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Also new here just bought my first 997.2 GT3 and I just love it!
My only slight concern after closer inspection (I did not expect) was the amount of rust/corrosion on a lot of the bolts on and around the car, also the suspension itself and from what I can see the jacking points at the front of the car. Is this normal for a 13 year old car that has been in the UK? or is this something to start worrying about? on top the car really is clean and still under Porsche warranty, but I noticed a slight weeping of coolant from a bolt/plug at the back of the car (not enough to drip) so this is going into Porsche to get sorted, but now I am starting to worry about everything.
Unfortunately 997s and especially GT3 can suffer a bit underneath. GT3’s have less rust protection underneath than regular Carrera, etc..
With my car I try to avoid driving it in the months that the salt is on our UK roads and also I clean and protect the underside annually.
For the metal components i use ACF50, and for the painted surfaces under the car and wheel arches I use Bilt Hamber Dynax (Make sure you get the clear version)
The jacking points and front of the seals are exposed to stones being flicked up from the front tyres so can often need attention. Also if you are jacking the car up get some rubber pucks to protect the jacking points. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4x-Rubber...-127635-2958-0
If i were you, I’d give the car a gentle clean underneath the wheel arches, engine, etc and then after they are dry seal them with the products i mention above. Most of the rust I see on your car is superficial and often to be seen on 997. Under the wheel arches the spot welds are often the first to show surface rust. I’d clean, treat, dry, and touch them over with a touch up stick, then wax the arches (covering the brake discs with a bin bag).
ACF-50 is available for about £15 a can on Amazon. It will bring those engine bolts up like new and once dried on the engine block will add a level of protection.. Motorcyclists use it a lot.
I also see from your wheel arch photo that your car has the axle lift system…. These can fail, but a lot of info exists on this site on how you can fix them and save a fortune over the dealers who usually recommend a full replacement. :-)
Unfortunately 997s and especially GT3 can suffer a bit underneath. GT3’s have less rust protection underneath than regular Carrera, etc..
With my car I try to avoid driving it in the months that the salt is on our UK roads and also I clean and protect the underside annually.
For the metal components i use ACF50, and for the painted surfaces under the car and wheel arches I use Bilt Hamber Dynax (Make sure you get the clear version)
The jacking points and front of the seals are exposed to stones being flicked up from the front tyres so can often need attention. Also if you are jacking the car up get some rubber pucks to protect the jacking points.
If i were you, I’d give the car a gentle clean underneath the wheel arches, engine, etc and then after they are dry seal them with the products i mention above. Most of the rust I see on your car is superficial and often to be seen on 997. Under the wheel arches the spot welds are often the first to show surface rust. use clean, treat, dry and touch them over with a touch up stick and then wax the arches (covering the brake discs with a bin bag).
I also see from your wheel arch photo that your car has the axle lift system…. These can fail, but a lot of info exists on this site on how you can fix them and save a fortune over the dealers who usually recommend a full replacement. :-)
thank you for the reply, that’s some good reassurance, my friend this morning actually mentioned the ACF50, I was going to spend some time having a little clean up and protecting everything. Fortunately I can avoided the salty roads so will definitely be doing that. I was not expecting it to be concours condition but I was a little worried initially, but it is 13 years old now.
yes it does have the axel lift, I have also read they do fail, I will look into this too.
how are you liking yours? It’s only been a couple of weeks for me but I just love it so much. Defo a keeper
thank you for the reply, that’s some good reassurance, my friend this morning actually mentioned the ACF50, I was going to spend some time having a little clean up and protecting everything. Fortunately I can avoided the salty roads so will definitely be doing that. I was not expecting it to be concours condition but I was a little worried initially, but it is 13 years old now.
yes it does have the axel lift, I have also read they do fail, I will look into this too.
how are you liking yours? It’s only been a couple of weeks for me but I just love it so much. Defo a keeper
I’ve had mine since new, so defo a keeper! I collected it from the Factory in June 2010.
Touch wood, only issues I have had with mine in the 11 years are as follows:-
Aircon condensers will fail, easy to replace. I have just done mine. Parts are around £300 and taking the front off the car to do it is easy and will save a lot of OPC labour.
Axle Lift will likely give trouble at some point. It will usually be one of two SUCO pressure switches (Three on the system, but the third one just turns off the compressor when it reaches 18bar in the storage tank) These can be had for roughly £60 each. OPCs will charge £380 for the same part. If not that then likely to be the compressor motor drive belt which is £4 from RS components, Porsche do not replace this belt and insist on a complete new unit which is over £12k last time I looked
Starter Motor (replaced under warranty)
Porsche Batteries, which suck …. As soon as my car was out of warranty I replaced with a Bosch battery and haven’t had an issue since.
