Flood recovery 996

[V8-914]

I am a new member here, but a long time Porsche enthusiast. I have a good mechanical, and even better electrical background. I recently bought a flood damaged 996 with the hopes of restoring it. The car was only exposed to about 2 feet of flood water and did not get any water in the engine. I have a water line inside the car that shows the water did not get any higher than mid speaker level on the doors. The dash and all electronics seem to work when the key is turned on (except the radio) however the starter will not even try to engage. The engine turns over freely when pushed in gear. We have not attempted to push start the car until we can check out the fuel in the fuel lines.

I have only just purchased this car, and will bring bringing it home on Thursday (02-11-10) and will only then be able to really start troubleshooting.

Does anybody in this forum have any experience in this area? Any big pointers or advice before I get into this? I would like to get it running so that I can use it myself...If it is beyond helping, I guess I'll part it out...Really hate to do that because it seems like such a nice car.

My current P-cars...

70 914-4 2.0L (Dual Carbs) http://rides.webshots.com/album/573854382CrkLaF

74 914-V8 5.7L (quad 48 Webers)...http://rides.webshots.com/album/131811953jvkZCJ

2000 Carrera 996...http://rides.webshots.com/album/576670761SsHZMP

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!!

Wes Parker

Pleasanton, TX

[whall]

Wes,

The immobilizer, under the driver's seat was most likely ruined by the water that entered the car. Generally speaking, once the immobilizer has any corrosion inside the box, it is unrecoverable. Having said that, some people have, through good luck, salvaged the box. But when the immobilizer is inoperable, the car will not start regardless of what you do.

There are many threads concerning immobilizers in both the 996 and 986 sub-forums on RennTech.

As far as push starting goes, the owner's manual suggests not (prohibits?) push starting.

Bill

Edited February 10, 2010 by whall

[V8-914]

Wes,

The immobilizer, under the driver's seat was most likely ruined by the water that entered the car. Generally speaking, once the immobilizer has any corrosion inside the box, it is unrecoverable. Having said that, some people have, through good luck, salvaged the box. But when the immobilizer is inoperable, the car will not start regardless of what you do.

There are many threads concerning immobilizers in both the 996 and 986 sub-forums on RennTech.

As far as push starting goes, the owner's manual suggests not (prohibits?) push starting.

Bill

[rb101]

Well I'm sure the immobilizer that sits under the driver seat is toast and thats why it will not turnover or start.

[V8-914]

Wes,

The immobilizer, under the driver's seat was most likely ruined by the water that entered the car. Generally speaking, once the immobilizer has any corrosion inside the box, it is unrecoverable. Having said that, some people have, through good luck, salvaged the box. But when the immobilizer is inoperable, the car will not start regardless of what you do.

There are many threads concerning immobilizers in both the 996 and 986 sub-forums on RennTech.

As far as push starting goes, the owner's manual suggests not (prohibits?) push starting.

Bill

Thanks Bill, I have the factory Porsche and Bently manuals on the way from Auto Atlanta. I probably won't do too much this weekend except to remove the seats and interior panels. As for the push starting...we were not trying to actually start the car, but rather to see if the engine was free or frozen. I'll search those thread too.

[hi8ha]

Pleas keep us posted. With pics!

[V8-914]

Pleas keep us posted. With pics!

I'll do that! I am going to trailer it back to my place on Tomorrow night....After that it's nights and weekends only, as this is just a hobby.

It hard to believe this was listed as a total loss.

[txhokie4life]

Pleas keep us posted. With pics!

I'll do that! I am going to trailer it back to my place on Tomorrow night....After that it's nights and weekends only, as this is just a hobby.

It hard to believe this was listed as a total loss.

I considered picking this up a couple of times... but I believe it was a salt water issue.

I'm in Austin.

BTW, you need to check but I was pretty sure it could NEVER be registered in Texas, part of the Salvage

type of title that is on that car. No possibility of getting a restored or salvage registerable title.

When I determined this (and I could be wrong), I gave up on pursuing it.

The Immob will be shot, quite possibly the window motors too. The radio doesn't work most likely

because the immob is shot. Where is the DME on a 996? Was it under water?

How about the airbag control or sensors?

I had a Boxster with the IMMOB shot -- $700 at Porsche to replace and reprogram

with 1 key -- and it can only be done at the dealership.

So you have to tow it there to get it done.

No telling if any of the wiring is corroded and will need to be replaced - -depends on how long

that salt water sat there.

Shoot me an email and we can talk offline. mike@lonestarrpm.com

Mike

[V8-914]

Pleas keep us posted. With pics!

I'll do that! I am going to trailer it back to my place on Tomorrow night....After that it's nights and weekends only, as this is just a hobby.

It hard to believe this was listed as a total loss.

I considered picking this up a couple of times... but I believe it was a salt water issue.

