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Hi Everyone,
Last week I brought home a 105k mile 996 (1999 911)! I’ll post more pictures later today as my phone is currently having issues uploading photos.
I bought the car sight unseen, near Los Angeles, knowing it had some mechanical issues and little (no) maintenance history. I paid a very reasonable price due to the nature of the problems and lack of docs, but, now the fun begins!
Some major issues with the car:
- 3rd gear mild occasional grinding
- 4th gear issue (bad grinding). The shifter allows entry into 4th with the clutch pedal depressed. With the shifter in 4th, I try to release the clutch pedal and as I do so, grinding starts, the gear pops out. I basically skip to 5th gear when driving.
Some minor service items that I will attend to as well:
-Brakes squeak occasionally (front pad replacement needed)
-Parking brake needs too much force to engage.
-Rattle coming from behind dash + foam bits in the cabin air vents
-Exhaust seems low, likely need new motor mounts
-Deferred maintenance... IMS bearing change, chain guides etc etc
I haven't been under the car yet, but, the car runs well, good power, turns well. Really a high quality example - I never understood why the 996 got so much flak it is such a solid car.
So the near immediate dilemma is that I'm torn between getting a used trans, or, doing the synchro replacement myself.
Can you guys provide some info on the cost & difficulty in doing a DIY synchro replacement (assuming I just need to replace the 3rd and 4th)? I consider myself a semi-competent at-home Porsche mechanic. I had a 1978 911 many years back and I currently own a 91' 928 .. I have done quite a bit of work on it (torque tube rebuild, intake refresh, etc etc) so I'm thinking a synchro job is something I can tackle.
Any advice, resources etc would be really nice. Thank you in advance.
Hmmm, were the two boys in there when you opened the Frunk? As for the syncro question, there are a couple recent threads dealing with Tranny issues. If you're a competent mechanic with some experience in manual transmissions it may not be out of the question assuming you've got the proper tools and maybe a shop press...
Hmmm, were the two boys in there when you opened the Frunk? As for the syncro question, there are a couple recent threads dealing with Tranny issues. If you're a competent mechanic with some experience in manual transmissions it may not be out of the question assuming you've got the proper tools and maybe a shop press...
LOL ... no, they're mine.
They wanted to inspect the hood to make sure that there was no engine ... Confirmed.
Yup, those are the threads! I have no idea re: the shop manual, but I would imagine that everything is in there - The real Porsche maunal(s) cost well over $1k and probably closer to 2k. The Bentley manual is supposed to be very good, but I'm not sure how far they get into the transmission(s). Good luck - and if you wind up doing the work yourself, please document it!
Since the tail pipes are low first, change the engine mounts and see if the shifting improves. Sounds strange to a new 996 owner but there is a direct relation to poor shifting and sagging mounts.
Since the tail pipes are low first, change the engine mounts and see if the shifting improves. Sounds strange to a new 996 owner but there is a direct relation to poor shifting and sagging mounts.
Thanks - got new Rein mounts on order earlier in the week and they should be here today.
Unless you have some very good shop tools and a massive press, I would not tackle this job DIY. Has been done DIY but a lot of problems crop up.
I would send it off to GBox for a synchro refresh http://www.gboxweb.com/index.html
Thanks for the suggestion!
Tools and presses aren't a problem, its mostly a time issue. I like doing the work, and, would rather do it myself. Swapping a trans is quicker.
Can you provide some threads/posts where "a lot of problems crop up"? I'd like to see what they are.
Read the thread I posted. And wow...you have a 30 ton press at your disposal? See that thread for some of the tips and problems.
Thanks, that's the thread I originally posted. I have access to a machine/engineering shop with a variety of presses and tools. I don't know what the ratings on this shops various presses are but I'm fairly confident they have one that can handle this - they rebuild airplane engines as their main business.
Finally got under the car today. First thing I saw is that the engine area appears to be free of wet oil. There are spots where it looks like some seals need to be replaced, but, overall, nothing too bad.
At the transmission though - different story. It looks like gear oil is coming out in a fairly healthy manner from several areas. In fact, one of gear linkages looks fairly soaked. So the trans is likely low on oil, and, in need of new seals.
Does the oil on the linkage indicate a problem with the actual linkage, or, inside the trans? Next step is to figure out if the linkage is healthy... time to do some research on how to test linkage... any advice here would be welcome
Why is it soaked at the linkage and not at the housing?
So, after some deliberation, I decided to source a low mileage used transmission. It should be arriving late next week. I'll be taking the original one apart to see what needs to be fixed, but, I'd rather be able to drive the car while I rebuild so I went ahead and got a used one from what I hope is a reputable source.
Removed the transmission yesterday. Took about 3.5 hours - its not that bad of a job. Last year I did a torque tube rebuild on my 928 where I had to drop the trans and that was a more difficult job... the 928 trans drop takes maybe about twice as long as compared to the 996. What sucks on the 996, is that even with dropping the engine onto the cross-member, that top transmission bolt is a real pain-in-the ....
Some photos below; I'm going to figure out what I need to replace and what I don't. I'd rather not replace stuff that still has life left as I like doing these jobs and would rather not waste stuff.
Anyhow, how does this clutch look? I'm not sure what a worn versus good 996 clutch should look like...
Also, I have a parts list going on pelican - I would be interested in what else needs to be replaced:
Part Number: 997-101-212-01-M17 Price: $13.75 Qty: 1
Description: Flywheel Seal, 996 Carrera 2/4 (1999-04)
That clutch looks about half worn, maybe a little more. Since you do all your work, reinstalling it is not a terrible choice. I would at least reline the disk or get a new one and install a new release bearing. The pressure plate looks normal for a used clutch. Too far is when the rivets dig into the flywheel or pressure plate. By the way, a release bearing from a '97 Audi A4 is the same as the one for the 996 (I've used it on my own car) but at a fraction of the cost (doesn't have the Porsche badge premium)
Next time if you need to remove the torque tube on the 928, the transmission doesn't need to come out, Just disconnect the transmission mounts and push the transmission back a few inches and the front will clear the bell housing. The parking brake cables will need to be disconnected from the rear cross member too.
03-08-2017, 02:00 PM
New 996 Owner - Synchro Ring DIY
it is such a solid car. 