Is your car a Clubsport spec? Be interesting to see some pictures of the car and a run down of what extras the car has?
I’ve had mine since new, so defo a keeper! I collected it from the Factory in June 2010.
Touch wood, only issues I have had with mine in the 11 years are as follows:-
Aircon condensers will fail, easy to replace. I have just done mine. Parts are around £300 and taking the front off the car to do it is easy and will save a lot of OPC labour.
Axle Lift will likely give trouble at some point. It will usually be one of two SUCO pressure switches (Three on the system, but the third one just turns off the compressor when it reaches 18bar in the storage tank) These can be had for roughly £60 each. OPCs will charge £380 for the same part. If not that then likely to be the compressor motor drive belt which is £4 from RS components, Porsche do not replace this belt and insist on a complete new unit which is over £12k last time I looked
Starter Motor (replaced under warranty)
Porsche Batteries, which suck …. As soon as my car was out of warranty I replaced with a Bosch battery and haven’t had an issue since.
Is your car a Clubsport spec? Be interesting to see some pictures of the car and a run down of what extras the car has?
since new, that’s really cool! Again thank you for the advice, been very helpful already, making sure I have it all written down haha.
the AC in mine funny enough is not working, I assumed it might need just a top up? The big selling point for me was the warranty still on the car.
yes mine is a Clubsport, wheels were painted black by previous owner and a Porsche stripe added, I have added a Inconel bypass exhaust, which sounds incredible in my view.
Nice to see a Clubsport with the fixed bucket seats… Looks exactly the same as mine inside with those seats and white centre tunnel painted. Nice looking car. I bet that exhaust scares the neighbours? I just leave the solenoid unplugged on my stock exhaust to keep mine loud.
If aircon is not working it will be the front condensers. Warranty usually changes only the faulty one, but if front of the car off and system drained may as well do both condensers at once.
I’ve uploaded some pics with the nose off mine so you can see the condensers. Also loaded a picture of under the motor (My motor looked like yours underneath until I cleaned it with MUC off, and then treated with ACF50)
Nice to see a Clubsport with the fixed bucket seats… Looks exactly the same as mine inside with those seats and white centre tunnel painted. Nice looking car. I bet that exhaust scares the neighbours? I just leave the solenoid unplugged on my stock exhaust to keep mine loud.
If aircon is not working it will be the front condensers. Warranty usually changes only the faulty one, but if front of the car off and system drained may as well do both condensers at once.
I’ve uploaded some pics with the nose off mine so you can see the condensers. Also loaded a picture of under the motor (My motor looked like yours underneath until I cleaned it with MUC off, and then treated with ACF50)
😍 yours looks so nice and tidy, can’t wait to get some proper driving in mine next summer, just go in the garage and look at it most evening now haha.
yes the exhaust it’s a little lively, just love how it screams through the Rev range, the standard exhaust isn’t exactly lacking drama to be honest.
they juts don’t make them like they use to. I’d love to go for a drive if meet you sometime if that’s a thing, I’m near Heathrow airport area
😍 yours looks so nice and tidy, can’t wait to get some proper driving in mine next summer, just go in the garage and look at it most evening now haha.
yes the exhaust it’s a little lively, just love how it screams through the Rev range, the standard exhaust isn’t exactly lacking drama to be honest.
they juts don’t make them like they use to. I’d love to go for a drive if meet you sometime if that’s a thing, I’m near Heathrow airport area
A meet at some point sounds good, I am near Bristol area. I’ll probably SORN mine off the road soon with the weather starting to turn. Using it a little more at the moment as I am waiting for my new daily drive to be delivered.
I hear you when you say you just go into the garage and look at it… I fitted a beer fridge in my garage for that reason :-)
I love this product! I spray it on all nuts and bolt underneath, it creates a permanent barrier between metal and water/air. If I were to buy a new car, I would put this over frame/chassis edges too which is where rusting typically begins.
To answer your original question, that is more rust than I'd prefer to see on a 997 GT3, however, that would be very typical (even good) for a car that has been driven year round where there's residual salt on the road. At this point, 997 GT3's are 10+ years old at best and that means there are going to be a thing or two here and there that isn't perfect and that is ok. Especially for a car that you're going to drive and put miles on. I wouldn't be concerned with it at this point, just drive it and enjoy it.
That CRC product mentioned above looks good. I'd also consider using Fluid Film. The shop I use for some of my maintenance work had applied it for the previous owner as he intended to drive it on dry winter days. A lot of the 4Runner guys use it to prevent the frames from rusting out. They have great results with it.
10-06-2021, 08:37 AM
GT3 Gen 2 Rust
