I'm biased Yogi. I can't objectively answer that question. But without a doubt, Jake Raby and his team would be my solid choice to rebuild a Porsche engine if I didn't do it myself. If I did it myself, of course, I'm following his guidelines played out in the video and workbook. I'm not sure about the price. I'd have to consult Charles Navarro when I get to that point. I would want to replace every known aging part (injectors, coil packs, AOS, RMS, sensors, tensioners, etc) and so I'd probably purchase his rebuild kit that LN sells.

 

thanks, trying to find out what he gave them. So they have to be replaced even if top of line one was installed?
notice he had all the required serices done, even tho mileage wasnt high!
he seemed to want to take care of car regularly
im not trying to over spend, i have deposit on 2001 but it needs new top (canvas) and mechanically top isn’t working. Parts are ordered. Dont know about IMS on that one with 72k miles

 

haha, I know it was a loaded question. I have indeed done all of the above and bought new stuff (except the tensioner, so more spending). PLUS, since these projects take so long, I forgot I bought BOSCH fuel injectors back in Sept. 2021 for 247.00 for all 6! You can't even find those so it was a pleasant surprise.

 

The only bearing that doesn't have a service interval is the oil-fed plain bearing by LN Engineering called "The IMS Solution". All other aftermarket bearings should following the manufacturer recommended service interval.


I paid $17,000 for my 2003 996 Cabriolet (only 65K miles) and that included a brand new top. The previous owner told me it cost about $2,000 in 2015 to install. I'm sure it's a lot more money today.

 

I see Jake reached out to you on Facebook. That's cool. Follow his advice and listen closely to every step-by-step procedure (especially during the timing section) and you shouldn't go wrong.

All the best man... lots of people are cheering you on!

 

Oh the top not working is a problem. It could be so many things. Ugh. I did a whole video series on that. Good luck finding a new canvas for 2K these days. Oh and the headliner is sold separately.

However, since you already put a down payment there doesn't seem we can say or do much to change your mind. I'm sure it'll be fine... but I'd plan on dropping 3-5K on having your top serviced. It requires a calibration, that guess what, only Porsche can do. Not true but will set you back $$ to either buy/rent a Durametric. Seeing prices at this level makes me feel a little better restoring mine since I only paid 15k for mine in April '21. I don't expect to get what I put into it, however the work that I am doing will definitely show a return.

 

Thanks a lot! He's actually mentoring me if you can believe that. I'm very grateful. Plus I can help him sell some more of these videos because they're totally worth it.

 

I can get the deposit back, NP! I put it down on the 2001 with top problems! They have to produce video of top going up and down.
That is one of the things concerning the 01.

I never looked at prices before on P cars. So, you guys got yours at great prices,

I'm leaning towards the 02 because so clean and unique color combo,Orient red with gray interior and top.
I'm not mechanically inclined but have place close by that's works on 911's!

Waiting to hear back form origin owner about IMS bearing and emailed the records dept at servicing dealer

what's your opinion on Not having PSM or TC?

Thanks Yogi

 

Complete personal preference. PSM is probably a benefit in wet conditions, but if this is a sunny day weekend car you'll hardly notice a difference. Same with TC. Mine has neither and even when driving in the wet don't feel like any confidence is lost in how the car handles, albeit I'm not exactly pushing the car to it's limits dry or wet.

 

Thanks, live fairly close to you Sevierville Tn.

What color red is yours?
I'm looking at Orient red.
I'm just looking for nice play car! Did you look at the link of the 02?

 

Guards red, so brighter than Orient, and comes with about 5HP more.

I did. Appears to be a nice example, but price seems a little high, but it's also a dealership car. I'm not a convertible guy at all (more things to go wrong, wind messes up my beautiful hair, etc.). The battery exploding on one of the invoices was pretty odd, and looked kind of recent (at least around 22k miles), but nothing noted about checking the cables (although that could be checked charging system I guess). Then the replacement bearing isn't noted what kind (also done around 20k miles), provided by previous owner, type not noted so likely OEM, and of course with that it's noted if damage or failure occurs owner accepted responsibility.

If it were me, I'd probably continue looking to be honest. Plenty of nice examples out there for not as much cost and at least a better service history on IMSB replacement, which on a single row car I'd want more confidence of what was installed and by whom.

 

Thanks, it is a little high but seems most cars now a days are! I think it would be stupid to replace the bearing with OEM. That would be putting back the same problem only little newer?
I've looked a t dozens of ads mostly Autotrader Ebay and Cargurs. And most of those don't mention much about IMS.

Better places to look?

 

Fair, but if I owned an MKII I wouldn't have a problem admitting the MKI's were "more solid" and/or "better built" than the MKII. If I were in the market for a 996, I would wait for a '98 build date, but that's just me. If too hard I'd go directly to a 997.

Hate to quote Raby but he has said - and I will find it if you need - that the '98 996's are the ones to have.... Your MKII is still a beast, I'm just saying they are different. On paper, one is built better than the other and arguably more analog.

- cylinder linings (bore scoring less common on mkI as a result)
- single row imsb (~1% failure rate versus 4%) - edit, sorry meant dual row
- throttle cable
- on prod. line with 993/arguably hand built (I think)

You know I'm all for the 996 being a great car, but the reality is there really are two different versions of the same car. It's sort of - not really - like the pre 2003.5 e46 M3 and post 2003.5 with their rod bearing failures and recalls. Both great models of the same car, but I'd rather have a post 2003.5 model.

 

Most are for sure, but there's always deals out there too. Be patient in your search, lots of good knowledge on here, much that's been shared by Yogi and B3 already. I would agree that replacing with OEM is not the best option, but there are people that will vouch for OEM / EPS / LN, it's up to you to decide what has your vote of confidence. Single row is more prone to failure, so without knowing what type it is, I would opt to replace with again what you decide is right for you, but I would go LN personally (and did even with my dual row). So now tack that extra cost on to the upfront cost of the car.

AT, Carguru's, PCAR Market, Rennlist classifieds, PCA has listings, hell even cars & bids / BAT sometimes have good deals (and better listing information, but still need to do some due diligence). Some people have searched for months (or even a year) to find the right car and worked in their favor. Some people rushed and it bit them in the *** almost immediately.

 

Single row is on 996.2 (2001+), the early models have the more robust dual row. Your other statements are correct, earlier models with the 3.4L are much less prone to bore scoring. MY 2000's may not have been on 993 prod line and have e-throttle, but if you sat in a '99 and '00 next to each other you'd notice no difference. At least when I met with a local guy here I could not tell a difference between the two.