JFP in PA

It can also be a defective plug rather than a loose one. From time to time, we encounter a plug that the ceramic center becomes loose from the metal base, creating a small but noisy leak. Usually, this leaves a distinctive mark on the ceramic section where the exhaust is blowing by it. That's interesting and good to learn about. Thanks! The ceramic core of the plug is both mechanically locked and cemented into place to get a seal. Sometimes the cement seal is not complete and the plug leaks pressure; other times we have found the entire ceramic core loose (moved around, but did not come out of the metal threaded section). Replacing the plug solved the noise issue.

Sorry but this is completely bogus. A "custom tune" is getting you nothing on a M96 except a lighter wallet and probably pushing your engine out of spec. And I take it you speak from experience? If so, please share... And while *most* comments here are indeed helpful, it really takes away from the OP's question: What is the easiest & cheapest way to add horsepower and performance to this car? Suggestions are great but if the OP was looking to trade in the car for a Turbo, maybe he/she would've asked a different question. If he/she was looking to improve his/her driving skills in the immediate future with DEs or such, same thing. Why for once can't folks just give a direct answer to a simple question? Several did just that. Unfortunately, a lot of aftermarket claims are cannot be substantiated by real world dyno testing and/or track lap times, and most of the modifications are neither cheap or performance enhancing. We have seen expensive mods that resulted in very marginal HP increases on a dyno, and then only in RPM ranges where the car spends very little of its life. Silver_TT purchased a 996 Turbo car with an expensive aftermarket "tune" already installed, and which would not pass state inspection where he lived. After flashing the car back to stock configurations, it went right through inspection, but he also found the performance was literally no different with the stock flash. Quite often, the real world ends up being quite a bit different than the marketing hype. And as Loren correctly pointed out, on the normally aspirated 996's, you can spend a lot of money and get very little in return.

It can also be a defective plug rather than a loose one. From time to time, we encounter a plug that the ceramic center becomes loose from the metal base, creating a small but noisy leak. Usually, this leaves a distinctive mark on the ceramic section where the exhaust is blowing by it.

According to LN and Jake Raby, yes. The LN style bearing is partially submerged or splash lubricated without any additional help. We have numerous customers running that way, as do many, many other shops; and without problems. And with some now 20K units in service, they seem to have a point.

First, welcome to RennTech :welcome: He wired the power wire to an "always hot" lead rather than one that is switched by the ignition switch. Simple fix for him to change the connection.

First of all, welcome to RennTech :welcome: If the car has not had it done already, invest in and IMS and RMS update to assure the engine's longevity, add a spin on oil filter and a magnetic drain plug for insurance. And before investing large sums of money into aftermarket components with little or dubious power advantages, put some money into a good driver's education session or two to learn how to competently drive your car. Most that have done so will tell you it was one of the best investments they ever made.

Depends upon the model and how it is equipped. In general, lowering the engine is the quickest and therefore the cheapest for a shop; but not everyone is equipped to readily handle that. Most DIY's are done from above (there is a DIY tutorial in that section at the top of the page).

You can get that here for $10: http://www.suncoastparts.com/product/VIN.html?Category_Code=newproductpage

Welcome to RennTech :welcome: In the "Documents" tab at the top of this page, you will find a VIN decoder.

No, it simply indicates a failed breather, which often become brittle with age and crack. You should be reading a vacuum level of 5 inches of water (not Hg) at the oil filler cap. If you are reading higher than eight to ten inches of water, the vacuum diaphragm section of the AOS has failed. These fail all the time without any intermix problems whatsoever. That is your choice, but going through that exercise you may then still have to face dropping the engine anyway.

Unless you have TIG welding skills and equipment, this would not be a DIY job as you would have to take your pipes to someone to have them welded. These pipes are connect your base cooling lines to the larger diameter line center radiator (on the S cars, all of the hard lines and hoses are larger in diameter).

