996. Any home Mechanic's out there ?

[pcn1]

Im looking at early 996's at the moment. Had a 944 S2 previously that I did most of the servicing myself on, apart from using a local Indie to put in a new clutch for me. Fortunatly I am a maintenance engineer and the guy's who run the local Indie are friends of mine so I can access techincal help.
I kept all the receipts in a nice history folder and had no problems when it came to resale time.

I did enjoy looking after my own "Porsche" and it helped with the running costs. So are there any 996 owners out there looking after their cars now, and how easy/difficult are you finding it ?
Can you access everything when the car is on the ground, or do you need ramps/jacks to get at certain service items ?

Thanks

[Pope]

There are less 'service items' on a 996, depending on MY. Most involved job is plugs and coils but an hour on ramps will see that done. Belt every 4yrs/48k - air box out and a 24mm spanner; 10 minutes well spent. Air filter at same time - another 10 minutes. If it's an early c2 the fuel filter is a bit tricky but oil and filter is simple.

Coolant is 'lifetime' - good luck as the same can't be said for radiators
Brake /clutch fluid every two years

Happy days....

[996TT02]

You need the car jacked up to do most stuff! Access via the engine cover is limited anyway.

Mine is a Turbo so it's even worse, but really, it's not the most convenient of cars to work on, and that is a major understatement.

With any luck you won't need much doing.

[pcn1]

Been checking out some Youtube clips. Some tasks seem very straight forward. Still wish I had my own ramp though, Im getting too old to crawl under cars now !

[fioran0]

You can work on lots by yourself. Infact the more you do bits and pieces, the more you can find to do.
Its all pretty straightforward though slightly daunting at first look.
Almost everything involves getting underneath though, so its a lot of crawling around if you don't have a ramp.

[L200animal]

Oil and filters easy, non turbo plugs ditto, brake pads and discs easy as is fluid change. Water pump tricky but doable (watch you tube first)serpentine belt change simple. I took front off mine and cleaned the rads to avoid build of leaves and stuff which can rot them out over time. Hoses can be difficult depending which ones. Changed a door lock so most likely issues should be within the ability of a keen amateur, but top tip wear a hat if you are thin on top cos the plastic moulding on the fan casing under the engine cover will open your nut up like ascalpel!

[DanoS4]

Echo'd.

One day, I aspire to be a novice Yet I've replaced air con and water rads myself (with extra hands available).
I've fixed broken wires and heated mirrors too.

Found it highly enjoyable.

That said, when it came to bore score, I bowed down greater knowledge and it's now at Hartech!


Dan

[Rockster]

pcn1 said:

Been checking out some Youtube clips. Some tasks seem very straight forward. Still wish I had my own ramp though, Im getting too old to crawl under cars now !

If I was going to do more than my own oil/filter services I'd "invest" in a small garage sized hydraulic lift that I could use to pick the car up easy at its lift points or with adapters support it by its tires/wheels high enough to be able to use a large mobile crawler to get under the car.

[EvoSlayer]

As above, good access to underneath is critical...I'm getting too old to be writhing around on my back! Inspection pit has served me well while twiddling around with 996 for last 6+ years. Most jobs have been covered with nothing too difficult, just a case of taking loads of stuff off until you get to the bits you need




Good Luck & Have Fun...

Edited by EvoSlayer on Friday 27th September 22:03