frozen track All good

...looking at that image again (perfect sill) something doesn't look right to me ? It looks like the sill has a plate over it ,as if over a repair ...or if rusted and repaired ? Most if not all mk1 and mk2 mazda mx5s will be repaired similarly when they all rust at the rear end of the sill...Just worth checking bud. By the way I hope this isn't the case

I put a camera in through the the bottom and it's all original and still has the galvanising on all sill parts , that side (ns) is perfect , it's the other side I need to get on with and get it welded I think it's the seam sealer that's making you think that.

Today I’ve started on repairing the os sill end This is it before removing the rotten piece I removed calliper and disc out the way to get better access

This is after

This is a view inside the sill It’s really clean and no rust at all One spot weld on the left part (2nd image) and one in the middle then they lash on the seam sealer really thick which has generally worked really well apart from this one spot on my car.

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What did you ask for to get that finish and colour on the turbo twists? Just trying to imagine if that would suit a silver 996 turbo.

They are from the factory..Option 410 (18" Hollow Spokes) + Option XD9 (Wheels painted in body colour with colour crests) , luckily they leave that unpainted strip around the edge which I think looks just right. Not me that ordered it though just a very wealthy individual in 2005.

Today I’m going to start replacing some of the rear coolant hoses starting with the worst one which is the complicated looking thing on the near side It’s starting to decompose so it’s preventative maintenance I guess I bought a pack of new hoses from Germany but totally forgot about import duty due to Brexit ! Not great and they’re not all there , 6 in total. 3rd image is the worst one

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Where/which company in Germany did you get them from?

Radiator hose for PORSCHE 996 Carrera 2 3.4 6-speed radiator hose SET REAR Radiator hose for PORSCHE 996 Carrera 2 3.4 6-speed radiator hose SET REAR Hoses for the rear area of the cooling system Description:… partworks.de

No one doing these in the UK?

I’ve got a strange problem The new hoses are all good apart from the one I was really keen to replace, it’s the one from the header tank down to the pump , it also has a T section near the pump for one of the aluminium heater pipes to connect into , this has a 180’ curve on the end so the hose lines up but the new one has a long tail with a bend in it so is never going to connect to that pipe. I’ve looked on google and they’re all like the new one, the old one is just a very short T , you can see where the clamp was. 1st photo Any ideas why mine is different to every one on the net ?

You can see it better here I wonder if the aluminium heater pipe pipe has been updated and this hose fits that. ! If I go on D11 for that part it's a photo of a box !!

You can see in this parts diagram (no.32 )how the end curves right around, that's like mine but I think the new pipe doesn't do that. Also part no 18 (the rubber hose) looks like mine , so is the old part.

This is the new version , the end doesn't curve right round

My 2001 C2 has a hose/pipe like the new one you've been supplied. Looks like there was a change to the part in MY99 and another in MY02: I would guess that you need 99610625054. Or you could swap the metal pipe to the newer version to match the hose.

Thanks ndg , that's exactly correct, I'll probably get a new pipe to suit the new hose.

Copied from a Rennlist post.. So, it turns out that in 1998, Porsche used one combination of water pump hose and lower rigid pipe on the 996 (shown as the top pair in the photo below. The rigid pipe has a goose-neck end). Sometime later (mid 1999?) they changed over to different design, where part of the curve is in the hose rather than in the pipe. (shown as in the bottom pair below.) However, the Porsche catalog indicates that ALL of the 99's have the later design, when they do not. The solution is to replace the rigid pipe along with the hose, which is annoying....

I’ve fitted new dog bones to the rear end so 4 in total The rear disc shields are useless because the area where the bolts go through have dissolved due to dissimilar metals so I’ve imported some aluminium bolts from good old China..they’re so light and I figured they’re not needed to be particularly strong so should be fine and when I fit new shields it shouldn’t happen again.

Looks like the dogbones were easy to change? my mates certainly were, he said they've made a huge difference too. I had a go of it a few months ago and the rear stepped out well before my Turbo does, I put it down to the cheap tyres he had on it at the time but sounds like it was the dogbones!

Yeah they're real easy to do. It might be the tyres though, cheap tyres are not a good option on any car especially one of these.

I have just cleaned up my rear brake dust shields, they had just started to show small signs of deteriation, but not enough to warrant replacing yet.I will keep an eye on them during winter work in the future. Do you use alislip during your rebuild ?

I replaced my shields about 2 years ago as one was perished and just held in place by 1 screw. Turns out the new OE shields are galvanized steel, not aluminum.

As you know the rears can be removed easily without any dissembling but the front ones are circular and go between the carrier and the hub , something you have to remember when doing the wheel bearing or you have to take it all apart again I didn’t forget on the other side

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Really? I've got 2 to collect from Edinburgh Porsche , I bought those alloy bolts so they wouldn't react but now they will.

I got mine from Rose Passion. They came in OE Porsche packaging. Struck me as odd, but they are exactly 1:1 with the OE aluminum ones, just steel.

I have heard it said that the reason that it seems the rear faces of Porsche discs corrode while the front remains relatively clear may be down to the existence of the shields. I have an old non-Porsche with discs that does not have shields, front and rear faces of the discs are no different after many years of all be it irregular use.. Go figure..?

But it does have shields on the front too.

UM, sorry if I caused confusion Non-Porsche, disc front, drum rear, had the same discs for over 20 years with no shields, inner and outer faces of the discs look identical... Must admit to not being a heavy user of brakes generally, much prefer the the pop und bang with a bit of heel and toe thrown in... (-:

Ah I see , you mean front face of the disc (outside face) , I thought you meant front of the car Yeah It could be why the inside corrodes more , I don't know why though.

Finally got an opportunity to pick up a few parts from Edinburgh The disc shields are definitely aluminium so with the aluminium bolts I bought there should be no more corrosion

I ever enjoyed fitting new parts to my Porsches back in time when I was into rolling around the garage floor, all be it my wallet would be left stinging for a time..! (-: Power to your elbow U.M..

Small job tonight The frunk carpets were soaked in oil at the bottom probably where an engine oil container had lost its lid I’d already got a 2nd hand set in black so tonight I thought I’d change them over. This is when you might discover your car had a frontal impact in the past Thankfully mine is good apart from a couple of dents in the floor pan It’s going to a local restoration place this week for the small patch it needs welding on the end of the os sill.

Welding done to a very good standard so I took it back to the farm , fitted and bled the calliper I’d left off for the welding, undertrays on and off for an MOT.

Interesting thread and good to see the progress being made

Great thread...I like your approach.

Well that didn't go too well I got the call to say it had dumped all it's coolant out while running it up for emissions ! From the front around the radiators (which are new). Maybe a hose has blown off or split , front bumper cover will have to come off. Also the Front NS Coffin arm inner bush had excessive play , I put it straight up on the lift when I got it home to have a look because the PO had fitted 4 new ones prior to me buying it , anyway soon found out the bolt that holds the inner bush in place was loose , tightened it up and it seems fine now. One other thing the headlights need a deep polish, he couldn't get a reading from them being cloudy. Easy job. Oh well , I'm off sailing for the weekend tomorrow so it won't be getting done soon. Nothing too bad though, just time.

Your MOT tester ain`t the best, if he did not check for the cause of the supposed coffin arm problem..... A great pity re the coolant issue..... Hope you get good weather for your sailing and can forget about your little set back till it`s time to resolve the issues.

Just spent some time removing front arch liners and started on the bumper but can't see any sign of coolant anywhere...not a drop. I've got to take their trailer back in the morning so I'll ask the inspector chap exactly where it was leaking from...very strange. Thanks Luddite , weather is supposed to be good going out but return passage on Sunday it's right on the nose SW so a lot of tacking , good crew though so hopefully I can learn a thing or two. Have a good Weekend.

