Orient Express

It is an oil and filter change

Soak a paper towel in rubbing alcohol, lay the towel on the decal, let it soak for 5-10 minutes keeping the towel wet, and then peel off the decal. See my DIY for 996 sunvisor sticker removal for more info

The secondary air injection pump has a high pitched whine, but it only comes on for a minute or 2 when the engine is cold. Is this noise present when the car is "on", but the engine not running?

Loren: On the PSE kits manufactured since 2003, the switch wiring, (but not the switch) has been included in the kit. The P/N for the harness and the other electrical bits is 996.612.978.00. The reason that a switch is not included is that there is both a left and right handed switch, you pick the one you want depending on where you place the switch. The switch wiring is part of the harness that also powers the vacuum switch in the engine compartment. If the kit does not include 2 bundles of wires (one with the relay socket on it, and the other with the Switch connector and the wires that go back to the engine compartment), then it is an incomplete kit.

Yes that is correct.

Here is my response from Rennlist

I'm curious about your M030 springs (and mine). According to the shop manual and parts catalog, the top color line is supposed to be either green or white, and refers to the tolerance group for the spring. The proper thickness compensation plates are supposed to match the springs. Anybody know what's up with these other colors? (I'm talking about the top color line here, not the two lines at the bottom that describe the application) Thanks, Bill Different models, coupe, targa, cab have different springs because of the different weight of the cars.

Don't cover them up, Remove them! It's easy, just click here!

The official 997 spare tire is designed to sit in the back seat: This is not a joke either.

You can never really remove the micro-scratches from any finish, plus every time the car is driven, the paint picks up more ablation from road dust and debris in the air. The best that you can do is smooth out the really big scratches with polish etc. and fill the small ones with using a swirl remover product. Yes, all fillers will eventually wear off, and a new application will be required, as will top coat materials such as waxes or polymers such as Rejex. I view it as just a characteristic of the process. With any car, especially if it is driven daily will need to have its surface coating redone periodically. The more the car is driven, the faster it will need to be recoated. The idea of glazes or fillers is that the surface is smoother, so that light is reflected off the surface evenly which will give the illusion of "depth". Unfortunately there is no "magic bullet" that will allow you to wax your car and never do it again.

The Zanio stuff is just fine, and another swirl remover that I found easier top use and gave better results was the Meguires Swirl remover. It works best with an orbital buffer, but you can get good results by hand as well. After you do the swirl remover, give the car a good coat of Rejex, that will help you keep the paint surface looking good longer. However with that said, over time you will end up with the same surface microscratches from just the natural ablation of driving through the dust and grime that is in the air.

Do it yourself, it is just an oil change, and if you want, change the cabin pollen filter.

I would think that the maximum height for a jack stand is more a function of how high your jack can lift the car. The higher your jack can lift the car, the taller the jack stand you can use. Orient, I have a question. My 996 C2 Cab/Tip has an aluminum plate under the engine sump - looks like a skid plate. It limits access to the rear of engine jacking point. Has anyone seen one of these? I'm new to these cars so comments help would be appreciated. Yes, that is a skid plate, and should be removed before you lift on the engine.

I assume that you mean that you are trying to remove the Bose subwoofer on the right side of the console. There is another T27 bolt in the front under the carpet. There is a pull back area on the carpet to access the bolt.

I think I got to drive on some of the same roads that Jascha did.

Only 1, and goodness sake, it happened at AM drivetime in downtown Indianapolis for 50 in a 40..... Go figure!

I took my 02 996 on a 5000 mile round trip from California to Ohio and back last summer with no problems what so ever. Averaged 79 mph and 29.6 mpg for the trip. Just check the tire pressures, and oil level.

Once you have pulled the mirror out, lubricate the little tab that is on the back of the mirror. That is the source of the annoying sound.

Did you unplug your CD changer? It is an either AUX or CD changer situation, but not at the same time.

What year and what color? The individual doors are not sold separately, so you have to buy the entire panel.

It actually is cleaner than factory delivered because I removed all of the Cosmoline, and clean and polish the undercarriage. Not bad for a 65K mile car. The car always wins top prize at any Concours it is entered in.

Looks like a stock spring. I can see what looks like a yellow dot on the spring. here is a stock spring and a ROW M030 spring:

here are some pictures of my M030 install:

Scott: I made some comments on your situation over on the Rennlist board, and to sum up, Jacking your car up on the engine probably was not the root cause of the failure. Given the age of your car, and the heat of where you live, the mount was probably well on its way to failure when it broke. It was very fortuitous that it broke when you were around to see it. Mounts like on the rear of the 996 can break, and the car will continue to be driven for months or even years before the driver notices and replaces the mount. So to answer your question, sure you can drive the car with one broken mount, but you should change it out as soon as you can. Changing the mount is a simple 3 bolt DIY operation. Simply take the bolt out from the bottom where the mount bolts to the rear engine carrier brace, and then take the 2 bolts off on top (in the engine compartment) where the mount is fastened to the chassis. You will have to take out the air box or the secondary air pump off depending on which mount failed.

It's been a few months since the Panamera was last spotted, but an intrepid photographer caught this convoy in South Africa a couple of days ago. Scheduled for an official presentation at the 2009 Geneva show, the Panamera is expected to be a strong competitor to the Mercedes CLS and the future Aston Martin Rapide, as well as Volkswagen's upcoming four-door (so-called Passat) coupé. Though the Panamera takes over design elements from the 911 range, there will obviously be significant differences. While the 911 has always kept its rear-mounted boxer engine, the Panamera will have a choice of three front-mounted motors, although they'll be set back to the center of the car as much as possible. The entry-level powerplant will be Volkswagen's 3.5-liter six-cylinder engine with 300 bhp, while Porsche's own drivetrain will be a direct-injection eight-cylinder petrol engine, available in naturally-aspirated guise (350 bhp) and with twin-turbo (560 bhp). That should be enough to beat out the competition for a while. However, should Stuttgart make the CLS even stronger, Zuffenhausen might strike back with the Porsche GT's 700-bhp ten-cylinder powerplant! The target for the Panamera is to be a true sportscar, while at the same time being a "family-car" for every-day use with four full seats, easy access to the rear and a good-sized luggage compartment. When it hits the road in 2009, Porsche hopes to be able to sell 20 000 units annually – and to jump over the barrier of 100,000 sold cars per year. Photo Credit: Errol Corrigan for Brenda Priddy & Co.