cdk4219

I have an 03 x50 6speed car with 83,000 miles that I just purchased. The coolant tube adhesive has given up and the engine needs to be pulled so that I can weld the nipples. Not extremely pleased with that, but I am also looking at some timing chain failures at about these miles. I am unsure of the prior maintenance of the car, but it seems to rum well, and the only concerns I have had is the dreaded timing chain, timing cover noise, which seems to be much louder than I like it to be.
I haven't been around these cars very much, but I researched and it seemed like they were seemingly reliable. The coolant pipe engineering doesn't look that reliable to me, and timing chain breakage certainly won't allow me to give a passing grade for reliability.

The question I have is, what should I replace while the engine is out, I assume plugs, obviously coolant tubes, should I go for the chain and tensioners, and what if at all else. The clutch seems to be in good condition, and the slave has been changed( I can see that) what about the oil cooler 90's.

I would like to be proactive, but also don't want to throw money at it for no good reason. Sounds like there are some knowledgeable people around here, and while I have it out, I might as well fix the shortcomings

996TWINS

I have complied a list and here is what others have done either entirely or partially:

Coolant Expansion Tank
Water Pump
Pin, not weld, glued coolant connections
Oil Pressure Sending Unit
Plugs, Coils, Bosch DV's
All the metal turbo oil feed/return lines (If you ever plan to change your turbo's in the future and they corrode/freeze/strip, it's engine out to replace any one of the 4)
Motor mounts
Rubber turbo waste gate vacuum lines
Trans mount (997)
5 bar Fuel Pressure Regulator (really a mod, but might as well do it if you plan bigger turbo's/chip...it's relatively cheap)
New o-rings for the "snap-in" intercooler/coolant lines.
Clutch kit
GT2 trans mod/conversion
Water hoses
Fuel filter
Intake piping
IPD plenum

puma

yeah order at least the two big coolant hoses, couple of failure on these, i decided to replace all the coolant line while i was in there, fairly cheap compared to the price of pulling the engine... I think i have around 300$ of hoses, o-rings and gaskets total to replace everything. Check a thread on 6speed by jpflip, he has all the parts listed.

Fuel filter is also a good idea while you are there and i also replaced the coolant tank. If you plan on installing hard intake piping, now is the time.

Carlo_Carrera

Have the oil filler tube and dip stick from a 996 GT3 fitted so you can manually check your oil. It comes in handy.

puma

what, got any more info on this conversion?

cdk4219

Yes that sounds very interesting, being able to check the oil level before starting the car and warming it up. Tell us more. Anyone for the timing chain replacement? I am going to give this engine every chance to live, as if it dies it will be replaced with a power plant that has 2 more cylinders.

Carlo_Carrera

It is pretty simple. The only difference between the Turbo oil filler tube and the GT3 with a dip stick is the very upper part of the filler tube. You just swap them. I think it is just one bolt an a O-ring. Maybe two bolts. You can almost do it with the engine in the car but it is very tight down there.

Carlo_Carrera

You still have to warm up the car to get a proper level reading. But is nice to actually see and feel the oil when you check it.

neanicu

Couldn't agree more Carlo!

I've been laughed at on this forum in the past when I said I can check the oil's condition by seeing and touching it.

32krazy!

do you have the part #'s for this? i would love to actually be able to check the oil

cdk4219

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/a...3&d=1195494281 996 part numbers so this may be the part numbers?

Carlo_Carrera

Yes, those look like the correct part numbers. I believe besides the dip stick and guide tube you also might need the GT3 oil filler tube because I think it is slight different than the Turbo one. Please check this out.

Please be advised people that I had this done when my engine was out having the coolant tubes wielded. I did not do it myself.

The shop that did the work showed me the parts after they were installed while the engine was still out of the car. You can easily see the parts that need to be swapped/added when the engine is in the car but as I wrote it is very very tight in there.

If someone does do this DIY with the engine in place please post a report with photos for the rest of us.

32krazy!

the part # circled don't appear on the diagram. on the auto atlanta website the dipstick doesn't show up at all. any pics of were it goes?

cdk4219

I will see if the dipstick can be put in place with the engine in there.

Carlo_Carrera

The dip stick and the guide tube go inside the oil filler tube. To check the oil you remove the filler cap and pull out the dip stick. It sounds bizarre but that is how Porsche has done it going back to the first 911. Since I did not do this myself I am not entirely sure if the shop that fitted the guide tube and dip stick into my existing filler tube or if they swapped out the entire filler/guide/stick as one piece.