kalyan

Super excited!! I got a PPI done on the car (996TT) and here are the results. I want your opinions on this. I think I am going to make an offer and buy this car! The mechanic says no Range 2 over revs. I have not spoken to him yet since he sent me the report via email. I will call and chat with him a bit more and make an offer tomorrow on the car.

PPI Results:
Compression test and leak down are great 225 and less than 4% across the board.
Brakes 90% Ft /Rr ...Rotors rusted from sitting undriven (need replaced).
No signs of coolant leaks frt to rear.
Water pump looks Original and unmodified (most pump tubes that come loose are in a racing mode where they are very hot).
No oil leaks from engine or trans.
Lower side of engine is dirty from dirt sticking to cosmolene .
Has seepage from the Hydro pump quick disconnect lines(normal) and again at the slave cyl.quick disconnect line.
Has seepage at threaded connection at clutch feed line under floor pan (not normal) but is seepage not leakage, may just need to be tightened.
19" Champion wheels.
Tires have good tread but are dated '07 frt and '10 rear, frts are cracking from age (need replaced).
Left rear wheel as curb rash @ 1/2 way around (not terrible) but there.

Ignition system
Spark plugs look fairly new (Bosch Super) coils look OK.
All lights working.
Both frt side markers are smoke colored ( may not pass inspection?)
Left rear tail light has small chip out of lower inner edge @ 1/4" sq.
Head lights are starting to show age w/sand blasting from road, ( could be buffed out) .
Folding top works well and is in good condition.
When roof is down you can see a noticeable difference in the color (faded) of the fabric @ roll bar hoop area.
Two very small scratches on rt side window trim @convert top. Both outer rocker covers are missing a few clips so not fitting as tight as possible.
There is an 8" scratch in the clear coat( not deep) on the RR 1/4 panel ( I think can be buffed out).
A few 1/16" paint chips but NO dings or dents.(don't know why but they haven't detailed car) could show much better if detailed.???
Has a few scuff marks on the backs of the frt seats, like a brief case was drug over them (hard backed not fabric).
Left frt seat has some wear signs on outer bolster area.
Has nice Lloyd floor mats.
No leaks from rear wing struts.
Rt tail pipe tip is curb scratched from the bottom (cant see from top) Muffler and Cats are aftermarket.
Tips are OEM.
Muffler "AWE" Cats are HJS Tuning. ECU is chipped and engine has 1495 hours on it, 49012 miles. Found no over revs.

CEL is off but had 3 DTC's stored.....
#1 Boost Pressure over limit( this would be from chipping)
#2 O2, B2 and
#3 random misfire and
#4 misfire on cyl. #4
These codes are old and again no light on at this time.

Alternator and battery are both new.
Fuel vent valve issue was repaired and we added fuel to retest.
Trans and clutch feel ok, and the clutch was replaced when the current owner purchased the car a few years ago. The clutch is standard OEM performance which is a little lacking on a chipped DME .

Over all the car looks very good with exception of brake rotors and tires. I think I'd have a pro detail and wax it , install new front tires at a minimum and all new brake rotors. Thanks and Good Luck. Its a sharp looking ride!

Look forward for your inputs!

Cheers,
-K

rpm's S2

Seems good. Might try 996TT board for some of the specifics.

frisbee91

It's in good shape for a 10-year-old car. The minor blemishes are repairable, just budget to address them. (Tires, rotors, rear tail light, detailing, water pump(?). Perhaps a new top in a few years)

Looks like a good PPI. Good catch on the old tires.

Good luck with the purchase. Let me know if you are flying out; maybe we can meet for a beer

kalyan

Frisbee91: I am not sure about flying there to pick up the car.

But, what surprises me about the report is that there is no type 2 revs. I called up Will and waiting for him to call me back.

joe-1972

Sounds nice... shop around for what kind of brakes you might want to use... and budget for some real good detailing.. and drive the snot out of if!

Imo000

The rotors will prefectly clean up from a 30min drive. Sounds like a good one

Had no idea the clutch line has a quick disconnect, that's awesome.

kalyan

I am getting it. Looking for shipping quotes and carriers. enclosed or open top? Any recommendations?

Barn996

Sounds like a nice turbo. As mentioned, the rotors will be rust free after a few miles and some light braking. Try the search feature for enclosed car carriers, GLWP

Macster

Compression/leak down tests won't even tell you if the engine runs or not.

Be sure someone takes the car out for a test ride then a test drive.

