Converting a Porsche 911 to a Head-Turner: A Journey Through Technology and Troubleshooting

As we take a closer look at this beautiful Porsche 911, it's clear that its exterior may not reflect its true personality. The convertible top, adorned with colorful codes, is an indication of the car's complex technology. With a tachometer in the middle and speedometers on either side, this Porsche is equipped with advanced instrumentation. However, beneath its sleek design lies a treasure trove of technical issues waiting to be uncovered.

The owner's manual reveals a multitude of trouble codes covering nearly every aspect of the vehicle, from the AC system to the ABS. With a range of messages and warnings displayed on the instrument cluster, it becomes clear that this Porsche has seen better days. The PCMs (Powertrain Control Modules) seem to have developed a penchant for erratic behavior, while the airbag system struggles to communicate effectively. These issues serve as a reminder that even with advanced technology, mechanical failures can still occur.

A closer inspection of the dashboard reveals a plethora of electronics, all vying for attention and resources. The owner has taken advantage of the Porsche's capabilities by installing various aftermarket components, including a high-performance exhaust system and a tweaked suspension setup. While these modifications may have improved the car's performance, they also introduce new complexities to the already intricate electrical system.

One of the most striking features of this Porsche is its water-cooled head. Despite clocking over 100,000 miles, the engine remains remarkably quiet, with minimal vibrations or clatter emanating from beneath the bonnet. This is a stark contrast to air-cooled engines, which often develop distinct sounds as they age and wear out. The owner's decision to maintain this Porsche has clearly paid dividends in terms of overall driving experience.

The Turbocharger: A Necessary Evil?

When it comes to Porsche enthusiasts, the debate surrounding turbos versus non-turbo models is a contentious one. While some argue that turbos are prone to failure due to increased stress on the engine and transmission, others claim that they provide a significant performance boost. In this case, the owner has wisely opted for the turbocharged model, citing its reliability as a key factor in their decision.

The Turboboost System: A Cautionary Tale

For those unfamiliar with Porsche's turboboost system, it's essential to understand how it works. This complex arrangement of components includes an actuator that regulates the fuel injection and boost pressure. However, when this component fails or becomes clogged, the consequences can be catastrophic. In this case, the owner has discovered that a faulty clutch actuator was at the root of their problem.

The Joy of Research: Finding the Perfect Porsche

When searching for the ideal Porsche, it's crucial to do your research and not rely on generic advice. A visit to specialized forums and enthusiast groups can provide valuable insights into the car's history, maintenance requirements, and potential issues. In this instance, the owner has unearthed a treasure trove of information about the 2004 model year, including its propensity for brake failure.

The Porsche Test Drive: An Experience Like No Other

As we take the Porsche out for a spin, it becomes clear that this car is an exercise in contrasts. The advanced technology and sophisticated electronics are matched only by the sheer complexity of the vehicle's systems. With traction control kicking in unexpectedly, our expert driver navigates the twists and turns with ease, highlighting the car's agility and responsiveness.

A Frankenstein's Porsche: Assembling the Perfect Machine

What sets this Porsche apart from others is its unique history. It appears to be a Frankenstein's creation, cobbled together from various parts and models over the years. With colorful paint jobs, mismatched trim pieces, and an assortment of aftermarket components, this car is a true one-off.

