Petza914

If you use sealant, don't make a bead on the gasket, just a smeared coating on both sides.

BamaPCar

Thanks for the help everyone! Greatly appreciate guys pitching in to help out a total stranger like me. I've been working on my owned-since-new 203k-mile '07 BMW 335i for years (will be turned into a track toy soon since it's no longer a reliable daily driver). This is my first Porsche though, and I'm finding they certainly have their unique quirks/nuances. My car is a 74k mile '06 C2S (997.1) that I bought 2 months ago.

I realized the CEL was likely triggered by me running the car without the airbox. I also changed the serpentine belt and wanted to make sure it wasn't slipping, etc. Should have thought about the fact that doing that disconnects the mass airflow sensor! I do have access to a PIWIS III, so hopefully I'll be able to check and clear the codes tomorrow.

I definitely posted this when I was tired, discouraged, and stressed because I was up until 4am working on the car because I had to leave town hours later. I love working on cars, but probably should have waited until I had a full weekend available instead of a single day. I always find I am a comically slow mechanic....but I didn't go to tech school for this stuff either.

I'll likely go the non AirLift route for now until I can get an AirLift and do a proper flush. Old coolant is pink Porsche coolant (and still reasonably clean) and I ordered 2 gallons of new pink Porsche coolant. Thanks again for the advice and help, Pete! Still have you to thank for saving my butt too last month when I thought my car may need a $10k overhaul due to camshaft deviation, when you (correctly) suggested it was a faulty PSE flap.

Thanks, helps when someone understands! I'm only in my mid-30s, but I have had bad knees since surgery on one of them in high school....and I just need to hit the gym more. Being contorted in weird positions for long periods of time definitely take a toll on the body. I have access to a lift but had to keep the engine supported so it had to stay close to the ground for this job. I'm STILL sore!

I've seen other report spending 45 mins - 6 hours. My job was twice as long as the longest estimate. Not sure if that means I'm TOO cautious or just incompetent.

I did have to cram it all in one day, so I exhausted myself and likely took longer because of it. If you have the luxury of setting aside a whole weekend for it, do it and take many physical and mental breaks. I have an accounting/finance job that often requires long hours, and a girlfriend 2.5 hours away that I make strong efforts to see every weekend.....so I rarely have free time for projects like this. This weekend I just happened to have one day free.

Floyd540

You are going to be fine and the car will be fine. It is actually pretty hard to hurt these cars. As to how much time it takes, it does not matter as it is a hobby and in theory the more time the more experience the more enjoyment. When you get older this will start to make more sense. For crawling under cars, age is not the only variable. A friend of mine was 100 years old and still working on his '32. Another guy is less than 30 will not get under a car because he suffers from claustrophobia. One thing I found is that when using jack stands (My favorite and most safe method for raising a car at home) is to get it up on the stands and then go around and go up at least one more notch (or more ) on the stands. You will still not be at the highest position on the stands. This helps a lot on reducing the contortions and agony from being under the car.
Enjoy! and tech school is not a requirement but a good history of skinned knuckles and bruises will document your experience.

Wayne Smith

This. Exactly this. My chest squeezes against to bottom panels with jack stands. But at $2300 (self installed) my two post lift has paid for itself multiple times.

KevinA

Rather than start a new thread, I am updating my progress on this one.

I was so anxious to get a jump on the water pump and thermostat replacement project, I took a crack at the exhaust nuts/bolts on Wednesday night (I had sprayed them with PB Blaster multiple times over three days). I was able to get four of six without too much trouble. On the other two, the nuts started moving, but the square end of the bolts (which are like a carriage bolt) popped out of the clamp, and then they got rounded out, so I had to cut off the heads (I used a dremel- took a little while).

I was planning to jump in with the rest of the project tomorrow morning, but after getting home from work, I went out to the garage to plan my strategy. I started to drain the fluid, then I looked at the exposed (easily accessible bolts) bolts, and figured I would try to take some of them off. Next I moved onto the more difficult ones, and then next thing I knew I was pulling out the water pump. I was shocked at how much play there was in the pulley when I pulled it off. I have 74,000 miles, and replaced it since I heard it making some noise, and am glad to have caught this before it caused a problem.

All of the prior postings on Rennlist on this topic helped guide me this far. Many thanks to BamaPCar for this recent posting, Petza914 for the suggestion as to the sealant, and The Bruce's (Overly) Detailed Guide to Replacing Your 997.1 Water Pump. Looking forward to finishing up tomorrow.