JFP in PA

Because we do it for a living, we often see people that try to make maintenance or repair decisions on one of these cars on a price basis alone. Unfortunately, when someone starts down that pathway, the journey often unhappily takes them somewhere other than where they intended to go, and sometimes leaves them with a bad taste in their mouth. These cars are neither cheap to buy, or maintain; and they have to be maintained. Owning a Porsche is a commitment, both to enjoy driving one of these superbly engineered vehicles, and having both the means and mindset to maintain it as it was designed to be kept. If you are ready to make that commitment, it can be memorable journey..............

Imagine the long USB cable hooked up to a tower so that it can reach multiple bays, and the tower to a large flat screen that can be swiveled so you can see it, makes life really easy, particularly when the tower is connected to your backup server that stores copies of client data files................. :thumbup: Now if you connected the Durametric cable's USB plug into a wireless bridge with power for the USB port, and the tower on the other end setup to receive the signal, you could make the leap to a wireless connection. Of course with the flat screen TV professional setup like you have, I can definitely see that :) I did think about the wireless brige with powered USB port setup like you said. Just never had the time to make one yet. Also, the stock (short) cable will still dangle from the dongle even with that setup. It would be nice if Durametric comes out with something similar to those low-profile bluetooth dongles that completely eliminate any cord. I have several OEM scan tools that have bluetooth dongles I never use them. Bluetooth may be for looking at PIDs but coding/locking modules no way! I guess I am also too lazy to unplug my ethernet cable from the pass though tool. Call me old school but hardwired is the only way to go. What are you going to do when OBD III shows up? No connector plug to hardwire to.................... :help:

Having to depress the clutch to start the car is a North American trait mandated by the Feds to keep the unwary from driving through the back wall of their garage and into the family room because they forgot to depress the pedal. Been that way since the late 1960's. A grey market car would not have it.

Item # 17

Or you could be totally adventuresome and use Joe Gibbs DT 40 5W-40, which is a much better oil to begin with.

I can't use a cable as short as 5 meters. Durametric does not run at that speed, it is slower, you can use a long USB cable without problems. We have one over 30ft. and it works fine.

Imagine the long USB cable hooked up to a tower so that it can reach multiple bays, and the tower to a large flat screen that can be swiveled so you can see it, makes life really easy, particularly when the tower is connected to your backup server that stores copies of client data files................. :thumbup: Now if you connected the Durametric cable's USB plug into a wireless bridge with power for the USB port, and the tower on the other end setup to receive the signal, you could make the leap to a wireless connection.

Good point; we use a tower in the shop, so a long cable is handy. We also use it on a laptop for data acquisition during a road test, or for use on road side service calls.

You really do not need the Durametric long cable, any quality USB cable will work just fine as an extension to the standard length Durametric cable, and save you some money.

Probably 10W-40.

Loren, Could you please tell me which test I can run with the Durametric and what I should be looking for? I ran everything I saw that looked remotely linked to the fuel system. Biggest challenge is I'm not familiar with what I should be looking for to detect a leak. I would take it to your local Porsche shop and tell them that you've replaced the gas cap but you suspect a leak in the fuel tank ventilation system. If they have a PIWIS they can do a leakage test and pinpoint the problem - a frequent culprit is the fuel tank ventilation system which If you are a DIY person read this: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Porsche-996-997-Carrera/106-FUEL-Replacing_Your_Fuel_Line_Vent_Valve/106-FUEL-Replacing_Your_Fuel_Line_Vent_Valve.htm Thank you roadsession. I would prefer to learn how to find the leak with the Durametric, which I purchased so I wouldn't have to take the car to the shop. Again, if anyone is familiar with how to do this with the Durametric, I'd really appreciate it if you could share that process. The Durametric can tell you that you have a leak, finding it requires other diagnostics (smoke machine, individually testing various devices with a handheld vacuum pump, etc.). The Durametric is like a compass rather than a GPS, it can point you in the correct direction, but it cannot always pinpoint what needs to be addressed; that is up to the diagnostic skills of the operator. As Loren already pointed out: "P0456 Fuel Tank Ventilation System (Minor leak) - Below Limit Possible fault cause - Tank cap seal - One or several leaks in fuel tank ventilation system Check the o-ring on the gas cap too. In a few rare cases the EVAP canister purge valve cracks or leaks."

The car is acting as though the cam timing is off, or that the DME at least thinks it is, which pretty much amounts to the same thing with the exception that actual mechanical deviation can lead to physical engine damage. You need to get the car hooked up to either the Durametric system, or one of Porsche's systems (PST II or PIWIS) and collect some cam angle data to determine where you are; I know of no other aftermarket diagnostic tool that can be counted on to dependably generate this data.

