woodenewe

The oil cooler on my factory rebuilt engine failed with less than 1K miles. Quite a mess and took the dealer more than a week using the factory cleaning solution to get it to run clean. So, oil coolers do fail. Bob

Thank you, my search effort was inadequate, sorry for the extra work Bob

Any suggestions for repairing or replacing the door locking mechanism on a 1999-911/966 C4? It is always unlocked and appears the small rod below the door stop does not extend into the latch on the door. The rod can be made to move left and right without much force.

Loren, thank you for the information. I'll take a look tomorrow to see if I can find the sensor. I'll also try to tske some data if the Durametric captures the compartment temps. - Bob

Recent concerns with the engine compartment fan running after engine shut down even in cool weather suggested that the fan's temperature sensor may not hasve been installed correctly whrn the engine was replaced. Where is the sensor and how is it mounted? What is the normal temp level that comands the fan to run?

Porsche 1999 C4 996 over heating concern; initially reported on August 21, 2009 After having the engine replaced, I noticed the engine compartment cooling fan would come on after shutting the motor down, even when the ambient temperatures were in the 50's F. In hot weather with temps over 90 F or so, the over temp light would flash. At the time we were in Nevada in July and just had to wait until sundown to drive any distance. We took it into a dealer in Reno who said that other than some grasshoppers, the radiators looked clean. And of course, we ran with the A/C turned off. The car, a 1999 996 C4 sat in the barn over winter and saw little road time. Now as spring has returned, so has the flashing overtemp light, again with outside temps only in the 60's. So following the advice given last year; I pulled the bumper cover and cleaned out the radiators. Not surprisingly both were covered with debris over 30 percent of the frontal area. The debris was leaves, bugs, and a stiff coating of dust with the majority of it on the engine radiator, not on the A/C heat exchanger. The borescope could not see the area where all the junk was. Interesting how the dirt got packed into the space between the two. Cleaning was done with a vacuum and soft bristle brush; perhaps I should have pressure washed the radiators, but was not able to do so inside the garage. Next time I'll do the tear down outside and do a better job. Problem solved? The overtemp light has not flashed after driving in stop and go traffic. However, the fan still comes on after shutdown. The dashboard gage quickly climbs to "180" with the needle right between 8 and 0 (and it is still no warmer outside that the mid 60F's). So far it has not gone above the indicated "180" under varying driving conditions. The fan typically runs 2 to 3 minutes after shutting the engine down, and then turns off. My concern is with the factory replacement engine, now with less than 6 months of warranty remaining; is there something still wrong? Again the old motor hardly ever ran the fan after turning it off. I initially attributed the situation to a new motor that might be a bit "tight". However with more than 5000 miles on it, I doubt that is the reason for the apparent excess engine heat. Earlier in the warranty period I experienced the dreaded oil in the coolant problem. After more than a week in the shop, the dealer found the "new" oil cooler was leaking oil into the coolant. After replacing the cooler and many fill and flush cycles later using the "special" factory specified block coolant cleaner (all under warranty), that problem was said to be resolved. I fear I may still have a problem and after sinking an amazing amount of money into the car, I can't believe that I have to go through the warranty claim process again. But I will, with vigor. Is my experience as described a cause for concern? If so, what might I do to verify there is a problem before taking it back into a dealer? I plan to start taking temp data with Durametric software and would like to know which parameters are of significance to my situation? Hopefully recording the pertinent data should either help to clear my concerns, or verify there is a problem. There were no fault codes in the memory at last check. Any and all suggestions are most appreciated.

I too have a new engine in my 1999 996 C4 and have experienced what appears to be high temps even after normal freeway driving in cool (65F) weather. The engine temp rises above the “180” mark with A/C on in warm (80’s) weather and the warning light starts flashing. The gage can almost gets to the next mark (what ever temp that is) in hot (90’s) weather. I also notice that the engine compartment fan consistently runs for a few minutes after shut down. The old engine never did that. In an earlier thread I was advised to clear the radiator and then if needed, replace the thermostat. I’ve cleared a few bits of debris (with the bumper still on) and viewed the back area with a bore scope; mostly clear, just a couple of leaves still stuck in the far back. I plan to take the radiator off when I have more time. I admit to being hypersensitive as I've already had one major failure with the new engine; oil in the coolant. The oil cooler had to be replaced and the cooling system repeatedly flushed to remove the oil. It is thought the thermostat may be faulty due to residual oil contamination thus causing the flashing light. The car was at the dealer for almost two weeks while they repeatedly flushed out the oil. Also the coolant tank had to be replaced as they were not sure they could get all the oil out of it. I’ve got a trip planned for the weekend after next and will plug in my laptop and track temps et al with Durametric software, with my wife recoding the data. That may help understand what all is going on. \Bob

Tghank you for the advice; where do I find the information to remove the front bumper?

