Need Some Advice
03-20-2018, 10:01 AM
#16
Drifting
Great advice above.
On a limited budget, I think I'd focus on mechanical reliability, stopping and tires.
For any used car I buy, Porsche or not, I always replace the fluids, minimally the engine oil, oil filter, and air filter. You said you were going to do this. Change out the engine intake air filter (cheap and easy). The cabin filter is also cheap and easy too, but not critical unless it is clogged up or filled with rodent mess. The fuel filter is another one to consider - kind of tricky to get to where it lives under the car, but pretty easy to do all things considered.
Not to scare you, but when you drain the oil, Keep an eye out for shiny bits and chunks of metal that could signal bigger issues. Post up here if you find anything meaningful.
Then I'd find a local P-car person (Rennlist, PCA, etc.) with a Durametric, Foxwell, etc and see if they'll scan your codes to see if there is anything going on that needs your immediate attention. Deal with whatever ones are important (like misfires), or required for safety inspections (emissions codes) and prioritize the rest for when you have time, money or interest. Or buy a Foxwell to have for future use, only around $150 (NT510 Porsche version).
Good idea on the spark plugs - good preventative maintenance, but not critical if they work ok. They're a little tricky to get to, so if you're in there, look for oil leaks in the spark plug tubes/orings. If they're leaking, they're cheap and pretty easy to replace.
Make sure your brakes work mechanically, rather than focusing on polishing them up. If you can reuse your rotors, super, if not, you can get everything you need for pads and rotors for well under $500 if you shop around (not Porsche branded, OE manufacturers, not performance upgrades). Stopping is a priority for me.
Make sure the tires are usable, not dry rotted, hard as rocks, etc.
Once it runs and drives, go have fun with it. They are great driving cars.
I like the advice above about holding onto it. I bet a lot of us have stories about cars we wish we had held onto. I kick myself for selling every Porsche I've owned. I love what I have now, and what I got rid of was not even close to show quality or rare, but is now interesting in a way it wasn't back then (two different 60's 912 coupes, '72 911T, '87 944S). It'd be cool to still have them.
Congratulations on the car, and have fun.
On a limited budget, I think I'd focus on mechanical reliability, stopping and tires.
For any used car I buy, Porsche or not, I always replace the fluids, minimally the engine oil, oil filter, and air filter. You said you were going to do this. Change out the engine intake air filter (cheap and easy). The cabin filter is also cheap and easy too, but not critical unless it is clogged up or filled with rodent mess. The fuel filter is another one to consider - kind of tricky to get to where it lives under the car, but pretty easy to do all things considered.
Not to scare you, but when you drain the oil, Keep an eye out for shiny bits and chunks of metal that could signal bigger issues. Post up here if you find anything meaningful.
Then I'd find a local P-car person (Rennlist, PCA, etc.) with a Durametric, Foxwell, etc and see if they'll scan your codes to see if there is anything going on that needs your immediate attention. Deal with whatever ones are important (like misfires), or required for safety inspections (emissions codes) and prioritize the rest for when you have time, money or interest. Or buy a Foxwell to have for future use, only around $150 (NT510 Porsche version).
Good idea on the spark plugs - good preventative maintenance, but not critical if they work ok. They're a little tricky to get to, so if you're in there, look for oil leaks in the spark plug tubes/orings. If they're leaking, they're cheap and pretty easy to replace.
Make sure your brakes work mechanically, rather than focusing on polishing them up. If you can reuse your rotors, super, if not, you can get everything you need for pads and rotors for well under $500 if you shop around (not Porsche branded, OE manufacturers, not performance upgrades). Stopping is a priority for me.
Make sure the tires are usable, not dry rotted, hard as rocks, etc.
Once it runs and drives, go have fun with it. They are great driving cars.
I like the advice above about holding onto it. I bet a lot of us have stories about cars we wish we had held onto. I kick myself for selling every Porsche I've owned. I love what I have now, and what I got rid of was not even close to show quality or rare, but is now interesting in a way it wasn't back then (two different 60's 912 coupes, '72 911T, '87 944S). It'd be cool to still have them.
Congratulations on the car, and have fun.
Last edited by cds72911; 03-20-2018 at 10:59 AM.
