FRUNKenstein

It was intermix rather than an IMS bearing failure. He tried to borescope the heads to see if it was just a cracked head, but couldn't find anything. There are several modes of failure that could lead to the same symptoms, most of which would result in rebuild/replacement of the motor, so that's how he landed here. Joe can correct me if I'm wrong.

Carlo_Carrera

I would add leaky front differential flange seals to this.

Macster

A rebuilt or remanufactured engine is while nice is not necessarily needed.

Some owners facing your situation have replaced the dead engine in with one sourced from a salvage yard.

There are risks involved doing this to be sure. But if the basic platform is sound you can get the car back on the road for far less than you would spend for a used Turbo that itself didn't need tons of love to bring up to spec.

Unless you have exceptional luck or exceptional skills in used engine evaluation you need to be able to rely upon a highly trusted Porsche tech to help guide you down the right path to help you get a good replacement candidate engine and one that just drops in with no real custom work to make the engine fit/run right in your car.

fung0001

oh i see
thx a lot

jeleccion

I drove a very clean '04 TT cabrio today and overall, it felt and looked really good. The only thing that is a bit of a concern is that the clutch is a bit stiff until it warms up. Once it is at running temp, the clutch feels fine. From what I understand, this could be an acculator and/or possibly a slave issue. Can anyone discuss what this may cost to fix? Also, is this potentially big issue that can lead to other problems down the road?

Thanks,
Joe

napoleon1981

If it is the accumulator the pedal should become soft as soon as you start the car.

Changing the accumulator is not that big of a deal. The part is $120 bucks and you can DYI if you have some basic mechanical skills. The slave is a bit more expensive and harder to change. I would check the pentosin reservoir in de frunk, under the driver side panel right next to the battery box. If this overflows, leaks etc it is a sign of a bad slave.

I wouldn't shy away from a car that has these issues. They are easily addressed, and in my book there are only 2 996 turbos. One that have these issues, and ones that are going to have the issue.

jeleccion

Got it. From what I gather, it's things like this and the coolant pipes which you expect to fix. Just coming from a 996 C2 with a dead motor, I'm just being a bit careful.

Thanks!

Richbot

Oh Jesus lord help me I've registered on rennlist.

Thanks for the thread all, very helpful.

Thoughts on cars with sub-35k miles? Anything on these that rots/fails when it sits a bunch? Or just lots of common things that won't have been fixed properly yet? Looking at cabs and it would seem they don't get driven as much and change hands more often

there are two '04 cabs with 13k and 30k miles for sale near enough to tempt me right now that look nice enough but of course they do from a distance, they're presented by dealers who know how to present a car.

Macster

There can be a problem with leaks if a car is not used enough. The seals dry out and shrink. Then when the car is used the seals leak.

Hard to know what the threshold is but I would expect an '04 with just 13K miles -- ~1100 miles per year average -- is probably on the wrong side of the low miles threshold. The 30K miles car -- 2500 miles per year average -- is probably close to the wrong side but not over it, but really no one can know for sure.

I can tell you I bought a low miles (~10K) Turbo in June 2009. It has a 6-speed selector shaft leak at around 30K miles. The CPO warranty had a new transmission installed.

The CPO warranty expired on time in June of 2011. Between around 50K miles and 120K miles the water pump leaked, the RMS leaked, the front diff axle flange seals leaked, the spoiler hydraulics leaked, the radiators leaked (at 130K miles). Heck, even the rear view mirror leaked.

Just bad luck or were the leaks due to the car receiving just 1666/miles of use on average for 6 years? Who knows?

All you can do with a low miles car is make sure it has no issues when you buy it.

After you buy the car keep an eye on it and take care of things when they happen.

Have to point out that both cars with 13K and 30K miles are still "new" cars in that they have not covered 50K miles which is the warranty mileage. Might point out my Turbo between 10K miles and a bit over 50K miles developed a number of "new car" problems that thankfully the warranty covered. Shifter broke. The previously mentioned leaky transmission. Noisy idler roller/tensioner bearings. Clutch accumulator. Clutch slave cylinder. Even though the car was 6+ years old it was the miles that brought out the problems.

Be sure you give any car you are serious about a good road test. This starts with a 15 mile test ride then back at the starting point you switch seats and drive the car over the same 15 mile route. You must experience the car on the road.

After then check all systems are functional. From wipers to spoiler. From sun roof to seat memory.

If after the test ride/drive and your used car check out if you like the car and believe you can buy it for an agreeable sum then arrange for a PPI.

Among other things this gets the car in the air so a careful check can be made that no leaks are present. This part of the reason why a longish road test is important. The engine/car must get up to temperature and remain there for awhile to give any leak a chance to show itself.

rmc1148

Bought my car with 12.5k miles had for four years never a leak other than washer on turbo drain. I have had many low mile cars and they have been on average less headaches and costs than my higher mile cars.

arkaid

I bought a car with slightly higher miles than that (right around 37k when I purchased) - for me, the biggest thing was having the prior owners' maintenance records. The PO gave me a big stack of papers going back to 2008 which gave me comfort that the major service items had been taken care of. I'd say for any lower mileage car it's the same, just make sure you have records and note that a couple big ticket item replacements aren't necessarily a bad thing.

Also, macster's info in this thread so far is pretty invaluable to anyone looking for a 996TT. Just felt like I had to give some credit.

jeleccion

I recently sold my '99 C2 cabrio and am now in the market for a new 911. I'm somewhat caught between a 997.2 cab and a 996 TT (coupe or cab), but I've also been seeing some really good deals on later 997.1 models. I'd be interested in your feedback on:
-996 TT seems really solid performance wise, but of course being an older car, the creature comforts are somewhat dated. Aside from some the occassional DE event, I don't plan on tracking the car much. So is the TT wasted?
-I've read that '07 and '08s are much better from a reliability standpoint than the '05 and 06 models, but how much more reliable are they? I know going with a 997.2 would make more sense, but what kind of chance am I taking with a later 997.1?
-Lastly, 997.2 or 996 TT. They go for around the same price depending on mileage and trim. Again, all things being equal and I'm not a big track guy. DE and Auto X from time to time is all, so what makes more sense?

Thanks,
Joe

Freddie Two Bs

996tt in stock form is much more of a grand tourer than a track car. Not wasted at all if you don't take it to the track, although I recommend doing it once just for the kick of seeing triple digits on the speedo.

Clearly I'm biased but I say 996tt all the way. Creature comforts, depends. The only thing I find myself wanting is sirius radio. Couldn't care less about all the electronic stuff they put in today. Actually, less is more for me.

Carlo_Carrera

^ I wouldn't sell the track prowess of 996 Turbo so short. According to the lap time times and performance data coalesced by this website a 996 Turbo is damn close to an even match with a 996 GT3. Do a little suspension work on the Turbo and it will beat a stock GT3.

http://fastestlaps.com/comparisons/uirf0d4t7efj

Freddie Two Bs

No doubt, I didn't mean to sell the 996tt short track-wise, just wanted to say its primary dna is grand tourer, kinda like the front engined 12-cyl Ferraris are the GTs vs the 8-cyls mid engine are more track kind of cars, so if someone knows they not gonna go to the track with the 996tt, that shouldn't deter them from buying it.