Start Maintenance from scratch

[Barchstein]

Hi all,

 

I have just purchased a 996 C2 Tiptronic from 04/2001.

I have zero maintenance history. only the selle that says he made all the maintenance...

Because I like stupid challeneges, I purchased it...

 

I want to start from scratch on the maintenance stuff. Im doing all filters( oil filter, air filter, pollen filter) im also looking at changing spak plugs and ignition coil.

 

Im thinking of doing the tiptronic full maintenance, change the filter and replace the ATF fluid but I first want to top off the gearbox as I have an error P0740 and Im hoping that its due to low oil rather than all other possible problems...

 

the belt looks good (and also the tyres…)

 

Anything else I should do? or better idea for the priorities?

 

 

[Loren]

Change the brake fluid and check the pads and discs.

Change the fuel filter (up under the car on the C2).

Of course, check the battery with a hydrometer for each cell (unless it is an AGM battery). Also check charge and charging voltage (should over 13 VDC).

[Barchstein]

good points. ( I didn't mention the breaks because I visually inspected them and there is still material.

The fuel filter is something odd, I keep on seeing that only C4 have one. anyway, ive addeded it to my list.

ill have a look at the battery, 

 

I wanted to change the tiptronic gearbox filter and fluid butI have an error P0740, im hoping that its just the oil level that is a bit low.

Any idea what the odds are that I ruin my gearbox by replacing the oil?

(I cant decide if I just top it up or if I go full directly...)

[JFP in PA]

4 hours ago, Barchstein said:

good points. ( I didn't mention the breaks because I visually inspected them and there is still material.

The fuel filter is something odd, I keep on seeing that only C4 have one. anyway, ive addeded it to my list.

ill have a look at the battery, 

 

I wanted to change the tiptronic gearbox filter and fluid butI have an error P0740, im hoping that its just the oil level that is a bit low.

Any idea what the odds are that I ruin my gearbox by replacing the oil?

(I cant decide if I just top it up or if I go full directly...)

 

If replacing the Tip fluid (assuming you replace it with the correct fluid) causes problems, the Tip was already on its way out.  Fresh fluid should never hurt anything.

[Barchstein]

3 hours ago, JFP in PA said:

 

If replacing the Tip fluid (assuming you replace it with the correct fluid) causes problems, the Tip was already on its way out.  Fresh fluid should never hurt anything.

true. I'm hoping that the initial costs don't spiral out of control...(soooo much can/should/needs to be done on this young lady...)

[Barchstein]

im doing all that tomorrow, ill take pics of what I believe is interesting.

[Barchstein]

so I did my maintenance yesterday... it was a disaster...

for some reason, I didn't have an oil filter in my goodies bag... so that was it for the oil change. my mechanic looked at the tiptronic gearbox and said forget adding oil to it... its too complex... and finaly, he looked at the fuel filter under the car for 5 minutes, broke a hinge  and said cant do anything with that fuel filter, its impossible to remove it... I challenged him a bit to try to find a build date on the filter and it turns out it was changed after 2013 as that's the build date on the filter... (not too bad but yet, it should be changed) we did manage to change the air filter but I didn't manage to clean the mass airflow... and finally, the simple job to replace the cabin filter was to complex for me as I dropped one of the screws that rolled in a small hole and its stuck somewhere in the car with no option to retrieve it...

 

For the good news, I had the chance to have a clear look under the car and I was happily surprised to see no leaks, maybe one on the side of the tiptronic. ill show the pictures. but for the rest, it looks like its still under decent condition

Edited January 12, 2020 by Barchstein
added the picture

[JFP in PA]

You need a new mechanic.  Adding oil or changing the Tip fluid is a very common process used on several vehicles, so if was too difficult for your wrench, it is time to find a new one.  Same applies to the fuel filter.

 

These cars are not that difficult to work on, unless you are lazy or incompetent; then they are a problem.

