specialist

Thanks again for the help RFM and Loren. I did the swap, but found a slightly easier way to reach the oil pressure sender without lifting the car or pulling the spark plug coil heat shields. I found, while detailing the engine bay, that I could reach into the bay up to the oil pressure sender on the passenger side of the car. I happened to have a set of crowfoot wrenches that go with my torque wrench. They are about 50$ at Sears right now. These look like the open end wrench head, but can go on an extension bar like a socket. By reaching in with the crowfoot on a 6" extender, I could get the wrench on the nut at the bottom of the sender, and used my wrachet to loosen the socket after unplugging the two wires on top and unhooking the battery. I then unscrewed the old by hand and screwed in the new to finger tight. I then tightened the new sender in the same way ~1/4 turn and re connected the wires. It looks like it's working fine! Specialist

Thanks again folks. I'm going to give this a shot in a couple of days. I'll post pictures to this thread when I get it done. Specialist

Loren, I must have an older manual, or at least a different version. I did find the "Disassembling and assembling intake distributor" section, but it's under 24 46 37 and starts on page 24-6. I don't see a mention of the oil pressure sender in there. Do I have the wrong version (c. 1998)? Sorry to keep pestering, Specialist

Thanks Loren, I figured I must have been missing this thing somewhere. Specialist

I'm currently experiencing some problems with my 2002 Carrera Cab. The oil pressure gauge randomly will send a fault to the computer showing that the pressure switch has failed. This normally shows with the gauge showing a maximum reading, then the computer sends the gauge to zero. After looking over the fault with a hand held diagnosis, it appears the gague cluster is fine, but the pressure switch has failed. My local dealer (Hendric) had the switch on the shelf for ~$40. The parts catalogue shows the switich on 1-2-3 side cyllinder head (driver's based on looking at my engine), but my PDF repair manual conveniently skips most of the sender installation and replacements on the engine. Has anyone else done this replacement? Do you have any idea of the torque required? Any sealing materials needed? Is this really on the drivers side? I'm guessing I ought to leave my locktite in my tool box for this one. I'm planning on doing it with my next oil change. Since the car has about 80K miles on it now, I figure changing the oil every 6 mos or 7500 miles probably is cheap insurance anyway. Thanks in advance! Specialist

Cewelsch, It is possible to retrofit the leveling features, but they'll need the harnesses, the headlight assemblies, the leveling and control computer, and the sensors for the suspension. If they are willing to go through all that, then they will behave like the OEM assemblies. If you do read through the posts in the Modification section there are several very detailed descriptions on how to do the retrofit without the auto leveling feature. That takes whole new headlight assemblies and moving a pin in the headlight connector. If the dealer is telling you you can't get the auto-leveling feature this is probably what they are planning to do. If the dealer is picking up the cost I'd definately go for option one otherwise it is just too expensive to do. I don't have the costs on hand at the moment, but I do know that these parts were expensive last summer when I priced them. Specialist

I know that I had to have my steering wheel replaced while the car was under warranty because the wood had cracked, and it has the dark burl wood / leather three spoke stering wheel. The previous owner had known that it had cracked, and since he'd ordered the steering wheel, the shift knob, and the hand brake with the car it had the full 50K,4yr warranty attached instead of the standard 2 yr warranty for dealer installed options. Since I had it replaced ~2 yrs ago I haven't had any problems. Specialist

Well, I talked to Jay Scherer at Brandywine, and ordered the under car short shift kit, and the EVO billet shift linkage. When I get them in and install them, I'll post a how-to and a review of the changes. Thanks for all the help! Rene

I just got an email back from Brandywine, and they do have the B&M kits, however they aren't the replacement shift lever. They actually have one that replaces some of the brackets at the transmission and allow you to adjust the lenght of the throw from a 10% reduction to a 35% reduction. Has anyone ever used this type of modification? I'm wondering if it will tighten up the shift pattern like the replacement shift lever with the adjustable bushings. I may end up replacing the shifter lever and the shifter linkage with the billet EVO unit. Any thoughts on this combination? Will it make the shifting more precise? I've found a couple of sources for the OEM short shift kit, but they run about 40-100$ more than the B&M. It's hard to justify the Porsche factory kit when the B&M is so much less expensive. I'm kind of wary of direct knockoff's. They can look similar, but if the material of construction changes you could be begging for trouble on down the road (it's amazing how the Rockwell hardness of the bushings can change the wear rate). It seems funny that as time goes on, car manufacturers make their shifters so soft and the throw seems to lengthen. My Dad has a '92 Lexus SC300 with a 5-speed manual, and it's shifter feels more precise and less soft than my '02 996 (even though it has about 300K miles on the car at this point). Thanks again! :thumbup: Specialist

