joseph mitro

Hey guys what's up?
Just purchased a 99 996 yesterday. Silver, gray, 6spd, 88k miles, $15.9K USD. Cosmetically fantastic with only 2-3 very minor paint chips.

Mechanically it seems good so far, except about 20 miles down the road the CEL came on. I took it back to the used car lot, they ran a diagnostics, and got a 1123 (O2 sensor).

Mechanically I'm very savvy, and I drive an E46 M3 daily. With code 1123, that's not a bad O2 sensor, but indication of a problem higher up the line, is this correct?

Probably no big deal, but I'm reading about all these failures in these cars and it seems pretty scary. RMS, IMS, D-chunking. OUCH. Give me some reassurance......

2K7TTMIA

Welcome Joseph Congrats on your acquisition. You mention the car is cosmetically fantastic; check for clues to any repaint or bodywork. How's the interior? Any electrical issues? Even though not 100% accurate, did you get a Carfax?

Not familiar with the 1123 code, pry have to troubleshoot at this point, unless the car dealer is willing to help you at this point.


Have you put the car up on a lift? Pretty much , you have to do a POST purchase inspection. Check for leaks from top to bottom. Inspect the coil packs and plugs, all filters, MAF, all hoses, suspension, tires, (alignment), brakes, fluids , coolant and pentosin reservoir and if you are up to getting an oil analysis. In what condition are the other fluids? Any proof they've been serviced?
If you're all in at this point, then get to learning all about these water-cooled cars.. From you're avatar pic and join date, seems you are already there mechanically....

Sunset, Suncoast, Pelican, et al...

joseph mitro

Thanks 2K3TTMIA. It's a 6spd manual.

Carfax is clean, the VIN numbers all match, and there is no evidence of paintwork that I can see.

I plan to check the car out quite a bit here at home as the weather should be nice today.

No maintenance/repair records were included with the car. Is there any way to inquire about them through a Porsche dealer using the car's VIN number? I have no idea if the RMS has been updated.

911 Crazy

Welcome and GL. Pics?

2K7TTMIA

Yes, if you ask the Porsche dealership near you to run the VIN, see if they can come up with some helpful info. The Carfax should show the last time it made it to a P dealer also, and location. If you are inclined to drop the trans to inspect the clutch and associated items (AOS, oil cooler, coolant lines, IMS, RMS), then take the opportunity to do some preventative maintenance if it shows no evidence of it being done.

Oh yeah, PICs or you're just trolling in the water cooled forums for sh*ts and giggles...

Rapewta

Welcome.
I too have a 99. Artic silver 6 sp coupe.
P1123 reads out as...
Fuel system
Monitoring of long term fuel trim factors.
Criteria... long term fuel trim additive, system too rich (Bank 1)

Hope that gets you in the right direction.
I got the info straight out of a On-board diagnostic trouble code list for
1999 996's.

The OBD2 hand held unit that you plug into your car is handy to have.
Some can actcually change parameters and more.
The one I have is a $69.00 unit that at least can reset the CEL and tell you what caused it.
Good luck.

kromdom

ideally, this link helps with a PREpurchase Inspection (PPI) but in your case, can still be useful as a POSTpurchase Inspection: LINKY>>> https://rennlist.com/forums/911-foru...immermann.html

ivangene

HEY NOOB post some dam pics

pfbz

Maybe look through this thread and this thread.

My guess is that it needs a new MAF sensor. You can try cleaning it with electrical contact cleaner, but that really only helps if the sensor is contaminated (does the car have an aftermarket oiled cloth filter like a K&N?) rather than just drifted out of spec as they will do over time.

The OE part is pricey (~$500?), but I think you can get acceptable Bosch OEM replacements for half that. Relatively easy to change as well, but you'll need a Torx T-20 security bit (post in the middle) to get the sensor out.

Also be aware that '99's used two different MAF sensors depending on the model/egas. Is yours a straight C2?

The way fuel trim works (oversimplified, of course) is the MAF sensor tries to measure the air accurately to get the fuel ratio right, but then the 02 sensor sniffs the post-combustion mixture to see how well it did (a closed loop system). If it's too rich (or lean), it adjusts the 'trim' in the ECU which are used to calibrate the MAF readings. When the calibration adjustments start to get too large, the ECU throws up CEL codes, usually an early warning for MAF (or O2 sensor) failure. The mixture is likely still being trimmed perfectly, the CEL is often just a warning that the ECU is starting to make quite large corrections to the MAF readings.

joseph mitro

LOL, here's a quick photo from yesterday. Was cleaning out the second garage so I have a place to put this thing. The M3 daily is in the background.





pfbz - good guess!! yes it does have a K&N filter on it (as well as one of those awesome GFORCE PERFORMANCE CHIPS!!!). When the mechanic pulled the code, his comment was it needed a new throttle position sensor. However, in either case.....wouldn't I get a code for both banks of cylinders instead of just one? with only one cylinder bank, that tends to indicate either a leaky injector or higher fuel pressure for the one side from what I've read.

I've read through as many of the threads I can find on that code and overall it doesn't seem a big deal really. I may just clear it out, drive the car again and see if the code returns.

EDIT.....as for things not working......the turn signals don't cancel (looks like I need a new stalk unit), spare is shredded, and headlights are terribly flaky. The car has clear paint protection film on the front end so I'm sure that accounts for the beautiful lack of paint chips

chsu74

You can buy a new MAF sensor from Autohaus AZ for way cheaper than $500. A 99 with throttle cable is even cheaper than the egas MAF. It should be around $200.

I would look to clean out the throttle body instead of replacing the throttle position sensor FYI.

Car looks really clean and digging the sport seats.

I guess there will be people who comment on Mk1 996s worth above $20K hiding from this thread.

ivangene

sweet mother of cream puff's

what a great looking car!

joseph mitro

Thanks guys. I bought the Excellence online review prior to purchasing, and the price for this car seems in line with what was documented there.
It's hard to convey in photos, but the car truly is very clean with the exception of some minor surface defects in the center console between the seats and some wear on the shifter ****. No oil drips on the ground yet.

I made a snap decision without a PPI, but it looks like a nice car so far.

ECS Tuning

Congrats that's preeeeetttttyyy and exceptionally clean. Any plans for modifications ? The MAF for cars with the throttle cable is 99660612300, the MAF for cars with electronic throttle is 99660612400.

pfbz

Looking good! Similar to the '04 C2 I picked up a few months ago... $16K seems like a nice price for a very clean, semi-low mile '99. Most that are cheaper than that are not going to be beat up, high miles, bad carfax, or some combination of the above! I definitely paid more for a newer, lower mileage '04, but would have happily grabbed a '99 if I found one similar to yours...

I wouldn't worry bout the RMS, it's only a leak and will let you know when it needs changing. Upgrade the rear IMS bearing if/when you put in a new clutch, maybe carefully check the filter and get an oil analysis on your next oil change to look for any signs of metals.

I'd dump the K&N, go back to a stock paper filter, and try cleaning the MAF to hopefully prevent more CEL's, but even if it needs replacing, not a big deal. I highly doubt it is the TPS... Bosch MAF's just plain wear out, I've had to replace them on several vehicles and I don't think TPS's are known as a problem area.

On the cosmetics, there are a few companies that refinish the paint on the consoles, and 3M Dinoc can also cover it nicely and cheaply if the paint is chipped up. Clear front side markers are cheap, and 996.2 or 997 style depo/dectane rear taillights pop right in at reasonable cost and can take several years off the car.

Quick shot of my '04-996-C2 in Polar Silver...