JFP in PA

While some have had success swapping out the MAF when they got these codes, normally they are related to either an intake/exhaust air leak or fuel starvation (low fuel pressure or delivery volume). I would very carefully examine intake system and all its hose connections (including the EVAP system) for possible leak points, and I would also look at the exhaust system ahead of the O2 sensors for leaks as well (air intrusion into the exhaust looks just like an intake air leak to the sensors). I would also run a fuel system pressure and delivery test to make sure the fuel pump is working correctly.

Replace the pump. These pumps use a composite impeller that erode over time and fill the small cooling system passages with small plastic bits that cause hot spots and no end of problems. And do not use a metal impeller after market pump; along with not living very long, they develop shaft wobble (as all water pumps do) and start boring a hole in your alloy engine case. Use an OEM pump.

I do not think the fan motor assembly is rebuildable, plus you would not want to repair it only to have it crap out 5 min. after the car is back togeather.

Silver TT, these transmissions are not bad they are just not as good as the G50 made by Getrag. I have just finished a 1 and 1/2 year experiment using 5 different transmission oils in my car through all the weather conditions we have up here in New England and I will be posting a DIY on transmission oil changing including all of the results of this experiment. It took so long because I had to use all the oils in winter conditions and it took two winters to get them all in. In most circumstances but not all, Millers is the best and my personal favorite. But, you are welcome to chug along with PTX. That is why Howard Johnson's made 28 flavors. A34735, when someone tells you something that is wrong they are full of it. I myself have been full of it on occasion. I am with you on the voltmeter but the water temp gauge is important. As you have noticed there is a lag between oil temp and water temp. This is because the oil is down in the sump where the water is hopefully not. Going the other way, if your car starts to over heat, under some circumstances you will see it sooner in the water temp Wouldn't ever think of putting anything but the OEM PTX in the gearbox. I have first-hand experience with the damage this will cause. $6K for a gearbox rebuild, or you can buy a reman from Porsche for $10K (before labor). The OEM PTX is an oil which is unique in that it literally has properties that no other oil has. Using the non-OEM will cause wear inside the gearbox over time (some people notice right away, in other cases this can take many thousands of miles). A lot of things people do with their cars I think are obsessing more than anything else, but with this topic I know first hand that if you use anything but the OEM gear fluid, you're asking for trouble. +1 I have to agree with Silver_TT on this one. While some have gotten away with using aftermarket gear oils in these gearboxes, most have not. Problems have ranged from pronounced noise, to poor shifting, and actual mechanical failure problems. Considering the cost of either rebuilding or replacing these gear boxes, and the simple fact that the OEM lube is a full synthetic made to Porsche specs and not an API "GL" catagory, it seems counter intuitive to start playing around. The OEM product is readily availiable, not all that expensive, and works very well.

OK, found something similar on Amazon, higher range, but still workable: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002E81ZC8/ref=biss_dp_t_asn So they do still exist.........

A quick look seems to confirm what you are finding. We bought ours several years ago from a local lab supply house that was later acquired by a larger firm, and a search seem to show they have gone now to all digital inches of water measurement equipment, starting at around $100. Someone out there must still make the old style mechanical gauge...........

Porsche describes the consumption of a liter per 1K miles as "normal behavior"; but smoke at every start up is not. Get your AOS checked.

Make sure they are all clear, particularly #4:

