My Porsche 911 996 has a big problem!

To find out more about a warranty for your car go to Warranty Wise here:
www.warrantywise.co.uk/car-wa...
I've had a problem with my Porsche 911. It was making an odd noise on start up and a strange groaning noise when pulling away. I took the car to my trusted Porsche tech Matt Barnett at Rennworks in Stevenage. Thing is we ended up going down a bit of a rabbit hole of investigating faults, sorting the IMS bearing and RMS plus doing some upgrades courtesy of @design-911 and @EBCBrakesUK .
Then for reasons you'll see I had to enlist the help of Ed from Ed's Car Care to fix something else on the car. And just when I thought everything was sorted... something else went wrong.
Huge thanks to
Rennworks: www.rennworks.co.uk/
Design 911: www.design911.co.uk/
Ed's Car Care: / eds_carcare
EBC Brakes: ebcbrakes.com/
And Warranty Wise: See link at the top of the description!

[@MatWatsonCars]

To find out more about a warranty for your car go to Warranty Wise here: www.warrantywise.co.uk/car-warranty/?

[@matthewnorman9803]

We need a Hyundai Getz on carwow day 266 it’s more like 300 but who’s counting, please carwow

[@matthewnorman9803]

I will personally bring my Getz there if you want

[@_Chev_Chelios]

How do you find the time!? You have got to be the busiest person in all of the automotive video universe. Are you triplets?

[@Average_Bruh]

@MatWatsonCars this is a great opportunity to make a video with Yanni. Remember his "Will it fit" series? Well, you guy can do that with your garage and see what will and won't fit, until your GT3 RS arrives.

[@Average_Bruh]

@@_Chev_Chelios the trick is that some of these videos were recorded and edited weeks or even months ago and then set to be automatically updated at a certain date and time. That way, they always have content ready and never have a dry spell.

[@EdsCarCare]

It was a pleasure to work on this beauty! 👊🏼

[@villaman4818]

Glad to see you’ve still got the 996

[@tdoteva4973]

He ain't getting rid of it

[@hman0007]

Matt's a true car guy.

[@KnightIndustries572]

@@hman0007 ..with deep pockets. You wonder how much that work has cost and now there is a transmission leak. I love Porsches like the next guy or gal, but these 996's and similar era Boxtsers have their issues and cost a bomb to sort out.

[@bngr_bngr]

@@KnightIndustries572most people don’t have these issues with 996’s just KZbinrs.

[@user-sf7kl9uh7k]

My uncle says he's got a secret 1993 Mondeo Ghia

[@MozzaBallBill]

Wow Matt the mechanic and Ed really have gone and done the impossible. Beautiful work, never knew the 996 could look this good

[@KyleBrightman]

Your eyes are now open. You see what the rest of us have seen for years. The 996 and 986 have aged very well and look better today than many reviewers have given them credit for since they were unveiled.

[@MW-uy3np]

996 is so good. It’s one of my fav 911 in the warehouse

[@mik3ymomo]

Ugly women need love too says all 996 lovers.

[@IceBladeNinja]

Mat

[@anteneupitra]

if you want troubles nuy a porscha

[@abanfi01]

Love to see that despite all the money one could have and after all the cars Matt has driven/owned; his love and enthusiasm for this old 996 C2 has not diminished even the slightest. True love for his car.

[@josedasilva9210]

Speaks volumes on how good the 996 truly is. I've test driven all of the water-cooled generations and the 996 has been my favorite due to its rawness compared to subsequent generations which become increasingly refined and increasingly muted in terms of the "raw" feel.

[@IceBladeNinja]

Mat

[@bcm70]

The reason Matt has so many subscribers is because videos like this resonate with car people. Everyone has that car that they love, which other people may not understand, and completely relates with the honest joy that Matt has for his 996 getting a spruce up. Congrats Matt!