Survived the sailing trip although it was 10hrs of slamming into big waves on Sunday Last night I ran the car up to temp , radiators eventually warmed up, then fans came on , heaters working good but not a drop of a leak anywhere. Very strange scenario as it’s a tiresome job removing the bumper cover but I need the MOT Also the brake lights are on constantly so took the drivers seat out and removed the switch, it has a red cap not brown Apparently there are 2 types of switch, 1 and 2 stage , mine doesn’t have PSM or cruise so it just needs the 1 stage switch. Not sure what to do about the leak

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I must have dislodged the small heater hose that goes in the top of the radiator behind the larger hose and it was this hose that the coolant was coming out of.

Well I couldn’t find the coolant leak , so put everything back together, polished the headlights and re MOTd it last week Got the call to say it’s passed ..! I drove it for about 50 miles and had a great time revving it out to 7k , it handles well , goes well and stops very well so all good Completely different to the Turbo obviously, the front doesn’t feel as planted but it’s generally more nimble and fun to drive So I have to monitor coolant levels now as this is the reason I got it “cheap” , PO said it might have a cracked cylinder head , don’t know which one but it’s a possibility The 3.4 shares the heads with a 3.2 Boxster so plenty available, engine out next winter The other issue is a strong smell of petrol in the engine oil , might be due to PO driving it short trips so always in rich mix , I don’t know but I’ve drained that oil and put some new oil in and now it’s time to give it a good thrashing, like my mum used to often threaten me with It’s off the lift and time to go

Just back from a 60 mile blast on some good roads The mysterious coolant leak is no longer mysterious, dripping out front OS corner when I stopped to check tyre pressures. Reason for that was that the car felt a bit twitchy like it was oversteering, nothing at all like the Turbo Fronts were 32 Rears 34 I took 2 psi out of all but felt no different Tyres are new Mich PS4 17” Any ideas? Apart from lack of confidence in corners the car feels great At least I know exactly where to look for the leak now.

Got it up on the lift really quick and pulled the wheel arch liner away and found the culprit..it’s the little rubber bung /stop end that’s on the bottom corner of the radiator, for draining it I guess , well the Jubilee clip isn’t really doing its job

There was someone else with that exactly problem recently!

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I'd be putting more air in the tyres rather than taking any out.

My mates 3.4 feels the same compared to my turbo, the rear feels loose. It takes a lot to get the rear moving in my Turbo and I don't need to be careful about it. In my mates I very much do, although if it does slide it's not hard to catch!

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Any suggestions on psi ?

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My Turbo feels like it'd never yield to anything, it's so planted but this had me a tad wary in the tighter corners. Great fun but I'd rather be on a track to test the limits

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On 17" wheels I'd start at 36 psi all round and lower by 1psi until it felt right. If your GEO needs doing there's no amount of fiddling that will get it right.

Ok I'll get them up to 36 ..thanks for the advice.

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Very envious of your lift ! Great to having it running and driving, albeit not feeling how you’d like, keep us updated how you get on with it.

Pulled the bumper cover off again to get at the radiators So basically there’s a tiny jubilee clip holding that rubber cap on the rad drain, that clip (see photo) if breaks will allow that cap to slide off and drain the entire contents of your cars cooling system quite quickly I’ve replaced it with 2 spring clips and done both sides

I'm sure you've checked these already, but my C4S had a 'loose' rear end recently, which turned out to be a combination of inadequately tightened rear top mount bolts (the three on each side that attach to the body) and engine mounts. Threadlock and correct torque on the top mounts and RSS semi solids made a world of difference to my car.

Had the Geo done today and what a difference. The car just feels totally sorted now, no floaty front just very predictable. I love this car, it's a bit of a mess cosmetically but it now drives so well and I can't get over how well it revs up to 7k Honestly these 996's are incredible value for money when you have a good one , I'd have this over any modern car , they do nothing for me at all. The leak seems to be sorted so that's good.

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Yeah that was me easy enough fix, not dripped since Great thread @Uncle Monty reading with great interest

I’ve mentioned before, this car has a smell of petrol in the oil so I suspect a dribbling injector, also it hardly cranks over when warm which points to the Y cable so I thought I’d take the engine and gearbox out and take a look. AOS bellows is also leaking oil. Pretty straightforward disconnecting everything and I lowered the car onto a frame on my pallet truck, I then lowered the truck right down and then lifted the car up and voila it’s out. I must say it’s a big lump. I’ve already got the injectors out so I’ll get them sent off for testing

The Y cable looks pretty good but above the gearbox is another little junction box to connect the front section to the rear section of cable and that connection doesn’t look great

What are you thinking? Just take apart and clean/protect? Regarding protection, what do folks recommend? While I have my gearbox out I think I will check mine.

I took this apart and the actual contact surfaces were bright and shiny , then nut and that bit of furring was making it look much worse. I'm wondering whether to change the entire cable from the battery to the starter/alternator , I'll make them myself , I have a crimping tool and cable isn't that expensive.

Is the gearbox in yours ok? Been reading a few things lately about problems with them. I know anything can give problems but the gearbox hasn’t blipped on my radar till now ..

It’s a bit dodgy jumping out in 2nd when it’s cold. Once it’s warm it’s fine but I’m still careful , after that its tip top I fitted new cables and got the adjustment tool to get it set correctly at the shifter and changed the fluid

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32 front and rear if using 17 If you use 36 rear the centres will wear telling you the tyre is ballooning You can go lower on front - 986 uses same tyre size and Porsche recommend 29f and 36r

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One day I filled the froot with Big Jack, Tools and Axle Stands. I don't carry the spare so it's a bigger space. Car felt more planted. I don't have a Turbo so can't compare. But you can try adding some weight in the froot and you'll feel the difference.

As mentioned before the lower part of the exhaust brackets are badly corroded unlike the top piece which is still very solid Bottom part

Top part

The Stainless pipe goes right through and appears to be welded on the backside. To make new lower mounts you'd have to try and separate the mild steel mount from the stainless tube , make up new mounts on a milling machine , offer up the two parts and re-weld on the backside. I'll have a go and separating them

They're laminated from 2-3mm plate and just spot welded together

The infamous Y cable looks perfect , this is the joint that goes to the starter The copper is shiny

Next issue I have is the dash oil level indicator registering zero so I think it must be the sensor which is situated here..

Might have found the culprit causing poor cranking when warm I checked the earth strap on the battery which was perfect then the one that ties the engine to the shell and after peeling off the cover this is what I found ! The PO had bought lots of new stuff before selling and new engine mounts was on the list so old worn ones would allow the engine to bounce around more causing this

Well spotted, hope it’s your culprit

Water pump off for replacement and I’m removing the front casting which has the oil pump within it. Only removing it to clean it up as it’s an absolute mess I've been informed it's a good idea to remove tensioners as the housing supports the end of the IMS

I removed the rusty end from the exhaust mount bracket and took some measurements to make a drawing for CAD This is the lower piece that bolts to the underside of the head I’m getting a mate to produce a CAD file from my drawing and then hopefully we could get a new piece milled and welded back on.

I reckon that there is demand for a reasonably priced part like this for repairing the brackets, I’d be interested if you have a batch made up.

I total agree. Mine were replaced back in 2016 and albeit the car is garaged, not used over winter months and only done some 10K on the clock, i was amazed to see the corrosion on the brackets. What i have done for future maintenance is that i have released the bolts using the lowest speed on my impact wrench, wire brushed and copper greased the threads and reinserted them. Hopefully this will make the job easier should the bracket give up in coming years. I might even repeat the process even year. Any thoughts of should i actually take the bracket off, descale the rust and apply heat treatment paint ?

