JFP in PA

I see no reason why the OPC would object to the spin on filter, other than they may not have a replacement filter on hand, or know which size to use. If you supplied the filter, it would supplant any objections, and you would have control of the quality of filter used. Some dealers here actually carry the correct filter in stock as many of their customers use them. Not to start an "oil war", but if they are using Castrol rather than Mobil 1, I'd let them do just that. :thumbup: The OPC should have your complete records on their computer, and should be able to update your records for you. You may look at it as being "OCD", but maintaining records and being specific about how your car is cared for will pay you back when you go to sell it.

The casting boss behind the pulley that accepts the pin is designed to hold the engine at TDC while doing cam work, etc.; not to remove the pulley. If it was meant to hold the pulley while removing the center bolt, they would not have taken the time or trouble to develop and manufacture the other tool. Some people have gotten away using it to hold the pulley while taking out the bolt, but I would not recommend it.

Your friend should also be aware that these things are notorious for leave quite a bit of old, dirty oil behind as well.

No need to get fancy or buy a special tool for this job. When I installed mine, I just used a bolt that fit through the pulley and into the hole in the block. The (relatively) difficult, time-consuming part is shaving off the timing boss... I'm just worried about damaging the engine casting by doing that. My pulley bolt is original and I'm a bit worried about the potential force it may need to break it loose. How tight was yours? It should be torqued to 37 ft. lbs., + 90 degrees, and may have a thread locker on it as well.

That is a very bad idea for multiple reasons. Not all the car have a dipstick. Of those that do, you would be surprised at how many people try this, only to find they cannot pull the hose back out as it has become caught on one of the many sharp edged items in the sump. When that happens, you have to remove the sump cover to get the hose out. The safe way to remove excess oil is emptying the filter housing.

Try pressing down on it slightly while turning.

As a general proposition, lifts are supposed to keep cars from tilting when being picked up. As someone that spends most of his day under a car on a lift, the idea of one that purposely tilts the car leaves me more than a little bit cold.......... Hi John I hear you, and thank you for your advice. I'm a pen pusher...... what i would give to wrench all day long! I have been doing some more digging and have found this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOBILE-SCISSOR-CAR-LIFT-VEHICLE-LIFT-not-2-post-lift-BRAND-NEW-/281329017781?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item41808423b5 It doesn't need electricity and uses a foot pump or air...... I just need to find out how big and heavy it is now! Thoughts? Regards Richard That would be preferable to the one that tilts. My only question would be how long does it take to pump up with a good sized vehicle on it.

That is the ABS/PSM pump and control system for your anti lock brakes and stability management systems. Replacing the leaking lines may not be your biggest issue, changing them out will introduce air into the controls system which then requires either a PIWIS or Durametric system to correctly bleed.

As a general proposition, lifts are supposed to keep cars from tilting when being picked up. As someone that spends most of his day under a car on a lift, the idea of one that purposely tilts the car leaves me more than a little bit cold..........

With no electrical power, perhaps this would be a more appropriate way to go:

I've seen both race teams and DIY mechanics use the BendPak portable mid rise unit with great success. Big advantage is its swing arms to adjust to various cars like larger lifts and all kinds of adaptors for any project:

I would be concerned about a chain clamp damaging the pulley itself. The device RSS makes is nothing special, it grabs the pulley by two holes instead of the OEM tool's three. As long as the tool clears the center bolt, you should be good to go. Use the new pulley as a template to set up the hole spacing for the bolts.

Or, how about fabricating one out of some flat stock and two bolts: Should not take long or cost much, and appears to be what the pulley people are doing...........

Wrong pulley locking tool, you are thinking about this one:

The factory pulley locking tool is a 5/16 metal rod with a knob on the end: You can make your own from hardware bar stock.

Can't honestly say, I've never tried that. Why do you want to disable it?

It should be as the old version is no longer made, and Hickley's is the official Durametric rep in the UK.. The big difference is actually in the cable, which now carries its own firmware, making cloning a difficult process for the knock off artist. The old cable is also no longer compatible with software updates, which is another reason why buying a knock off is a bad idea, the diagnostic software it uses is now several years old and no longer supported by Durametric.

Or when you conveniently have it off for some other maintenance or repair. These belts are not that expensive, so replacing them while doing some other DIY project makes sense.

Nevermind Just found some info from a forum search. Also watch out for "Stuttgart Auto Werks" in LOS ALAMITOS CA 90720, same crew with a new name to protect the guilty...................

This is going to be quite an undertaking. The turbo has a lot of systems (true dry sump oil separator and tanks, intercoolers, special oil coolers, unique exhausts system, four wheel drive, etc.) that need to be fitted as they were never used in the C2 body. Some may require some extensive fabrication as the Turbo cars had more room than the C2 in the engine bay to stuff all this equipement into. I would suggest getting a look at an empty Turbo engine bay to get an idea of what you will need to do. Good luck!

When the car is throwing codes or has MIL lit, do not disconnect the battery, otherwise you will lose all the accumulated diagnostic data about what is going on. Get the car scanned first before disconnecting the battery. Thanks. This is just what I was after. As codes discussed above..... Contemplating getting a durametric........ However, they seem quite pricey and my friend who has a 996 who I could share with is selling it shortly due to another baby. I am certainly not interested in the fake route, and also want to ensure that I can run the latest version of the software. The only reason I have hesitated in buying is that the enthusiast package doesn't allow coding, but the professional is over twice the cost! Would you say that the enthusiast is ok for what I would need it for, and to just pay someone with professional if ever required (like retrofitting cruise control et al)? Where is the best place to find a genuine with 1 slot left? Does the price reduce significantly due to this? Have searched ebay for past couple of months but haven't come across one during this time period. Cheers The Durametric is a wise investment and will save you a lot of money over time. For most, the Enthusiast is more than enough. You can often find used units with multiple slots open at good prices, search around, they come up regularly. And use care buying one off flea bay, there are a lot of cheap clones of early units running around that cannot be upgraded, be sure you are getting a cable that is compatible with their Version 6 and later software.

I like to keep them 1 to 1 1/2 bars down from the full mark on the electronic level. Problem with the "full" bar is you can't see over it, so it is hard to see being over filled, which is particularly a problem on the cars without dipsticks.

Thanks both for the info here. I checked the oil level this morning - the electronic shows full, and the dipstick shows over the full line (where it is about 1.5mm over). My garage is just about level.... Could a very small difference here make that 1.5mm difference on the dipstick? Given that I plan to change the oil again in a few weeks once spin on received (where I wanted to give it a good flush out), is it ok to leave until then (Probably around 2-300 miles in the interim) or is 1.5mm significant enough to do something about it now? If so, I thought about dumping the oil in the filter housing, going for a drive and then doing it again? Afterall the difference must only be 200ml at the very most so doing it twice would prob drop it to one segment less than full. I would measure the exact amount removed and deduct from 8.4 initially added to hopefully get my perfect volume for next time. Also, just to confirm, when I installed the filter, I placed it into the housing and screwed it on rather than secure it onto car and then screw housing on. Is this ok? Cheers Dumping the oil filter is a great way to bring and over filled car back into the correct level, and can even be done multiple times if required.

When the car is throwing codes or has MIL lit, do not disconnect the battery, otherwise you will lose all the accumulated diagnostic data about what is going on. Get the car scanned first before disconnecting the battery.

Not at all unusual; there are a lot of ferrous components in these engine's, and they often generate a metallic grit so fine it can actually pass through many oil filters and continue to circulate. Magnets are your next line of defense to trap this grit.