[@D.O.T.U.K]

And Matt talks to us like normal people and doesn't treat us like bloody idiots

[@buggerlugz6753]

He's like a British Tyler Hoover is Matt, that is why! :)

[@frankchan5547]

​@@buggerlugz6753wash your mouth with engine oil. He started off as everyman but started doing supercar things that no longer resonated with punters

[@schmidbc]

This is my favorite video so far @mattwatson. The love you show for the 996 C2 after all the spectacular cars you’ve driven on the channel is amazing. Love Matt and Ed and the passion they show for their work as well. Will absolutely look at Design 911 for my 991.1. I’ve been batting brake squeal and will happily try EBC for my next changeover.

[@IceBladeNinja]

Mat

[@willimnot4445]

Watching someone who knows what they are doing carries a certain pleasure.

[@LR69511]

Definitely.

[@dougiemiller5030]

I was thinking exactly the same thing 👍

[@bg22757]

I can watch a passionate and knowledgeable person talk about almost any subject.

[@bMPtuning01]

Matt a nice cheap upgrade is to upgrade the headlight reflectors into projectors 👍👍

[@IceBladeNinja]

Mat

[@sylvns]

Hey Matt, I also own a 996, but Targa. Small advice for bore scoring: don't rev it above 3K RPM when cold...

[@altortosa5955]

*Big advice...and it also applies to basically any car you want to last

[@jameslovering9158]

What idiot would ever rev a cold engine ???

[@TH-ox5ig]

Both Ed and Matt did spectacular work! That 996 is awesome!

[@blackporscheroadster-yw8hb]

They are not awesome. I've owned Porsches and they are one headache after another. I'm guessing you have never owned one to make such a naive comment.

[@bertwhetstone3173]

I'm really amazed that Mat hadn't already replaced the IMS bearing. It's a great looking car in this color and I'm glad Mat is still keeping it and maintaining it.

[@paulcampbell114]

Already had the stronger version

[@996jz]

yeah dual row bearing cars (earlier cars) are a bit more durable from the factory. The later non turbo cars had the single row bearings. This is the reason that of the .1s, the very early cars are a bit more desirable than the later, pre facelift .1 cars. For this reason, many owners of the early 996s dont address the IMS issue; it's not as prevalent

[@josephkelly4893]

Love Matt’s excitement and enthusiasm over his car!!! Still a 21 year old hoon kid at heart!!

[@DavidBrown-bs7gg]

Happy for Matt he’s got a GT3 RS allocation, annoyed that the average person isn’t allowed to order one

[@purwantiallan5089]

Agree. Seems like the allocation of the GT3RS never goes over the limit.

[@mitchellsteindler]

The average person would have to save for 6 lifetimes to afford one.

[@DavidBrown-bs7gg]

@@mitchellsteindler even the average person who has the money to buy one can’t

[@brayworkshop427]

Wait until the future, when all porsche’s with an internal combustion engine will be massively limited as governments restrict the amount that can be sold in relation to electric cars.

[@HIOP0]

@@brayworkshop427 AND THAT HELPS JUST NOW...HOW?

[@johnwight6041]

This was really great to watch! I liked seeing the inspection and repair process. Really shows that some of these 911 issues can be a bit overblown. Great video. Upgrades are great too

[@markkerry5840]

Brilliant film, you have the knack of finding the right people like Matt and Ed. Helps us all to know who to go to going forward.

[@danisantabarbara5931]

Very knowledgeable mechanic, thanks. Car will run great Matt, don’t stress

[@docmccoy9813]

It's always nice to see people who own 20+ years machines. Btw, please Mat, change or fix the rusty wheel bolts.

[@YBSSRide]

Nice to see the choice of an EPS roller bearing. Certainly better than those terrible ceramic ones that seem to be failing about as much as the original factory single row. Really, any roller bearing option is the best choice vs cost as I haven't seen any reports of failure on the interweb.

[@mrradman2986]

Had the IMS bearing swapped for an EPS unit on my low mileage 2004 986 3.2S on the recommendation of my local independent specialist. The RMS was replaced courtesy of Porsche. The last thing you want to be doing when driving these cars as intended is straining to hear the sound of a bearing disintegrating...