Definitely do that with your manifold bolts and maybe look at some ss studs. Be very careful if you haven't undone them recently and seek advice as if they're original some will most likely snap off. I might look at getting this bracket mount made in Stainless too

I've done the same with the manifold bolts but one snapped. The bolts were inserted back in 2010 looking back at the historic invoices, so i took the "risk" of cracking, releasing and reinserting the bolts, but now i've got the issue of paying out for a jig / drilling out one bolt by a specialist or having the confidence of free handing the drill myself ! I'm now doing a list for D11 which includes 12 new bolts along with manifold gasket and Cat gasket etc. I take onboard Uncle Monty comments regarding SS studs but I'll then change the standard bolts, copper grease and then crack the nuts yearly for future maintenance as she's a keeper.

This is the 3D printed version which I’ll use to check fitment

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Please do not think to drill your cylinder heads free hand, that is almost guaranteed to fail miserably.. I suspect the jig is the only way to go..you can buy one that has already been used to save a few bob, perhaps best to buy new drills though.. ? As for fixings, copper slip etc. etc, there are a few options discussed in detail on this forum, a bit of research might pay dividends. Once my 991 is out of extended warranty, I intend to use new fixings and clamps on the exhaust, though will not use bolts/set screws, but threaded studs and nuts, the nuts simpler to remove in time, without damaging the studs. than bolts/set screws possibly once again seized in the heads...? Good luck in your choices..

Thanks for the advice. If i can't get a good deal on a jig which is unlikely, i might bit the bullet and get my local indi to it as i know its only one to drill out as all the other bolts plus manifold to Cat bolts have been released. So labour costs should be no more than 3hrs. I got my off side manifold off in 20 mins as all bolts have been greased up !

New parts today AOS - old one was only 4yrs old but it’s not OEM so I got a new one from Porsche Oil Cooler - 997 one Oil Pressure Sensor Oil level Sender - old one faulty Water Pump (Geba) - due to age

Nice when you get to the fitting new bits stage. When I fitted a new oil pressure sender to mine I cut the spades off and used some ring crimps, which I fitted directly under the nuts, a much better connection! Does the waterpump have a plastic impeller?

Good idea re the sender Metal impeller , Geba ..Made in Germany. Old one was fine but possibly the original one so much easier to replace with the engine out. I think it was Alex that suggested I fit a 997 oil cooler , it's a good bit taller and cheaper weirdly.

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yes me too if it's possible i've just taken mine off and they're not great, could i join the list if plz if it's ok.

keeping another one alive uncle Monty

More progress today , silly not to split them with it now being so easy There’s nothing in all the invoices to suggest a clutch/ flywheel was replaced in the last 5 years We have seperatipn

What a fantastic space to work on a Porsche Monty....!!!!

Yes it is, I built it with the kids in 2016 , well they were like 20 so not kids really. The sailing boat is in as well this winter for some work.

I noticed this earth/ground point at the rear of the engine looking a bit rough so that’s next on the list

Lovely stuff, Sir.

wow look at all that space ! Are you going to fix the 2nd gear problem in the box ?

Not just yet The clutch and flywheel look about 15k miles old so they’re staying for now If the 2nd gear gets too bad , I’ll take the gearbox out on its own which is fairly straightforward with a lift.

Very jealous of your playroom, great reporting keep up the good work, great reference for my future work when needed

Removed bank 2 cam cover to check the chain pads and very happy to discover they were replaced very recently along with 24 new lifters. A small amount of oil was found in the spark plug holes (see photo) which I think means the inner O ring is leaking slightly on the tubes so I’m going to source just new O rings. Then there’s the job of applying new sealant on the cleaned cam cover to re fit which you need to be very careful when doing so as not to block oil ways.

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Yep mine just fell off when I looked at them

I think they're grounds for the injectors.

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well that's another potential breakdown avoided

great thread can you tell me where those earth connections are can you get to them engine in???

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yes you can get to them, they're at the end of bank one just near the end cap.

cheers Hooner

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Have you done this with engine in situ or engine out?

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It’s out , see previous page

Very nice work uncle Monty! The spark plug tube rings, ordinary ones would do or does it need special ones?

I think Viton for oil resistance. I’ve tried in vein to find them off the shelf online so will probably get them from Porsche , the tubes are fine so I’ll keep them.

Great! Good work! Reading thread with great interest!

27 mm id x 2.5mm viton fkm item number 293857869179 o rings are available on ebay these will do the smaller end of the tube which is what tends to leak there may be some for the top as well but i haven't looked again since.

That number is for 25x3 nitrile Hooner Can you look again. Posted the RMS tool yesterday 1st Class so you should get it in the New Year sometime

sorry they for the oil cooler i think, the tube should be 293590946052 try that. The RMS tool has just arrived

I repaired the same earth connection on mine, I didn’t know anything about the cam chain wear pads until recently, that’s gone on my list. Keeping them ‘rolling’ isn’t easy, the more you look the more work you find, it could so easily turn into a full restoration..

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It’s taken a while but I’ve managed to get these made locally 6mm thick SS ready to weld on to your frames They were pretty dear for 2 but cheaper if a big batch was made Maybe Alex might want to give a quote if I send him the file . ?

I suppose the other option is use cheaper steel and coat them, cerakote or similar? Don’t know if the two processes would make it any more cost effective..

The original ones are 3x3mm laminated mild steel pressed I’d imagine for cost but now with CNC it can be solid I’ve reduced thickness to 6mm , the tubes go in so they’re 3mm short of the face so 6mm on the originals , 3mm on mine , if that makes sense Also you can use much shorter M8 bolts as the original ones are 30mm where 15 or 20 would be fine Here it is offered up

Price for a decent batch might be £30 each I paid £50 each for these 2 as a one off

i would pay that

I would as well. Nice work!

they look really good

I’m procrastinating about my injectors and whether or not to buy new ones I tested these and spray pattern looked good and no leaks but… Very hard to replace when the engine goes back in OCP Edinburgh quoted £450 for 6 ! Not bad if I was earning but I’m not. In the meantime I cleaned primed and painted the fuel rails in gold Hammerite!

Like a McLaren F1!

same here i cleaned mine , but one is a bit rusty really it works but for how long i don't know. I'm tempted to buy the set of 6 from ebay KSM motor racing shop in Cyprus is offering for £145 they are an improved injector with 4 holes instead of 2 they claim a smoother engine and better mpg . They have 1 year warranty and accept returns must be worth a punt?

What was your spray pattern like? mine are like 2 jets coming out kind of in a V. Not at all like a spray or mist but they are all the same i figured if one was different it may be faulty.

I looked into those but reviews weren’t good, maybe they’re improved 1 yr warranty isn’t great when the original ones last 25+ Tough one

Welded the bracket using my stick welder , found some old stainless rods Not great but I don’t have a tig Did it both sides

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Same , like a V I filmed it , so I'll upload to YT and put a link

Been busy on the car today Made a new earth strap using my Cembre crimping weapon. Next to the old one

At this rate you're going to put OEM Match out of business! Bravo - wish I had some skills in this domain, alas they all went to typing

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superb , it's actually better than new.

the new cable is so much more flexible, the old one was virtually solid. That yellow box I took the photo on are the Chinese SS headers from AliExpress. I've not even opened the box yet.

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If the headers are any good it may give me some more confidence to try the injectors

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Hooner, amazing scanner!! Re Cyprus shop, if you want, pls send me link, I can check it out for you. I come from there, so I have good contacts and can at least get references.

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Looks great! Much better than a lot of professionals I have come across!

Managed to get 2 new Bosch injectors for £64 from eBay. They only had 2 left unfortunately but that's less than half price. I'll put them in Cyl 1 & 2 so I remember.

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about 2 o clock this afternoon, i had them in my watch list

He had had more apparently but i didn't ask how many.

full set would have been great at £ 260 for bosch

Look at these bad boys, 6 for £50 quid tempting!

Are they in the US? Feedback not great ..90% Still tempting though.

China it takes to long for them to arrive, i'm nearly ready to put the engine back in i think i'll just replace the corroded one. I've done the filters and o rings on the others. I don't like using non oem really.

