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Mine looks like that before it is up to temperature. Cold oil will idle around 4.5 to 5 bar and until the engine is fully warm it wil read anywhere from 2 to 4 bar. Note that it takes a while for the oil to heat up. You car may show 180F on the coolant but the oil will not be fully hot at that point.

Are you sure about the 35 profile? Most of the 285s that I have seen are 30 profile. That's what I run on my 996.

While most of the attention and issues seem to focused on the sunroof, I had a similar issue. The headliner is tensioned across steel rods that fit into each side of the roof (if you push the headliner you can feel them). There is a plastic (IIRC) receptacle at each end that hold the rod in place. One of mine had popped out and would strike the roof at every bump. To put the rod back into the receptacle you have to remove a fair amount of the interior trim and maybe loosen the headliner, but it is simply a matter of time and persistence and not a lot of mechanical aptitude.

I just had my driver's door repaired using paintless dent repair. Result was fantastic. With tiny bit of buffing you do not know that anything ever happened.

Has the oil pressure warning light ever come on? This sounds a lot like my car at idle. When hot it will idle around 1.1 to 1.3 bars (with the AC off - turning on the AC will add about 150 to 200 rpm on the enginer and that's good for 0.2 bar of pressure). I have seen 1 bar and maybe just a bit under when the exteror temperature is 85F + and I have been pushing the car. You say at "long idle" it drops below 1 bar. How long? The 1999 996 do not have the best cooling system around and prolonged idling when hot will likely heat the oil significantly resulting in lower pressure. The pressure at 3000 rpm seems a bit low. Running 5w40 I am always at 3.8 to 4.2 bar when on the highway and always over 3 bar in city driving where the engine runs hotter. In addition to Logray's suggestion, I would also check the function of the oil pressure sender. It may also be starting to fail reslting in readings that are slightly off. It's a relatively low cost part and easy to replace.

New fluid and a deliberate shifting method seemed to work for me. The problem existed only when the fluid was cold. Once warmed it was not an issue.

Do not buy the LumAir Plus from Amazon. It is not a bladder, but rather a pillow and bladder. It does not fit behind the seat back. I will be going for plan B now.

I just bought one of them for my sport seats. Bought on amazon.com and they are shipping it to Canada. I am anxious to install it, given that I regularly try to do long trips and may be headed to Florida from Ottawa next month.

I would also suggest talking to AutoImport on Woodward who have done good work for me or RJ Motors in Kanata (who I have heard good things about, but have not used personally). You could also talk to Tapp Auto who knows 996s reasonably well.

I hope that it's the oil cooler. Fingers crossed for you. Who services the car locally for you (I am in Ottawa too)?

I would not suggest a 996 on that budget. They are great cars but major repairs will sink you unless you have a solid emergency fund or strong cash flow. Secondly, maintenance can be costly compared to other vehicles (e.g. 10L of premium synthetic oil per change).

Sam Have you thought about the factory X73 sport suspension? I have the equivalent on my C4 and like it quite a bit. The positive it that it is factory, the drawback is that it is not adjustable.

Here are some pictures of coolant that I extracted from the expansion tank with a baster and left to sit overnight. (the jar is roughly 2 1/2" in diameter) The black specs look like they could be plastic and are small (under 1mm) and thin. Whatever the residue is sank to the bottom of the jar and is not floating on the meniscus. It also concentrated in the middle (picture 2)and did not flow quickly when I tipped the jar (picture 3). I am going to have the coolant system drained and flushed and may have the water pump investigated as a precaution (I am wondering if it is failing). I am hoping that my top up may be the cause of the issue and that the WaterWetter has created the problem

Good points. I have had success with WaterWetter in my 951 in the past. As for the filtered water, I only need about 100 ml and figured I could probably get away with it.

I have found residue coating the inside of my new coolant tank - concentrated on the exposed surfaces near the cap. The residue is brown (with maybe a tinge of green). Additionally there seem to be a flakes of sediment in the coolant. The reason that I was checking is related to the fact that level was a bit low a month ago and I wanted to check if it had fallen after topping it up. It had, but the loss was maybe 200 ml. At the time there was no residue in the coolant tank. Key facts Car has run fine and generally quite cool (82C on highway) No CELs (checked with Durametric) A new expansion tank and cap were installed in April along with new OEM coolant When I topped it up, I used a bit with a bit of Waterwetter and filtered water (combined 300 ml max) - no residue at the time. No evidence of fluid eaks on the ground under the car Oil was changed in 3000 miles ago, level appears good (may have consumed 1/2l over the past 3000 miles) and colour is looks fine. Oil filler cap is clean as a whistle - no milkshake. I noticed a slight high pitched whine from the rear when I started the car today - definitely related to the accessory belt - thinking perhaps a failing WP? BTW the engine is a factory re-manufactured engine which was installed in 2008. It has about 35k miles on it. When I saw it, I thought intermix and my heart fell. Does this look like intermix? Could it be the Waterwetter that I used in the top up reacting with the coolant? I know intermix is fixable, but before I go there I would appreciate any other ideas. If it is intermix, am I correct that the sources are: (1) cracked head; (2) AOS; (3) spark plug tubes or coil packs; (4) oil cooler?