[@dimsoneill]

As a service engineer I love these sort of videos. Entertaining and good learnings too.

[@AJ-kineticU]

I really enjoyed this one. You have a great mechanic and seems like you have a keeper on the 996! I learned a lot. Thanks 🙏

[@thecanadiancollector9352]

My summer toy is a 2003 Nissan 350Z. Did a clutch/flywheel replacement. Factory flywheel 27.6 lbs and the new one is 21 lbs. Makes a noticeable difference. My throw out bearing was also going and made some noise occasionally as well. That was fixed with a new on as part as the kit. Good luck with your Porsche Mat, I'm sure that shop will have it sorted in no time.

[@marcuspd477]

Glad you chose the EPS roller bearing. Nice to see others using the same one.

[@crawfr3]

It's awesome that Mat still has and drives his 996. Especially since he has the ability to own/drive any car. Really cool member of the 996 community!

[@pjvenda]

How interesting - I have been running a 997 with a wavetrac, a light weight flywheel and factory fitted short shift kit until very recently - lovely feeling! I also got rss engine mounts which also made a difference. From memory, dual mass is 22Kg. Lighter flywheel was something like 7.5Kg.

[@GamerofGamesGG]

Ed's done a crazy job at the transformation

[@abbarasheed8599]

Maan, Ed did a stellar job with the detailing. Car looks like it's in a video game after that wash. Top job!!

[@baldymafia]

Warranty wise are cowboys Matt, they'll find anyway of getting out of paying!!! First hand experience.

[@wholeNwon]

Now that's a BIG surprise. Ha!

[@diyforlife2809]

Nice video...I had a couple air-cooled cars back 15-20 years ago. Now I have a 986 Boxster, the early water cooled cars are finally getting to be vintage and desirable ! Nice that the issues are fairly easy to diagnose and rectify.

[@huggyb2007]

I love that Matt still has this car over all the other ones as it looks absolutely Mint and the tastful mods seals it for me!!

[@waxy954]

Matt@Renn Works is a absolute top diamond geezer. He has been looking after me and my Porsche for a while and I have been sending all my Porsche owning mates to him too

[@tonyfot0]

Matt, still have my 3.4 996. I would be surprised the ims would fail on these early 3.4s to be honest. As the mileage clock up on these m96.1 engines then crank bearings are becoming an issue. So ensure oil is changed frequently. Great entry into 911 ownership though - still puts a smile on my face. Look forward to your next updates!

[@green7five394]

Great video! What a nice way to spend 30 mins. I had a similar noise at start up in my ‘99 3.4 and it was alleviated with a new EPS IMS and clutch/flywheel.

[@clubsobri]

That waspretty cool. They did a great job with it. And I'm glad they fixed the paint and the bumper pannel and interior. It's like a new car. Take better care of it moving forward, Matt :) .

[@julioirizarry4262]

Awesome you continue to own the old 996, I too have a 1999 996 in black with the red interior , so far has been great and only 68k . I am doing the IMS and clutch and RMS soon. Love your videos.

[@philippestrickler3461]

After this overhaul and repair you car looks brand new . Truly beautiful . I am sorry that you found another issue. I hope that you will get your GT3 RS asap . It will be a great event.

[@aldomandovani]

There is a wet IMS Kit with an oil line feeding a new wet IMS directly, you can fit it and forget about the IMS for ever Ohh you did it well done jajajaja😅

[@youridv]

lovely to see the 996 get some TLC! Also nice to see that you've only done small tasteful mods rather than doing the youtube thing and engine swapping it or turboing it

[@INTERNA9]

Still got my 2003 911. Love it.

[@sprintermaximus]

I am doing the exact bearing from EPS on my 911 this fall. Nice to see the work done proper, Matt. Brakes too, the good stuff. It's good to see you maintaining the ole 996.

[@Carrera-gp9od]

Why are you doing this , the original one will be ok .

[@docloco86]

I've had this bearing on my car since 2016/17. 25k miles so far. Combination of previous owner and my ownership miles.