Have you replaced the cam position sensor on yours? just that it's basically impossible to change whilst in the car its behind the AOS. Also if you haven't already done so (i bet you have) is to check the bolt that holds the crank sensor in is not seized in case it needs replacement in the future. I had to drill mine out it snapped off.

Could you take a photo of the two things so I know what you mean? I'm 99% sure I haven't. I've got to stop and get the lump back in the rear end of this car

Just fitting bank 2 injectors and fuel rail and ran into an issue When it’s all together the fuel rail isn’t square with the injectors, it’s out by a noticeable amount..see photo Any ideas? There’s no adjustment of that angle

did you test the spray angle on the new injectors you got? to see if they are the same as the old ones it would be good to compare. I will go and have a look at the rail on my engine now to see if it's the same as yours.

They're not here yet but will be today sometime. I'll do that , good idea.

Mine looks more square, put the injectors in the rail first then push the rail into the manifold use unit of vasiline on the rubbers to help them seat

Here’s a pic of the crank sensor on the side of engine right next to the bell housing it pick up off the flywheel just check the bolt that holds it is not seized . Second pic is cam sensor position it’s hidden behind the AOS bellows and behind the earth for the injectors it picks up on the back of the camshaft I’d change this now whilst it’s possible picture 3 is what it looks like

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That's exactly what I did. I'll take them out and try again Thanks for the photos

You know what, I've forgotten to put those retaining clips on

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Guess what happened? I've ordered a new cam sensor.

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sheared off ?

Yup I'll pull the crank sensor out now the head of the bolt isn't there and hopefully I can get my extractor tool on the remaining threads. With the sensor out I could get some heat on the casing too.

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Well at least it's easy to sort now with the engine out, when this happens to most cars it's an engine out job to fix it. Yep plenty of heat on it should do the job. I had to drill mine out it snapped in the thread.

Had mine replaced for the same reason whilst my engine was out as well.

I did a check on D911 for part number and showing part number 6PU 009 121-591 Bosch. £89 Porsche £233 I've ordered this one from ebay although it's Hella (still German) it says it doesn't fit my car but i've ordered it anyway. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/23635320...teid=0&campid=&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1 £35 I asked AI Yes, the Hella 6PU 009 121-591 camshaft position sensor (also known as a Hall sender) is listed as compatible with the Porsche 996 3.4 Carrera models.

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Did a test on new and old and I couldn't see any difference. Couldn't film it as I've only got my phone. Good to know though.

You’re properly involved there Uncle Monty ! Did you sort the fuel rail issue?

Was that fuel in the oil? If so then I haven’t found anything obvious just trying to do what I can within budget I did replace the fuel pressure regulator and now 2 new injectors that I beat Hooner to. They’re going in cylinders 1&2 so I don’t forget

You put a picture of the injectors in the fuel rail looking wonkey ? If you managed to sort that

Yeah I did thanks, I'd forgotten to fit those retaining clips , that straightened them up nicely. Bank 2 is now finished , used the photo from Pelican Parts of a brand new engine to make the routing of all the cables etc correct. A couple of the loom clips have broke so I'm getting some more of those "green arrows" I've got a 997 coil on cyl 6 so the heat shield doesn't fit properly , just ordered a nice looking 3.4 used Beru one from ebay for £12. I painted the main part of the exhaust hanger with it being mild steel (the webbing) but left the lower part as it''s now all SS. Now Hooner is fitting new coil plugs I'm wondering , but where do you stop ? , I'm fixing a diesel boat engine as well so I'm kept busy.

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What about the AliExpress SS headers?

I've not even unpacked them yet ! I've got so many projects on just now , soon though

So the old crank sensor bolt snapped off and also wasn’t coming out Spent about 2 hours levering , pulling and twisting but eventually it released its grip Tried welding a nut on what was left but that snapped off too so I’ll have to drill it out , not easy where it is , I’ll need a long extension Then on to removing the cap head bolt that holds the cam sensor in place …DISASTER! I was being so careful Looking at it I’ve got 2 options 1. Take the bank 1 head off so I can drill it out safely 2. Bond the new sensor in place ( I need to look into this option to see if there’s a product that’ll work long term ) I should say these are the only 2 bolts that have snapped so far

Oh no, You could ,bung the hole up in the head so nothing goes in there or put the sensor back in , then drill a hole in the middle of broken bolt and use a self tapper to hold the new sensor in place.

This stuff is good it sets like rubber and bonds really well it’s oil and heat resistant

Quotes source post: 2785689

or sikaflex EBT.

Uncle Monty, Hooner, big respect.

The thing is there's no pressure on either of those sensors, they're just sitting there. I really don't want to start drilling , that stuff looks perfect , surely it'll hold if I really clean up the area and the new sensors.

Cars … Can you get a straight shot at it or is that water? Flange in the way? JB Weld for me if you really have to go that route. If the bond fails and the sensor comes adrift with the engine back in you’re gonna swear…. A lot.

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yep positive it'll hold it easy, clean the area really well emery cloth and then de-grease with thinners or something similar. apply plenty it will take about 48 hours to full cure but it's proper strong stuff. The sensor kind of clicks in place as well with the o ring so i'll be fine once its dried.

Yeah I think you're right , it should hold fine , there's no weight or force on it.

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That is the main drain for the AOS, it isn't exactly in the way but it makes it much harder I thought about JB but it's more of a hard epoxy when cured and I think this needs to be flexible like an RTV If i bond it in and leave it a week to cure I could then give it a pull and twist to see how it's done. Whatever happens it'll be useful for others in the future when they snap those bolts.

How reliable are the sensors? Are you likely to need to change it any time soon ?

I'm fairly sure these are the original ones hence the reason for the bolt being seized so in my case 28yrs. I've gone with Bosch so should be good for my lifetime as long as the stuff I use holds them in place.

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I'd say they are very reliable but at this age 25 years seems to be the life time of them the odds are stacked against lasting much longer,keep seeing more breakdowns on the facebook groups people stranded abroad even. Thing is you can't get them out when the engine is in the car look how bad it is when the engine is on a bench.

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Did you open the China special headers perchance? I have them on my AE wish list

Not yet but I will.

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where did you get the oil pressure sender unit from? was it expensive?

OPC Edinburgh £64.75 + vat I’ve painted it gold to match the fuel rail

The bond didn’t do well on the plastic , great on the metal but I’ve had to try something else. I’ve welded a nut on what is left of the m6 bolt This rarely works , I tried it on most of the broken manifold studs on my old Boxster.

It’s coming

I performed the welded nut trick on about 8 of the sheared off fixings on my friends 928 water pump..... I found the rather risky trick was to apply the narrow oxy/accet flame to the alloy on the engine casing to the alloy directly adjacent to each thread, while at the same time using a spanner to apply as much pressure as might be reasonable on the spanner to undo a fixing, without shearing it (past experiencee taken as read) as soon as the fixing began to unscrew I removed the flame IMMEDIATELY and re-applied the flame when the fixing began to tighten up. Using that process all the fixings released without issue. WARNING, when applying that degree of heat to alloy, it is all too easy for it to show no signs of temperature change and suddenly collapse emulating a landslide... !!!! The oxy/acc kit with a small dia flame allows very high temps directed over a restricted area, as opposed to a wide flame heating over a much larger area, which seems less likely to succeed..? Best of luck UM, but at least it is only one fixing in your case.. Fingers crossed.

Ya beauty ! First time on an M6 or M8

That’s exactly what I did Luddite This is all I had to deal with

Sorted properly

Wow! Legendary!!

would a magnetic induction heat gun be a good an alternative approach?

Quick Buy a lottery ticket Monty ! Much better, proper job.

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We’ll you’ve still got to find a way of unscrewing the bolt but yes I think there really good if the bolt head is still attached.

quality bit of work,proper job great bit of skill there mate.

Good work, I've used that method a few times, but I find cleaning up the alloy and steel thread remains then welding a washer to the stud, then weld the nut to the washer and stud works better!

That's a very good idea.

