My new baby 3.4 Carrera 2

[Wh1t3Kn1ght]

Couple more pictures of the car before it was stripped for paint.





It was a lot of work stripping the door panels, door handles, mirrors, door glass, rear side glass, head lights, tail lights, roof trim, rear and front windscreen trim.





And off to the body shop!!!



When I eventually got the car back I had a change of heart and decided to go with the new spoiler but keep the original bumper and no side skirts! :floor:

I took the opportunity to repaint the black trim in the original bumper and fit some mesh to stop leaves getting stuck in the radiators.





Then some more hard work putting everything back together! and then out for a drive and some pictures in Inkberrow outside "The Archers" pub.

 

[Wh1t3Kn1ght]

Since then the car has been in hibernation over the winter and I've been slow getting her back on the road.

First issue was the ABS warning light that had been on since last year. It started off intermittently and then stayed on constantly. After reading through the service manual and initially ordering the wrong diagnostic reader I decided to use my trusty multi meter for some continuity testing from the connector on the ABS pump. After a couple of minutes I found there was no continuity to the RH rear wheel. Taking the wheel off and having a quick look around I noticed that something had taken a bite out of the ABS / Pad Warning wire...



First I attempted to try and patch the cable but after stripping it found the copper core had corroded badly. Whilst looking at this I noticed that the rear tyres were damaged, tread was delaminating and the sidewall was cracked!!! only had them fitted in 2019 (date code was 2017). I called the tyre shop and they said they would need to go back to Pirelli, so I had to buy another set of tyres, this time some Michelin Sport PS4 :thumb:




demort pointed out that my rear brake lines were in need of some love so I brass brushed them and then coated with some Bilthamber Dynax S50.





Got around to fitting the new serpentine belt I had that was sitting in my parts box (took all of 5 minutes). Checked the pulleys, tensioners and water pump, they all felt good.



New patch cable arrived from Porsche (the Porsche tax is high on pieces of wire with proprietary connectors...). Another massive job removing the interior to get to the other end of the cable in order to patch it :sad:

Left it a little longer and tucked the excess under the rear shelf.

 

[Wh1t3Kn1ght]

Shot of some sexy Michelin Pilot Sport PS4 :worship:



Whilst I was doing those jobs I spent some time tidying up the LH side of the engine as earlier in this thread you will see I had some chalky deposits on the side of the engine and also a minor oil leak. Time to clean it up and diagnose where it was all coming from.

BEFORE


AFTER


There was also a lot of white chalky deposits on top of the coolant tank, relief valve and filler cap.... I think you can see where this is going :sad:

So today whilst cleaning the car I also cleaned around the coolant tank and found what is most probably the culprit. I don't have an air compressor to do a pressure check but pretty sure that there is a crack on the side of the tank and also looks like cracks starting in different places...



So Porsche want £500 for a new 996.1 tank.... does the 996.2 tank fit? I can't seem to find a definitive answer. I've also heard that Beru makes an aftermarket tank which is cheaper.

Bit miffed as I've booked it in for the MOT on Monday. Might see if I can put some epoxy over the crack whilst I get the car MOT'd. I wasn't losing vast amounts of coolant it is about 5mm below min currently. I've also purchased a new filler cap from Porsche, so will fit that.

Also in other news the car sits under a large car port and hasn't been wash for a few months. I've found that the sand that was sitting on the car has made spots on the paint again, so looks like I will be doing a two stage polish again at some point... FFS c:

 

[Wh1t3Kn1ght]

Hmmm so it would appear that my car has the 996.2 coolant tank already fitted judging by the pictures I've come up with when googling the part number.

That is good news - £100 for a replacement tank from Porsche :thumb:

Weird thing is I found the part number is printed on the front of mine - 99610605701



Matching tank for 2001+ 99610615704

 

[Gt3Owl]

Cracking, enjoy 🤘

 

[tob_today]

Also in other news the car sits under a large car port and hasn't been wash for a few months. I've found that the sand that was sitting on the car has made spots on the paint again, so looks like I will be doing a two stage polish again at some point... FFS c:

Goddam that sand!

Lovely unique car. What changed your mind on the bumper and skirts after all that effort?

 

[Wh1t3Kn1ght]

Goddam that sand!

Lovely unique car. What changed your mind on the bumper and skirts after all that effort?

Indeed - looks like hard water spots from where the rain has sat on the car and dried... had this before and it took about 16 hours of polishing to get rid of it....

After looking at the pictures I had of the car I felt the original look was much more pleasing to my eyes. The GT3 bumper and skirts just didn't "look right", perhaps if the car had been a non-metallic like white, red or yellow I may have preferred the GT3 look...

Just did a test and the water spots won't budge with chemical treatment so tried polishing starting with fine compound all the way up to heavy cutting. Even with the Koch Chemie red heavy cutting compound it will need some good effort :sad:

 

[tob_today]

Fair enough, the spoilers and skirts are not for everyone. I also like the clean look.

Ouch on the paint good luck!

 

[Space Cadet]

Just putting my tuppence in, but when I first saw the photo with the front bumper & skirts I genuinely said "wow" aloud.

Think it looked great and especially in that colour! Wholeheartedly appreciate a non "GT" look, but IMO, obviously, you've gone part-way there by fitting the Aero spoiler....

 

[Wh1t3Kn1ght]

Just putting my tuppence in, but when I first saw the photo with the front bumper & skirts I genuinely said "wow" aloud.

Think it looked great and especially in that colour! Wholeheartedly appreciate a non "GT" look, but IMO, obviously, you've gone part-way there by fitting the Aero spoiler....