I'm in Austin.

BTW, you need to check but I was pretty sure it could NEVER be registered in Texas, part of the Salvage

type of title that is on that car. No possibility of getting a restored or salvage registerable title.

When I determined this (and I could be wrong), I gave up on pursuing it.

The Immob will be shot, quite possibly the window motors too. The radio doesn't work most likely

because the immob is shot. Where is the DME on a 996? Was it under water?

How about the airbag control or sensors?

I had a Boxster with the IMMOB shot -- $700 at Porsche to replace and reprogram

with 1 key -- and it can only be done at the dealership.

So you have to tow it there to get it done.

No telling if any of the wiring is corroded and will need to be replaced - -depends on how long

that salt water sat there.

Shoot me an email and we can talk offline. mike@lonestarrpm.com

Mike

Thanks Mike

I'll get with you off line today...the deal's not done till I pick it up tonight.

Wes

[txhokie4life]

Pleas keep us posted. With pics!

I'll do that! I am going to trailer it back to my place on Tomorrow night....After that it's nights and weekends only, as this is just a hobby.

It hard to believe this was listed as a total loss.

I considered picking this up a couple of times... but I believe it was a salt water issue.

I'm in Austin.

BTW, you need to check but I was pretty sure it could NEVER be registered in Texas, part of the Salvage

type of title that is on that car. No possibility of getting a restored or salvage registerable title.

When I determined this (and I could be wrong), I gave up on pursuing it.

The Immob will be shot, quite possibly the window motors too. The radio doesn't work most likely

because the immob is shot. Where is the DME on a 996? Was it under water?

How about the airbag control or sensors?

I had a Boxster with the IMMOB shot -- $700 at Porsche to replace and reprogram

with 1 key -- and it can only be done at the dealership.

So you have to tow it there to get it done.

No telling if any of the wiring is corroded and will need to be replaced - -depends on how long

that salt water sat there.

Shoot me an email and we can talk offline. mike@lonestarrpm.com

Mike

Thanks Mike

I'll get with you off line today...the deal's not done till I pick it up tonight.

Wes

Just want you to be as educated as can be so you know what you might be getting into.

Could be a steal (I know I was darn tempted and for the right price would have taking

the chance)

Note: I do not know anything for sure about the title -- but did a bit of web research.

I'll PM you my phone number.

Mike

[V8-914]

Pleas keep us posted. With pics!

I'll do that! I am going to trailer it back to my place on Tomorrow night....After that it's nights and weekends only, as this is just a hobby.

It hard to believe this was listed as a total loss.

I considered picking this up a couple of times... but I believe it was a salt water issue.

I'm in Austin.

BTW, you need to check but I was pretty sure it could NEVER be registered in Texas, part of the Salvage

type of title that is on that car. No possibility of getting a restored or salvage registerable title.

When I determined this (and I could be wrong), I gave up on pursuing it.

The Immob will be shot, quite possibly the window motors too. The radio doesn't work most likely

because the immob is shot. Where is the DME on a 996? Was it under water?

How about the airbag control or sensors?

I had a Boxster with the IMMOB shot -- $700 at Porsche to replace and reprogram

with 1 key -- and it can only be done at the dealership.

So you have to tow it there to get it done.

No telling if any of the wiring is corroded and will need to be replaced - -depends on how long

that salt water sat there.

Shoot me an email and we can talk offline. mike@lonestarrpm.com

Mike

Thanks Mike

I'll get with you off line today...the deal's not done till I pick it up tonight.

Wes

Just want you to be as educated as can be so you know what you might be getting into.

Could be a steal (I know I was darn tempted and for the right price would have taking

the chance)

Note: I do not know anything for sure about the title -- but did a bit of web research.

I'll PM you my phone number.

Mike

[V8-914]

Pleas keep us posted. With pics!

I'll do that! I am going to trailer it back to my place on Tomorrow night....After that it's nights and weekends only, as this is just a hobby.

It hard to believe this was listed as a total loss.

I considered picking this up a couple of times... but I believe it was a salt water issue.

I'm in Austin.

BTW, you need to check but I was pretty sure it could NEVER be registered in Texas, part of the Salvage

type of title that is on that car. No possibility of getting a restored or salvage registerable title.

When I determined this (and I could be wrong), I gave up on pursuing it.

The Immob will be shot, quite possibly the window motors too. The radio doesn't work most likely

because the immob is shot. Where is the DME on a 996? Was it under water?

How about the airbag control or sensors?

I had a Boxster with the IMMOB shot -- $700 at Porsche to replace and reprogram

with 1 key -- and it can only be done at the dealership.

So you have to tow it there to get it done.

No telling if any of the wiring is corroded and will need to be replaced - -depends on how long

that salt water sat there.

Shoot me an email and we can talk offline. mike@lonestarrpm.com

Mike

Thanks Mike

I'll get with you off line today...the deal's not done till I pick it up tonight.