Just admiring your bolt removal skills again there, and noticed you may have plugged the crank sensor wire on to the cam sensor i might be wrong but plz check as they are similar, the crank one is grey on mine at both ends.

I'll check tomorrow

I think you’re right I’ve got the black plug into grey socket (crank) and grey plug in black socket (cam) Well spotted, that’s saved me a proper headache and hours of work ..so grateful That’s why there’s no clearance fob the AOS , the grey plug is much bigger

I owe you many beers for spotting that Can you imagine trying to work that out when the engine is back in

That’s better

Are you getting near reuniting the engine back in the car?

Not really..I had a look at it yesterday and next job is to procrastinate some more about the power cables , I've had a good look at them , they look perfect but people say it's what causes slow/zero cranking. It might have been that crappy earth strap ...who knows but I won't know until engine is back in a and all connected up. The starter is only 4yrs old, it's a Hella but I've now discovered they're made in China so it could be that. Hey , I take it that Fuel Pressure Reg is working OK on yours?

Yep fuel pressure reg is fine, also no smell of petrol at all. I think the power cable from the battery to that junction box above the gearbox will be fine, it's that connection there that gets corroded that causes problems and you've cleaned that, and you're right that bad earth strap you had will have been the main culprit ,i'd put money on it being that.

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UM, I am re-reading the whole thread, gathering courage to do the same, sans engine removal (have a long way to get there!) Would be grateful if could have the CAD file so I can reproduce the same.

I was going to do a thread solely on repairing the exhaust hangers with the new plates. I might do it now actually. I was going to see if they could be made with a laser cutter cheaper, mine were done with CNC milling, do you have someone to do it for you ?

Well, I am going for a beer with a buddy end wk, he is in the business of industrial machinery such as CNC etc, plan is to get a reference for someone hopefully with laser cutter Alternatively, I will get creative and maybe try with plasma cutter. Hopefully former option works, wouldn't want to scare anyone with my skills!!

By the way a thread on it would be a great! Its excellent reference for aspiring engineers like me

I sent you a DM

Got it, replied Thank you

Quotes source post: 2790176

U.M. I suspect you may have another vehicle, thus as a test of your starter cable perhaps it might be worth using it linked in series with either pos or neg battery connection and if you really want to put it to the test, inhibit the test vehicle from starting to put the cable under load for longer..? If it shows any heat build up at the crimps, then you will have a better idea of it`s condition...? Just thinking in type..

That's a really good idea , I could try it out on my 6t dumper , that's got a pretty big engine in it and it's a diesel.

I need some help please It’s regarding all the small vacuum pipes on the engine I’ve got some contradictory info of internet Where should this connect to ? I’ve got a spare hole for it after the check valve but it doesn’t really want to go there The curved one on the front valve I’ve got going into the rubber manifold sleeve..is that correct? I’ve got the FPR supply correct I think (also coming from a manifold rubber sleeve.

Also this support bracket thread has been bunged up with a steel insert ..I take it that shouldn’t be like that ?

Have you got the vac line to the fuel reg ? mine has a m6 bolt in that hole it holds that bracket next to it.

Yeah I've got the FPR sorted but that one from the valve at the front with the curved rubber I think should go to the swirl flap thing at the rear. I think this engine was plumbed incorrectly, not sure if it matters but I want it as it should be. I think that M6 bolt must have snapped off and they've done something odd to try and fix it.

I was fixing the leaking sunroof drain , turns out it was blocked with a spider nest so the water backed up and then just poured over the frame and dribbled into the interior While trying to refit the headliner I must have lent too hard on the centre console cubby lid and broke one of the pivot things , trying to super glue it back on but it’s never going to work and it’s part of the entire centre console Next I’m under the car at the rear and noticed the sound deadening stuff that’s above the engine is disintegrating far worse than it looks Any reason I shouldn’t remove the centre piece? , I’ve got some silver foil stick on stuff I used in my boat that I could put back in. Taken the back seats out , they’re unlikely to get used and weigh in at a staggering 9.6kg for both bases and backs. The backs are 3.7kg each!

The back seats are very awkward for passengers anyway due to the angles. I had a rear passenger the other day and they were more comfortable with the bottom cushion removed... I was actually wondering how come nobody has made a slim foam cushion of sorts to flatten the bottom and straighten the back.

You could remove it, is it possible to buy replacement stuff?

Looks like you can get a new piece although to fit it even with the engine out requires mass removal of much pipework hand hoses. I took it out anyway , it was falling out really and I didn't want it to go on top of the engine. Looks like there's a kit to fix the cubby lid hinge...£40!

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it might be a tad noisy without the sound proofing but it might also sound great have you tried ali express for the repair kit ?

I think the cubby lid in mine has been repaired it’s got a bit of nylon strap ? Don’t think they came like that? Is the centre console shared with boxster ? Actually just the front bit I think is, 996 longer because of the rear seats ..

They've all got that strap I think, well mine has with a spring too. It's the plastic pivot bush that's snapped off.

Oh right ? I thought it was some bodged repair Can’t say I’ve seen a spring ??

You have to unscrew the lid from the base and it's in there.

Finally getting around to put the engine back in Can anyone tell me if this is actual retainer that is stuck to the threaded post for these heat shields at the rear? They’re like the plastic ones for under trays but these are metal What I’m trying to say is, should this conical thing be separate to the post that is part of the body? ie: it should be possible to unscrew it ? If it should come off it doesn’t want to I was going to replace with the plastic ones for, it doesn’t get hot there

yes they are metal retainers, i got mine off by taping them with a 8 or 10 mm socket over it i can't remember the size, but they came off i cleaned them up and reused mine as they are threaded.

I’ve got 3 bad ones and 1 good one Good one

That's a different retainer nut than fitted to Turbo heat shields Porsche 996 Turbo Heat Shield Fixings | eBay UK Collar nuts x8! Part number 999.049.025.09 For fixing various heat shields on Porsche 996 turbo www.ebay.co.uk These are the turbo ones, they look a better design to me, the nut bit stays in good shape, I tried to remove one, it started undoing but the tip of the stud was rusty and I ended up snapping the stud. I didn't try unscrewing the others but ground the side of the nut with a dremmel and used a small chisel to split it. Then I cleaned/scraped the rust from the studs and painted them and fitted new nuts!

That's exactly what happened to my first attempt. Yes a dremel was in my mind , cut it and open it up. I'll get one of those bonded studs to replace my snapped one. Trying to get the engine back in but this has stalled proceedings, should've done it ages ago.

I replaced the one I snapped with a 4mm riv nut into the chassis leg and now have a stainless bolt and penny washer with thin rubber washers either side. I think its a better solution than Porsches, I have thought about converting the others!

whilst waiting for bits to arrive I thought I’d tidy up the CV joints I wanted to use up the Gold Hammerite I had left over from engine brackets Also put all the rusty fittings in the ultrasonic vibrator this time with vinegar after using a detergent solution first I want to have a go at blueing them rather than electro plating. Pure bling ..you always see cars from US that still have gold CV joints

The inner parts are original , I didn't paint those , just the cylinders.

Hows the rear brake pipe that goes over the gearbox? i changed mine whilst its easy with the engine out.

What does ‘blueing’ involve ?

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It's actually really good, even where it goes through the clips. I've covered it in waxoil anyway but really not worth replacing.

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2 methods , hot and cold Hot you just heat up the clean steel part and dunk it in oil, linseed is supposed to be good but any oil apparently. Cold , you apply a product and it blackens the steel , not sure what you do then .

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I believe Porsche recommends replacing the driveshaft bolts once you take them out as they're meant to be one time use.

They say the same for caliper bolts, and that's bo#$%cks too!

I think these will be fine. They're just normal HT bolts I think and weren't in very tight. Maybe some loctite?