I know that most short shifters are "notchy" and difficult at lower temperatures. Several of my older 5 speed manuals had short shifters installed, and they were the same way. I've heard in the past that Schnell had some problems with their instructions. I've been talking to vertexAuto.com about the alignment tool to minimize alignment issues, but the guy I got a hold of didn't know what I was talking about. I'd guess that's because I probably wasn't too clear ;). I'd read on some other boards that the Schnell shifter had some noise issues kind of like Cesarfl. That appears to be a good price for the B&M! The best price I'd found so far is from VertexAuto for the Schnell at 135$. Since they have a year warranty (performance and satisfaction), I may give the Schnell a shot. Any more opinions would be greatly appriceated! Specialist :notworthy:

Guys and Gals, I'm considering buying a Schnell short shifter for my '02 996. I've seen plenty of posts talking about the B&M / Porsche unit, and have seen little on the Shnell unit. What has your experience been with each type? Thanks, Specialist

I had a similar problem on my '02 C2 Cab. On the convertibles there is a water drain located behind the trim panel on both sides of the car that takes the water from the roof and routes it out in front of the rear wheels. These had filled with leaves and other crap, and the drains had plugged. To clean them I removed the interior panels, and vacuumed out the two trays. These trays feed to outlets in front of both rear wheels. To clear these you have to remove the fender liners in both rear wheels. I jacked the rear of the car and removed both rear wheels. Once you remove the fender liner you should see a rubber disk held in place from the center. These disks are removable, and I found that the tubes were plugged right up to these disks. Don't loose the disks, though! They close off the outlets while they aren't draining (reduce road noise, and keep the tubes clearer longer). Use a vacuum cleaner to suck these tubes out. The factory repair manual suggests using compressed air, but I didn't want to blow all the leaves and stuff all over the interior of the car. Vacuum will be more gentle and keep from disloging the hoses. Once they're clear try pouring some water into the trays to see if you really have the hoses cleared, and you'll see the water running out of the openings. Re assemble by re inserting the rubber disks, re install the rear fender liners, then the rear wheels. After you get the interior put together you can wash the car to simulate a hard rain. Hope that helps! Specialist

From what you said, it sounds like the HID problem has developed recently. Depending on how the system is wired up, you may not be able to get enough inital current to the iginiter. Check the fuse in your panel for your headlights. I the HID equipped cars there was a 30 amp fuse in the block. Cars newer than 2001 or 2002 came with a 30 amp fuse by default, but I think that earlier 996's had a 15 amp fuse. I'm not sure what would cause the problem to develop over time, however. Hope this helps, Specialist

John, Here are a couple of snapshots of a PDF repair manual I have. The factory parts catalog lists three bulb types for the dash board. A 3 watt (999 631 304 90) a 1.5 Watt (999 631 303 90) and a 1.2 watt (999 631 302 90). Hope this helps. These are for the US/Canada manuals. I don't think I have access to the ROW manuals. Specialist

BJCarrera, It is possible to polish plastic, but it takes a lot of patience and, to be honest, I'm not sure that you would want to try to polish out something that you are looking through because the fine scratches will probably always be there. I know that several companies make kits to polish out the plastic headlight assembly covers. One place ( http://www.properautocare.com/blbapllepoki.html ) carries a full kit to remove yellowing and polish out scratches from the lenses. I used this kit with a corded drill to polish out the inside and outside of the headlight assemblies on my SC400 when I retrofitted the Porsche Bi-xenon projector assemblies. It took a couple of days and some good blisters from the wet sanding phase, but I couldn't be happier with the results. This kit may help you with this problem. I can email some photos if you want to see what I'm talking about. I don't know what the other forum member's experiences have been with them in the past, though. Specialist