While I do not seriously believe the engine doesn't run you or someone knowledgeable about these cars needs to experience the car and its engine in the car's natural and intended state: with the engine running and the car on the road.

The PPI then wants to be done after the road test as the road test gives any leaks a chance to make themselves known.

Let me address some of the specifics of the PPI report.

I've already touched upon the importance of a test of the car and its engine. Compression/leak down tests can't tell you how the engine sounds and runs cold, warm or hot.

The brakes should clear up with use. Perform a "bedding in". Take the car out and up to speed then apply the brakes hard -- no tire noise or ABS triggering -- and slow the car down to say 30mph or so. Do not bring the car to a *Stop!*.

Release the brakes and take the car up to speed and apply the brakes again.

You can repeat this one more time.

This removes the rust and beds in the pads.

Afterwards you will have to wash the wheels/tires and brake hardware to remove the brake/rust dust. You might find the holes in the rotors are partially or completely blocked with dust/rust. You can clean these out with a small round file. Due this *before* you wash the brakes.

After you wash the brake hardware take the car out for a drive and use the brakes enough to thoroughly dry the hardware or the rotors will rust again.

Be sure the selector shaft seals are free from leak sign and the rear and front diff axle flange seals are leak free.

Lower left side of engine dirty is probably not from cosmoline but from a leak. RMS would be my guess. Budget $1800 to have this addressed.

Leakage from quick disconnect lines is not normal, it is a sign someone disconnected these or attempted to disconnect these and didn't know the proper way. These will have to be replaced and possibly the fittings they connect or and if the fittings are not available the tank/reservoir the fittings are a part of.

The power steering pump tank costs $1000 to replace, most of that is the cost of the tank. Labor is just an hour or two.

The other leak is probably due to a leaking clutch slave cylinder. I do not know what this cost to replace this runs as this repair (along with the clutch accumulator) was done under warranty on my Turbo.

After new tires mounted car should receive a proper alignment.

With misfires the coils are probably not ok.

The wing (spoiler) struts (cylinders) might have been wiped down. The wing should be raised and lowered a few times and then the system checked for any signs fluid leaks.

New spoiler from a dealer is $2K+.

The CEL may be off -- does the CEL even light up when the key is turned on -- but the codes happened not too long ago or they would not be present as permanent codes. (Codes so classified can only be erased by the DME after so many warm up cycles with the error absent.)

Chipping is hard on plugs and sensors. The #1 sensors are wide band and could be due to be replaced.

Misfires are likely due to coils and these need to be replaced. The plugs might need replacing too, depending upon how many miles they have because as I mentioned about chipping is hard on plugs, too.

(Even with a stock Turbo the plugs are due to be changed every 24K miles (or 4 years).)

mklein9

Macster nailed it, but my impression after reading this is that the car has not been well maintained. Who was the PO and why did it sit so long? What is the maintenance history?

There are too many little things wrong and you may be glossing over some of the potentially more serious issues too easily. Chipping + lack of maintenance would lead me to be very, very cautious.

kalyan

Macster,

Always appreciate your inputs! thanks!

The car passed RennFax and the fellow rennlister drove the car for 45+ minutes. Found not oil/coolant leaks under the car after the drive. I saw pictures of the underside and it did not seem there were leaks. See below.





I asked the mechanic about the leaks and he stressed that those were "seepage" and not "leakage". I also asked about the differential seals and he said there is no sign of leaks or recent cleanup.

The clutch slave cylinder was replaced 1000 miles ago and fellow rennlister saw the receipts and sent me pics of it (receipt). Also, the car was driven over 75 mph by the rennlister and he looked for any signs of leaks (also had the PPI mechanic check for leaks) and found none.

CEL - The mechanic thinks that it could be old and was not cleared completely. He thinks that the PO might have taken it some non-porsche shop who could not clear it completely. The mechanic has been servicing this car since Jan 2011 and he is well aware of the history of the car.

8000 miles ago, when the clutch was replaced, the mechanic strongly suggested the PO to replace it with high performance clutch plate since the car was chipped (PO purchased the car that was already chipped). But, the PO wanted to save $$ and went with OEM clutch. So, mechanic advised me to take is easy with the clutch.

I plan to replace all fluids when I get the car and even replace the plugs and coils. Also, plan to do more frequent maintenance since the car is chipped.

And, YES! I asked both Rennlister and mechanic to make sure the CEL light lights up and turns off after 6 secs and both confirmed that it does! I have seen some cars without a bulb.