All the stuff has now arrived so I can get on fixing the inner heat shields First to bond the Bighead studs in place The alloy repair discs can be shaped to fit quite nicely, I used the ball hitch on my pickup

i like the alloy repairs discs, i used plastic washers on mine

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That steel disc usually has a rubber isolator on it and an m6 stud, it looks like the rubber bit has parted from the fixing.

Oh I see , that explains it.

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Uncle Monty, those studs and alu pieces look great may I ask you for a link please? I will need to do the same.

No problem.. Bond In Fixing Big Head Pack of 5 - M4 , M5 or M6 Securely bond GRP panels with our durable stainless steel fixing studs. Easy to install, corrosion-resistant, and ideal for various applications. Shop now! www.google.com Pardon our interruption... VM100 Black High Strength Structural Methacrylate (MMA) Adhesive - Easy Composites 5min working time, black, fast-curing high strength structural MMA acrylic adhesive for composites, metals and some plastics. 25ml, 50ml or 400ml cartridges in stock for UK next-day and fast shipping worldwide. www.easycomposites.co.uk I used M5 Bighead studs as they're similar to the cars coarse studs in diameter. But if you have a broken one at the top of the outer heatshield ( the one that's set in a big plastic frame) that's M6 threaded with a proper nut so one of mine is going to have an M5 nut on it. ( one snapped) The clips obviously aren't designed for a metric thread but they stay in place just the same as a coarse Porsche stud. I'll report back on the VuduGlu and how well it's bonded things. I bought the 50ml and 5 extra nozzles

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Thank you. I looked everywhere for this type of SS studs as I snapped a couple. These look great! Many thanks

Engine is now back in and I’m reconnecting everything One thing that’s puzzling me is that there’s more threads visible on the engine mount nuts one the left than the right Any ideas ? Left side

The rear engine frame is the same distance from body both sides so it’s snugged up Maybe the threads were longer on one than the other They’re fairly new mounts

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As long as the square parts at the top of the mounts have gone in to the square holes in the engine bracket, it should be fine. The threads must be slightly screwed in deeper into the mount on one side. I'm looking forward to hearing it's fired up well done Monty.

I was also thinking its to do with how far the studs are threaded into the body of the mount. Might be worth whipping the one out to ensure it's threaded in enough - although there isn't a hugh difference between the two. Great job at getting the engine back in!

Ah that's probably what happened , when I was taking the nuts off months ago, I bet it unwound before the nut span off. I thought they were fixed into the mount. Thanks. Edit.. i've taken the mount off and it's fully screwed in, must just be poor manufacturing /cheap mounts.

DISASTER ! Just thought I'd do a few more jobs on the car this morning. I had a couple of very small drips on the coolant system after filling it up, gaskets ordered so went on to bleed the clutch ..all good . Then I thought I'd fit those new stainless manifolds I bought a few weeks ago, I've ordered new SS studs but I thought why not fit them and I can swap the old bolts over one at a time for the studs when they get here. Left side first, 5 bolts in , went to put the 6th (one at the rear) , the bolt only goes in about 3 turns then jams up. So took all the others out and the manifold to get a better look. I should say this engine has had a manifold "bolt job" done before I got it, they all came out easily and there are one or two Helicoils in there. So I got my M8 tap out and started to clean it out very genlty with a 7mm spanner , kept jamming up , anyway cut a long story short the tap snapped in the head with me and a skinny 7mm spanner ! I walked away and took the dogs for a walk. Looks like you can get a slotted tool to try and get it out.

Arrrggghhh no way ! what a bummer , i hope you get it out mate i have full confidence you will.

Oh sh*t!! You did good to walk away and go with the dogs. Take a break, then you will find the way out! I am sure it will work out, it always does. I have read your thread 10 times, amazed at how you resolved the issues you had. Your skills rock, just have a break before you decide to tackle it.

Bummer, I'm sure you've got the skills to come up with a solution. As you have done, by far the best thing to do is stop, take a break and regroup, then go again once you've had a good think!

It’s out in several pieces I made up a pointed punch and broke little chunks off slowly until the end just fell out 3 hours and a sore neck It looks like that hole has a Helicoil in too , in fact there’s only 2 on original threads. Hard to tell but I offered a magnet up to each thread and it stuck to the ones that are helicoiled One on the other side is coming out so I’ll need to pull that one out and get a new one Here’s the one the tap broke in Here’s the one with the helicoil trying to escape Also bought a new battery for the Ducati, I haven’t started it for at least 8 years Put fresh fuel in and it started right up That made me smile , but I tried to ride it down the track but my legs struggled to get on the pegs and then legs cramped up really badly so I need to think what to do , I’ve some great memories on that machine.

That’s an early start, well done, you’ll sleep better tonight. Time to sell the Duke, we don’t bend as well as we used to. Luckily there are many ballistic Sports/Touring options to replace it with from these days.

Finishing up next Winters logs now

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I could use a few sack of them heating oil is off the scale here.

Bye bye doomsplati , its time for a GS Monty Glad you got the tap out, what a pain.

Wow!! You have the skills! Well done!!!

While waiting for the next shipment of parts to get the cooling system watertight I thought I’d finish off replacing the rusty pins that hold the under trays on. I bought 10 and used 4 for the heat shields so 6 to be used up underneath I’ll get more and replace all I think. The Vuduglu is very good imo, I stuck it on to the factory underseal after wiping with acetone first and letting that completely evaporate. I used thin strips of duct tape to hold them but they grab really well You get the idea These were 25mm so I cut them down to about 18mm I very carefully chiseled off the excess blobs that come through the holes so the undertrays push right on.

I have shed / workshop envy.

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x2

How did you find the AE manifolds after all? I've ordered what's 99% the same set from Alibaba (cheaper than AE but slower shipping). They'll be here in June.

I haven't fitted them yet as I had some issues with the threads (HeliCoils) but they look fine , I'll know more when I offer them up.

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C'mon now Monty there'll be no petrol left by the time you get it fired up.

I know it's one step forward , 2 back just now.

Looking good!!!

Where did you get the studs ? I need a single stud after breaking one off being hamfisted

Top of previous page (19) ...it's all there

Just when I thought I had this under control.. I’ve been chasing a very small coolant leak at the front of the engine (pulley end) Well today I’ve found it after hours of trying to isolate it and blaming other bits when it was only running to that part from further up completely hidden Unfortunately it’s the oil pump housing, the big bit that supports the IMS I’ve been told bad things can happen if you remove that so I need to do more research. Here’s the leak looking from OS inwards , you can see the coolant temp sensor top left I thought it was that hose flange at the bottom hence the new gasket and then new gasket + Curil T. It’s all my fault as usual, weeks ago I was going to remove that big oil pump housing to clean it up but after removing all the bolts I checked it was ok to do so and that’s when I discovered it was supporting the end of the IMS at that it’d be unwise to remove it so I changed the rusty bolts for new ones and left it alone but loosening it must have caused a seal to leak. Looks like one of those metal gaskets Anyone ideas?

Just lock the engine at tdc and loosen the chain tensioner and it will be ok to remove it, the other end will not move as the ims bearing is holding it in place.

I’ve traced the leak higher up still , it’s weeping where one the bolts is on that housing , needed my magnifying glass to see it. The bolt was tight but it didn’t feel right and closer inspection I could see it wasn’t making contact with the housing! Too long I could get a scalpel blade between the head and the housing I must have replaced the bolt with one that was 5 mm too long, anyway I’ve replaced it with a shorter one and it’s snugged up so I’ll leave it for a while and see what happens.

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Hopefully I won't have to do that now but if that's all you have to do it's not an issue.

Fully expect you will have solved the issue - if not then agree that locking the engine @ TDC and locking cam and removing cam chain tensioner related to that end of the IMS will mean you can take apart. The bit I am not sure about is if you should lock both cams and remove all three tensioners. The manual that's somewhere on this forum will confirm. You're having a fine time with this job and educating us all in the process. Keep up the excellent work Uncle Monty - glass of sherry well earned me thinks

New bolt helped but still a small drip this morning so that oil pump housing is coming off so I can do a proper job.