I don't think it's the DME. I bought the car last Nov, 1 owner from South Fla, the 1st owner had Champion Motorsport install the 700 Werks One kit along with led driving lights, .2 rear facia and led lights, GT2 wing and 20 in Champion wheels when the car was fairly new, this included the GIAC flash for the mods. I have the full maintenance history, 5600 miles when I bought it and it has had 4 to 5 oil changes, clutch slave replaced, battery replaced Aug 13 and a few 'campaigns" done at the dealer. I received the car early Nov 13, the first 3 times I drove it there were no issues, it did give me the "depress clutch" once when trying to start but nothing else and started when I recycled the key. Drove it one day to a part time job i have and it sat outside in 20 to 30 F degree weather, went to start it at lunch time and got- key on then "PSM" and "ABS" fail along with "oil temp inop", key to start and got "depress clutch". Let it sit until I got off and the same thing so I got up in the drivers foot well and manipulated the pedals and clutch switch along with some wires, got it started. Next day I replaced the clutch micro, not the cruise disconnect, seemed to work fine. Drove to my friends house for Thanksgiving and it sat outside for a few hours again in 20 to 30 F. Went to go home and same as above. Next morning I went back and changed the battery, not knowing it was new in Aug, installed the Interstate 94R, started fine and off to home. Next outing same thing, this time I repeatedly manipulated clutch and brake switches and disconnected the neg cable on the battery, key on then off numerous times, after about 30 min I got it to start. Next day started in the garage and let it run for 30 min, at this time it was starting fine first thing every day, noticed that the right rear tail light only had half of the leds working and that the brake lights were not working. Tested the battery while running and it was showing about 14.5v with 12.7 with engine off. Thought I noticed the instrument back lighting not working also. Took to Dave Strong Porsche here in Salt Lake. As soon as I got there I went to restart and same issue and was able to get the tech to come out and see the same. Later they told me the brake lights were working fine and it started the next morning but not in the pm. Tech hooked up the PIWIS when it wouldn't start and was showing "no comm" with the DME and no "15 power" (15sv code) like the DME wasn't even there. he thought it was the PAS module as he had disconnected it a few time and got the car to start, so he replaced the PAS (immobilizer) module and thought he had it fixed but it failed again. Tech was thinking it was the DME, talked to the guru at GIAC he he said it could be. I sent the DME to Champion Motorsport and they, working with GIAC, ran a bunch of tests on it including opening it up and looking at it under a microscope, it all worked fine, they also re flashed with new software to rule out a bug. DME reinstalled by the local tech and still fails randomly. Always key on "PSM" and "ABS" fail, key to start and "depress clutch" no start. Tech then unhooked and cleaned all the grounds, checked the relays, replaced the clutch "cruise disconnect" switch (he said he was getting weird resistance reading on it), swapped out the brake switch and ignition switch and still is able to get it to fail every 6 to 9 key cycles. He said he had disconnected some buss bar/mulit wire mount up under the drivers side and while manipulating it was able to get the car to fail or pass. He is thinking there is possibly a bad wire up there somewhere and is waiting for PCNA to get back with him so he can talk to one of their experts. My thoughts as of now. Something is telling the PAS that the clutch is not depressed and something seems to be telling the PAS there is no "15 power", ignition power, not sure where the PSM and ABS come into play. But this only happens randomly so sounds like a bad connection somewhere. I just wish I and the tech new what talks to what at key on and key to start. That is what he is hoping to get from PCNA. I hate to come into this discussion so late, but one thing I would consider is to re-flash the DME back to stock. I am not a big fan of anyone's aftermarket flashes for exactly the reason you are suffering through: They all seem to have differing levels and types of problems. We have seen re-flashed cars that would not communicate with state inspections systems, we have seem them throw weird codes and MIL's; all of which disappeared when they were returned to the stock OEM programs. The 997TT is a pretty wicked car in it own right as it comes from the factory. So I would take it back to stock and see if the problems disappear.

I think you need to access the fan itself; it may either have something stuck in it or possible thrown a single blade, which makes them shake like Hell. If you have access to a Durametric system (or PIWIS/PST II) you can test activate the fans to see if they are operating correctly as well.

The flat battery should not be a factory if it has been replaced the electrical system is now functioning correctly. There are several sources here in the US (https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/listsofsources ), but I would be looking for something closer to you, perhaps in Germany, otherwise the freight and import cost might exceed the savings.

Interesting. Here, we often buy used cats from front end wrecked cars to keep expense down. While a single new three way cat can cost upwards of $1700 (US) or more, we can often find used ones in good shape for as little as $500-600 (US) total for both sides. There is even a market here for totally useless three way cats, we sometimes get $50-75 (US) each when we sell them to recyclers.

It can be a problem with the cats themselves, but I rather doubt it is because of low back pressure. Why did you install the aftermarket cats in the first place?

It could be triggered by the misfire as the P0430 indicates that the cat is no longer doing its job. Couple of points: The CEL turns on when a code error becomes "active", but it could have already been there as a "pending" code while the DME decided if it had reoccurred often enough to be a real issue. A second comment is that cats usually do not cause a misfire; but rather misfires cause cat codes to trigger. Thirdly, P0430 codes are sometimes triggered by O2 sensor problems or the EVAP system, and in particular the canister purge valve on the EVAP system, which can cause a vacuum leak, and thereby a misfire. Lastly, you need to have this vehicle scanned with a Porsche specific scanner (Durametric, PIWIS, PST II); many times codes generated by other systems turn out to be different when scanned by one of these systems.

There is no clutch reservoir on a Tip equipped car.

Before I would go to that trouble, I would check some of the Porsche specialists wrecking yards for the correct match. Mike Focke has a good list of sources on his website: https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/listsofsources

You can get inches of water vacuum gauges from lab supply houses, the ones we have are from Cole Palmer:

As the bearing cannot easily be upgraded, removing the rear seal will allow continuous splash lubrication by the sump oil, eliminating the "trapped oil breakdown" pathway to bearing failure. We have several customers running this way with no problems. Hi JFP in PA, I believe my engine has the IMS version that requires splitting the case to access it. Can you say if just prising off the cover (to allow splash lube) is a realistic option for me? As always, with thanks in advance, Nigel Yes, but it requires doing nearly all the work required to do an IMS bearing swap on an earlier car. While the bearing cannot be removed without a total engine tear down, once the flywheel is removed you can easily access the IMS flange cover (you still need to lock the engine at TDC and lock the cams as though you were doing an IMS upgrade before removing the IMS flange cover), and then using a tool like a dental pick just pry out the IMS bearings rear seal (it is flexible, so you can get it out without problems). Then button everything back up.

