logray

I have not read of many evaporator failures, but they do take a fair amount of abuse being in front of the radiators, soaking up rocks, dirt, gravel, etc. I haven't read of many condenser or evaporator failures, but there have been a few pulley problems or seizing/etc, but I wouldn't call it a widespread problem, so I wonder where that Porsche tech got his info from, curious to know! The most common issue I've read about in the forums with older cars is the systems need to be recharged.

I haven't read about many hose failures either. You can replace most of the rear of car hoses without removing the engine. There are a several in the tunnel you cannot, or at least not without major difficulty. There are many many more hoses up front where the radiators live, and you pretty much have to take that whole area apart to get to them. If it were me and they look and feel OK I would just leave them alone. Depending on how the car has been stored, some of the hoses that were not cosmolined and are up in the tunnel or behind the rads might look "new" still... One critical thing to do when replacing hoses is properly bleed the system. DO it improperly and you can introduce trapped air which will cause localized overheating and possible engine trouble.

Do consider again that if you proceed with this replacement you are not replacing any actual IMS bearing seal. if you change out the cover you are just replacing an ordinary engine oil seal (similar to any seal on any engine such as RMS, FMS, etc, which really has nothing at all to do with the health of the engine's IMS bearing). There is a real possibility a new flange seal will leak as well, or leak more or leak less. As they are prone to leaking oil, some will also apply a little flange sealant to the perimeter of the flange oring. 1. The cam locks for the 3.6L should be the same as the 3.8L. The 3.4L locks are different from the 3.6L locks. 2. Yes you need to lock both sides. 3. The proper torque is extremely important, and it requires a special tool to do so correctly. You need something similar to the pic in the link posted below - either a pass through torque wrench or a flattened socket with a crows foot. The application of sealants and thread locker in the correct quantity and location. If you use too much thread locker you risk causing damage to your IMS bearing. If you don't use enough or torque improperly it is possible the bolt could come loose and cause the IMS bearing to fail. And as far as I know the center support nut specs are the same as from the LNE retrofit kit instructions as pasted below, but you may want to refer to the workshop manual specs because the 3.8L has the non-serviceable bearing with the larger center nut. http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/40538-casper-labs-ceramic-ims-bearing/page-5#entry216098 (this link is also a good discussion on why the proper torque and position and installation of the flange is so critical to your IMSB health) "21. Once [the flange is] home, remove M6X25 bolts and replace with new micro-encapsulated bolts. Use flange sealant on bottom of head of the bolts. Torque specs 7.5 ft/lb (10 Nm). 22. The center bearing support 12 point nut can be installed and torqued to the factory spec of 7.5 ft/lb (not to exceed 16 ft/lb). Use flange sealant (Loctite 574 or Curil T) on bottom of head of the bolt and use wicking (green) Loctite on the exposed threads of the center bearing support/stud and 12 point nut. If the small o-ring is damaged or leaks, the use of flange and thread sealants should prevent a leak. 23. Reinstall chain tensioners with new sealing rings and torque to the factory spec of 59 ft/lb."

Nice work. If you decide to remove the P/S reservoir I recommend siphoning the fluid out first, before removing the box. Pentosin is now pretty readily available in California at least at O-Reilly parts stores.

Is it necessary on a 997 to remove the snorkel from the airbox? On a 996, you can just loosen the snorkel from the T/B, and the entire airbox comes right out. When replacing the filter in the box, the snorkel stays on as well.

Engine mounts are fluid filled, and to check them just look and see if there is fluid coming out of them, if there is they are bad. Did you lube the swaybar bushings?

If the electrical system is toast it will cause this too. I had a very similar problem when the car would heat up the primary engine wire couldn't handle the heat soak and would cause stalling at low rpm. Check the main ground strap, primary wire from alternator to starter to jump point in engine, and the condition of the battery.

Ah yes... the dealer offered reman option # 5 in Mike's write up (you really should read through all 10 options to be well informed). If you are paying the expense, personally I would opt for number 7 or 10 without any hesitation. A friend of mine did option 7, and his car now puts out 300RWHP @ 7K RPM.

That really is not a lot of gunk there... the seals look to be doing reasonably well. If you had done the flange replacement procedure many times before and had the cam lock tools, etc, I would say go for it. But there really is potential to do much more harm than good just to fix a little oil leak, which in that quantity of leaking oil over that amount of time is not going to cause a problem other than making a small mess when the transmission is removed. It has no "bearing" on the health of your IMS bearing or anything else. It is basically treated as just another engine leak, which I'm certain there are more on your engine right now that will probably be there for the life of the car and no-one will ever notice them and they will never cause any problems. The thing is, a leak on the IMS flange is really secondary (and a very minor problem) compared with the actual problem of the IMS bearing itself. However, you should have nothing to worry about in that department because your engine has the larger IMS bearing which is about as strong as the original dual row, and the occurrences of failures in these two designs is small compared with the cars that have single row bearings. I would not use any other sealant except drei-bond for the sump plate. You can pick a tube up at your local Porsche dealer for about $15-20. I would not use anything on the splines, but if you do use something, use it very very sparingly.

I know it sucks to think about this but member Mike Focke has a great write up on what to do next... https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/what-can-you-do-if-your-engine-is-blown Basically if you want to salvage what you've got, then get it repaired.

