JFP in PA

Unless you have oil on the plugs, the seals should be fine.

Leaking plug tube seals flood the plug tube, the oil doesn't go into the combustion chamber, and the plugs would come out dripping with oil:

Porsche specific scan tools are few, far between, and not cheap. The PIWIS system which the dealer's uses is a lease only item and costs $20K for the first year. A more reasonable alternative with about 80% of the PIWIS capability is the Durametric system which is a lap top software packing that comes in two flavors: Enthusiast for about $300, and the Pro for a little less than $800. There are other standalone units that claim to be set up for Porsche, but most are lacking in their capabilities.

This is a picture of a 996 plug tube seal:

I don't have a step by step, Loren may, but you can probably find one online. And changing them out requires removing the valve cover, which entails removing the air boxes, the air pumps, the torque arm, and a whole lot of other stuff as well. Definitely not a fun job. The more I look at your picture of the seal above, the more I am inclined to say it is a tube seal for one of Porsche's flat six engines, like the 996. The Cayenne tube seals are a bit more flat looking, and if one or more were missing, the plug tubes would be full of oil, which you have not mentioned: I'm now wondering if someone mistakenly put the flat six seals on the plugs that are in the car for some unknown reason.

The plug has nothing to do with that seal, it should go under the plug tube itself, not the plug. We get them from a dealer.

A "pending" code is just that, the system has seen it but has not triggered an alert just yet. This is done as these cars often throw ghost codes that are not real, so the DME has to see the fault reappear a certain number of times before the code goes "current" or active and triggering the check engine light or other indicators. If the fault does not reoccur the DME simply ignores it and no indicators light up, and the code vanishes from the DME. Some codes are designed not to clear unless the DME actually sees that the fault has been repaired; things like seat belts, air bags, and ABS fall into this category as no fixing them is dangerous, and they often require the use of a Porsche specific scan tool to clear them even after the repairs are made. I believe these are the codes that you call "permanent". In any case, if the actual fault has not been repaired, the system will continue to show it as "active", which is a requirement of the EPA to prevent people from just clearing codes before the car is inspected. When someone tries that trick, the emissions test system will deliver a "not ready" message, indicating that the DME has not seen enough drive cycles since the codes were cleared to determine that the system is fully repaired and working.

The fuel tank should have a venting system that uses the EVAP canister to relieve any pressure build up and vent it into the intake system to be burned. If anything blocks this pathway, pressure can build up in the system. As you already have the car apart, I would start checking each component of the EVAP system, the canister itself, the lines, and the valves to make sure nothing is blocked. You need to blow some pressurized air through the lines to make sure they do not have build-up in them, which is a common occurrence on these cars. Also check where the fuel pump enters the tank, the EVAP system should have a connection there as well. All the electric valves can be tested outside the car, I like you use a Power Probe for stuff like this, but you can jury rig something to do the job. The valve that normally craps out in this system is the one that lives underneath the intake of the M96/97 engine, which is also the hardest one to get to (of course). As you have a different engine in yours, I have no idea where that valve is located, but the vent line from that valve should lead to the intake system. The EVAP system is designed to be a closed loop to prevent vapors getting into the atmosphere, the canister acts as a "storage" tank to hold the fumes until the car starts up, and they are then pulled into the intake and burned off. Normal component failures in this network typically lead to small vacuum leak codes because the closed loop is now open to the atmosphere via the intake system. As yours is going to pressure, the vapor system is not getting rid of the fumes when it should.

That looks like a spark plug tube seal.

Welcome to RennTech At the risk of starting yet another "which oil is best" endless thread/argument, what you should be looking at in an oil is the level of ZDDP (and not ZDDP alternatives), shear resistance, heat transfer capability, thermal stability, film strength, and detergency; most of which is unrelated to the oil's published "X"W-whatever weights. And as this dead horse has already been severely beaten multiple times here and elsewhere, I would suggest doing some research.

If your tank's cap # does not end in -04, replace it with one that does. DO NOT use aftermarket caps.

Try our board sponsor, Sunset Porsche's online parts system; currently says it is available for about $63 plus shipping: Sunset Porsche Parts Online We have purchased parts that had to be shipped from Germany, and they offered a cheap "expedited" service that got them here pretty quick. And just for perspective, just about every dealer and independent shop has parts on backorder these days.

The fork is "the industry standard" for when you are replacing the ball joints; it is fast and clean, but usually kills the boots in the process. When you need to preserve the existing components, you need a tool that allows you to get stuff apart without killing the boots; the "right tool for the job". When you put everything back together, a dab of anti-seize on the ball joint shaft will make your next service a lot easier. 😉 Nearly all brands have "nightmare" parts; several current year cars require removing about half the front-end sheet metal to replace a $35 cracked windshield washer tank that was designed to fit into an existing empty space in the front end before the fenders and facia were installed. The result is a $4K labor bill to replace the tank. Several GM models require dropping the entire engine and transmission cradle assembly out of the car to replace a single passenger's side front brake hard line for the same reason: It was put in before the engine and trans were installed, and there is no way to get the pre bent replacement line installed with the engine in place. And you would think that knowing what they have created they would at least use a stainless-steel line, but no, the factory part is an uncoated mild steel part that rusts to Hell in a couple of years' service life. So, your tank is not alone, Porsche designed it to fit and an existing space, and be installed before the rest of the front end was added. Automotive engineers call this practice "packaging", mechanics call it a "headache". And now that you have inflated my head size to the point my hat no longer fits, I think it is time for my afternoon nap 😀

May have spoken too soon, someone does make replacement boots: Replacement tie rod end ball joint boots

Absolutely everything is in the way to get at that tank. I believe that filler pipe seal is not retained in any way, it just pops into the tank opening (be sure the lip area is clean), and then expands slightly with the filler inserted, making the seal. As for the tie rod end boots, I think you are out of luck there, and will need to replace the entire rod end, which fortunately is not expensive. And for future reference, with the right tool, the boots will not get torn😉:

Just disconnect the power to it. K40 systems are overly expensive dramatically underperforming detector systems (look up some of the independent reviews of the system); you can do much better for a lot less $.

Radar (and lasers) are still "popular".

As no car ever left the factory with those indicators installed, no OBD II scan tool will even see it it.

Probably either made by, or modified by the aftermarket exhaust company; I'd start there.

Stabilizer to frame is correct, as is drop link to strut; drop link end is more complicated: 37 ft. lbs., then loosen 90 degrees, then final torque to 48 ft. lbs.

The slave pushrod is not retained in any way. I always liked to put a very small dab of the same lube for the throw out bearing tube and input shaft on both ends of the rod when installing.

Not really; you might try checking with your local chapter of PCA for members that have gone thru the same issues.

Sounds good. Getting the gear box back into these cars is often a major pain, we found that getting a couple of long bolts the same sized as the bellhousing bolts, then cutting off the hex head and finger tightening them into both sides of the engine case to act as guides really makes the job a lot simpler. 😉

You need to make sure whomever you choose has a current PIWIS system, the late model Cayenne's use a different control system than earlier Porsche's, making them a bit of a pain to run diagnostics on without the PIWIS.

At this juncture, I would say you need access to a PIWIS system to properly test cycle the individual components, as well as evaluating the transmission's external control module.