Because of the way fluids travel along various things under these cars, including the under tray, it is almost impossible to say where the leak is without putting the car up in the air and pulling the trays off for a good look.

Just be sure the gauge is calibrated in inches of water, not mercury (Hg).

Get the car scanned by someone knowledgeable with either the Durametric system, a PST II, or PIWIS system; not only to read the codes, but to activate the VarioCam units, and to check the actual cam angles while you are doing it. A smooth idle and strong revving is not particularly meaningful. Once you have run these test, you will know if the system is actually functioning correctly. If it is, you may have more wiring damage elsewhere in the harness.

I know they are on the fragile side. Have you ever sent out an ATF sample for testing? UOA labs typically do it, and sometimes the results can be a little scary.............. :eek:

I would not be overly concerned about not running the break-in oil first, as I mentioned, that is more for severe cases where the noise may also be related to varnish or crud build up due to slack maintenance. Don't be annoyed at how sensitive the car it to oils, be annoyed with the oil companies for making significant changes to oil formulations without telling anyone, and marketing departments for creating long change interval fibs. And if you collected oil samples for analysis between oil changes from your prior cars, you would have found that the oils were beat long before 15K, and in many cases beat or approaching it at 6-7K miles. Just like "lifetime" coolants, 12-15K oil changes are marketing myth; all automotive fluids have a limited life expextancy, some more than others. You are going to get 5-6K out of your oil, 4-5 years out of your coolant, and 2 years out of your brake fluid. And don't even get me started on Tiptronic or power steering fluid change intervals............ JFP - would you point me in the direction of the Tiptronic discussion? Very simple: Because of the design of the Tip, it is impossible to either totally drain the unit without removing it from the car and disassembling it, or to power flush it with a machine. As the result, you can only drain about 4.8 qts of fluid out of it, or roughly half of its total capacity. That means if you follow Porsche's maintenance schedule for it, after 90K miles, you are still going to leave roughly one half of the dirty old fluid in it. Having opened up Tips for service long before 90K, we often found fluid that was already ink black and sometimes smelling pretty bad as well, along with clutch dust debris in the pan. While many have adhered to the factory recommendations and not had problems, continuing to run the trans with this crud in it strikes me as a bad idea, particularly when you realize the money involved in replacing a Tiptronic, so we started experimenting with shortening the fluid change cycles (fluid is cheap, Tip repairs or replacements are not). For daily drivers that accumulate high annual mileage, we drain and replace the fluid and filter very 25-30K miles. On some severe use cases, we shorten the fluid change cycle to once every year. On occasional use cars that see very low annual mileage (we have a customer with a 2001 Boxster that only has 7,000 total miles on it), we do a fluid service every fourth year. Using this approach, you are regularly refreshing at least half the fluid in the trans, as well as draining off the accumulated crud the collects in the system. To help keep costs under control, we schedule the fluid changes when the cars are in for normal engine oil change service (the car is already up in the air, and it only takes a moment or two to pull the drain plug on the Tip while you are at it) so the additional time is reduced to a minimum level. Has it made a difference? We think so. With the total numbers of Tiptronic cars rather low compared to the manual trans cars, the data looks compelling. We used to be changing out Tip valve bodies and solenoid plates more frequently than we do now, and we also noted that the fluid and filters for regularly serviced cars look one Hell of a lot better than they used to at 90K.

I would not be overly concerned about not running the break-in oil first, as I mentioned, that is more for severe cases where the noise may also be related to varnish or crud build up due to slack maintenance. Don't be annoyed at how sensitive the car it to oils, be annoyed with the oil companies for making significant changes to oil formulations without telling anyone, and the oil and OEM marketing departments for creating long change interval fibs. And if you collected oil samples for analysis between oil changes from your prior cars, you would have found that the oils were beat long before 15K, and in many cases beat or approaching it at 6-7K miles. Just like "lifetime" coolants, 12-15K oil changes are marketing myth; all automotive fluids have a limited life expectancy, some more than others. You are going to get 5-6K out of your oil, 4-5 years out of your coolant, and 2 years out of your brake fluid. And don't even get me started on Tiptronic or power steering fluid change intervals............

And the moral of the story is that you should have purchased the MAF from Sunset............ :oops: