F1Store

Hi,

To make a very long story very short, I bought a 996 C2 about two years ago in PA, then exported the car to Sweden where it went through inspection with flying colors. About two months later I discovered the "famous" oil in the coolant :-(

After a lot of research I decided to install a second hand motor in the car. I left the car at my indy and we did all mods to the new engine, IMS, RMS etc etc. The motor also came with a warranty.

The car was in the shop from June last year until March when I got it back, and I was a bit upset that it took him so long to get it together. Since it was there so long the warranty on the motor expired (of course...).
After a few miles driving the car with the new motor the CEL came on indicating that there was a problem with one of the cam sensors. I had to take it back to my indy and it has been there ever since..., so it has been there for over 15 months now and nothing is happening. I guess he has no clue what to do and spends his time on other cars instead, I get all kinds of excuses.

The problem is that he has replaced the faulty cam sensor with a new one and the CEL still comes on which makes it impossible to get the car through inspection so it is illegal to drive it.

My best guess is that there might be a problem since we installed a motor from a Euro spec car into a US spec car, the indy told me there were different intake manifolds on them but he managed to put everything back and the engine runs great except for the CEL. Either something to do with that or some kind of problems with the connections or the computer.

Any input you can have might help, I can't do anything with the car at the moment, can't drive it, can't sell it, don't want to part it out when I have spent a ton of money with the installation of the new motor... and no one will pay anything for it with the CEL still on.

If he can't solve it in the near future I will have to take it to a Porsche Center and let them check it out but then I will have to deal with the problem of all the time and parts he has put in without solving the problem, not to keen on paying for a job that is not done..., if he had managed to have the car ready last fall I would still have had the warranty but I can't go back to them now a year and a half later.

Disappointed...

Ubermensch

If you don't have access to a competent mechanic (and it sounds like yours is borderline), you may want to just take it over to a dealership. They may not want to touch it since you did the motor swap, but it would be worth a try. At least there they'll be able to diagnose the fault with a PTS and identify the real root of the problem.

F1Store

Maybe I should point out that he only works on Porsches, mainly turbos and GT3's, I think he has a GT2 himself. He is regarded as a good mechanic and I was referred to him by a guy that always services his turbo there.

Even the Porsche dealership knew about him so he should have been up to the job but it seems that it is not the case with my car.

Macster

Being regarded as a good mechanic and being one are two different things.

Not every mechanic can solve every problem. The good ones know that and tell the customer. The not so good ones don't...

What are the error codes?

Added: Maybe I should state I'm not saying I can help but I'll tell you that way before 9 months passes...

Hurdigurdiman

I am referring now to a dodge caravan we have where the CEL came on. Thinking back we had a slight front end smash repaired and the mechanic forgot to put back an air feed pipe in the correct place into its holder. Consequently the pipe rubbed on the fan belt and slowly but surely wore a pin ***** hole into it causing too much air intake which made the cel light come on. Seeing as you have a new engine in the car with slightly different intake manifolds then that is probably where it is sucking air into the system and throwing the light. OR Did the indi forget to connect something causing the light to come on. Don't give up hope. It's probably something very simple. When I had the Auto Zone check the cel light they told me it threw up 3 codes all stating about air intake but just where to look. God only knows. The mechanic spotted it straight away and put a new part on the dodge and replaced it into the holder it ould have gone after the repair. As Macster says. Take it to a Porsche dealer and let them run the correct testers on the car. They can tell you the code and maybe you can fix it yourself or get them to fix it for you.

knfeparty

I would invest in a durametric at this point if I was you. Costs about the same as having the dealership scan it for you once...

6ta1

did your mechanic reflash the ECU to the euro spec maps? if not that might be as simple as the ecu looking for the secondary air injection system for emissions that I would guess your mechanic didn't put back on since it doesn't come on eu spec engines

F1Store

Thanks for all advice, I do have the Durametric, but can't use it now since the car is at the shop, I will try to get the codes from the mechanic.

6ta1, good advice, I have no idea if he has done that or not, but I guess he has not done it, I will definitely check that with him.

pfbz

Sounds like the shop has zero interest or motivation in fixing your car. I assume he is fully paid, plus he has your car in his workshop?

Tough situation, since any new shop will basically start at ground zero with troubleshooting assuming nothing. Could be a costly process...

Curious who decided to replace the motor? Did you rule out heat exchanger and aos/vapor separator systems? Even if it was a cracked head, they evidently can be repaired fairly reasonably as long as not too much collateral damage has occured.

Soaringman

Yes I would put more , a lot more pressure on you mechanic, he just letting your car sit month after month. He's taken a lot of your money already time for him to produce, dont be passive, be aggressive , squeekie wheel gets the greas

F1Store

I agree, he seems not so interested in fixing the car, the situation is a bit complicated with the fact that he has had it for so long and spent time and parts on it without fixing it so there will be an issue if i decide to take it to the Porsche dealership, but that is a decision I have to make soon since I can not have it ilke this for much longer.

He has a lot of cars in the shop so he is likely more interested in the fixing the "easy" cars he has there which will give him a quick pay check.

As Macster pointed out, I guess he has no clue.., it would have been better if he had told me that he can't fix it.

pfbz, it was my decision to replace the motor after I checked the costs for rebuilding the old motor over here, very few shops do it and it is very expensive and so it was more cost effective and if they had done the job from the beginning it would have taken a lot less time to install the new motor than to wait months for another shop to have the time to rebuild the old motor.

If I recall I think one of the codes are P1341 (but I am not sure) and the other one something with the air injection which could be explained if the ECU is looking for the secondary air injection system if that has been removed.

F1Store

Soaringman, I will...

Macster

P1341 is not the camshaft position sensor but the VarioCam solenoid (or actuator).

The solenoid is I hear tell not a big job to replace on the 996 If I'm right you can have this done.

Then you can drive the car and if the error comes back think about replacing the actuator.

Replacing the actuator is more involved to replace. (For my 02 Boxster the solenoid/actuator job cost around $3K, about half parts cost -- those things are expensive! -- and the rest labor.)

Up to you but I would probably seek out another shop, even a dealer, to do this work. The dealer can test the solenoid with its diagnostic computer. The problem is the test can't distinguish between a bad solenoid or actuator.

I read that there is more on this subject at the Pelican Parts web site. I've not been there to see what's posted but you might check it out and learn what you can.

After you get the P1341 error dealt with tackle the secondary air injection problem.

b8_rdc

Oh yikes. What year engine is your car and what year engine was placed in the car? P1341 can be easy or really messy.

F1Store

The car is a -99 and the motor is from a -01. Spoke to the mechanic at the shop today but he was "busy" and asked to call me back in 10 minutes, he never called... surprise...

Also spoke to a lawyer and the Porsche dealership so I am on the case.

The Porsche dealership thought the engine would work in the car but that you need to change the software in the ECU to Euro spec instead of US spec and the shop where it is should not have access to that software, so they will probably never get it to work properly.

I will see if I can call the shop tomorrow and see what they say. It is time to take the car to the Porsche dealership instead.

What a mess...