JFP in PA

P1397 indicates that the cam position sensor on bank 2 is sending implausible signals (permanently high, permanently low, or fluctuating back and forth). Depending upon your location, the sensor is a $150-175 item at retail, and as the sensors are not that hard to get at, maybe 1-1 1/2 hours or shop labor. That said, I would not be driving the car until it is confirmed that you have a bad sensor and not a bad VarioCam unit causing the fluctuations.

Year and model of the car?

The MAF values can be read by the Durametric software, PST II, or PIWIS. There may also be some aftermarket scanners that can see the MAF values as well (under PID values), but that varies by product. Fuel pressure and delivery are measured by connecting a fuel pressure test gauge to the Schrader valve test port on the fuel rail:

There should be no problems with the plugs you chose; but you may have disturbed or not correctly seated a wiring harness plug(s) on the engine. I would start by checking anything you moved or disconnected to make sure nothing has come loose.

And I for one am particularly interested in how well the new Turbo's hold up now that they no longer run the Metzger based engine, but instead use a modified 9A1 variant.................

You referring to the brakes sticking after getting wet, or the cold brakes in the morning problem? You need to switch to a more aggressive "biting" pad compound like some of the ceramics, but you also need to expect shorter rotor life as the result of the higher biting pads. Brake pads are always some sort of compromise, you are always trading off one thing for another (noise, dust, bite, etc.). You might also want to drop a note to the tech section at some of the pad manufacturer's, they may have some specific history concerning cold bite levels on their product lines that would be of help to your specific situation. We have switched some customers over to more aggressive Carbotech, Akebono, Hawk or Pagid pads to help in the cold, and while the brakes responded, noise and wear levels increased. Most prefer to just live with the OEM pads and warm them up a bit. And just be glad you don't have the $7K ceramic brakes option, they tend to really suck in very cold start ups. Great. I wound up with a Turbo S which of course comes with ceramic brakes. I won't be driving it in the winter for at least 3 years. JFP, any other problems with these brakes?? Are they better at anything?I think I am going to try the Akebono pads in the C4S. Rotors are simple enough to replace. Me, not so much. The OEM PCCB brakes have tremendous ability to deal with severe heat fade in track like condition's and still get the job done, much more so than the best steel rotors, and do so repeatedly without burning themselves up. They are also a lighter assembly of un-sprung weight. This is why they are technology of choice in applications like F1, and are mandated in other racing sanctions like NHRA top fuel and funny cars. But like everything else, one advantage typically comes at the sacrifice of another, they are hyper expensive and suck in very cold conditions until they warm up. But like sticky summer high performance tires, they do not really belong on 5F roads. So like summer and winter tires, you have to think about "rotating" the brakes as well. We have customers that have the PCCB brakes on Porsche Turbo's, GT's, and other makes like Ferrari; but these are not daily drivers, they sit under dust covers in heated garage's when it's 12F out and snowing like Hell as it currently is here. One customer has them on both his 458 Ferrari's, but he drives a Hyundai in the winter months. I think I like the part about the low unsprung weight the best. Do they make less dust or is that just sales person hype? The Turbo S will probably never see winter roads. I'll probably always have a C4S for that. The Hyundai is just not my speed but the Wife does have a shiny new Audi SQ5 which might just take over the role in long winter trips.....maybe. They do produce almost no brake dust, and the PCCB rotors are less than half the weight of their iron counterparts. Also be aware that Porsche has updated the PCCB system, the first generation had some cracking issues and were particularly bad when cold until they warmed up, but the second generation appears to have solved the cracking issue and improved the cold performance somewhat, but with some complaints about noise levels in the cold as well. But even the new ones still like being warm. And as I said, brakes are always a trade off, but the first time you jump on the PCCB's as you approach a fast right hander at speed, the smile on your face will compensate for the rest of the nonsense.............

You referring to the brakes sticking after getting wet, or the cold brakes in the morning problem? You need to switch to a more aggressive "biting" pad compound like some of the ceramics, but you also need to expect shorter rotor life as the result of the higher biting pads. Brake pads are always some sort of compromise, you are always trading off one thing for another (noise, dust, bite, etc.). You might also want to drop a note to the tech section at some of the pad manufacturer's, they may have some specific history concerning cold bite levels on their product lines that would be of help to your specific situation. We have switched some customers over to more aggressive Carbotech, Akebono, Hawk or Pagid pads to help in the cold, and while the brakes responded, noise and wear levels increased. Most prefer to just live with the OEM pads and warm them up a bit. And just be glad you don't have the $7K ceramic brakes option, they tend to really suck in very cold start ups. Great. I wound up with a Turbo S which of course comes with ceramic brakes. I won't be driving it in the winter for at least 3 years. JFP, any other problems with these brakes?? Are they better at anything?I think I am going to try the Akebono pads in the C4S. Rotors are simple enough to replace. Me, not so much. The OEM PCCB brakes have tremendous ability to deal with severe heat fade in track like condition's and still get the job done, much more so than the best steel rotors, and do so repeatedly without burning themselves up. They are also a lighter assembly of un-sprung weight. This is why they are technology of choice in applications like F1, and are mandated in other racing sanctions like NHRA top fuel and funny cars. But like everything else, one advantage typically comes at the sacrifice of another, they are hyper expensive and suck in very cold conditions until they warm up. But like sticky summer high performance tires, they do not really belong on 5F roads. So like summer and winter tires, you have to think about "rotating" the brakes as well. We have customers that have the PCCB brakes on Porsche Turbo's, GT's, and other makes like Ferrari; but these are not daily drivers, they sit under dust covers in heated garage's when it's 12F out and snowing like Hell as it currently is here. One customer has them on both his 458 Ferrari's, but he drives a Hyundai in the winter months.