While the AOS can fail and leak coolant into the oil system, it is not a particularly common type of failure. More common on your model car is a cracked cylinder head (and before you ask, these engine's never blow head gaskets, the MLS head gasket is actually stronger than the head itself). In order to confirm what is going on, you need to pull the spark plugs and look for any signs of unusual plug coloration (cracked heads often lead to "steam cleaning" of the plug in the bad cylinder). You should then run a leak down test on that cylinder to confirm the problem. You can also perform a pressure test on the cooling system, but that would be a bit redundant as it is already obvious it is leaking. I also would not be driving, or even running the engine in this condition; coolant is Hell on bearings and other critical surfaces, and could result in totally losing the unit. You need to plan on and budget for dropping the engine (while the AOS could be replaced with the engine in the car, getting at it is a bit ugly, so most shops lower the engine to save both time and money). Assuming you do have a head issue, it is also far easier to pull the heads with the engine on a stand.

Sure, use an drill and an easy out to extract the broken section, run a thread chaser down the bolt hole to clean the treads, put some anti seize on the replacement bolt, and you are back in business.

You are not being "bullied" or even singled out. RennTech does not permit the posting of links to materials of questionable origin which appear to violate intellectual property rights. That has always been the policy of this site, and is also the reason that more than one repeat offender has been permanently banned from RennTech. Just because you can Google something, does not mean we will allow it to be linked to this site. From our Guidelines/Rules, which you agreed to when you joined RennTech: "Copyrighted material: By registering here you agree not to post (or link to) any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this bulletin board. Repeat offenders will be banned from this site and their accounts as well as the offending material will be deleted."

Not all models have the passenger foot well outlet, but they all have lighter sockets. I also do not know if all of the foot well sockets are "always hot", while the lighter sockets always are, specifically for the maintainer. If the foot well socket is hot, there is not real reason why you couldn't use it.

It is also the basis of Porsche's thought that, "If we make it easy use, they will use it."

I think Porsche realized from the start that many of these cars needed to be locked and armed while connected to the maintainers, so they made allowances to facilitate keeping the battery charged and the car safe at the same time.

OK, the dust has finally settled a bit. The following is the diagnostic tree for the P1602 code. You will still need access to a wiring diagram to make sense of the wire connector description's. The special tool mentioned is the pin out box, but armed with determination, you can do this with just a multimeter.

You can also use the lighter socket and still lock the car and arm the alarm. If you feel along the bottom of the driver's door (almost below the review mirror), you will find a recess that allows the cable to be run past the door seals, allowing full closure of the door.

Porsche manuals will tell you to use their pin out box, which is both ridiculously expensive as well as near impossible to find. You will need a multi-meter and a set of wiring diagrams to trace what you need to look at. If you can borrow a 986 Bentley manual, there are a full set in the rear of the book. You should not have to remove the DME to do the testing, just unplug it. There are step by step testing instructions for the P1602 code in the OEM OBD II diagnostic manual, which is another impossible to find book. When I get a chance later today, I will try to summarize them for you (shop is a little jammed up at the moment).

If the DME code is real, it should return after being cleared. Disconnecting the battery could trigger this code, but usually does not. I would clear both codes and see if either returns; if they do, you have some DME wiring diagnostics to do. If the DME loses that connection, it also loses all of its adaptive data, like the idle control, every time the power goes off. The exact time it takes the system to relearn often varies, but it should have completed by 100 miles. You can trick the car into relearning by inserting the key and moving it to the on position without starting the car. Usually, you will hear a series of clicks, which is the ICV going through its routine. Leave the key in the on position for about 30-60 seconds, then turn it off and remove the key. Wait a moment, then insert the key and start the car, if everything else is OK, the car should idle.

P0506: IAC valve is sticking, air cleaner is blocked. P1602: DME fault, no power at terminal 30, wiring interrupted, connector loose or disconnected. When this power is lost, even temporarily, adaptation values are lost.

I no longer use 5, having switched to 6 a long time ago, but if you look under "engine module" you will find "Ready Status".

There should be an I/M Readiness test in a real Durametric 5 (not so sure about knock off clone versions), but I would highly recommend updating your system as the version 6 offers a lot of additional features and bug fixes.

Do you remember which cylinders the really bad looking plugs came out of? Like I said, we use them all the time in the shop with no real issues.