My 1999 – 996 C4 engine was replaced with a factory rebuilt unit about 3000 miles ago; the car now has 90K miles. The engine compartment fan usually comes on after turning the engine off after a moderate drive and runs or about 5 minutes. We just returned from a 2700 miles drive from Washington State to Las Vegas and back. As soon as we reached hot weather, the coolant temperature rose above the normal 180 mark on the gage and the warning light began flashing. We called a dealer in Reno and was advised to check the coolant level and add water if needed. There might have been air trapped in the system when the engine was replaced, and after adding about 20 ounces of distilled water, we drove on. The car was checked out at the Reno dealer and they could not find any problems, other than a few grasshoppers on the radiators. The farther south we went, the hotter it got. Once the air temps went above 95 or so, the temp gage indication would start to rapidly climb above the next mark above 180 (220?), heading for the redline with the warning light flashing. Not wanting to have a boil-over, I turned off the AC and the temp dropped back to just below the 220 mark (warning light continued to flash). Driving in the late afternoon 112 degree ‘Vegas traffic with the AC off is not fun. We waited until evening to drive home when the temp had dropped (from a reported 117 where we were staying south of ‘Vegas) to 112. Once the outside temp went below 95 or so, we could run the AC without the engine temp climbing. The Porsche dealer service consultants were mystified by the AC unit’s inability run above 95 and thought that the AC compressor (the only engine accessory moved over from the old engine) could be wearing out. After scanning the Renn files I did not find similar history (I did read one entry stating running AC in ‘Vegas was not a problem). Sorry for the length of this message, but hopefully the details would be helpful. Two issues; the engine fan running after shutdown even in cool outside temperatures, and the inability to run the AC without danger of overheating when the outside temps go above 95. Would anyone have suggestions as to the cause and fix for this situation?

I purchase a Genuine Porsche touch up set from the dealer using the color code from the sticker on the car. Other than telling you not to inhale the stuff, there are no directions. The kit has 2 12 ml bottles with brushes attached to the caps. I searched the files for paint repair, touch-up, etc; no applicable links. I would assume you should clean the surface of the paint chip (Q-Tip and mild solvent like paint thinner?), dab the color into the cavity and let flow out, allow to dry, then dab on the clear coat. Hopefully enough was applied to level out flat and not leave a blob above the surface. Any advice or suggestions will be appreciated.

I recently went through the process of buying my dream car, after 40 years of waiting. I guess I did "OK", but not great. Yes, I tracked the ads, read all I could, got various check lists of things to look for, and had a PPI done by a shop recommended by this forum. I ended up with a '99 C4 with 82+K miles, which was all I could afford. Seems I do have a problem with cam shaft timing; it is not a question if it will kill the engine, but when. If I take care of it and don't abuse the engine, I should be able to get some miles on it before it will dhow the dreaded check engine light and likely need a new engine. One possible recommendation from me would be to buy the Durametric Diagnostic software and cable for the car type you are interested in, learn how to use it and what the numbers tell you (in general). Yes, a PPI shop should have a tester, but not all have the fully capable one (PST-2, I believe). And if they do run a test they may not read beyond the proverbial first page. Especially important are the number of hours on the engine, number of times redlined, and number or over rev's. My car was "clean"; no fault codes. But had they looked at the details (maybe they did but did not tell me?) they would have seen and told me about a fair number of red-line hits, one over rev, and a large "camshaft position 1 deviation". OK, you and I don't know what all the numbers means, but the good folks on this forum might be able to tell us what are the top 10 things to look for. If nothing else, it will keep an honest seller honest, and maybe give you a better negotiating position. The cost of $255 (for testing up to 3 cars) could be money well spent, besides you can impress your friends and neighbors with you new P-car in the driveway with the engine running, your laptop plugged into it and displaying the real-time measurements. Now if it came with a book telling you what all the numbers meant...

I posted this topic on the Rennlist Discussion Forum, and re-posting it here hopefully to get a definitive answer on continuing to drive my 1999 911/966 C4 with 84K miles: My car was run with the system tester at an indy shop and diagnosed with a "worn cam chain actuator guide", as determined by reading out "9 degree timing error". The recommended repair is to replace timing chain guides which involve "removing frame bracket, heat shield, and cam cover, replace timing chain tensioner blades, refit cams and set timing". I subsequently purchased the Durametric software to read out the faults codes: none logged. The "Camshaft position 1 deviation" was -8.89 degrees and "Camshaft position 2 deviation" was -4.68. Both values did not change with variation in enginer RPM. At idle of 700 RPM the "ignition angle" varied from 6.00 to 8.25, "loss adaptation idle" was -2.14 to -2.23, "ignition timing" was 2.5 to 2.6, and "actual angle for camshaft" was 0.06 to 0.34. Hopefully someone can look at these numbers and tell me if I have a problem. The car runs well, and no faults found in the memory. I plan to run the car a bit and in a few days, see if there are any changes. If anyone would like more data, I can download it into a PDF file and email it upon request. Thanks for any help...