Because you need to remove the rear cross bar assembly, it would be a good idea to at least have it checked.

Not necessarily true; use of low ZDDP oils and fuel intrusion combine with longer maintenance cycles to accelerate cylinder wall scoring and wear. More frequent oil changes lessen it.

Have you checked your fuel delivery and pressure as I mentioned in my earlier post? Those codes are often related to fuel delivery problems, which would obviously cause hard starting.............

Only thing that I can think of off hand is the oil pump's pressure regulating spring and valve; some M96 cars have had issues with the spring and have had to replace it. Items #5, 25, and 26 below:

Check both your engine (particularly the front) mounts and your trans mounts; one or more may be torn..............

As you may find considerable interest in this, you might want to post the name or website of the aftermarket supplier you used.

The problem lies in the fact Porsche stopped all print publications of the service manuals sometime around 2004-05, and switched to an online subscription only service for non dealers. While they do offer multiple subscription levels (by the page to full access), the service is not inexpensive (around $5K per year for full access, which makes services like AllData more attractive options: http://repairinfo.alldatadiy.com/Porsche-911_GT3_997-2008-F6_3_6L-Online_Repair_Service_Manual_H2t8c.php). Your 996 manual will serve you well in many cases when working on the 997, but there will be notable differences in many areas.

You referring to the brakes sticking after getting wet, or the cold brakes in the morning problem? You need to switch to a more aggressive "biting" pad compound like some of the ceramics, but you also need to expect shorter rotor life as the result of the higher biting pads. Brake pads are always some sort of compromise, you are always trading off one thing for another (noise, dust, bite, etc.). You might also want to drop a note to the tech section at some of the pad manufacturer's, they may have some specific history concerning cold bite levels on their product lines that would be of help to your specific situation. We have switched some customers over to more aggressive Carbotech, Akebono, Hawk or Pagid pads to help in the cold, and while the brakes responded, noise and wear levels increased. Most prefer to just live with the OEM pads and warm them up a bit. And just be glad you don't have the $7K ceramic brakes option, they tend to really suck in very cold start ups.

You referring to the brakes sticking after getting wet, or the cold brakes in the morning problem?

It is just a light bit of rust forming on the rotors and causing the brakes to stick, not uncommon.

You need just the $20 electrical portion of the switch.

Well, considering that we have had customers impact crack the OEM plastic filter housing, it ain't far from the truth.

JFP, I have seen the LN spin on adapter and it does look well made. I know Porsche increased the size of the filter with the 977.2. Can you use a larger filter (surface area) with the LN adapter? Is this really worth the money and why. I heard the no by pass part but I though if you changed the filter regularly you would never go on bypass. Buying a filter cutter all hinges on this. You can get 5-6 oil analyses for the price of this stuff combined and it does give you a lot more information about the car than examining your oil filter. I suppose in a perfect world we would do both. The bypass valve in the stock cannister housing is a rather cheap device that gets tired over time and really should be replaced as it tends to open more frequently with age, often when it is not even needed. You can go to a longer filter as the LN adaptor is using a standard GM oil filter (specifically for the Corvette), but with the spin on's media area, and the finer pore size of the filter media, it really has not been needed, even on heavily tracked cars. As we run UOA's on most of our customer's cars, many with the LN adaptor, and to date have not seen any negatives from the filter size. You also need to watch how long a filter you choose as it will be hanging out under the car.

Just replacing the bearing is a bad idea in the extreme; the engine may already be full of metal grit from the bearing failure, which would promptly kill the LN bearing update. Pull the oil filter and drop the sump cover, if you find metal, the engine has to come apart for cleaing and a complete rebuild; there are no other viable options.

Rather doubt it as the fuel pump is pretty much a "plug and play" installation.

I think one of the major issues with some owners is that they are not ready or capable of undertaking at least some of the simpler repairs, and then end up trying to unload the car with a bunch of small and easily fixed problems because they received a horrendous estimate from a dealer. These cars are not particularly hard to work on, with certain exceptions, and most of the tools you purchase (like this one) can be used on just about any vehicle as well, so the investment is not "lost" if the car leave your stable at a later date.

Actually, there is a new design tool out that does an even better job (OTC 7135A or Great Neck 27175 are the same exact tool and can be found on Amazon for about $35):

Trying a replacement boot or boot cover on a tie rod end is often false economy as the internal damage is already done by the time you see it. Tie rod ends are not all that expensive or hard to replace, but you will need the correct tool to get it apart, and you will also need to at least have your alignment checked afterwards. The correct tie rod end tool looks like this: