Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Is it hard to service a 1997 Porsche 911 993 Carrera 4 Cabriolet yourself as there are a number of traders on eBay who sell service kits, filters, plugs etc..

Can i get to all part points easily with out having to remove much parts at all..

Any advise would be very helpfull indeed.

A light service is straight forward, oil, filter, brakes.
Changing the plugs is a pain.
It depends on how much you want to do. I normally have a look and have a go, then take it to a specialist

My gf has a 993 C2S and I have a 964 C2. Myself and a friend just changed all the suspension, brakes and stone guards on both cars so I'm no stranger to getting my hands dirty but personally I wouldn't bother with servicing. We want to maintain the full service historys that we have with the our cars so we take them to Porsche. We have a very good arrangement with OPC Mid Sussex so the service log book gets it's stamps. But if you really want to it is do-able. Happy servicing.

i personally think that engine servicing should be done by OPC or indie so that the book can be stamped, this makes for easier resale, but as for brake discs/pads, suspension replacement/upgrade (as long as geometry checked afterwards) and other non engine related repairs/upgrades are ok for home/diy work and just keep the receipts along with the rest of your paperwork

Hi I have a 993 cab and would pretty much echo the views of the other posters , I would add that I beleive you should limit brake work to changing of discs and pads , as these are critical safety areas , they should always be checked by your opc/indie when you have your engine/gearbox/clutch serviced . The other thing to bear in mind is that you will need to obtain certain items to enable you to carry out works , much of which on a 911 is under the car , decent trolly jack with protection pads , axle stands ,large capacity oil collection container etc etc .

To be honest most of the non engine servicing on a 993 is not massively expensive on labour charges because the pro's have all the kit, and loads of experience in doing this work , so it does not take them long to do , so I have decided over the years to let them get on with it , and so far it has been the correct decision for me , although this has been solely a financial decision , I can understand there maybe other reasons to do the work yourself , a certain satisfaction maybe . In my case I find very little of that working under any car , banging my head, barking my knuckles , getting hot oil up my arms etc etc ! mind you I have much more than my fair share of that over the years , and it does not fire my rockets anymore!!

Buying and running a 993 was probably the most rewarding motoring decision I have ever made , but its much more fun driving it than grovelling around underneath it , anyway enjoy your 993 , it is a great car . Oh and if you have not bought your car yet , I would suggest you try a manual C2 before you buy the C4 as in some peoples opinion the C2 is much more fun .

I echo all that has already been said

Yes many jobs are easy to do but just about every nut and bolt or stud has a torque setting. The workshop manual costs an arm and a leg. Check your wheels and you will probably find that the studs on the hubs are steel but the capture nuts are aluminium. Therefore the correct torque tightening is critical. Even putting the wheels on has to be done in a certain way for balancing, valve opposite to the red stud. Also with the brakes they need shimming up properly.

The other problem you may find is that you don't have the computer software to due a diagnostic if all is not running well. You will find the connecton output on the centre tunnel on passenger side, it's a small black plastic rectangular cover. Laptop here I come.


So for me it's either and Indie or OPC

I use an Indie see the Praise or Grumble section and you will see where I am coming from

See you at the Red Lion

Does this apply to all Porsches or just 993s?

I don't remember seeing a red stud on my 968, but then I wouldn't have been looking for one.

It does also apply to 964s, but I can't find a red stud on my hub either. You should get the wheel nuts torque set.

Depends on the wheel style, doesn't it? I thought it was valve opposite to the red stud for wheels where the valve lines up with a hole on the opposite side of the rim, and valve next to the red stud where the valve lines up with a hole on the same side of the rim (if you see what I mean). And then the locking nut goes on the red stud too.

Of course, I'm not sure this is vitally important if the wheels haven't been balanced on the vehicle in the first place.

Sounds completely irrelavent to be honest, once wheels are balanced off the car & moved around then it wouldn't matter anymore.

As for the torquing, a torque wrench & socket is under £50, that is not a lot of OPC labour & even if you get OPC to change tyres, the wheel nuts should be retorqued after 30-100 miles anyway!

Well the comments I made about wheel balancing certainly caused a bit of a stir didn't they.

To clarify matters I was reponding to a query about 993's, so my comments have to be read in that context.

The red mark or red stud has often lost its colour on most cars so you are probably left with having the wheels balanced under simulated road loading if you are serious about getting an accurate balance on your car.


Sorry, I cannot help owners of other models and do not intend to unless I am sure of what I say.

As for wheel balancing, just becaust they have been balanced, this does not mean to say they will ever stay in balance; so as far as I am concerned I would always refit as they came off; to me thats doing the job properly together with correct torque and tightening sequence. After all it is a performance car we are talking about and I like to treat mine as such (roads and other matters permitting). Oh, and I check the tyres once a week for correct pressures, wear, penetrating foreign bodies (nails) and damage.

I am often amazed at the condition and age of some tyres I see on some performance cars, not just Porsches. It is clear to me they are neglected and the driver then wonders why he / she has problems.

When I had the geometry set up on my car the driver's seat was loaded with my weight, together with a tank full of petrol and then adjusted to my requirements. After all it will behave differently if set up without. Adding a driver, loads my car up an extra 6% on the off side, yes it's a 993.

The same principles apply to tyres and wheels, they need care in balancing and keeping balanced.

Still, at the end of the day you pays yer money and takes yer choice.

Oh, forgot to add the following from the 993 handbook, I quote verbatum:

"For precision balancing all four wheels must be off the ground and able to rotate freely".

This quote applies to the 993 Carrera 4, Carrera 4S and 993 Turbo

Hopefully, this will be of use to Lee if ever work on the wheels or brakes is done.

That'll be on the car balancing, need to be all four wheels off because of the 4WD on the C4 & LSD on the C2.
Very few places I know of these days with on car wheel balancing machines.

As for loading the seat for wheel alignment that's standard practice for some performance cars, others the figures are adjusted to take it into account.

Well I was correct about this one stirring up a healthy debate.

After all that is what forums are for, discussion, debate and advice together with the pure informative elements

So, this is where tr7v8 and I diverge in opinion

The people I use would not countenance a car balance and corner weighting other than on a flat bed with load sensors and the bed perfectly level.

The car is then rested with the anti roll bars disconnected. From my Maths studies many years ago I reckon this must have something to do with leverage loads and vector mechanics, not sure.

The car is then measured across the front and across the rear with the final measures across the two diagonals. Adjustments are then made to balance directly through the four contact patches (tryes), which are situated on the load sensors .

Regarding wheel balancing on the car, here I concur with tr7v8. The practice is now about as rare as rocking horse manure.
The people I trust on this one say the process is dangerous and there have been accidents to operators doing it. Also they believe it to be less effective than the curent practice of balancing under simulated load conditions. They use a Hunter Road Force Analysis system. This allows them to to simulate different surface conditions as well as check for lateral and radial throw. It's not just the balancing of the tyre, even expensive wheels are sometimes not round or have a very slight buckling.

You can get a bit more of a feel from the two articles in the June edition of All Torque

Now for more specifics for Lee

On a 993 alignment is critical to handling as the rear multi link suspension also incorporates the added dimension of the kinetic toe eadjusters on either side of the car. This is where no-one goes unless they have the proper factory tools and really know what they are doing. It's really scary to see the whole back end of the wheel and suspension moving about as this adjuster is manipulated and then set. Not the sort of job I would give to the technician who occassionally does set ups.

Well that's it from me and like I say you pays yer money and takes yer choice.