November 2013 - P3 Autokräfte

The truth behind the Intermediate Shaft (IMS) Bearing?

Every so often we have someone ask about the intermediate Shaft (IMS) Bearing in the 996 and Boxsters, and what they should do, and how worried should they be.

In short, the Intermediate Shaft (IMS) Bearing in the M96/M97 engines are nothing to loose sleep or fret over. In all of our combined years working on Boxsters and 996 era cars that share the same engine, in total, we have personally heard of two cars in the area that had IMS failures. With a percentage of failures this low we acknowledge they happen, and we don’t disregard them. There are hours of in-depth reports, reviews, DIY how-to’s, and a number of other sources and forums discussing this issue. We have read at length, and know this issue very well, but can only clearly rely on our own years of experience as to ‘what you can expect’.

When changing the oil, we perform a full inspection of the oil filter to look for ‘glitter’ or metal flecks. This is a good indication that the IMS is starting to fatigue.

You can, but we don’t recommend performing an elective or preventative IMS Bearing fix as a single service due to the high cost of labor associated with this replacement. However, if you are having your clutch serviced or replaced or having other engine/transmission removal type services performed we highly recommend having your IMS bearing replaced with an upgraded unit.

The talk around the IMS bearing is no reason not buy a 996 or Boxster. They are fantastic cars, and are a blast to drive. Overall, we recommend oil changes at closer intervals, complete filter inspection, focus on enjoying your Porsche, and leave the extra internet noise behind.

Best Regards, P3 Autokräfte

Tech Q&A: Should I use a heavier engine oil in the summer and a lighter oil in the winter?

We usually recommend to adhere to manufacturer’s recommendations on oil viscosity. With that said, I personally prefer to go to the heavy side of the recommended oil viscosity for a given climate range. At the shop here in Dayton, Ohio we use Motul 5W-40 for all late model German cars (except BMW M series) for all four seasons. 5W-40 easily covers the viscosity needs for these cars in nearly any conceivable temperature we are likely to see in our part of the world. For BMW M Series we use Lubro Moly 10W-60 year round because that is what BMW recommends. The only oil related issue that I disagree with the manufacturers on is the extended change interval now used by all the German makes. Porsche recommends 20,000 miles or once annually between changes, BMW and Mercedes are both using condition based intervals that result in between 15 and 18 thousand mile changes. We recommend changing the oil in half the time the manufacturer recommends or at about 7500 miles.

Danny,
P3 Autokrafte

Tech Q&A: What should I do to my car when I get it out of storage, before I start enjoying it again?

Every man or woman should own this, it’s the “Booster Pac ES5000″. It’s the only one out of many of these devices on the market that should be considered in my opinion.

The reason is, even if you properly prepped your car for storage for a few months ago, and you either disconnected the battery during storage, or you had the battery on one of those maintainer gizmos (more than likely) the car will still need a jump to get started. It seems like more often than not, no matter what preparations were made for storage, after three months of not being started/charged, the battery just doesn’t have enough power to turn the engine over. That is why you need the ES5000. It will start the car for sure. It’s better than the best set of jumper cables money can buy, which is why you need to own one even if you don’t store a car.

The other thing you should be prepared for is low tire pressure. Even if you didn’t have any slow leaks in any of your tires when you parked, the tires will almost certainly have lost some pressure. If they are just a little low, like 10 psi or less lower than specs, or lets say no less than 20 psi, then you will want to get straight to an air source after you get the car running. If you have a tire that is lower than 20psi then I would suggest you bring something with you to fill the tires. Either a portable air tank or a portable tire inflator (which you can operate off your ES5000 after you get the car started).

Personally, I prefer the portable air tank over the inflator because I can fill it up in my garage with my air compressor, then I don’t need to hassle with a power source for the portable inflator option. The downside to the air tank option is that you can only fit so much air in the tank and you might run out before all your tires are filled.

Here is a nice aluminum portable air tank from JEGS. Aluminum means light weight, which would make a difference when you’re lugging it around.Before you set off, give a quick glance under the car to see if any new leaks popped up over the winter that might alert you to and potential trouble. Check the fluid levels to be sure.