MKlein9:

The PO purchased the car in late 2010 from a Porsche dealer and did a quite bit of service since then and the car has good maintenance records since late 2010. The dealer told the rennlister that the PO lost his license (DUI) and when I mentioned that to the mechanic, he laughed and said it is very true. The PO was known to be very thirsty all the time.

Macster

That car was driven some and received a clean bill of health is good news. It is so important these cars be driven as part of the used car check out.

I have not seen or heard of any "seepage" from the any of the quick disconnect fittings. However, I am not a professional mechanic and I have not seen everything. If you trust the guy that is telling you this is normal and nothing to be worried about then I'm wrong and the seepage is nothing to be worried about.

The codes listed are clearable by any OBD2 code reader (or even with a battery disconnect). (I have cleared P0300 and P030x codes several times in my 03 Turbo with an Actron OBD2 code reader/data viewer unit I bought over 10 years ago.)

Now I say clearable in the sense that as active codes that trigger a CEL the codes can be erased and the CEL extinguished. However, the codes could still be retained as "permanent" codes and as I covered before these are codes that can only be cleared/erased by the DME after so many warm ups with the triggering condition absent.

My OBD2 code reader does not read the permanent codes only active or pending codes. So after clearing the P0300/P030x codes while they were no longer active, and the CEL was dark, I do not know if they remained as permanent codes until after some time the DME erased/cleared them.

If these codes are of the permanent kind then they could be old codes that have not yet been cleared by the DME because the car has not been driven enough for the DME to clear them. Different codes require different number of warm up cycles before the codes can be cleared.

I have to note through I have allowed the CEL to remain on in my Turbo and the CEL goes just a trip or two later. The codes were misfire codes that caused the CEL to come on but not flash.

If the engine runs ok from a cold start through warm up all the way to hot and operates without any drama in all RPM ranges during an extensive test drive and you are comfortable with that then that is your call if you want to let these codes being present slide.

Chipped Turbo engines can be tough on clutches. Depending upon how much additional torque the engine is producing and how you drive the car the OEM clutch might last a long time or it might not last any time.

Nothing you can do about that other than be prepared to spend the money to have a suitable clutch fitted when or if this one goes out. When my car was in for a new RMS the clutch was checked and even with around 120K miles on the (original) clutch there was no measurable wear. With proper treatment the OEM clutch (at least with a stock engine) is quite durable.

It does read like the car was checked out more thoroughly than your first post indicated.

How much servicing you want to do after you buy the car if you buy the car is up to you. Of course, you want to make sure the engine oil/filter are reasonably fresh.

I like to replace the coolant every 4 to 5 years with fresh mix of anti-freeze (Porsche natch) and distilled water. I have this done at the local dealer.

A transmission/diff (rear and front!) fluid change might not be a bad idea. These are due at 90K miles iIRC but with a chipped engine the drivetrain gets more stress so an early fluid change could be called for. (Even with a stock engine I am a believer in early tranny/diff fluid changes.)

Plugs and coils are I think called for and O2 sensors, too, both the bad one indicated by the error code and its mate on the other bank.

frisbee91

Great advice from Macster.

I drove this car on Saturday. I'm no expert on the turbo, but the car handled, accelerated, and generally drove as expected. Drove it around town, and up to speed on the highway. Total time about 45 minutes. I also spent about 45 minutes going over the car, looking for leaks, running the spoiler up and down, checking typical stuff. I did not do any specific inspection of mechanical parts (other than driving it.) I sent all my notes to Kalyan. I thought the clutch operation was a bit strange... the pressure required to actuate the clutch seemed to change with driving conditions. I can't explain that, but passed the info to Kalyan.

Also had a look at the maintenance records since 2010. All service since that time was done by a local reputable Porsche-specialist indy, who also did the PPI.

My conclusions is that this is a solid car, but it's 10 years old, and might need some "stuff". As long as you are prepared for that, it might be the car for you. Good luck with the purchase!

kalyan

Frisbee91: It is confirmed that I am buying the car. Just need to transfer funds and get it shipped. I am leaning more towards getting it shipped and looking for quotes online.

Thank you very much for all your help in checking out the car!!

nick49

Have you personally looked at the car? The underside looks really dirty and with a lot of corrosion. Much more than my previous 996 which I sold at 61K miles. I'm in Utah though where it never rains and we generally don't drive Porsche's in the snow.

Lot's of exceptional cars out there, like my "04 but it's not for sale.