Hi,

I have a 991.2 GT3 6MT and was looking at a 2001 C2 68k miles for a daily driver. I don’t have a baseline for what the 996 feels like so I thought I would post here.

1) What coolant temperature should the car settle at when warm? Most of the time the needle was pointed straight vertically, but after some harder driving, the needle was pointing slightly to the right of vertical. Is this expected? Or should it remain completely fixed when warm?

2) Clutch pedal makes a little ‘click’ feel when fully pressed. Is that normal? The clutch take up otherwise was very smooth, no slip in 4th gear at full throttle, and no grabbing.

3) How hard is it to change headlight bulbs? This car did not have the Litronic. Looks like usual Walmart bulbs.

4) DME readout is possible on this car?

 

Hi there.

1. The temp gauge will move with spirited driving. It is not like some other cars that keep it in a constant position unless things go wrong.

2. Mine does not click

3. Bulbs are easy to change. There is a tool with the tire kit to pop out the entire assembly, then covers pop off. It is also possible to retrofit the litronics

4. Yes. Lots of information can be found using the durametric, or other tools. One big thing to look out for is over revs - there are range 1 and range 2 for the 996. Also cam deviations.

 

Many thanks. If there is no suspicious engine noise, is it reasonable to say that bore scoring is unlikely or does the absence of sound not help? The car is much quieter than my GT3, which is very loud and raucous in comparison.

I know the brakes and tires need replacing, but is a small amount of tramlining to be expected? Brake feel was rather spongy and poor. Needs a fair amount of bleeding and work on the brakes. Apart from the flex lines going to each wheel, is there any other flex line in the brake system that should be replaced? I was figuring on changing all 4 flex lines to stainless braided lines.

 

Absolutely not. Bore scoring can exist in an asymptotic car. Ask me how I know…

The only way to rule out bore scoring is to scope them.

 

I figured as much. The car has 68k miles, no IMS/RMS service, and has a collision story. None of this matters to me since I want a driver and not a garage queen. I am planning to do brakes myself but IMS/RMS to be done.

 

That and u cant compare a 991 gt3 motor to a 996 standard carrera motor using any if the 5 senses. Kinda like comparing apples and submarines .


cam diviations r important and can lead to an expensive repair. Get a good ppi with a cyl bore scoping.

 

1) Coolant should settle at the 180ºF/80ºC mark but will go higher in stop & go traffic, hot days and with spirited driving. The more air flowing through the radiators, the more it will stay at 180ºF.
2) I have not felt a click on my clutch.
3) I hear bulbs are not hard or expensive to change (I haven't had to do it on mine yet so no direct knowledge)
4) If you have 2 Porsches I would buy a Durametric. It will work with both of them and you can get all sorts of information on codes and the health of the engine. This is what most indy Porsche shops use, they just use the one with unlimited licensing. The "enthusiast" license is just below $300 USD and supports 3-7 cars (I can't remember the exact number). Aside from codes it will give you all sorts of graphs/data about things like camshaft deviation, oil temperature, etc. which you can export into Excel if you want. There are also less expensive tools that will simply read codes.

Bore scoring - No ticking noise only means it doesn't have "end stage" scoring. Look for soot on the tailpipes, especially the left one. The only real way to tell is to have it bore scoped during the PPI.

 

I’m used to coolant temperatures varying a fair amount in the GT3 and it sounds like it’s not a constant in the 996 either. No soot on the pipes. It sounds like cam deviation is important to find out along with bore scoping. Is there a certain mileage above which bore scoring becomes less of an issue?

 

You’re asking about the right things. Have a good shop check it out and get video or pics of the bores. If it checks out, plan on budgeting for other “while I’m in there” stuff when you do the IMSB like a clutch, water pump, thermostat, and AOS. That’ll take care of the big potential failure points assuming it checks out when you purchase.

 

No. it can happen on both low and high mileage cars. This is a good video to start with if you want to understand it more.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B7DhMXE4m1I

While there seems to be a number of factors that are involved, cars that have spent time in colder climates seem to be more prone to scoring. Keep that in mind during your search but that doesn’t mean a southern car can’t have bore scoring. From my research, it seems more of a function of climate and maintenance vs a pure manufacturing defect that will present itself by a certain mileage.

 

Thanks for all the links. I was especially impressed by how tractable and forgiving the 2001 996 C2 is. It is daily driver material otherwise. Also surprisingly quiet even at high revs. The VIN sticker is mounted on the driver door itself and not on the space below the B pillar - also looks like a normal thing.

 

Surprisingly quiet is one of the biggest complaint with our cars . Most do the fister mod to the mufflers so it sings better.

the clutch pedal click might be a broken "assist" spring. Pretty cheap and essy fix.

 

There is a clutch switch.
Mine clicks, but it can’t be felt.
If you feel a click, it’s probably a helper during like De Jeepers said.
I replaced mine earlier this year.
They run about $80 and take 5 minutes to replace.

 

From my reading, removing this helper spring makes the clutch pedal heavier but improves the feel. Clutch didn’t feel heavy at all.

 

I ran my car a few years without the assist spring. I loved it on the track. Didn't mind it around town at all, but I didn't use the car as a daily driver. Without the spring, the clutch will require a lot more strength to move it, and takes on an "either in or out" feel to it. Not much of a chance of "riding the clutch" because it's a heavier throw.

Added the spring again when the kids started to learn how to drive a manual. The springless clutch was to difficult to learn on due to the force needed to move the pedal.