I'd like to see the cams, and particular the one throwing the code, checked for cam deviation angle. The deviation angle is the position of the cam relative to the crankshaft, and normally sit in the +/- 6 degree range at idle, then jump to around 25 degrees when the VarioCam kicks in; the deviation angle will tell if the cam is out of time or not. The Durametric can also activate the VarioCam system, one bank at a time, allowing you to see if it is functioning correctly. Here's an example from an early Boxster:

Do you have access to the Durametric software or a PST II?

Let's start with the basics: Year and model of the car? I know you list an early Boxster in your profile, is that the car? In any case, something concerns me; when you did the IMS swap, how did you retain the cam positions? In your photos, you show the cam slots as being off to one side: When the engine is at TDC, the slot in the cam should line up with the parting line in the cam covers: Quite often, when first setting the TDC position, the cam slots do not seem to line up, but what is happening is that the engine is not really at TDC and needs to be rotated clockwise only until the cams do line up and the locking tools cam be inserted; at times, you have to rotate the engine over a couple times to achieve this configuration:

It is extremely difficult to correctly diagnose a problems with such sparse information. I would assume the car threw codes when all this was going on, did you get the codes? At a minimum, you should have the car scanned with a Porsche specific system (PST II, PIWIS, or Durametric), collecting data on any active or pending codes, as well as fuel trims when the car is running. I would also check the car's fuel pressure and delivery rates. We need more factual input before even hazarding a guess as to what is going on.................

There isn't any way to do that unless you have someone bring a PIWIS to your location; the systems have to be coded to acknowledge each other and allow the car to start. If your immobilizer unit under the seat simply got wet, pull it out and open it up, rise it with isopropyl alcohol and allow it to dry. Check the fuse in the immobilizer itself, replace if necessary. Once dry, they often fire right up...

Some manufacturer's put inserts in the box that come with new sensors that recommend against using any type of contact cleaners on the connector plugs on sensors, which leads me to believe that there is something in the harness connector for the sensor that is not compatible with this type of cleaner. You can try letting it dry out and see if it "heals", but be prepared for that not being the case. As for using the car with sensors not working or disconnected, the car may not really like that and protest by misfiring or going into a "limp" mode to protect itself. If the sensor does not recover, replace it and write it off to the learning curve......

You have a weird combination codes; two (0116 and 0128) point to the engine temp sensor and coolant thermostat signal plausibility problems (read the signal is either low in voltage or does not make sense), and the other two codes (0420 and 0430) say that the O2 sensors behind the three way cats on both banks are reading high voltage. As this started after going through a car wash, I have to wonder if either something in the harness either got pulled loose or got wet in the process.

Let's start with the year and model of the car please.................and some information about the scan tool used to read the posted codes as well. And for reference purposes, an explanation of the flash rates for the temp light: Covers all Carrera (996), GT3, TT / GT2 and Boxster (986) cars Here is the long explanation from the service manual on the flashing coolant light. "Four functions of the coolant warning light: 1. Engine coolant level too low -- light flashes slowly (0.5 Hz) 2. Engine compartment temperature too high -- light flashes slowly (0.5 Hz) (engine compartment blower might be faulty) 3. Engine coolant temperature too high -- light is lit; pointer on the right 4. Temperature sensor at water outlet faulty -- light flashes rapidly (1 Hz) ; pointer on the right Note: The temperature warning in point three is indicated if the conditions "engine coolant temperature too high" and "engine coolant level too low" are present simultaneously."

Ten by sixteen inches.

It is a basic "global" OBD II system, and will not read or access several of the common code areas (ABS, PSM, airbags, etc.) on Porsche due to the use of OEM proprietary software. Before spending $100 on this cell phone toy app, I would put the money towards the proven Durametric system, which is a close as you are going to get to the mighty PIWIS without spending nearly $20K.............

Take a look at the Wix/NAPA Gold 57211, a better made filter than the OEM stuff at a fraction of the price, and with about a 30% finer media pore diameter as well: And if you really want to make an improvement in your oil filtration, dump the OEM canister system and go to the LN spin on adaptor and "full flow" (100% filtration at all times, no by-pass) system, which can also benefit from the use of a Wix/NAPA Gold spin on filter that has the same advantages as the one mentioned above, and retails for less than $10, or even their new XP filter line with a full synthetic filter media.

Again, nothing unusual................

OK, I'll take it that the "remote" in the interior of the car is not hard wired to the unit in the engine bay. The "OEM correct" set up is a dash switch that is connected according to this factory wiring diagram for the factory installed PSE: The wiring from the switch runs to the PSE vacuum control unit in the engine bay (orange plug to the right of the power steering): And the factory dash control switch looks like this (the $25 OEM switch on the bottom): Having installed a couple of these, you are going to need to run wire from the dash to the engine bay, and that will need to be "fished" along the interior rocker panel area to the rear bulkhead and then through one of the bulkhead plugs I mentioned earlier to reach the engine bay, or ordering the PSE wiring harness (P/N 996 612 978 00) for under $20, and a dash switch ($25), and plugging it into the relay block.