[dporto]

On 1/12/2020 at 11:23 AM, JFP in PA said:

You need a new mechanic.  Adding oil or changing the Tip fluid is a very common process used on several vehicles, so if was too difficult for your wrench, it is time to find a new one.  Same applies to the fuel filter.

 

These cars are not that difficult to work on, unless you are lazy or incompetent; then they are a problem.

 

^^^ My thoughts exactly^^^ That screw you lost is probably in one of the drains (if it fell down under the battery area). get yourself a long magnet (neodymium - strong and lightweight) on a flexible shaft and get it out of there...

Edited January 24, 2020 by dporto

[Barchstein]

I went to another mechanic!

the car is good now, he did mention that I should go for 10w40 oil.

we changed the atf fluid and filter and now I don't have anymore errors. 

I got out of the garage with 3 problems... (2 that I didn't have before and 1 that was starting to show up)

1) they topped up the washing fluid...and for some reason, the reservoir ended up emptying itself on the ground... I now have an empty washer fluid on my dashboard...(im not sure how that's possible and im not sure I want to ask my self the question either...)

2) when they lifted the car, I saw a lot of fresh oil under the engine... (that I didn't have as per the pics above...) but the good news is that its from the air oil separator so its not too bad.

3) the car is a bit wobbly from the back since I want to do my alignment and got the rims straighted (rounded...) and my tyre pressure whent from 2 in the back to 3...

the alignment mechanic told me to change the sub par nexen tires with n rated tires. my mechanic tech told me to do an alignment after test driving it.(after the alignment was done ) because the wobbling wasn't normal... I went back to the alignment garage and they checked and its within tolerance... he re recommended to change the tires to real ones...

 

im hoping that the Dunlop sport maxx rt2 that I ordered will fix the problem... otherwise I need to find another alignment garage... 

Im getting them fitted tomorrow so ill go for a test drive straight after.

ill keep you posted...

 

 

So all in all, im still very happy with my purchase and looking forward to next Friday when ill get the current small issues fixed, then ill be able to hand the key's to my wife and show her how great my purchase is... (for some reason, she's not convinced...)

[dporto]

Wow! Sounds like you got a real "cream puff"... 😲 If you've got oil "coming from the air oil separator" it's not "good news" - A) Even though the part is relatively inexpensive, the labor is very expensive - Figure $1k U.S. as a ball park figure. B) Not fixing it can/will be WAY more expensive, so - get it checked (manometer) asap and fixed if it's leaking or not within spec. C) "Real" tires - 🤣 he's funny...but IMO "real tires" start with either M or P not D... 😉 (regardless, since you already bought them, I hope they fix your problem).

[Barchstein]

I got the car back today...

its all fixed. no more oil leak...

your ball park figure is correct.

(not fixing it wasn't an option, it was leaking so much that I had little splashes on my rear bumper...

 

for the fun, the washer fluid that emptied out was in fact due to the hoses that go to the light cleaner were not connected... and it created a vase communicant. (not sure what the appropriate word is in English but I found communicating vessels... but it doesn't sound correct...) So when they were removing the front bumper to understand the problem, they realized that the front washers were not connected but also the side indicators were not connected... the mechanic fixed it all so its working now...

its crazy the kind of surprises one can find/get when buying a 3rd/4th hand car....

 

At the end of the day, I'm quite happy because its still a good deal but there shouldn't be too many new surprises...

(and tbh, I'm having more surprises... the passenger window doesn't go down and up when opening the door... 😒, I figured it out because I was having a double honk when opening the doors...)

[JFP in PA]

The word you are looking for is "siphon".  Glad you got it sorted.

[dporto]

👌 It sounds like you're staying on top of it. Good for you! You'll find that there are lots of little annoying things, that if not taken care of, turn into big expensive annoying things. Obviously, the drive-train, power-plant, brakes and suspension take precedent over the aesthetics - keep them operating properly and everything else becomes "fix 'em as you can"...