03-20-2018, 12:51 PM
#17
Rennlist Member
Great advice above. and congrats on the find!
How much maintenance history do you have on the car that can tell you when things were replaced, like the belts? They may look good, but you can't always see where the cracks are.
When you change the oil, be sure to cut open the oil filter and inspect inside for Metal bits. There are some internal parts, like the IMS bearing, that can fail and destroy the engine. Low mileage cars seem to be more susceptible due to less frequent oil changes. Oil changes need to be done at 6 mos. And always watch for metal bits. You can buy a magnetic oil drain plug that will help trap bits so you can find them more easily. The oil filter system can be changed to one that will limit what crud get recirculated into the engine.
Check the mfg date codes on the tires, 6-7 years old max or they could get you in trouble,.
Have fun!
How much maintenance history do you have on the car that can tell you when things were replaced, like the belts? They may look good, but you can't always see where the cracks are.
When you change the oil, be sure to cut open the oil filter and inspect inside for Metal bits. There are some internal parts, like the IMS bearing, that can fail and destroy the engine. Low mileage cars seem to be more susceptible due to less frequent oil changes. Oil changes need to be done at 6 mos. And always watch for metal bits. You can buy a magnetic oil drain plug that will help trap bits so you can find them more easily. The oil filter system can be changed to one that will limit what crud get recirculated into the engine.
Check the mfg date codes on the tires, 6-7 years old max or they could get you in trouble,.
Have fun!
03-20-2018, 03:46 PM
#19
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Weird Situation
I haven’t talked to my mom since I was probably 15, she wanted to go do other things, and thats okay. But she called me out of the blue and said if I want it come get it or it’s being sold by March 1st. I took a day off work to go to the DMV and make it my own and well here I am now.
03-20-2018, 03:48 PM
#20
Rennlist Member
Any idea why it was parked for 5 years?
03-20-2018, 03:55 PM
#21
I haven’t talked to my mom since I was probably 15, she wanted to go do other things, and thats okay. But she called me out of the blue and said if I want it come get it or it’s being sold by March 1st. I took a day off work to go to the DMV and make it my own and well here I am now.
Well that’s a great gift, obviously you are proactive as you found this forum. So ask anything, we are all here to help. Great color as well, mine is midnight blue.
03-20-2018, 03:56 PM
#22
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Current Status.
Everything that I’ve changed above has been my own personal work. I try to do all repairs on my own because I’ve messed up one time getting brake work done at a shop for $400 when a year or so later I did the same brake job for $75 just because of the new parts. I called a shop that’s known for low prices when fixing Porsche’s, they told me $900 out the door to replace the fuel pump because it takes 2 hours or more. I did it myself and was able to clean the tank, replace the pump, and make sure all other assembly parts were functioning. All I paid was the $275 for new pump and O ring. When I changed the oil there were no metal fragments anywhere in the filter. I made sure to check because I know 996 are prone to getting ****ed by the IMSb. All in all. I’m going to just drive off the corrosion and just give the calipers a nice cleaning along with the rest of the car. I already have replace the tires, the old ones looked fine But sitting for 5 years, I didn’t want to take that chance, good thing I did because turns out they were dry rotted horribly on the inside and more noticibly on the outside once removed. Such a shame that a brand new set of MPS4S had been wasted. I have ordered the new cabin and the engine air filters and will change those out as soon as they get here. I checked the spark plugs and they were still very clean and good to go. As for the paint. The main blue is perfectly fine. All that peeling is the clear coat, apparently the shop that it was taken to to have it redone did a quick and lazy job, that with sitting in the sun with no cover for years will do that.
03-20-2018, 03:59 PM
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Very much so
03-20-2018, 04:05 PM
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She told me she left it parked because it was too small to haul around a car seat for my little sister, which is understandable. And she had a truck and a Honda Civic as well. So she basically treated herself, drove it once a month for about 2 years. Then just kinda lost interest in it. Which is a huge shame. But luckily it’s in good hands now and I’m going to drive it properly, maybe I’ll even go to Monterey car week since it’s only about a hour way from me.
03-20-2018, 06:09 PM
#25
Rennlist Member
Congrats, and best of luck!