Wes

Just want you to be as educated as can be so you know what you might be getting into.

Could be a steal (I know I was darn tempted and for the right price would have taking

the chance)

Note: I do not know anything for sure about the title -- but did a bit of web research.

I'll PM you my phone number.

Mike

Yep,, I did some more research on the title...Man, it is hosed for turning it into a driver. Looks like this one HAS to be parted out or turned into a Track Car. I may pick it up anyway and use the six speed in my 914-V8.

[V8-914]

Pleas keep us posted. With pics!

I'll do that! I am going to trailer it back to my place on Tomorrow night....After that it's nights and weekends only, as this is just a hobby.

It hard to believe this was listed as a total loss.

I considered picking this up a couple of times... but I believe it was a salt water issue.

I'm in Austin.

BTW, you need to check but I was pretty sure it could NEVER be registered in Texas, part of the Salvage

type of title that is on that car. No possibility of getting a restored or salvage registerable title.

When I determined this (and I could be wrong), I gave up on pursuing it.

The Immob will be shot, quite possibly the window motors too. The radio doesn't work most likely

because the immob is shot. Where is the DME on a 996? Was it under water?

How about the airbag control or sensors?

I had a Boxster with the IMMOB shot -- $700 at Porsche to replace and reprogram

with 1 key -- and it can only be done at the dealership.

So you have to tow it there to get it done.

No telling if any of the wiring is corroded and will need to be replaced - -depends on how long

that salt water sat there.

Shoot me an email and we can talk offline. mike@lonestarrpm.com

Mike

Thanks Mike

I'll get with you off line today...the deal's not done till I pick it up tonight.

Wes

Just want you to be as educated as can be so you know what you might be getting into.

Could be a steal (I know I was darn tempted and for the right price would have taking

the chance)

Note: I do not know anything for sure about the title -- but did a bit of web research.

I'll PM you my phone number.

Mike

Yep,, I did some more research on the title...Man, it is hosed for turning it into a driver. Looks like this one HAS to be parted out or turned into a Track Car. I may pick it up anyway and use the six speed in my 914-V8.

Looks like the weather will prevent my picking it up till Sunday.....

[V8-914]

Pleas keep us posted. With pics!

I'll do that! I am going to trailer it back to my place on Tomorrow night....After that it's nights and weekends only, as this is just a hobby.

It hard to believe this was listed as a total loss.

I considered picking this up a couple of times... but I believe it was a salt water issue.

I'm in Austin.

BTW, you need to check but I was pretty sure it could NEVER be registered in Texas, part of the Salvage

type of title that is on that car. No possibility of getting a restored or salvage registerable title.

When I determined this (and I could be wrong), I gave up on pursuing it.

The Immob will be shot, quite possibly the window motors too. The radio doesn't work most likely

because the immob is shot. Where is the DME on a 996? Was it under water?

How about the airbag control or sensors?

I had a Boxster with the IMMOB shot -- $700 at Porsche to replace and reprogram

with 1 key -- and it can only be done at the dealership.

So you have to tow it there to get it done.

No telling if any of the wiring is corroded and will need to be replaced - -depends on how long

that salt water sat there.

Shoot me an email and we can talk offline. mike@lonestarrpm.com

Mike

Thanks Mike

I'll get with you off line today...the deal's not done till I pick it up tonight.

Wes

Just want you to be as educated as can be so you know what you might be getting into.

Could be a steal (I know I was darn tempted and for the right price would have taking

the chance)

Note: I do not know anything for sure about the title -- but did a bit of web research.

I'll PM you my phone number.

Mike

Yep,, I did some more research on the title...Man, it is hosed for turning it into a driver. Looks like this one HAS to be parted out or turned into a Track Car. I may pick it up anyway and use the six speed in my 914-V8.

Looks like the weather will prevent my picking it up till Sunday.....

I have been inundated with advice to avoid this car....After several more days of thinking about it, I have decided not to get it. The really bad news about this car is the "non-repairable Texas title", according to Texas law,it "may NEVER be retitled in Texas, or ever OPERATED on public roads in Texas again".

That just kills my plans to get it going again.

Wes

[laalves]

That's just ridiculous....

Why on earth, if a car could, for example, checked by a Porsche authorised dealer, repaired as necessary and signed off by the dealer or even by a Porsche USA or Porsche Germany technician, not be able to be returned to service? Because some ***hole bureaucrat said so? It's a Porsche, not a Yugo! Must be treated with respect!

[txhokie4life]

That's just ridiculous....

Why on earth, if a car could, for example, checked by a Porsche authorised dealer, repaired as necessary and signed off by the dealer or even by a Porsche USA or Porsche Germany technician, not be able to be returned to service? Because some ***hole bureaucrat said so? It's a Porsche, not a Yugo! Must be treated with respect!