[@sprintermaximus]

@@Carrera-gp9od I hear ya. I'll inspect it first hahaha. If not weeping, will stay in. Not all cars were affected.

[@ianburton9223]

Congratulations on the 126 - first car we bought for my wife in the early 1980s in Italy - great value at the time.

[@stephenoverstreet9898]

I remember when you first bought the 996 and made a video on it. I have to admit that at first I thought to myself “This won’t last long. He will upgrade to a newer, or more powerful version soon.” I’m pleasantly surprised you’ve kept it this long. At this point I think this would be a forever car, given your history and love of it. Not to mention the regular in investments you’ve put in. You’ll never get your money back, between the original purchase and the maintenance/repairs/upgrades. But that doesn’t really matter. Smiles per mile!

[@tbdock1]

PCCM+ is absolute perfection. I installed one on my 986 S and it is now the perfect blend of modern convenience and classic mechanical Porsche. I look forward to my next project being a 996!

[@grantgourley5495]

Matt you inspired me to get a 996! I should be taking delivery sometime next week, very excited! Hopefully I can find as great of a mechanic as yours...

[@YouThubez]

Matt, i am maybe the only one who loves 996s. I would like to thank u that you are keeping it alive!! Loved the video!

[@Vyltax]

I love them to!

[@frederik2723]

Me too!!

[@purwantiallan5089]

​@@Vyltaxi also love those cars.

[@MichaelAMangone]

The 1998-99 models are amazing because of the cable actuated throttle. I had to choose between a 997 and 996, so I saved 15K and got the 996.

[@leehartshorn1479]

Your not alone Love mine

[@liamegan4303]

Great Work on the Porsche. That mechanic knows all about the Porsches. Ed did a brilliant job on the bumpers and Valet. 😅 nice job all around 😅😅 🇨🇮🇨🇮

[@MichaelAMangone]

The white, nylon triangular shifter side lever causes slop, too. There's a metal one on UniWerks that fixes this. Also, swapping out the clutch pedal return spring helps with the "on or off" feel of the clutch pedal. The shifter lines also wear a lot at connection points, but just the connections can be rebuilt for cheap. Doing all of that shifter and clutch work will reveal second gear pop-out issues, so if it happens, spend the 5 pounds for the ball bearing upgrade (it acts by adding tension to the spring).

[@kingsleythomas5443]

Do you have links to the parts?

[@oskar6661]

As someone who has had their car screwed up by no less than three shops in a row...I'm jealous of you working with a competent mechanic/shop. Apparently they don't exist in my state.

[@karstenpedersen7749]

I know the feeling, had 1 satisfying trip to the mechanics with my cars. Other than that it took multiple trips to fix things.

[@djmichie]

You say unrelated, but you have just swapped a soft squishy dual mass flywheel for a lightened one. Increasing shock load into the gearbox. Let's hope it's nothing too serious

[@Foxx6699]

Whenever I bring my car to the shop for maintenance all I'm hearing the car-person say is: "Money, money money and the money will need money. But the money can be money-ed later. But it will money. Potentially more money but that will depend on the other money."

[@idokwatcher2062]

Just get your self sponsored like Matt. Everything free. See, simple.

[@roadmantop3769]

Mat drives every car there is an loves the 996, it shows how good they are ❤

[@blackporscheroadster-yw8hb]

He bought the 996 years ago as it was the only decent Porsche he could afford at the time.

[@ducbox572]

The interior looks amazing! The light interiors can look tatty. It polished up like new.

[@jaybou007]

I’m always impressed by these lads who know their cars stuff that much. He’s like an ambulant encyclopedia.

[@mirth1plamen]

Very satisfying to watch. It makes me think that ims issues are blown out of proportion.

[@ScouserBerny]

I'm dying to know what the gearbox leak is all about. Anyway, great work Mat. My previous 911 was 2000 996 Cab. I owned it for 20 years. It had 7 RMS and 3 IMS replaced! But I loved that car. I only had to get shut when the cab roof mechanism started to fail. To costly. I had a Fabspeed exhaust kit put on mine and a Kahn body kit with 19" wheels. What a car. While my new 911 is heaven sent, I miss my old darling 911 996.

