First Porsche- 2003 911 Carrera 4S (Journal)
#1
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First Porsche- 2003 911 Carrera 4S (Journal)
Hello All- Last November I purchased this C4S and had it shipped to me in SoCal... Clean Title, 3 owners, aBlack interior, 6MT, 86k miles, and good bill of health (wish I had bores scoped but no signs of any issues so far). The car has been really fun so far and has its little issues but seems very well sorted for the age and is cleaning up very well. In hindsight, I probably should have waited and purchased a local car but what's done is done and I love the car. Prior to this, I was without a 'fun' car for 18 months after selling my last Subaru WRX. I owned 11 WRX's/STI's/FXT's since 2003, every generation and body style, including a JDM imported 1995 STi Type RA. Loved all of them, but was just over it 18 months ago.
Here is my last WRX build thread and photos if anyone is interested... https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/sho....php?t=2829196
Since the arrival of the C4S I have been working on some maintenance and replacing some small things. So far I have done:
Here is my last WRX build thread and photos if anyone is interested... https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/sho....php?t=2829196
Since the arrival of the C4S I have been working on some maintenance and replacing some small things. So far I have done:
- LN Engineering Porsche OEM 986/996 Water Pump Kit inc. Gaskets, Belt, Bolts, Low Temp Thermostat, & Driven CSP
- Porsche OEM Thermostat Housing
- Porsche OEM Coolant
- Porsche OEM Expansion Tank CAP
- Porsche OEM Coolant Lines- Replace ALL engine bay hoses including Heater hoses and Upper Hose Flange
- Rauch & Spiegel 996/997 Connection For Coolant Hose To Oil Separator
- BMC Engine Air Filter
- Replaced Cabin Air Filter
- New cowl hardware for battery cover and (2) access panels
- Porsche OEM License plate hardware, brackets, and mounts F/R
- Ziza Master LED Interior Lighting Kit
- Replaced all rear taillight lamps
- Light Savers
- Porsche OEM Wiper Hardware and Covers, Wipers F/R
- RENNLINE Competition Lug Stud kit and Lugnuts
- RENNLINE Phone Mount
- Porsche OEM Floor Mat Set- Black
- Porsche OEM Fuel Cap
- Porsche OEM Non-Smokers Shelf/Center Console Cup
- Porsche OEM Key Head- Replacement (Needs to be reprogrammed)
- FISTER Sport Exhaust- Velvet Black Ceramic Coating
- OE Exhaust Clamps
- Refinished OEM Exhaust Tips and Ceramic Coated Centers Black
- Powerflex Swaybar Bushings- Street F/R
- Porsche OEM Sunroof Glass Seal
- Forgeline GA3R Wheels- 18x9.5 +46 & 18x12 +46, Refinished in Hampton Gold and rebuilt by Wheel Enhancement in LA. *Not installed
- IMS Replacement
- Clutch/Flywheel while in there
- Plugs
- Transmission and Diff Fluid change
- Dry Ice Cleaning of full underside
- Suspension refresh
- OEM arms (maybe 991 LCA upgrades)
- Tarret Sways and endlinks
- Feal Coilovers
- Retrofit Lab XENON HID Retrofit
Last edited by theJRUHL; 06-02-2023 at 05:38 PM.
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#3
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Welcome to the club! Wow, great list. Consider adding the UAOS to the list and you will have everything covered. Makes sense when you do the IMS.
#5
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I read your thread, congrats We'll see what happens on the mods I want to do a few more things than I have listed but nothing I cant undo and retain all stock parts. Thanks.
#6
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I would have done the IMS before I spent the first cent on it, but that's me, Where do I get my exhaust tips reconditioned like that?!
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911my22 (11-23-2023)
#7
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I did the tips myself
Last edited by theJRUHL; 06-02-2023 at 07:26 PM.
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#8
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Long over due update… Car was running great, but occasionally would make a ticking noise when cold, and go away when warm. It would come and go with really no rhyme or reason, no smoking, and no crazy oil usage. Finally, the other week I started the car to head home from work and the ticking wouldn't go away and it started to misfire and threw a CEL. I had the car towed to my local Indy to do some diagnosis.
They found:
- Compression good across the board
- Leakdown good across the board
- SPEEDiagnostix Oil sample turn out really good- no metal, no signs of bore scoring materials, no water, etc.
- Audible ticking from head, and from DMF
- DME info shows issue with fueling on Cylinder 4
We then decided to pull the engine and then eventually the heads after initially thinking a lifter was stuck. It was discovered that a valve seat on Cylinder 4 had become loose and would seat and unseat depending on the heat... which is why the compression and leakdown came back good. The mechanic showed me how the valve seat would go back into place when the cylinder had air fed into the cylinder.
