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OK, took her to the tire shop this morning and swapped out the nearly new (but date coded 2014) 17" Michelin PS A/S 3's for a set of Pirelli Sottozero snows. The tire wear on the Michelins was dead even across each tire and at 8/32's front and 7/32nds rear, with no anomalies or damage whatsoever, so alignment didn't appear to be an issue. The mechanic called me over and showed me why I had a vibration. The wheel weights on the wheels (all 4) were flopping around on the wheel, barely attached. He said I probably lost a few over time and that it is a good thing I got it in now. He checked over the suspension once again and I got a clean bill of health.
Drive home was much better, like a totally different car. And at higher speeds, zero vibration. Can't wait to put the 18" summer tires on her.
I'll craigslist the Michelins for cheap. They are in excellent condition, lots of tread, but I am switching to 18" for the summer, so I no longer have a need for 17" summer tires. Wife doesn't want me to collect tires, in addition to all the other parts I have lying around. Women !!
First of all, nice Cabriolet... and welcome to the Porsche club!
Glad to see you carried out due diligence and had most of known M96 issues addressed. The one thing I didn't see in your list was the VarioCam wear pads. Did the shop change those out? It's a common problem with the Mk1 3.4L engines. Did they check for camshaft deviations? If they were in spec, they probably didn't change them, but if it had been me, I would have asked for the wear pads to be replaced anyway since the engine was out. Saves a lot of labor down the road. Similar in the case of changing RMS when you're addressing the IMS bearing.
Last edited by ZuffenZeus; 12-28-2021 at 12:35 PM.
Thank you. That is the one thing I missed. I will check with the shop to see if they did check, but I didn't ask about it (didn't know it was an issue). If it wasn't done, I'll have them check it next time I am in for service..
So, ever since I got the car back from the shop, I kept smelling coolant after every drive. After getting her home the first time, I noticed that coolant was dripping on the header from the new coolant tank drain line. Ok, the tank is very full when cool, so expansion when hot is causing some of the excess coolant to seek a new home (my garage floor). After about a week of having coolant leaking on the floor (not a huge amount, just a pain cleaning it up), I decided to suction about 8oz of coolant out of the tank. Another week or so goes by and I am still smelling coolant and I am still seeing coolant on my garage floor. I check the tank level and noticed that the cap was loose. I didn't think much of that. Plenty of coolant in the tank, so I just tighten the cap and called it a day. A few days later, same thing, same leaking coolant and the loose cap issue. When I tried to tighten it (by hand only) if I gave it a little extra twist, the cap clicked, like a gas cap does. I got it tight one more time and a day later it was loose again. I then contacted the shop, told them what I found. They overnighted me a new cap, which seems to fit a lot better. I cannot over-tighten it and it seems to have cured the leaking coolant issue.
I have been using the black "AUF/ZU" cap on my 6TT for a few years with no trouble at all. I have forgotten who makes it, I think it's made by Behr who is the OEM supplier to Porsche.
I don't think it is a Porsche cap or Tank, not really sure. Cap is a "Blau", part number looks like PA6T/XT GF35 (I think). Number is on the inside of the cap and hard to read (with my old eyes). I'll know after a few outings if it is a good fit.
Congrats and welcome to the C4 club! You have the nice OEM C4 17" wheels! Kind of rare. Too bad they came with the colored crests instead of the Carrera 4 caps Most people swapped them out for twists or 18" wheels. My C4 came with 18's, but I have been looking for those 17's to put snow on. I have old aftermarket 17's for my snows! Did you get the solution forever ims? If you didnt you will need to change the bearing every 4 years or 50,000 miles. Single Row Pro and Classic Dual Row IMS Retrofit - 6 years or 75,000
De Jeeper, yeah, it look like that is the case. I will be keeping a close eye on it, but, barring the cap issue (which I hope is resolved) it should be OK for several years. Indy is very responsive and said if I still have problems they will put another in.
Dranon, I got the refit IMSB. If I put 50,000 more on her, it will take a decade or more.
There is a guy out on Long Island that has a set of those wheels for sale over on PCA for $350. Since they have been up for a while, maybe he wants to move them at a better price. And I am using the 17's for snows too. I have a set of 5 spoke lightweight classics (I think that is what they are called) for summer. I like the 17's for the added "cushion" they provide. My old *ss appreciates the softness they afford.
Yeah, I think the whole set up is aftermarket. As long as it works as designed, I am OK with it. If it fails prematurely or doesn't function as it should, STAND BY !
OK, so I got hit in a parking lot about two months back. Looks like someone tried to park in the space in front of my car and slipped on ice and "bumped" my front bumper. The pics show the damage after I removed the plate and holder. Looks like this has happened before, as the plate holder looks to have been repaired. Anyway, I didn't notice it for a few weeks and, after I lot of cursing and foot stomping, I finally took the car for a repair estimate. We have a friend with a burgundy/candy red Mercedes. She is really picky and OCD. She got dented in a parking lot and too it to a body shop she knows. They fixed the car, twice, and nailed it the second time. You really can't tell where the repair was and the paint work is outstanding. I took my car to them for a quote. With me removing the bumper and taking to them, the estimate was $800 to repair and repaint the front bumper. They are using the correct factory paint and clear and they have specialty tools for the type of plastic the bumper is made out of. All holes will be filled, as I'll take my chances with the no front plate thing (for now). Please excuse the bug splat. I took these after I got back from the hour trip, one way, to the body shop.
I am hoping that the paint match will be very good, but being Polar Silver, I am a bit nervous. Like Rich told me, it isn't his first rodeo with these cars and he stands by his work until I am satisfied. So I am moving forward with this on the 16th (should take a week), but I am also looking to see if that is a decent/fair price for the work being done? Any thoughts?
12-28-2021, 12:33 PM