[@declanflanagan3061]

Anyone else here cause they miss the Saturday/Sunday morning drag race of the week at 9am?! Congrats Matt on d GT3RS, savage 🚌

[@hughrobinson9978]

Very impressed with Rennworks - nice choice of upgrades! I've had many 996 and 997s as new cars and want to get another 997 one day, so this was really interesting! good luck with the gearbox fault!

[@csmarkham]

This was a great, practical, calm look at IMS and bore scoring. My 3.8 M97 at 160k miles had the bore scoring. I was six months ahead of the first rebuild kits, and a full engine replacement was the cost of the car. So, it went down the road. Six years on, I wish I’d kept the car. Had I parked it for 6 mos., A rebuild would have saved my great 997.1S. Calm and patience vs panic & fear.

[@jeffreyb.1657]

Brilliant video, well done and thank you...wish I lived near Matt's shop...and if you have bore scoring...go 4.0L stroker! Good luck.

[@PaulLukeBonenfant]

Hey Matt, I’d recommend you do your engine mounts with some function first ones, they’re not semi solid, but a huge upgrade over stock. Your exhaust tips are a bit lower than they should be!

[@oonwing]

Love what you drive, drive what you love.

[@purwantiallan5089]

Yep. Love on everything you gonna ride.

[@ViszlaBoss]

I was confused there for a minute. The colour difference between the car inside the garage to outside is massive. Looks like 2 different cars 🙂

[@eamonblaney5368]

That's mint Mat. Fair play giving Ed a bit of recognition. Detailers and dent men usually get forgotten about. Great video 😎

[@user-jy8mo5fi5q]

I purchased a 2003 series two 996 Cabriolet in July 2023. It had just had the IMS bearing and some other bits replaced by the garage I purchased it from. (I received a copy of thre invoice to prove). The tyres although legal were over 5 yrs old so I replaced them all with new Perrelli P zero's. You can't be too careful with a high performance car. We've just started winter and with the cold weather it looks like I also need a new battery. The joys of owning cars is financially never ending.

[@ahemgee9542]

Fitting an SMF to a unbalanced stock engine is not a good idea. The DMF absorbs and balances out imbalances in the rotating mass of the engine. You can get issues such ax pseudo knock and power losss and other problems by doing this. The GT3s which have a SMF have hand built fully balanced engines, a stock M96 does not.

[@CS_247]

I am amazed that you didn't do the IMS FIRST, soon as you bought the car. I bought my 2002 C4 3.4 at 35k miles, and that, the clutch and rear main were the first thing I did. And a waterpump /thermostat. When the bearing came out it was starting to go... In my opinion, it was because it was rarely used. My C2 3.6 gets thrashed regularly, and didn't need doing until 100k plus.

[@corychecketts]

Thank you for making this video. I think the moral of the story is that the known issues of the M96 engine are over-hyped. I’ve owned my ‘99 996 for six years and it’s been amazing. Do the maintenance on these cars and they’ll treat you well.

[@julianhawkins9423]

Love the car now Matt and the brilliant upgrades definitely worth doing. 👍

[@robertescott1139]

Kudos to Ed, great job

[@robnelsonbayvillage]

My 2.7L 2004 Boxster delivered 154,000 miles of fun with no IMS issues. I enjoyed many track days. A young lady from Texas now drives it in track days!

[@geraldstanley9692]

Looks like you’re in good hands there, Matt. I think you’ll enjoy it a lot more now knowing everything is better than new.

[@IceBladeNinja]

Mat

[@joaovaleyt]

we need more videos of your daily adventures with your cars, and behind the scenes of carwow on this channel! Let's hope that problem at the end is nothing serious!