Good News:
- Bores look great, no scoring
- No metal in engine, SUPER clean filters around whole engine
- All chain guides intact
The heads are at a Porsche experienced machine shop for a valve job and all the repairs needed. We are also doing the following:
- Dual Mass Flywheel
- Clutch
- IMS Bearing
- Wear and Tear items on the driveshaft (forgot names)
- AOS
- Oil Cooler
- Low Temp Thermostat (water pump just changed)
- New Subframe Bushings (PowerFlex)
- New Transmission Mount
- Transmission Mount Inserts (PowerFlex)
- All needed hardware
- Injectors Cleaned and Tested
- New OEM Coil packs
- New Plugs
- Powder coated exhaust bracket and coil pack covers
- New Cam? Solenoids? (Forget name)
- New Rear Main Seal
- New Chain Rail Guides
- New Lifters (ALL)
- Anything else that comes up
Here are some photos:
They found:
- Compression good across the board
- Leakdown good across the board
- SPEEDiagnostix Oil sample turn out really good- no metal, no signs of bore scoring materials, no water, etc.
- Audible ticking from head, and from DMF
- DME info shows issue with fueling on Cylinder 4
We then decided to pull the engine and then eventually the heads after initially thinking a lifter was stuck. It was discovered that a valve seat on Cylinder 4 had become loose and would seat and unseat depending on the heat... which is why the compression and leakdown came back good. The mechanic showed me how the valve seat would go back into place when the cylinder had air fed into the cylinder.
Good News:
- Bores look great, no scoring
- No metal in engine, SUPER clean filters around whole engine
- All chain guides intact
The heads are at a Porsche experienced machine shop for a valve job and all the repairs needed. We are also doing the following:
- Dual Mass Flywheel
- Clutch
- IMS Bearing
- Wear and Tear items on the driveshaft (forgot names)
- AOS
- Oil Cooler
- Low Temp Thermostat (water pump just changed)
- New Subframe Bushings (PowerFlex)
- New Transmission Mount
- Transmission Mount Inserts (PowerFlex)
- All needed hardware
- Injectors Cleaned and Tested
- New OEM Coil packs
- New Plugs
- Powder coated exhaust bracket and coil pack covers
- New Cam? Solenoids? (Forget name)
- New Rear Main Seal
- New Chain Rail Guides
- New Lifters (ALL)
- Anything else that comes up
Here are some photos:
Last edited by theJRUHL; 10-23-2023 at 10:58 PM.
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#9
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Wow. You got a good tech there! Here is one for "while you are in there." Coolant to AOS connector, 996-106-226-52. Porsche product is made of plastic and will break when you least need it. Replace with the Rauch & Spiegel and not the URO product. URO is made of pot metal and can also break. Ask me how I know. The R&A product is more expensive than the URO but it won't break and is a better design than either the original or the URO.
If the voltmeter on the dash reads 13.5 or lower when you pull into the garage, check your starter/alternator cable.
Curious, since I need to do the vacuum test, where can I get the connector and plug that you screwed into your oil filler cap? That's the setup I want, so I don't have to buy two caps!
If the voltmeter on the dash reads 13.5 or lower when you pull into the garage, check your starter/alternator cable.
Curious, since I need to do the vacuum test, where can I get the connector and plug that you screwed into your oil filler cap? That's the setup I want, so I don't have to buy two caps!
#10
Rennlist Member
While you have the engine on the ground, go all the way with the UAOS track version. It will save you many headaches in the future. Not to mention bypass the coolant thru it. Use the oem aos for cigar ashes.
#11
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Thread Starter
Wow. You got a good tech there! Here is one for "while you are in there." Coolant to AOS connector, 996-106-226-52. Porsche product is made of plastic and will break when you least need it. Replace with the Rauch & Spiegel and not the URO product. URO is made of pot metal and can also break. Ask me how I know. The R&A product is more expensive than the URO but it won't break and is a better design than either the original or the URO.
If the voltmeter on the dash reads 13.5 or lower when you pull into the garage, check your starter/alternator cable.
Curious, since I need to do the vacuum test, where can I get the connector and plug that you screwed into your oil filler cap? That's the setup I want, so I don't have to buy two caps!
If the voltmeter on the dash reads 13.5 or lower when you pull into the garage, check your starter/alternator cable.
Curious, since I need to do the vacuum test, where can I get the connector and plug that you screwed into your oil filler cap? That's the setup I want, so I don't have to buy two caps!
I’ll ask my mechanic, he made it I think. Super good shop from the times I’ve used them. I feel like they are very methodical and clean.
Thx!
#12
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Thread Starter
Got some more photos today… 1 head is done and the bad head is going to a different shop for all new exhaust valve seats, new valve, and all the other work needed. I guess the 2nd shop wants to do the valve seats vs the 1st shop. You can see the loose valve seat in the pics I respect when someone passes something off vs doing something they are not 100% with.
Some photos of bores included too
Some photos of bores included too
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plpete84 (10-24-2023)
#13
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#14
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It’s great you found that valve seat issue ahead of it tearing up the cylinder, or worse, snapping a chain and wreaking havoc on the entire engine.
#15
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despite the large repair bill coming, I do consider myself super lucky as well… could have been so much worse as you said. Now I get a refreshed car that will probably drive so much better and will be rock solid. The fears or bore score or other lurking issues will be subsided as well
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