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Hi all; NOOB here, Thanks for providing this great source for 986 owners. I have previously owned early VW's ( 1957 and back) and Mercedes SLK cars, which I worked on as required. I am a concourse trophy winner for a 1957 Type 1 I restored while in college (1982) . I was member 61 of The Vintage Volkswagen Club of America. I was a moderator for the Mercedes forum a couple of years back. I always wanted a Porsche, so here is my experience so far.

Two years ago I purchased a 2002 Boxster S with a Manual transmission, black on black and have been working on it ever since. It presently has just turned 60k miles. So far , I have personally performed the following repairs/fixes:

a new climate system display, removal of baby seat stickers on visors, de-badge trunk lid, new clutch and related parts, new RMS, upgraded IMS cover bolts, a new water pump. Rear tires, a K & N air filter, and new oils. low power steering fluid shows up and is still a mystery.

I also had a torn window ( vandalism ) so I opted for a Robbins glass window top, which makes the car look more like an old speedster from the back.

My next adventure is belt pulleys, since I have noise from those and replaced the belt with the water pump. Maybe the alt pulley?

In two years, I have driven the car about 9K miles. Always needing to do "something" to keep it going. Hopefully I am at the end of the nickle and dime stream. I paid $21k for the car in 2008, so way bellow KBB at that time. The vehicle makes up for tinkering by the way it drives. Although, I NEVER had a Mercedes need this much attention. Boy, that CL55 is sure looking... :eek:

Wish I was that handy. Would have saved myself $6K on just completed major maintenance and repairs*. What do you mean by IMS cover bolts? Did you upgrade the unit with the LN Engineering unit? I just had that done. I drive with much more confidence now and am more popular with the girls.

*Clutch/Flywheel, RMS, IMS uprade, axle boots, alternator, starter, 02 sensors, coolant/brake flush, oil change, fuel filter.

I read somewhere (renntech?) that the oem bolts will loosen up over time, fall out or just leak oil, so while I had the flywheel off to do the RMS, I changed the IMS cover bolts. Sunset sold me the parts ( I actually live 30 miles from them) and the new bolts were an upgrade they knew about. I did not have any symptoms, but for $10 in parts, it seemed a no-brainer.

By the way, your Recaro seats look fantastic! I hate to ask... but why the change and were they expensive?

well being that you're handy you should consider replacing the IMS with the upgraded LN unit. I was following a 996 owner who did this in his own garage without a lift and admitted to never having take apart a trans. He even fab'd up his own RMS tool from plumbing PVC. One of these days I'm going to sign up for some major auto repair training on the weekends.

My seats were only to be used for track and autocross but I liked the way it kept me sitting upright so I kept them in year round. I recently dusted off the stock seats to treat the leather and boy are those comfy. I got the seats second hand from a guy who was buying a 996 Turbo and needed the cash to complete the sale. I think I paid $2K delivered. They were selling for $3500 new at the time. They are snap to install as they use the exact same mounting points and require no extra hardware. The only drawback is that you sit lower so if your suspension is lowered your back will feel it...and parallel parking is a pain because you really can't twist your torso too far. and its a tight fit so if you're out of shape getting in and out will get boring fast.

I thought only the 2.7 engine needed the IMS upgrade? After having the whole thing apart to do the clutch and RMS. I am not looking forward to digging deeper for a while.

Thanks for the tip on the seats. I need comfort over style, at my age.

OK; replying to myself is well... RE: IMS

I finally did a thourough reading on the Porsche achillies heal. I SHOULD have upgraded the IMS bearing assy while I was there working around it. Doh!

That leaves me with frequent oil changes for now. I changed out my 4000 mile Mobile 1 0-30 to Castrol Syn 5-30 yesterday in fact. I was surprised at how dirty all that oil was. I flushed out the oil system a little by pouring two quart, one at a time, through the engine after a thourough drain interval. This moved quite a bit of old oil out and the final result was clean oil running into the drain pan after about 30 minutes.

I used an oem filter last time and again this time. Maybe an upgrade element or better yet a spin on conversion and a Wix filter whould be a better idea.

I will set aside some time and a few bucks to do this IMS bearing upgrade job.

Thanks for all the input.

don't kick yourself for not doing it the first time. At least you have the ability to tackle this job. If I were that useful, knowing what I know now, it would have been the first thing I modified...way before wheels, aero, seats, bla bla. Although this upgrade is only a recent development in Porsche world. I think this fix also makes your car more attractive come resale time. I'm mulling over a C4S for winter duty, if I do go that route (vs just waiting to buy an '09 in a few years) the IMS will be the first thing I do. The car will make a b line directly to my Indy mechanic.

Well If you want to upgrade your engine then you can buy new technology and if you want to buy a new car then try to make a perfect deal. IMS is the good idea for replacement. I am not sute but 2.7 engine need updation but if you want at any car you can upgrade it.

Perhaps a 986 hard top is in your future? I have been looking at that option for winter use. Seems like a budget option, rather than a second vehicle.