Nice work. I would clean the area on the case, but not go further. Unless you have compelling evidence to the contrary, now you have the peace of mind to know your rear engine seals look good. Reinstall the flywheel usuing new bolts in the correct sequence and angle. Then replace what clutch parts you want and reassemble the transmission. I would not touch the ims or rms, what you see in the pictures is totally normal and not a reason to tear into the motor.

Well said!

It can't get any clearer than this video: http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/42814-another-ims-diy/#entry228902

You definately need to read the workshop manual &/or procedures before you just start unbolting stuff. Even if you aren't replacing the bearing (which you can't unless you tear apart the engine), you still need to follow the complete bearing replacement procedure anytime you deal with the IMS flange otherwise your timing WILL be compromised and your engine will explode! Here is a link: http://www.lnengineering.com/imsretrofit.pdf The end of the IMS tube that you are going to be looking at is held in position by the IMS flange (what you refer to as cover). When you remove the IMS flange there is nothing to hold the tube in place, it will just sorta "float" around below the oil scraper. There are drive chains forward and aft on the tube, and normally they are under tension by springs via several chain tensioners, and then even more tension once there is oil pressure. Lets say you don't remove the tensioners. You may find it difficult to remove the IMS flange because of the tension on the tube by the chains. Then when you do remove it (if you are able to), the tube will slam HARD against the oil scraper and you will find it impossible to put the new flange in place because of the tension on the chains is pushing the tube to one side. So, I won't get into the part about the cams, but you should lock those in place too along with placing the engine at TDC and locking the underdrive pulley as well.

Yep that top bolt is a PITA. You can lower the engine and trans down a few turns to give more access. I use a several foot long 1/2" extension w/wobble socket to get up there and it works great. Next time I'm in there though I think I'll just drop the engine. Makes reinstalling the trans easier and you can also get to other bits on the engine much easier. The oil in the housing is pretty normal. With the PTFE RMS is installed correctly and a new bearing flange goes in (with a little flange sealant) usually the only thing you'll see in there after cracking it open is clutch dust. When you do the bearing cover DO follow procedure. You must lock the cams and release tension on the chains (i.e. remove tensioners) otherwise you'll have a big timing mess to deal with. Also with the question of how many gallons of coolant will I get out, if you are only draining from the rear, you might only get 2-3 gallons out. And lastly I know JFP said don't touch the case bolts, if you have a 997 you should not touch them but early 996 engines used non micro encapsualted bolts in that area that were prone to leaking, which is why you read in many places they need to be replaced

Sorry im not sure. I cant find anything other than its a part of the rear view mirror. If you cant find anything obviuos missing, maybe just keep it in the glovebox?

+1 to JFP comment, if the engine and trans are not balanced or aligned together when removing, for example if the trans is at an angle it may not slide out easily because the weight of the transmission is on the shaft. You can use a crow bar but do so ever so gently and put something in between the mating surfaces like a thin metal plate or wood to protect from damage. It should not need excessive force.

I think it is a part off of your rear view mirror.

Yes, you have a dual row bearing and it can be retrofitted. Many thousands of owners have done this successfully, including myself. It is well documented here and elsewhere. What Jake is probably referring to is the IMS Solution which is their NEW solid bearing (not ball bearing) design for single row bearings only.

#29 in the link below: http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-parts/996-99-05/105-05.php Always : Replace the hose clamps, I recommend high quality stainless worm style. Research and follow instructions regarding proper coolant system bleeding. Wear protective gear when working with coolant, it is highly caustic.

Typically an AOS failure will exhibit smoke out of both tailpipes, because of the failure method, the oil is burned/distributed evenly between both banks via the intake. In the case of blue smoke in one tailpipe, more likely related to oil in combustion due to one of the methods I mentioned in my previous post. It would be a good idea to do a leak down and compression test in bank 1.

I would also replace the orings in the 2 hard plastic pipes that connect to the AOS. The rubber coolant hoses are also cheap (3rd and 4th pics), I would replace those as well and also use high quality worm drive hose clamps. If you remove the intake always replace the bolts and intake orings, and torque properly. It sounds like an AOS to me too. The only other possibility for your leak as I mentioned was the coolant hose going to the oil cooler (2nd pic in your post) which goes over that area as well, however it would have to have a split due to being chaffed or something like that since it's connection is on the passenger side (US) of the engine on top of the oil cooler. I guess perhaps also a coolant tank leak making it's way toward the rear of the engine, but that is doubtful. Worth looking at, and consider replacing the tank too, if you have the intake apart it is very easy to replace the tank. DO read up on how to properly bleed the coolant system.

If it is still running after you've turned the ignition off and removed the key, then your ignition switch is likely suspect. This is a common and well documented issue.

A little puff of smoke is not unusual if the car has been sitting for a while, due to the occurrence of oil leaking past rings/seals in the horizontal cylinder configuration. If the smoke persists beyond the initial start-up that would indicate a problem. Perhaps valve seals, valve guides, rings, and/or cylinder ovality. If you noticed this happening after an oil change, perhaps try a recommended/sanctioned oil at the next fill and see if it persists.

There are two coolant hoses going to/from the AOS. One from tank (via a T connector) to AOS, then the second from the AOS to block just near alternator. I've been able to "repair" those leaks before by reaching up from underneath and tightening clamps on those hoses. However, do be careful not to over tighten because the AOS is plastic. Or perhaps you don't have screw clamps and/or the hoses or AOS have just failed/cracked/split at which point replacement is the best advice. You can remove the intake manifold to get to the AOS. Don't drop anything into the intake, and put tape over the ports once the intake is removed.