simon996

Hi!

I’m a new 996 owner based in Warwickshire over in the UK. And last week I bought a flood damaged 2001 Carrera as a bit of a (very!) long term project.

I’m under no illusion that it’s going to be an easy fix, but I’m quite looking forward to stripping it down and getting it running again! Long term, I’m planning on keeping it either as a road car or track toy, depending on how the restoration goes.

I came across this forum after trying to locate the bonnet and engine emergency releases, so I thought you guys/girls were the right people to give me a few pointers!

The car was parked (engine off) and fresh water flooded up to a level just above the seat squab and there is a bit of silt knocking around. Unfortunately, it was sitting for a month or so before I go it, so the interior was quite mouldy. Over the weekend my very willing wife and I stripped the interior out and gave everything a thorough clean. The seats, carpet, sound deadening are currently drying. All the mould has now been removed, but there is a bit of staining on the back of the seats. Since getting the car it has either had the driver’s door open in the sunshine (can’t yet get the passenger door unlocked yet) or a dehumidifier running; which seems to be doing a good job of drying things out.

I’ve had a look at some other flood damaged posts and I’m pretty confident that I need a new immobiliser/ecu/key set to get the engine going. Obviously, prior to any of that, the plugs are coming out/oil changed etc.

My first question is whether there any obvious water traps that I should be aware of? I’ve had a good poke around with an endoscope in any interior access points I can find and things are looking good, but others may be able to point out something I’m missing.

Are there any other big things I should be looking for? I’m guessing electrical problems are going to be my biggest problems, so any advice would be greatly received!

Cheers, Simon

2K7TTMIA

Welcome simon. A bit of work, yes. Do you have a garage in which to do the tear down? You are using a dehimidifier and may want to consider a large fan to constantly force air into and around the vehicle; that should help to eliminate any wet spots in hidden areas. Same for the door and quarter panels. Dont forget the headliner; if it looks intact, be careful not too pull on it too much; but it will probably need to be inspected for mold. Also, treat the leather above and beyond in order to condition it back to health.
And while you're at it, switch the steering wheel to the proper side. Good luck chap.

jefe_not

Saving a 996 is a worthy project! Good luck.

I think you should may also want to be a bit concerned about any of the cables. I know they're "waterproof" but I don't know if that includes immersion. All of the electrical contacts should be cleaned (at least).

Hurdigurdiman

Hi Simon I am a Brit been in the USA last 20yrs and have a 1999 996 C2. Good luck with your project. The manual release to Bonnet and boot on mine are on the sill as you open the drivers side door bearing in mind that mine is a left hand drive car.There are emergancy release cables on mine inside the drivers front wing and I believe inside the rear drivers side rear light somewhere. Thats in case any of the cables might break on the manual releases. Later models (and maybe yours) have electrical releases for the bonnet and boot lids which i know nothing about. You have to go in via the fusebox in the drivers front foot well. You can read more about that in these forums if need be. If you want to drop me aline Mike@ex-lancs.com I will do my best to answer any questions. I have done alittle, but not much, DIY work on mine since I got it a year ago. I dont envy your job Simon but good on you mate.

C4CRNA

you lost me at squab

Partsguy

ROTFLMAO

Glad it wasn't only me.

petonic

In the US, we pay to have the Porsche emblem on our seats. In the UK, they get an embossed bird instead.

SSST

Googled it. It's the bottom cushion of the seat.

simon996

Thanks guys. Apologies for the "squab" confusion - you're right, it's the bit you sit on!

It's currently got a fan heater and a dehumidifier going 24/7 which seems to have made a big difference to things. The mould is now all gone, but some staining remains.

My biggest question at this stage is regarding the electrics (surprise, surprise!) I think the immobiliser is pretty much shot. Unfortunately, a couple of resistors (about 1.5mm long) on the PCB have come lose. I've got one of them, but the other is nowhere to be found. By the looks of it, the fuse on the immobiliser board blew, so I was quite hopeful about it maybe functioning again, until closer examination revealed the resistor issue. It and the DME have been thoroughly dried and cleaned and I'm planning on finishing off cleaning and checking the electrics this weekend and attaching a battery, just to see where I am.

Am I right in thinking that if I get hold of a matched DME, immobiliser and key head, I might be in business? Will I still need to get things coded if it is a full set?

I'll keep this thread updated with pics and progress.

C4CRNA

I would also clean what you can with a mild bleach solution to kill off any remaining mold.
Was it fresh water?Much better than salt if you have a prayer to get the electronics straightened out

soverystout

Good Luck with the car. I hope you only paid a few quid for the car.

Van

Mfletch (I believe that's his name) rehabbed a fire damaged 996. Find this threads and I think you're in for some good reading.

simon996

Apologies for the lack of updates - work has got in the way. Thanks for all the advice though - great reading!

Right, bit more progress today. Sort of...

Finally received a matched dme/immob/key set yesterday (after being sent one without a key) from a Porsche salvage yard. The set is from a 2000 3.4 tiptronic, so I have my suspicions as to whether it will do the job or not. Quite aside from the fact that it's from a tiptronic and mine is a 2001 manual, it seems to be missing the brass connector from the immobiliser control unit. Does anyone know what this is? It looks a bit like an antenna connection. Is it vital?

Undeterred, that has been installed and I put some power through the system. Driver door unlocks and various clicking and clunking noises, so things are at least beginning to show signs of life.

I removed the coils and plugs (that's a fun job!) and noticed that one of the plugs seemed to be damaged, with one of the legs touching the insulator. On closer inspection, it doesn't seem to have been hit by anything (eg a cylinder!) but I've never seen a plug in that sort of shape (image attached).

I've turned the engine with a bar on the crank pulley. No water came out, so that's encouraging.

At this point, I thought it might be worth trying to get the engine to turn with the key. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to want to do anything. The ignition lights come on, the clunking and clicking happens (mostly from the immobiliser unit) and then nothing. First schoolboy error was not depressing the clutch, but that doesn't seem to have made any difference.

I suspect the lack of coils and plugs is preventing anything working at the moment, so that will be sorted tomorrow morning, but am I missing something simple?

One thing I did notice whilst I was doing the plugs it that there seem to be drain plugs on the underside of the exhaust. (images attached) I removed those and about 250ml of water trickled out. It's almost as if Porsche meant the car to be flooded...

RPMulli

Haha this is too funny, you must really want a 911. I can see this car being a headache for years to come. good luck!

aadrew10

LOL drain holes