[@FlynnBellamyCars]

An amazing car and worth the money to keep cars like this on the road! ❤️

[@lbnewell23]

So happy to see that this is all 1 video. not 1 for each of the repairs then the detail and then the impressions so what could’ve been 1 video would be stretched over a month, really not a fan of that KZbin trend at the moment

[@ianbarber6463]

Matt the mechanic I could listen to all day long. Proper mechanic who knows how to actually repair and understand cars, not the modern garages who rely on computer to tell them. Great video just love it. If I ever own a Porsche he is the man I will go see.👍

[@rebelranter]

The rollercoaster ride of emotion is very real!

[@007knick]

Congrats on the 1 million on Insta mate. You are killing it!

[@MorningNapalm]

Lovely job, have to get around to getting mine done too. Little dents and bumper scrapes all around, due to all the fantastic parkers around here.

[@Mr986Willis]

When I bought my 986 in 2014 I borrowed a ramp in my mates garage and replaced the IMS bearing for a ceramic item, I see from the vehicle smart app the car is still going strong 👍 The new cover plate is different simply as an indication that the IMS bearing has been upgraded. Of course you can't see that until you remove the gearbox and flywheel.

[@adamnowak1866]

Such a beautiful car, great job 👍

[@Dude1100110012]

Ed is a magician

[@purwantiallan5089]

Ed is a big boss magician.

[@allanedwards9955]

Brilliant video Mat and what a team effort.😀😀😀

[@bvanlieu]

'A bit more gear box chatter'. LOL. There is a reason why LWF's are for race cars not street cars. :) Based on your flywheel toss methinks that's too light. Now the SSK is something every 996/7/987 needs. Good episode lads!

[@19Daantje98]

Im really looking into getting a 911 996. I just love the way it looks. Also the 6 cylinder Porsche boxer engine... Man I want one so bad.

[@rongeernaert1208]

Very Good mechanic, and good upgrades such as brakes and clutch !

[@morrispontifect]

Congratulations brother

[@1drwnd.porsche]

Very nice video @MatWatsonCars. Proud 996.1 owner here. Greetings from Pennsylvania, US .

[@nickhaslam3253]

Looks great. Amazing job on the interior. I wonder if you’ll enjoy it as much when the GT3 turns up

[@robnelsonbayvillage]

Ed is a keeper! Lovely treatment.

[@DanielBall]

Really enjoyed this video. I miss my 996, so this gave me the serious feels!

[@j.j.911]

Great vid. Exceedingly informative.

[@mogsyman]

Glad your car is OK - I had a new 996 C2 Cab in 2003 and in 2004 after about 9000 miles it had a new IMS Bearing, clearly this is a problem that needs resolving at some point and if you have the engine apart just do it.

[@ToyotaAristo]

You dont need to take the engine out. Its far easier than a clutch job.

[@Leeholtom2911]

I ran EBC blues on my M3 for track days they were epic but they are not a road legal pad …..or at least never used to be so might be worth checking that Matt 🤙🏻

[@YogeshSharma-ox8zf]

They say they are approved road legal now, orange aren’t

[@abel4776]

Everything is allowed outside of government fantasy.

[@paulchurchouse4585]

996 is a beautiful classic. Well worth all the effort. Love it

[@jeyendeoso]

i thought i was watching car wow for a second ! really good video, loved watching it on a sunday morning

[@eahughey]

Hmm... wonder if the lighter flywheel transferred more stress to the transmission?

[@stee6stee9]

What a cool guy Matt the technician is. Ed's work is amazing, top quality (although please tell him he should be wearing knee protectors at work!). First time I've seen this channel, defo subscribe and like. Car mechanics is my zen. Great vid, Mat.

[@richardcartier6193]

What's the name of Matts garage again?

[@briantovar6473]

Thank ya Ed!

[@TopdriversinWales]

So glad to see an actual full video instead of stupid ‘shorts’

[@simonpriley]

🎉Brilliant and I am sooo jealous enjoy it Matt you work hard! great video

[@coach4050]

amazing you now have what a 911 gts is like in this gen, probably need some more hp but it's close to the gts idea introduced in the 997 line. i could probably update the lights for some ones that look better but not that oem. daaam i didn't see the end ffs man.