Thank you - well the bumper is and skirts are in storage so they may make an appearance when I feel like a new look :thumbs:

So on to the latest updates, I got cracking on the following jobs -

• 1. Draining the coolant
  2. Replacing the coolant header tank
  3. Fitting a low temp thermostat
  4. Replacing the 3 coolant hoses at the bottom rear of the engine (water pump hose, radiator feed hose and heater core hose).

Draining the coolant was a messy experience, I found a method posted on rennlist which was slightly different the one in the workshop manual.
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-for...dated-w-refill-procedure-water-pump-tips.html

• 1. Raise the front of the car (ensure you chock the front wheels to prevent the car rolling)
  
  
  
  2. Remove the coolant reservoir cap and open the coolant drain plug
  
  I had almost 10 litres of coolant from these first couple of steps
  
  3. Disconnect the large hose on the thermostat
  4. Introduce around 10psi of air into the coolant reservoir
  
  I used a radiator pressure test kit and to save me from getting arms like arnie I used my large volume mountain bike pump connected to the reservoir cap adaptor. This pushed out around another 10 litres of coolant from the radiators and piping.
  
  
  
  5. Disconnect the heater core hose from the engine (small rubber elbow on bottom right rear of engine) and remove the bolts supporting the hard line so it can be tipped down at an angle into your drain pan
  6. Introduce air again into the rubber hose leading to the hard line
  
  You should get some coolant draining through the coolant drain plug now.
  
  7. Replace any hoses and other cooling systems parts (coolant header tank)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Steps 8-10 are optional but as I wasn't sure what coolant was in the system previously I chose to follow them.
  
  8. Remove the thermostat and replace the housing
  9. Fill system with water (follow full WSM bleeding procedure to remove all air pockets)
  10. Follow above steps to drain system again
  
  11. Pressure test system to ensure no leaks
  12. Fill with fresh approved coolant 50/50 with de-ionised water (follow full WSM bleeding procedure to remove all air pockets)

When bleeding the system it is important to either have a second helper to hold the throttle at around 2500rpm or use a pedal holder. I constructed a pedal holder with several socket extensions propped against the drivers seat. This allows the water pump to force the coolant into the system giving you room to top-up the header tank. You might have to repeat this step a couple of times allowing the engine to cool between each to avoid scalding yourself or overflowing the tank. Took me 3 attempts over a couple of hours and it took in the same volume of coolant that I'd removed at the beginning (22.5 litres).

 

[Marky911]

Good work there!

All the usual 996 stuff. Time consuming but rewarding and we save a load on labour by doing it ourselves. Plus we can spend time going into a bit more detail than mechanics probably would.

Car looks great. Get it lowered and fit some perfect condition GT3 wheels and it'll look spot on. :thumb:

 

[Wh1t3Kn1ght]

Good work there!

All the usual 996 stuff. Time consuming but rewarding and we save a load on labour by doing it ourselves. Plus we can spend time going into a bit more detail than mechanics probably would.

Car looks great. Get it lowered and fit some perfect condition GT3 wheels and it'll look spot on. :thumb:

Thanks Marky! - if I didn't do the work myself I doubt I'd be able to afford the maintenance on two cars. Plus I enjoy some of the jobs (aside from getting covered in smelly coolant or gearbox oil! come to think of it brake fluid is nasty as well) :floor:

Getting the expansion tank out was a bit of a chore, almost chucked the towel in at one point.

I found the method that worked for me was to drop the engine as low as it would go (make sure to remove the o2 sensor cables from the cable tidies) and then I had to remove the black bracket which holds on the expansion tank. I had to use a universal joint and slowly undo the two bolts. Once the bracket was out of the way the tank came out pretty easy. I also removed the two fuel lines that connect to the rail below the tank as these were in the way but with the bracket removed it might just clear them.

Took it out for a drive on Thursday evening to make sure everything was OK and took some photos up at Clee Hill (Shropshire).

 

[Wh1t3Kn1ght]

Wow I've been neglecting this thread, still got my 996 though and have done quite a few things to it since last time.

Picked up a Classic Additions Ultimate Outdoor car cover to keep the car in good condition over the winter months. Happy to report I'm very happy with it, I only ever cover the car when it is spotlessly clean and dry. Likewise I only remove the cover when it is dry, carefully folding it up and storing it.



Finally added the Carrera script to the rear of the car



Some preparation for my driving course with CAT driver training at Millbrook, I spotted my rear pads were looking low and the bells on the brake discs were looking grotty. I'd already purchased some new discs and pads a couple of years ago so pulled them out of the cupboard. Wasn't keen on the grey paint finish they come with so prepped the discs and used some Halfords finest silver brake caliper paint to spruce them up. Looks much better! Will be treating the front discs to the same treatment over the winter. May also paint the brake calipers using the same paint I used for the 944 turbo calipers.









The plastic trim in front of the rear wheel was also looking a bit tired so gave them a spruce up with some plastic primer and some matt black halfords trim paint.





Popped up to the Ponderosa cafe in July with some mates and managed to get some cracking photos at the end of the car park!



Most recently I went on a one day driving course with CAT driver training at Millbrook, my first experience of driving the 911 on a private road / track. This was the Level 1 course but was the best thing I've ever done in any of my cars. Really got to explore the limits of the car and feel it has made me far more confident with the 996 in particular. I really enjoyed the end of day activity which was driving around the handling circuit at speed with instruction looking for consistent lap times. I managed 3 laps with times within 1.5 seconds of each. Thoroughly recommend them to anyone looking for some performance driving tuition, I shall be looking at another step-up course next year and hoping to go on some track days.

 

[Uncle Monty]

Just doing my discs (as well as everything else in the front suspension) but chose a gloss grey. Your's look really good and what a difference.
I'm doing everything up front first including wheel bearings , they were Original I think and the grease had turned into a stiff wax.
Love the colour of yours.