Therapy996t

I sort of accidentally hijacked the "What did you do to your 996TT" thread with this:

"Noticed my car wasn't 't driving in the snow like any other 4x4 or awd car I've driven and took it to the mechanic. Turns out I was right to think something was wrong. Both front CV shafts are toast and he recommended that I replace the struts/other suspension incidentals in addition to the CV shafts. Total tab - $9,900 installed. I know I bought a car with 100,000 miles on it and I know that it was, and is still maintained as, a $120,000 car but at least I bought it from Porsche of Tysons Corner for $32,000 (new clutch installed). Didn't get a pre-purchase inspection because I would have thought Porsche would have at least made sure the drive train was functional. I knew it wasn't a garage queen when I bought it but COMMMMOOOOOON! -sigh- I got a great price of entry for a car that is still fan freaking tastic to drive. I still believe it to be mostly a good bargain. Would never have been able to get into this car otherwise. I'll just hold off on the awd/suspension fix. At least the mechanic told me my brakes and other safety equipment is functional. Who needs all wheel drive in North Dakota, anyway? Seriously, I had no clue the fronts weren't pulling until winter and even then the car is totally manageable in ice and snow. It doesn't leak anything, it pulls like something that pulls really hard, sounds great, looks great, and I grin like a crazy person every time I drive it. Wish me luck, guys (and gals)! Cheers,"

One of the posters said that it was probably NOT the CV shafts and probably the center diff and another poster said that bad CV's would be making a weird noise. These posters seem to be in agreement. I do not have any weird clicks or buzzing from the front end (dashboard around the airbag is another story - terrible rattle).

Cheers again,

Carlo_Carrera

First thing you need to do is put your car up on a lift or jack stands so all four wheels are off the ground. Put the car in neutral and spin the right rear wheel by hand. The other three wheels should begin to spin. If they do not there is something wrong with the viscous coupling and/or the center dif or transfer case if you have a Tiptronic.

If all four wheels do spin then you might want to go with full on snow tires if you have not fitted them already. It could just be the tires.

kmagnuss

Carlo, to answer your question from the other thread...
I grew up in Michigan and have driven a C2 996 and C4 996 back to back in the snow. The difference was negligible. However I have not driven my 996tt in the snow... I've been in FL for awhile now. The awd system is the same so I doubt there would be much if any difference.

I'm feeling lazy and don't want to google it... did Porsche ever rally a 996? If they did... did they choose the c2 or the c4? Unless there were some rules about running awd/4wd vs rwd in the divisions you'd think they would choose the c4 if it were advantageous in the snow/mud/rain etc. Just wondering.

Third-Reef

The real test of the viscous coupling is to jack the rear end up on the cross member with a reasonable floor jack. Just till the rear wheels are about 1 inchave off the ground and the floor jack is facing forward so I can roll. Get in start that car. Turn off psm. Put it in first gear and let the clutch out slowly, if the VC is ok it will try to creep forward being pulled by the front wheels. Do this with caution and lots of room in front of the car. I have done this with my car and the torque from the front wheels was not enough to make it climbed over a piece of 1x2 trim in front of the front wheels. Some people say this will damage it, but this nothing like spinning the tires in the rain or a serious burn out and they survive. The manual describes something similar to be completed on a expensive fixture.

32krazy!

instead of dropping 9k$ on a repair. drop the front diff remove the axles and reinstall the stubs. add a wavetrac lsd and enjoy a rwd turbo porsche. the awd system in a dinosaur and just crap. better off without and save over 6000$ .

Carlo_Carrera

I have had a home in the mountains of north eastern part of the US for 33 years. I have driven vehicles in snow every winter of those 33 years. In that time I have owned several Jeeps, a rear engined VW, a Volvo, several BMWs and several Porsche 911 variants.

With snow tires fitted the 996 Turbo I currently own is almost equally capable in snow to a WK Jeep Grand Cherokee with Quadra-track AWD I also currently own. The only drawback with the Turbo versus the Cherokee his clearance.

As far as Porsches and rallying and go. Porsche used a 959 with an AWD system very similar to the one fitted on the 996 Turbo to win the Dakar rally twice.

Did the 996 C4 you drove have snow tires on it?

Carlo_Carrera

I agree. If his AWD system is broken he should scrap it if he has alternative transportation for snowy conditions.

Therapy996t

I may have to purchase jack stands, then. Sounds like a reasonable investment. I'll have to give it a try.

As for the snow tires, I lived in Alaska for nearly 30 years and now live in North Dakota. I am fully aware of the miracle of snows

Therapy996t

This is a very interesting idea. I believe it sounds dangerous, but as long as I am inside the car and nobody else is around, I guess slipping off the floor jack won't hurt me or anyone else. Maybe I'll have to get a floor jack/jackstand combo from a NAPA or whatever. Thanks!

Therapy996t

You make a good point that the fronts don't seem to be doing much right now for me anyway, but even dinosaur awd systems are still better [if in working condition] in in climate weather than rear wheel drive and my car will be 95% daily and occasional track duty vehicle. It just makes more sense for what I am using it for. I fully agree that if it was a summer only vehicle or saw a lot of track-time that your suggestion would be perfect though. Thanks for the suggestion!

Therapy996t

Carlo, we are in agreement. This is why I bought the damn thing to begin with! Like you, I have lived in snowy places my whole life (Alaska most of my life with jaunts in Michigan (including the U.P.), Eastern Washington State, and North Dakota) and I wanted a world class car I could drive year round. A functioning all wheel drive system is mind blowing in the snow. And not to worry. I am not blowing nearly 10 grand on a Tires Plus mechanic to tinker. I am too far from a Porsche dealer (over 6 hours) to have them conveniently work on it, right now and the local Euro-car Indi shop gives me weird vibes. I plan on moving soon, anyway. In the mean time, I have the experience to get it around in the winter sans awd. AWD is clearly preferable, however! Thanks for your input!