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beautiful, beautiful car. callas is one of the best in the business; and as you can see from the prior threads, plenty of skilled places to get things sorted.
AZ-
I have a 97 with permanent P0410 and P0411 errors, too. I legally pass emissions by doing the following drive cycle:
1) Reset the OBD system the night before your test using an ODB scan tool. This will clear your errors.
2) Cold start the car and drive 25 highway miles doing 60-70mph in 6th gear (SUV style). Leave the scanner connected.
3) Pull over, turn off car, restart.
4) Continue driving 60-70mph in 6th gear until the CAT and HTR monitors get set. This should happen around the 20 mile mark +/-.
5) Idle a few minutes. EVAP will set.
You now have 3 monitors ready, which is all you need to get tested (see attached "Why couldn't my vehicle be tested"). Because the AIR monitor isn't set, your P0410 and P1411 codes won't get thrown and your CEL won't light. Just get tested before letting the car cool down. (Another cold start will set the AIR monitor and throw your codes).
I've done this drive 6 times and it worked every time. I have a stock 97 OEM ECU and if you have the same, it should work the same way for you. It won't work on some (maybe all) 96's because they aren't able to report monitors one at a time. Porsche gave 993's that ability sometime before my 3/97 build. It's unclear exactly when that happened, but give it a try on your 97 and let us know how it works.
So I had the CEL SAI issue last summer. I did the blow out and replaced the valve and the light still came on. Turned out to be a tiny little vacuum line by the valve that got knocked off while I was in there. I hooked it up an poof the the light never came back on- If they did an engine rebuild, I have to believe they replaced the valve. check that stupid little vacuum line. it's right buy the valve - just take your air box out and you'll see it.
As as far as prior records on the car, it’s had the wiring harness redone about 4 years ago. Oil changes over past four years were every other year (at least by records I have) but was driven sparingly at that time.
As far as the line item on the “etc, etc...” yes it was eye opening to see what the PO had to pay to get engine rebuild but seems in line with what others have posted in terms of cost. I’m glad it was performed by a well recognized team of mechanics and am hopeful this whole CEL is due to something like a check valve gone bad or O2 sensor. Who knows.
Either way, Ill have to get the car to a mechanic and will plan on having oil changed and likely brake fluid. Will have to see what the recommendation is on power steering fluid change/ transmission fluid change as well.
Regarding the CEL and diagnosis algorithm - I appreciate the step-wise explanation of what to look for.
Having read Jay777’s SAI drive cycle post from a year ago I ended getting the same OBD reader and did some brief experimentation. I reset the CEL and all monitors were not ready. Drove ~20 miles with one engine-off/on midway during drive and was able to see the HRT monitor turned active before I called it quits for the night. Done mainly to see if I was lucky enough to have a car that registers monitors being ready one by one or all at once as has been described. Looks like I’m lucky and may be able to do the SAI drive cycle to get car passed emissions. I will give a full update on this when I have a chance to get it all taken care of (not enough hours in the day sometimes).
As as far as prior records on the car, it’s had the wiring harness redone about 4 years ago. Oil changes over past four years were every other year (at least by records I have) but was driven sparingly at that time.
As far as the line item on the “etc, etc...” yes it was eye opening to see what the PO had to pay to get engine rebuild but seems in line with what others have posted in terms of cost. I’m glad it was performed by a well recognized team of mechanics and am hopeful this whole CEL is due to something like a check valve gone bad or O2 sensor. Who knows.
Either way, Ill have to get the car to a mechanic and will plan on having oil changed and likely brake fluid. Will have to see what the recommendation is on power steering fluid change/ transmission fluid change as well.
Regarding the CEL and diagnosis algorithm - I appreciate the step-wise explanation of what to look for.
Having read Jay777’s SAI drive cycle post from a year ago I ended getting the same OBD reader and did some brief experimentation. I reset the CEL and all monitors were not ready. Drove ~20 miles with one engine-off/on midway during drive and was able to see the HRT monitor turned active before I called it quits for the night. Done mainly to see if I was lucky enough to have a car that registers monitors being ready one by one or all at once as has been described. Looks like I’m lucky and may be able to do the SAI drive cycle to get car passed emissions. I will give a full update on this when I have a chance to get it all taken care of (not enough hours in the day sometimes).
Thanks again!
Great news. Sounds like it'll work for you the same way it does for me. Just make sure to do the drive in one shot as described in Post #17.
OP your car looks like the engine was freshened up right, with new valve guides and the SAI ports cleaned out. I would be shocked if you had a serious CEL/SAI problem. Take it to a mechanic who will diagnose, I repeat diagnose, the problem. If the wrench wants to just blindly throw parts at it, go to a different shop. Should be something simple. Beautiful 993, you did well.
I ended up using Don Jacksons due to good reviews and proximity. Very pleased. Turns out some of the vacuum lines were misconnected around the SAI check valve. The check valve was otherwise in good condition. Unable to provide exact specifics, but just good to know that as noted above, the dreaded SAI check engine light codes can sometimes have a non-expensive resolution.
Some of the varioram vaccuum lines had been disconnected as well and were fixed. Prior to dropping the car off, I had been hearing a “whooshing” sound which seemed to be coming from the center vent at higher RPMs. Now that’s gone and I’ve convinced myself I can feel more power too.
I’ve since put about 3000 miles on the car since acquiring it and have found that lunch time can be a perfect time period for a short spirited drive up the I-17 and back. I try not to lug the engine and keep the RPMs at 3500-4000 while cruising. Terrible for gas mileage but much more fun.
I fixed a driver seat rocking issue with some 3D printed parts. With my bungling of the drive shaft and need to order a new flexible drive shaft I probably spent more on the DIY than if I had the shop do it, but it was fun.
My car already had the TORE HID kit which is nice. I did buy the morimoto projectors and as noted in other threads it really creates a cleaner light cut-off.
Next DIY plans are:
1) fix the door pockets
2) upgrade to the TORE LED lights for brakes/reverse/rear fogs.
3) audio - I’ve been hoping to find some of the VW/dynaudio MD-140 midrange speakers that MSchneider says are so great. And maybe the Porsche classic radio with NAV at the same time.
4) wheels - really like the 1552 outlaw wheels. There’s one silver car on here with black/gold outlaw wheels and gold “Porsche” side script, that I think looks really great. Then there’s always the tried and true MY02 wheels.
This car is turning into a nice, pleasant distraction. Hope everyone has a safe and happy holidays!
Beautiful car and welcome. The tinting looks great. Probably a must in AZ. I really like the 2 Piece Outlaw 003 wheels and think they would also look great in satin black. I thought I saw a Polar Silver 993 with Gold outlaw 003 wheels somewhere ��. Racing stripes are fun to play with so give it a try. Enjoy your new sweet ride.
Here is my '97 in Arctic Silver. Working on getting hollow Turbo Twist wheels.
09-24-2018, 10:09 PM