The Verdict: A Porsche Worth the Investment

In conclusion, this Porsche 911 has proven itself to be a unique and captivating vehicle. While its high-tech features and advanced systems may seem intimidating at first, they ultimately contribute to a driving experience unlike any other. With proper maintenance and care, this car can provide years of enjoyment for its owner. Whether you're a seasoned enthusiast or an armchair expert, this Porsche is sure to captivate and inspire – but be warned: it's not for the faint of heart!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: engraev up your engines I got a Porsche 911 Turbo and the owner is going to try to convince me that it's not an endless Money Pit let's see if he can do it not it's a convertible there's no argument it's a beautiful car right but I mean overall I have to say it was a money pit for the original owner cuz he paid about 140 and this guy might to use there 30 so that tells you thear ious thing is the original owner had it for like 80 something Thousand Miles second owner bought it within a very short period of time he got rid of it because he thought that there was something going on with the clutch well the guy who bought it is no stoe for two reasons he figured how to fix it for 100 bucks himself and two this is his toy his everyday driver is a 2007 Camry so he is not a stupid man turns out that they have the stupid accumulator and the clutch Works off the power steering and and all he had to do is spend a hundred bucks in some fluid and it fixed the problem the other guy just went out and bought another por people that buy these cars obviously have to have a lot of money original guy paid 140 he paid 30 if you really want one of these why not take advantage of it if you understand one thing and that's this maintenance he maintains his own vehicles and he does a good job he's bought cars he's still a young guy but he'll buy cars that have problems fix them himself save a bunch of money right you're planing on buying one of these things used and having the poror dealers service it you better have 15 20 grand a year to just throw out into the thing he only paid 30 for the whole car they're beautiful cars right it is water cool so it's a lot quiet you see the old Air cool 911s air cooled engines are by their very nature loud that's just how they are right this is kind of an interesting water cooled engine the main reason they did it well there's two one you can get a little more horsepower out of them but the main reason for these are these are street cars you can raise them if you want but they're street legal cars they would never have met any of the anti-pollution standards worldwide especially the Europeans without going to water cool because they're less polluting engines by their very nature air cooled engines tend to pollute more they're running at a higher temperature air cooled engines they should really call them oil aircooled cuz the oil takes a lot of the Heat and dissipates it at running speeds they work perfectly fine because you got a lot of air going through the oil coolers hitting the fins of the engine to cool them down the main problem that Porsches and the previous little Betty Volkswagen's had was and the Volkswagen 4cylinder number three piston would always burn out because the air didn't hit it too good because of the design of the car especially at slow speeds so you're sitting there on your little Beetle idling while that was wearing out your number three cylinder if you were always going 60 miles an hour it didn't bother it that much he's owned it for a year and he's only put a couple thousand miles on it now at that rate hey he could be driving this in quite some time and having some fun with it an interesting thing about these 911s is ages ago the Germans wanted to get rid of them cuz they said oh those air cooled dinosaurs we want to put in the big V8 water cooled engine porches but Americans love these things so they all said no you got to keep making these blah blah blah and they make them and they sell them there are enough rich people in the world that'll buy these things and of course A lot of them let's face it are snobs so they can't have one that's 6 8 10 years old that would show that they're poor rich people take advantage buy it when they're done with them now we're going to check this thing out and I still say it's an endless money for the original owner as for him he's only had it for a year and 2,000 miles and he likes playing around with it and like I said he is not going to race it so you never know he puts a little bit of mileage on it he might be able to have quite a bit of fun because if you use the common phrase speed costs money how much do you want to spend this thing's already fast enough right he doesn't need to soup up for Speed he's done wheels and different stuff to make it look a little snazzier but it's so fast he doesn't need look it goes 189 miles an hour right he has no plans on driving it that fast he hasn't tried it out to see how fast it went so something like this hey you could probably have a lot of fun these things are made in Germany with high technology and it doesn't matter how old they are they will probably go just as fast 15 years old as they did when they were new only they'll only do it for a short period of time then they will blow up so let's check it out my fancy scant tool and see if it's got a thousand codes like these often do and most of them don't mean much here we go look it has a real key so turn the key on and of course I forgot Porsches are always on the left side the Germans are strange and the old lotel is warming up great scant to while we're waiting we can say there's the mileage 92772 we bought it with 90,000 check to the vehicle we'll do a standalone diagnosis and then we'll do a topology scan while it's doing it you can see it's a six-speed manual transmission of course it's got power windows also has a convertible top it's got a tachometer in the middle cuz it's made RAC and speed speedometers over here you can see it's got 16 trouble codes trouble codes all over the only thing that's green are the top in the seat and the suspension system those are the only things that don't have coats we'll do the AC for example it's probably going to have some squirly little computer codes interface with instrument cluster can timeout PCM for the AC so squirly stuff We'll erase them these things are so high tech make your head spin but as AC's working so stuff like that you cannot be a fanatic with a 10-year-old Porsche about Minor codes like this to check engine lights on doesn't have any particular running problems you're going to find a lot of squirly electronics as the H let's look at the ABS system see what that code is and message one missing same thing as that other one Communications failure you're going to find a lot of that stuff on these things as they age loose wires weak batteries if the battery was replaced the nothing was reset and it had a problem in the pass that will not go away until you use a machine like this to erase it we go back and look at some more now it does say had a misfire in cylinder 4 and mid cylinder number five what happened in the past so we erase that and it won't bore you with these other codes for airbag and stuff they're all communication codes so get rid of them all now unfortunately I can't access all the data because Porsche is indeed a scumbag company check this out access live data it says this is a quick link to motor true speed please contact the dealer to purchase it well I'm not buying it just have to take it for a spin and of course in ger car you have to turn it off the whole way then start it it will not start if you Haven it sit in the middle position now like I said this has water cooled head so even though it's got almost 100,000 miles it's a pretty quiet vehicle you don't hear all that giant clanking noise that you're can to hear in an air cooled one when they have 100,000 miles some of them sound like a sewing machine coming down the road so a lot of people say oh this is a horrible year 2004 yes it is if you get the non-turbo now normally I tell people don't buy a turbo it's going to wear out faster blah blah blah blah right and case of this you better buy a turbo because the stupid parrying in the non-turbo brakes and then they blow up so hey it's worth knowing if you're going to buy one of these things do some serious research before you do cuz generic advice would say don't buy a turbo in this case the turbo doesn't have that bearing that's going to make it blow up now here we go on the road now that we're out of the subdivision wee wee well we can't go too fast cuz there's people in the way but you get the gist of how this thing runs and if you didn't notice you're in second gear his traction control kicked in once it started going these are fun to drive now yeah they're endless money pits if you don't take care of them and really drive the living heck out of them but as a toy his regular car remember is an ' 07 Camry you could get one of these if it chose to be in good shape he got a great deal because the guy thought the clutch was going out cost a lot of money to put a clutch in one of these things right and it was just this stupid actuator because of the power steering system that it used to out the clutch so there you have it a really fun toy to drive around if you don't mind rolling the dice and shake it out now don't think he just found this thing in two seconds he looked at a bunch of them a whole bunch he found ones that had been wrecked six or eight times you ever look at one of these look around take stuff F if it's different colors all over the place you know it's a Franken Porsche built from different ones that have been wrecked various times look at the paint in the sun this was basically a one-owner the second guy only had it a short period of time then the clutch went wonky and he didn't want to mess with it so he got something else and he was smart he found out it was only $100 part to fix it so do your research you want a toy for 30 grand you can find one in shape like this and you drive an 07 Camry as your regular car hey be my guest try it out so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that Bell a\n"