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Yep it'll leak even more under pressure i reckon.

So all three tensioners loosened and locked at TDC on the Crank pulley. I can't see the need to lock camshafts as well , I'm not going to be turning anything.

Not too difficult at all to get off Need new gasket and O rings then get it straight back on This is the one that leaked

@Uncle Monty is it worth getting the o rings too on the ims nose bit?

Definitely

sorry I just skim read and focused on the pics you mentioned the o rings

I'd just put an order in with D911 and had forgotten those so thanks for reminding me. I'll phone them and add to the order. Big thanks.

Quite the knowledge you’re building up there UM ! You’ll be glad to get the thing back running and driving im sure.

Not much happening here Housing is back on with new metal gaskets and O rings but still waiting for a new gasket for the oil pump cover That has to go on before you tighten the 4 big nuts properly that hold the rear engine support My

Time has come to fit the new Chinese manifolds, they look ok but I’m tempted to add more weld on the outside. They’re well done on the inside so not a strength issue but I’ve got a loan of a tig so I might have a go .

Binned that idea , I’ll probably blow a hole in them Offered them up and so far so good

Looking good!!! Engine fitted, manifolds on! Looking good! What silencers do you have on? On mine were the standard ones, replaced them with ss pipes for a bit more sound, but now its quite wild to be honest - will probably have to put something on before the neighbours get armed

way hey getting close now Monty , when you gonna turn the key?

Soon I hope , it's got coolant and oil , just need to fit the exhaust up temporarily and I'll fire it up. Regarding the exhaust silencers, they're Design Tek ones , came with the car. Honestly to me they're perfect , sound like OE in normal driving but when you go past 4k they sound really good , like I say they came with the car and in really good condition so they're staying.

You putting existing cats back in I’m looking at mine now manifolds shiny and the silencers are quite new old cats in between not good lol

The cats can be made to look good again I restored mine and sprayed them in cylinder black

I wasn't going to do anything with them being stainless but looking at yours , I might . Maybe a future project.

They do look good

Thanks guys they did turn out better than i expected.

Please share if and how the headers change the exhaust note.

That’s all the aircon stuff removed without tearing the car to bits I’ve bagged the ends up to prevent debris going in the pipework that’s staying.

You not stripping the rest go for maximum weight loss ?

Finally “finished” and done a 10mile shakedown Clutch feels lovely after bleeding it again this morning, so light and easy. No issues other than a CEL ! I’ve no idea what it’s for , everything seems fine, no noises , tapping or anything , oil pressure very good , coolant temp good. Too early to tell if the petrol smell in oil has been cured with recon injectors (inc 2 new ones) Idle is very lumpy and 650rpm but it was before Drives wonderful though , you forget how basic these early 996s are, you feel everything The 997 seat is night and day , I sit lower and being a largish frame my back goes into the seat rather than just supporting my shoulder blades like the old ones, I wish they were tan though so I’ll keep looking. So just got to figure out the CEL

My Christmas cracker OMD reader came up trumps again Misfire on cylinders 1-3 ! Must be those OE Match coil packs that we’re only 4 years old (5k miles) I should have changed them but not too difficult now. Gave it a wash , body/paint is terrible but that’s why I quite like it

The hot (no start) issue I had before seems to have gone which was one of the main reasons for engine removal. So all I did was clean up junction points and replace the Earth strap with one I made to OE spec. No new Y cable, starter or battery. Also the petrol smell in the oil so far isn't there so very pleased about that. It took 7.5L of oil to get to halfway on dipstick and gauge.

Great to see uncle Monty my paint bodywork is the next step but feel happy mechanically no worries

great news, getting her back on the road the test drive is so satisfying after all the work.

Massive smile on my face after putting it away for the night. Just ordered a 6 pack of Beru coils so that's the next job. The hot start issue was terrible, you basically couldn't turn the engine off so even getting fuel was impossible. The last time before the work , I had to have a group of lads push me to get it started after I turned it off by accident. Very pleased to have got that sorted for about £5.

Happy for you Monty, nothing better than the smile when getting it right Well deserved

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GREAT that it seems your hot non-start may just have been down to crud hiding in the points of electrical connection, as opposed to components...(-: So types the guy who was in a rush and just bought a new battery, to find crud under the cup type lead main battery connector on an car, all be it a few decades back.... Duh..!

Nice work UM always nice to get them running and driving again, keeping another one alive !

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Imagine if you hadn't spotted that wiring error I made ! I'd be in a mental asylum now dribbling and talking to squirrels.

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yep it would have been a real head trauma that one, and then trying to access it would certainly lead to being sectioned

With the amount of wiring and connections in modern machinery, there is a whole lot more room for little mistakes to create big problems...? I am a bit of a fan boy for Mat Armstrong, who if you know of his recent Bugatti exploits splitting the front and rear bolted halves of the car to effect the repair of a fractured gearbox support, then put the two halves back together, to then note a missed connection apparently requiring the two halves of the car to be separated to reconnect the missed wiring connection....!!!

Such a good thread. Well done. It's inspiring.

Car is driving lovely ..so pleased with it Thought I’d mention something about the air con removal and in particular the delete of the condensers I’m definitely seeing the car running more at the lower temperature which you’d expect with much more air being able to get at those radiators. This is where it sits just now all the time although I should mention it’s really cold up here in Scotland just now …7C today! I should also say it's fitted with a LTT but last year it would still go vertical out of optimum cooling conditions.

Good to see it on the road

Lovely!

Tackling a weeping diff seal just now but it doesn’t want to come out , it’s well and truly bonded in. Can’t get my slide hammer in there

Got it Time for tea

Reluctantly paid £140 for a sunroof seal thingy , mine never had one and it’s very noisy over 50mph so hopefully this will do the job Also got 2 new blue grommets for the air box as they too were missing Nice easy jobs to fit You can see the big hole where the AC compressor used to be

New radio today Replaced the old face off Alpine unit with a Blaupunkt Madrid I just wanted a decent little radio and BT , it’s also got USB and a Jack input so perfect for oldies like me. New one is only 2/3 the depth and weighs 530gms Old one weighed 1.6kg

Radio 2 No need for any looms or adapters just 2 plugs and an aerial No point in DAB where we live It's now by far the most technologically advanced item in the car , in fact the old Alpine probably was before.

Same for me Radio 2 and cd player DAB is a waste of time how on earth it's an improvement is beyond me, its hopeless around my manor. Good weight saving there

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Hooner, Uncle Monty, I always thought I am the only one not to see the point, thank you both

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When I replaced my stereo with the continental I decided against dab too...even in some modern cars it's useless. Bluetooth is more than ample nowadays.

Now I've got tunes I've noticed the passenger rear speaker isn't working...never ending

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oh, you'll be buying new 3D printed speaker retaining rings next

All the stuff for inner tie rods have arrived so should be starting on this tonight. MOT and alignment booked at Motortune next Tuesday so I want these done for that.

What’s the tool Monty ?

It's to undo the inner tie rod from the rack. It's like a crowfoot spanner but inside a long tube , on the end is a 1/2" drive so you can get a breaker bar on it. It comes with a load of different sizes but the TRW tie rods are 32mm and the nearest in this set is 32.5mm which rounded when I tried to unscrew it. So I got the next smallest and ground the inside down to make a much tighter fit which worked (only done ds so far) The boots are surprisingly hard plastic , but my old one is TRW and from 2012 and still in perfect condition until I cut it to get it off. I've removed the front undertray which makes access so much easier , you can get one hand in from the hub and one from underneath. Old tie rod was much looser than the new one, not floppy but easy to wiggle about. Less than £100 for everything. Tool came from ebay and the parts from Autodoc.

