When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Thank you all so much these are all fantastic pieces of advice. For people coming to this thread later I'm going to tag some things just so its easier to read:
- Get a copy of the factory service manual for my vehicle and treat this as the true single-source-truth document.
- Review some Youtube videos for the work I want to do BUT be wary and cognizant that its likely amateur workmanship.
- Get a solid set of tools (I'm putting together an excel sheet so I can have a comprehensive list); BUY ONCE CRY ONCE.
- Work my way up to bigger projects as I'm getting more comfortable with the car!
I'll probably just stick to taking my car to the shop for anything more major than oil changes at the moment and instead get familiar with working on my car using my miata as a playground.
I actually have a nice custom set of earplugs for concerts! Getting a second one for the car is a great idea!
I've tried NC headphones but they end up with a super weird whine sadly -- I'm less concerned with ear health (the volume inside the car is not very loud) but rather the annoyance of 4krpm @ 80mph for 3+ hours lol.
But a pair of earplugs might do the trick (albeit while dampening my music lol)
While you may bring the car to a pro, spend time reviewing what you think needs to be done before bringing it in.
if you read the forums, there’s always someone asking about a quote they got for work, where they are concerned, maybe getting charged to replace a water pump, and charged again to replace the belt.
The more you know about working in the car, the less likely you are to fall for some of the less than scrupulous businesses……
it won’t take long working on your car to realize what it should cost to replace a belt….
- Get a copy of the factory service manual for my vehicle and treat this as the true single-source-truth document.
Yes and no. As noted you need to be careful of the YouTube stuff, but often you can find tips there or on the forums that will make jobs a lot easier. I find it best to check a bunch of sources and then triangulate to the truth.
Sometimes the FSM has the hard way and there's an easy way. Like on my wife's Mini: if you follow the FSM for front struts you end up removing the lower ball joint and tie rods which is a real pain. YouTube has some good videos that show you how to do the job without that; it's just as effective but faster and easier. Or on the 987 to drain the manual transmission the FSM will tell you to remove the rear suspension cross braces and gravel shield (again, a real PITA). There are details on the forum on how to do what Porsche should've done in the first place and hole saw a drain hole in that shield and plug it with a plastic hole plug when you're done.
So treat the FSM as gospel, but don't be afraid to use some online heresy if it makes the job easier.
Actually, although @vitaminC threw in the smiley face, I have to agree. On longer trips, I just pop in my noise cancelling earbuds. You can still hear all the important sounds but, along with bluetooth streaming from my phone with my favorite tunes, it makes things quite quiet in the cockpit.
Most of the noise is coming from the engine compartment. You are probably not going to Dynamat your way out of that. The OEM covers (carpet backed with very thick,heavy noise dampening material) are already better than any Dynamat product I've seen. BTW, if yours are damaged or something, new ones can be had from Porsche.
I’m still at the stage where I don’t even turn the (updated) radio on.
The flat 6 engine is my sound track.
Of course - for me, this is my fun car. EDD is a Toyota, and longer trips are usually in a Transit Van.
I’m still not sure if the belt whine (I tell passengers “all supercharged engines sound like that”) is normal. It seems to come and go a little - “seems”, so that’s an indicator of the level.
My commitment to wrenching on my new (18yo) toy, has extended to installing a two post hoist.
...the procedure may be long, but its never difficult...
I wish that were true when I replaced my crankshaft position sensor on my 06 Cayman S Tiptronic. Getting access to that one bolt required the loosening and moving of the transmission cooling lines. They block access to the bolt. Then once moved, you still have to have arms as long as a monkeys to reach down to the bolt.
And I just replaced the AOS on my 996.2, oh, what a job!
I'm still pretty new to learning to wrench on my car, but forums + youtube are invaluable. There have been various service manuals posted online via rennlist and elsewhere that are useful, as well, but for just starting out not nearly so as the first two. My approach so far is that I want to be able to do everything on the service schedule and/or that's a consumable/wear part. "Fixing" things or modifying things next if it's straightforward, and then I'll go from there. I'm still more than happy to leave the complex stuff to a shop. From my perspective working on my car is a hobby, which should therefore be kind of fun/rewarding and not a drag on my time or energy. If a given project/repair is over my head or going to be daunting, that goes to the shop. In that case I'm paying the shop to fix it, but also to keep my time available to spend on something else I'd rather be doing. After all, there's no small project you can't make big by screwing it up haha.
Looking to learn how to do this on my 987.1 would like to do my own oil changes and small maintenance as possible. If anyone knows people around the PDX area or a local club to meet would be glad to join/talk!
For nothing more than entertainment value; I apprenticed on my father's hand-me-down Westfalia, my wife's Typ-1, my Karmann Ghia, then 356, then 911S.
The Cayman is merely the latest in a long line of horizontally opposed machines...
The story though starts with my copy of possibly the best help-me-guide ever written, itself worth a whole thread and investigation on the amazing author:
I still have the tools I purchased, and they're the same tools now used on the Cayman, often in either the same or very similar way.
For extra points, you could get the poster and t-shirt too...
I've had my 987.1 for almost a year now and I've been doing small maintenance items myself. Oil changes etc are actually the easy part because they're pretty simple. However, my right windshield washer sprayer is not pumping with the force required and so I want to replace the module. I took it out and cleaned it to no avail sadly.
Replacing the module seems relatively simple I just have to pop it out and replace it; but for bigger ticket items it makes me wonder how the hell I'm supposed to figure out what to do.
Any thoughts? I'm somewhat mechanically inclined and work as an engineer but my education and skillset doesn't really intersect with working on my car. I just bought a Miata and figured that would be my practice car but getting into this is a little daunting!
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Is there a mechanic manual for my car I can buy?
Here are a couple resources:
If you are a PCA member you can be part of their Cayman Registry which has a lot of tutorials for a lot of common DIY maintenance specific to Caymans.
Also DIY tutorials can be found on Planet9.com and Rennlist.com.
Happy wrenching! Just finished 2/4/24 Oil/filter change and brake line replacement with SS braided lines and following system flush/bleed.
Very good resources in my opinion.
01-06-2024, 03:17 PM
-- I'm less concerned with ear health (the volume inside the car is not very loud) but rather the annoyance of 4krpm @ 80mph for 3+ hours lol.