That’s about it. GO DRIVE! Enjoy the sun and the fresh spring air. Don’t forget to give that car a good hand washing after accumulating dust for three months. I would just call Asher’s (if you are in the Dayton area).

Danny,
P3 Autokrafte

Tech Q&A: What should I do to my car before storing it for winter?

What should I do to my car before I store it for the winter?

This is a pretty common question at our shop when the winter months are approaching or when someone is considering the first time purchase of a car they don’t anticipate driving in the winter. Here in Ohio, where the roads get the salt, you want to park that baby until spring.

In my opinion, the question is addressing about 3 months out of the year. We are basically answering “What should I do when I need to park my car for about 90 days?”

I know what you are thinking; do I need fuel stabilizer?, can I leave the oil in the car?, should I put the car on jack stands?, should I have the tires dismounted and hermetically sealed?. I always flashback to that scene from Back to the Future III when I think of this. You know, when Marty and 1955 Doc blast the DeLorean out of the cave where it has been stored since 1855. Cobwebs and dust all over the thing and the tires have completely rotted away… one of the best movies of all time if you ask me.

Since three or four months is a really short period of time as it relates to the atomic half-life of molecules lets just be practical in answering this question.

The main things you’ll need to be concerned about when putting your baby away for hibernation are as follows:

Battery:
You really should make sure your battery is in good shape and it is not too old (more than 5 years) when you put the car away for the winter. Make sure the charging system has been charging the battery properly during the previous warm months. If that’s all good then you’ll want to disconnect the battery’s negative cable while it is to be stored. This will minimize the “parasitic” drain while the car is not in regular use. Parasitic drain is the result of the various loads placed on the battery’s negative cable from consumers such as computer memory, clocks, security system and so forth that even older vehicles have. Many newer vehicles have the ability to go to “sleep” when not in use but there will still be draw on the battery from “keep alive memory”. The accepted normal value for parasitic draw is less than 25 milliamps. This is not much but it could drain a battery over the course of a few months especially if conditions are not ideal. It is even possible for a battery to become drained when it is disconnected, simply from electrons flowing through the dust particles laying on top of the battery! All of this is of course just an effort to try to ensure that when you do dynamite the cave entrance, the DeLorean will start.

Air in the tires:
The other thing to be concerned with is tire pressure. The air pressure in most tires will drop over time, therefore if you want to be able to drive the DeLorean out of the cave once you get it started, you will need to have air in the tires, assuming they didn’t rot off. It would be a good idea to be well aware of your tires’ leaking habits, if they have any, and get those repaired before storage time. Make sure the tires are properly inflated just before the car goes into storage. Even a little higher than manufacturer’s specs would be fine here. When you go to retrieve your auto several months later, for that wonderful first drive of the year, it will almost certainly have lower air pressure in the tires than it did when you parked it. 10 psi lower than when you left it 4 months ago would not be any surprise at all. In fact, the surprise would be if it didn’t lose pressure during storage. Assuming you will observe lower air pressure after storage, one of your first priorities should be to get straight to a source where you can properly inflate the tires.

Aside from taking the above precautionary measures, there isn’t much you should bother with for storing the car for the winter and if these fail you when you go to retrieve the vehicle you will virtually guarantee the success of your effort if you bring with you some means for checking/inflating the tires, and jump starting the battery.

There are a few other questions that I thought the normal reader would be wondering as I was writing these words, such as, “what about condensation in the oil, what about flat spots on my tires, what about using battery maintainers/chargers, should I have the oil changed before or after I store the car, etc..” but I really believe I answered the question rather completely above and that the other questions are topics all on their own.

Danny,
P3 Autokrafte

PS – I realize that many cars in my area have already been stored for the winter months, which we are deep in the throes of. I will be following up however with “What should I do to my car when I first get it out of storage?” I know you all are anxious for that!

Seat or chair?

or both?

Our good friend, Ted, worked out a great base design for these brown, vintage, Porsche 914 seats. We have the set in the shop showroom for customers to enjoy. The new shop is really starting to take shape.