Forgot to give an update regarding the Chinese headers, it only feels right after asking in this thread about 5 times. They arrived a couple of weeks ago and were fitted on the car this week. As far as I could tell there are two manufacturers, I went with the one that looked better. Bought directly from the factory through Alibaba rather than Aliexpress. Cost: 67 quid +30odd for shipping. They compare VERY favourably in terms of welding to the "handmade in Dorset" top gear X-pipe I also bought. Topgear sells headers of unknown origin for £450 for reference

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Typical I only bought that kit 2 months ago could have sent it up to you

Yeah I had a look at mine last night when it was up on the ramp , they look good , they've blued up nicely but no issues at all. Also I had a look at the diff seal I put in last week and happy to report that it's dry , so again being able to do the work yourself can save so much cash , that seal was £16 , you could easily fit it in 1hr.

So the drivers side is quite fiddly but you can get access from underneath Passenger side no access at all from underneath because the fuel tank goes right into the corner

But you get better access from the hub because there’s less steering pipes in the way You have to fit the clip to the boot before you push the boot on , it’s impossible to do it up in position You can crimp the ds one from underneath but ps is going to be tough

hey @Uncle Monty do you happen to have the manifold link - Aliexpress is a weird place that seems to just have the same looking stuff at different prices... given you said that yours look and fit well I'd investigate for when I am back from the highland week jolly!

NON Turbo Exhaust Header Manifold for Porsche 996 997 911 for Carrera - AliExpress 202216001 Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com www.aliexpress.com

How about these? https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/NON-Turbo-Exhaust-Header-Manifold-for_60535793065.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normal_offer.d_title.1eb913a0vSuovK&priceId=86e1194e171f46fc804ce8c426e58287

Looks like the same product (2nd photo) but it's Alibaba so.... Shipping is cheap too. Must be worth a punt.

Is Alibaba any different to AliExpress? I haven't got much experience buying from either

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Drove to Berwick late last night to pick up my wife from the train at 11pm , it's about 50miles in a NE direction. I noticed that after going through Selkirk the temp went up to the right side of 80 which is normal for town driving but it never really went back to the left side of 80 as in the photo here and that is 40miles, no traffic , 17C outside temp, driving 50-60mph. Bear in mind I don't have AC condensers in front of my rads. Then I looked at the trees , it was a very windy night from the SW (as usual) so it was right behind me and I'd say 30-35mph wind speed so basically the front of the car is more or less in dead air , very little cooling. So I thought on the way back it should be the opposite and it was , gauge never changed from far left of 80 , it'd be getting 90mph blasts of air going over the rads. Drive out was fantastic , back I had to behave. Worth remembering this if its a windy day and it's right behind you.

These 996's seem to be very sensitive to ambient temps or at least the gauge is....think in the 2.5 years I've owned mine I've still only heard my engine comp fan twice....!!!!

I’ve never heard the engine compartment fan ! I should check it actually works Have you tried the HVAC hack Monty to read water temp? I only read about it the other day ..

I haven't yet but I will. Was it on here how to do it..I read it recently ? Next job is to replace a bulb in the instrument cluster, the oil pressure part doesn't light up at night.

Alex posted it in the 30,000 rebuild thread

I’ve been really enjoying driving the C2 over the summer and I’m going up North in it soon to see an old mate so it’ll get a good spanking on parts of the NC500…looking forward to that. But this is going to be a slight diversion from the C2 and time to focus on my other car , a 2005 996 Turbo and one that has developed a pretty decent oil leak at the back somewhere, round about the vicinity of the oil tank. This means the engine has to come out ! So today I’ve made a small start and removed the lights and bumper cover as well as some of the braces and things underneath. Thought I’d take a few pics so you can see how a Turbo differs at the rear where the intercoolers are and a couple of the engine bay.

Here she is on the lift with her pants removed

Be interesting to see where the leak is coming from, are you sure you can't use a borescope or something to confirm the engine needs to come out!?

Pretty sure it’d be impossible to sort without engine removed however I’m thinking of pinning the coolant lines anyway, I really don’t want to but it might be a good idea.

Very envious of your lift, i wasted almost and hour yesterday getting mine to a decent height on 4 stands! Keep us posted I’d love a Turbo

Just a little job I’ve been wanting to do since mine flew off somewhere and that's the new metal emblems for the centre caps on the Turbo These are not the normal ones, the emblem is smaller but a chap on here had some for sale in Germany I think so i bought 4. I’ve glued them and then riveted them and put a tiny blob of black paint over the rivet head, they’ll never come off again but I will have to drill the heads off the rivet if I ever need to loosen the axle nut.

You’ve added additional unsprung weight, that will be detrimental to the cars handling

Yeah and aren't you meant to be taking your engine out, what are you doing playing with centre caps

If you need to loosen the axle nut, just take the wheel off and tap the cap out then put the wheel back on

Just started with the separation sequence. It’s a very tight fit , this is the gap between the oil tank and subframe

Nothing obvious from where the oil leak was coming from

It’s not from the hose I thought it was I’m now thinking it might be from the stainless flexi type pipe at the base of the tank and the oil has been wipping up in the wind I think I’ll take the oil tank off and get a better look and to justify taking the engine out

The trouble with that theory is that it would be constantly leaking, not just when the engines running which is the case.

I found the culprit and thankfully it needed the engine to come out to fix it. I went and had another look at it this afternoon, I removed that plastic U bend ( and snapped a bolt doing so) , this allowed me to get a better look and that’s when I noticed this thing on top of the engine, it looks like a freeze plug but it’s not, it was all oily and rusty. I dug the oil out and a big scab of rust came out and then I noticed a tiny hole which I enlarged slightly but I think that’s it.

Well spotted, I'm guessing that will be an oil gallery below, rather than into the crankcase. Maybe water draining off the outside of the car finds its way in to the plug recess and then stays there for a long time as no heat and air movement? It's certainly not a common problem, I wonder what mine is like, another thing to worry about!

Interesting Keep us posted

You make it look so simple would love to have the confidence to do the same on mine!

Back to getting the Turbine fixed today after a wonderful blast up North in the other car. Oil tank has to come off so I can tap the new plug in from straight above. Nothing too difficult but the 2 M6 bolts that fix the accordion to the block were very tight and would’ve snapped if I hadn’t applied some heat, of that I’m 98% sure. You can see what a mess the oil leak has made of what is a very clean engine

New 19mm plug fitted Only the later cars had these, the early ones had a threaded sump plug instead.

Is it a core plug Monty ?

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sounds like cost cutting

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Yeah it is, a freeze plug on the pressurised oil side. Cost £3.96 delivered. I wonder what OPC would've charged to remove and fit a new one? 6hrs min to remove engine so 12 plus 2 for repair so 14hrs @ £200/hr+VAT + £3080 minimum to replace a rusty £4 core plug.

I'm going to replace all the O rings that are part of the bottom of the Oil tank , I've worked out if they start to leak because I've removed the part and disturbed them there is no way to change them unless you remove the oil tank ie: drop the engine again. I think that's a good idea.

Just getting the O ring sizes from D911 and I thought I'd tally up the cost to replace the oil tank and all the bits that fit to it and mount it. Roughly £6k ! No.26 which is a small housing for a non return valve ..£455 ! The oil tank is £2200.

I’ve replaced all the O rings in the stainless accordion thing at the base of the oil tank but if they leak it’s an engine out job as there is no free movement to get those 2 things apart. Therefore I filled the oil tank with 5l of fresh oil and I’ll leave it a few days to see if it starts to drip.

Just looked at the pic of the newly installed plug, are you sure its far enough in, in the pics of the original the sides of it look like they are below the edge of the bore? You new one doesn't look as though it is to me, may just be the pic but you definitely don't want it to pop out!

There is a chamfer around the edge which is hard to see but I tapped it in to be flush with the top of that as the original one was but I must admit I really didn't want to knock it in too far and for it to fall into the engine. Thanks for the concern but I'm very confident it won't ever be an issue again, I've done loads of these on marine engines.