Guidance on schedule of works following 996 4S PPI

Hi All I recently had a PPI and borescope undertaken on my 72,000 mile 2003 996 4S Coupe manual. The cylinders were is good health but I was presented with a list of 57 items, and recommended that I address the following immediately: Replacement of bank 1 coil packs as they are cracking (inc. spark plugs) Puncture repair of rear tyre (nearside) Replacement of front differential flange seals as leaking badly Replacement of coolant crossover pipe So I have agreed to these items and am now reviewing the other 54 items and trying to work out what to prioritise in the coming year. I'm not in a position to do all of these items at once neither do I want to lose the car for a significant amount of time at this time of year. Could I ask for your opinion on the order in which you might do these items at a high level based on past experience of running one of these cars? I do have a couple of road trips scheduled ahead of December when it's next service is due - amounting to about 2,500 miles. Cheers All

If it was me - I’d be looking at doing some of the simple jobs just to get them off the list: front/rear bonnet struts, wheel bolts, rear wiper/ clearing rads etc. I wouldn’t want to drive any particular distance without the fuel cap seal being replaced and the power steering reservoir overfilled. I’d also have the galloping heebyjeebies about the oil issues in the instrument cluster - I always want to know the true readings for oil in the engine. Oh and the brake lines would also cause me some concern - but then again - I live in fear! Exhaust fixings and suspension could wait imho. A suspension refresh is transformational on these cars but they’re still drivable without and the work can be quite costly. I’d also be looking to get quotes for the bubbling on the wings and the subframe - you want to nip that in the bud as soon as funds allow. As for hoses/misting - anything relating to engine cooling should be addressed sooner rather than later. Bear in mind that I’m extremely risk-averse. Other people may take a completely different view on what needs doing and when. Hope this helps M

Oh and when I said simple jobs - I meant do them myself.

I'd be getting all the cooling system things done asap and probably the brake pipes too. Doing 2.5k miles in the next 4 months should be the last hurrah for all the suspension related stuff. It will be expensive but false economy not to do it all in one go. The balance of the red items can wait and could be done at the same time as some of the amber items. The remaining amber items are largely cosmetic an can be done whenever you feel like it. Once it's all done you'll have a very nice car and can enjoy it properly.

Thanks All. This is so helpful. I really appreciate the advice! What is one paying for a suspension refresh on a 996 4S nowadays?

I really don't see anything that would need fixing before it breaks completely if we're talking normal mileage. For a roadtrip you might want to tackle the cooling system to be safe. At least 50% of the list could be summarised as "old car & common problem" and not be "fixed", some others are DIY jobs as mentioned. Suspension can sound worse than it is, I'd much prefer a functional testing procedure than a show and tell, presumably something like that was included?

If you get a chance to take the car to someone like Center Gravity, they can check the state of the dampers. I had a 2002 996 Targa - the dampers and mounts were fine. The various arms were the culprit (along with 7 yr old tyres).

Even though it’s a reasonably long list some jobs don’t need looking at straight away and can be done yourself. Some of the jobs needing looking at first have been mentioned and it’s good advice

In terms of cheap and simple and very easily diyable, I'd be doing the bonnet struts. They're super easy to do, not expensive to buy online and you'll absolutely wish you'd done them if the bonnet falls on your head! Ask me how I know!

Out of that list, you need to add the rubbing bodged up brake lines to you immediately list. Rest is old car stuff really. Will say that is a thorough inspection!

Hi guys - quick update here from the OP! The car is still at the workshop as the cooling system issue has escalated slighly - and we are now cruising towards a fairly hefty repair bill. As mentioned above, I was initially just going ahead with the following work: Replacement of bank 1 coil packs as they are cracking (inc. spark plugs) Puncture repair of rear tyre (nearside) Replacement of front differential flange seals as leaking badly Replacement of coolant crossover pipe (more on this to follow!) To add to this, I also asked for the following small jobs to be undertaken: Aircon regassed Fuel cap replaced Radiator ducts cleaned (As best as possible without removal of front bumper) Oil level corrected The Issues with the cooling system were initially identified as "antifreeze staining on driver and passenger side crossover pipes", "minor staining on coolant hose at bottom of passenger side rad", "staining around engine oil cooler", "coolant staining around return valve on top of expansion tank" and "minor corrosion on the corners of the condensors". As such, we agreed to do the following: Replace left bottom radiator hose and expansion tank bleed valve Replace oil cooler inc. oil rings I was then told last Friday having taken everything apart, that they identified a full blown leak in the coolant system so also had to replace the front to middle aluminium coolant pipes and rubber hoses, as well as undertake a front end alignment due to the subframe having to be dropped. I was told the parts to do this are only available from Porsche in Germany so are being shipped over asap. We are £4.5K in so far.... Will keep you posted.

Wow - hope you got it for a decent price in the first place knowing about some of these issues?

Getting AC regassed but not fixing a rubbing brake pipe Suck's a bit, you could have replaced them steering rack pipes and replaced the OS brake pipe while the front subframe was out and saved some future labour costs.