I think it was to expedite insurance payments -- or to allow the insurance companies to get these off their books quicker.

They also didn't want a ton of these cars to show up post Katrina -- and in this case post-Ike.

I do not know what the reciprical laws are for other states -- but I've heard that not only can you not register it in Texas,

it is banned from ever being driven here should it somehow get registered in another state.

m

[JeTexas]

It's a consumer protection law. As someone mentioned before, tons of cars in the area get flooded after hurricanes. Lots of them are easy to get running again, but the long term damage from being dunked in water causes major problems down the road. In this case it seems like a shame because it's an expensive specialty car, which all of us here have a love affair with, but for this one 911, there's probably 100 ruined Ford Focuses that would have been sold to unwary buyers had the law not been in place.

The effectiveness of the law is debatable, but I believe that was the intention when it was put on the books.

[V8-914]

OK...I have decided to walk away from this one, but some of you wanting a track car might want to jump on this. The owners of the car have been very forthcoming and honest about the car. He bought the car at auction without realizing the problems presented by the Texas Non-Repairable title. This car has a 6 speed manual transmission.

I have inspected the car and found that there is a water line inside the car at about mid-speaker level. (about 6inches deep in the pax compartment) I took some pictures and have posted them at http://community.webshots.com/album/576834171nqlgop

I connected the battery and saw the instrument panel light up and function normally. The car will not crank at all. The radio will not work and the red anti-theft light is blinking. This is probably the result of a loss of power from the disconnected battery. You will need to get the codes from the dealer to get it working again.

Looking in the front trunk, I could not find any sign of water in the front trunk at all.

Engine compartment...The aluminum components are showing some light corrosion that is typical of a gulf coast car again little or no indication of water damage. The engine inlets are clean with no silt or leaves. I did not remove the air cleaner.

The engine is free and will turn over normally when the car is pushed a few feet in gear.

In order to be fair to everybody, I have decided not to discuss prices that we were negotiating. You are on your own there guys!! I will tell I thought they were very fair in the pricing.

The owners are Tony and Jeanine Vasquez, and they may be reached at jeanninevasquez@gmail.com

Tony deals in motorcycles and is pretty savvy about mechanical things, but readily admits he knows little about Porsches

I have the the factory manuals on CD if you think you will need them.

Wes Parker

Pleasanton, Texas

http://community.webshots.com/album/576834171nqlgop

http://community.webshots.com/user/v8914

[V8-914]

P.S. to my last post...Yes those pictures were not taken before the flood...That is what the car looks like today!

Contact email again is

jeanninevasquez@gmail.com

Good Luck!!

[V8-914]

Oh! I forgot to mention...It is a low mileage car....The Odometer reads 21k miles

Wes

[DaveFL1976]

My '99 996 was a victim of the 2001 Tropical Storm Allison floods in Texas when the car only had 5k miles on it. Texas declared it a total loss and it was sold at auction and moved to Florida for re-registering. The seller didn't hide anything from me; now with 62k miles, the car runs like a champ and doesn't have any signs of damage from going swimming other than a big red warning message when you pull up the CarFax report online.

Evidently, Texas floods can get used car buyers and other states pretty good deals! I do recommend pulling a CarFax report before you buy a used car to have a better understanding of the car's history and get things checked out accordingly.

[txhokie4life]

Texas changed the way the cars are branded in either 2003 or 2005 (I don't remember which)

The Title's now state that the vehicles may not be driven on a Texas road and may only be used for Scrap Metal and Parts.

Many states reciprocate this.

so caveat emptor.

m

Edited May 13, 2010 by txhokie4life

[V8-914]

Last time I checked on this car it was still languishing in Porsche Purgatory (Porschgatory?) Untouched and unwanted. So Sad.... I'd have given it a good home.

At least, I still have my teeners. http://community.webshots.com/user/v8914

Wes

[Nehmaiz]

I've been tempted many times to buy a Porsche damaged by a flood from Auctions in the US. but i've never done so because the auctions would not provide any report or details about the extent of the damage.

i must say i was close to finalizing a beautiful 993 C4S in silver, photos showed interior was flooded to the level of the back seats (lower cushion). in the end i opted out as any damage to electronics and engine would cost too much even if the purchase price was a good one.

to this date i'm still very tempted, anyone knows of a website that gives full details about flooded Porsches for sale?

Any flood damaged cars you hear of please let me know, i can import them to the UAE and fix them here.

Thanks,

Nehme

[JONNYVINO]

If the instrument panel is lighting up but no start / crank, then it is probably moisturein the Alarm module under the Driver seat (US Model) or under the Passenger seat in a European model. Should have the code M535 or M534 on the black box.

These can be dried out sometimes, but may need contacts cleaned or even replacement of the module.

Hope this helps.

Jonny