What did you do to/with your 996 today?

[B3DAWG]

Replaced my front speakers. That sounds really easy, but it turned out to be a royal pain in the ass job. Just removing the speakers was interesting - my assumption is that they are installed at the factory before the windshield, so the back screw is almost impossible to reach. Ended up using a torx bit and a tiny set of slip joint pliers to get them out.

Then, you have to cut apart the existing speaker to save the ring that mounts to the grill and holds the speaker in place. This has to be glued to the new speakers, after removing the mounting tabs...

Very important tip - DO NOT get Gorilla Glue on your fingers. The first note in the U-tube video that I saw to remove the glue suggested to wear gloves and not get glue on your skin. Great...

Once the old mounting ring is glued to the new speakers, reassembled. First step so far so good. The old speakers were completely destroyed - literally no foam remained on the paper cones. Waiting on the rear speakers. At least now I know how to change them out so should go faster. Crutchfield was great, but certainly did not explain how much work it takes to adapt standard 4” round speakers to the Porsche grills / speaker mounts. At least I can use my radio again!
Daryll

I've done this job twice. The speakers in my current 996 were junk! Crutchfield is the best. They even have 2 ohm speakers manufactured by PowerBass. Finally a perfect factory replacement for the 2 ohm HAES door speakers.

[Battery Guy]

Replaced my front speakers. That sounds really easy, but it turned out to be a royal pain in the ass job. Just removing the speakers was interesting - my assumption is that they are installed at the factory before the windshield, so the back screw is almost impossible to reach. Ended up using a torx bit and a tiny set of slip joint pliers to get them out.

Then, you have to cut apart the existing speaker to save the ring that mounts to the grill and holds the speaker in place. This has to be glued to the new speakers, after removing the mounting tabs...

Very important tip - DO NOT get Gorilla Glue on your fingers. The first note in the U-tube video that I saw to remove the glue suggested to wear gloves and not get glue on your skin. Great...

Once the old mounting ring is glued to the new speakers, reassembled. First step so far so good. The old speakers were completely destroyed - literally no foam remained on the paper cones. Waiting on the rear speakers. At least now I know how to change them out so should go faster. Crutchfield was great, but certainly did not explain how much work it takes to adapt standard 4” round speakers to the Porsche grills / speaker mounts. At least I can use my radio again!
Daryll

I've done this job twice. The speakers in my current 996 were junk! Crutchfield is the best. They even have 2 ohm speakers manufactured by PowerBass. Finally a perfect factory replacement for the 2 ohm HAES door speakers.

All four of my speakers are completely shot. The foam was just gone. I was surprised just how crappy the factory speakers actually were - they could not have cost more than $5 when these cars were new. Have the back speakers on order - there is only one speaker that fits on the cabrio, probably due to depth, and of course they are twice as expensive as the Kicker front speakers I bought. Agreed - Crutchfield is great but in this case they did not have a clue what is actually required. At least now I know what to do and will be much faster when the rear speakers arrive. Plus they are way easier to get to. My car has the base stereo, so no door speakers. Fronts that I got are 4 ohm and seem to work fine. If the original head unit blows up it is getting replaced anyway...

Next step is a double-din head unit with Apple CarPlay. Will be ordering the Sony AV-1000 from Crutchfield shortly - and it is on sale right now. Hopefully that goes smoother than the speaker replacement!
Daryll

[OceanBlue2000]

I hope what I WILL be doing to my 996 in the future posts are allowed. Rolling up my passenger window yesterday, it started making a loud crunching noise. This seems to be indicative of needing a new window regulator. It doesn't seem like the toughest job in the world, although getting door cards off are always their own kind of pain. Do I need to unhook the battery? Seems like if I am working around air bags that makes sense, but I don't see it in any of the instructions. Is the window adjustment as big a pain in the neck as the Pelican Parts DIY makes it out? Should I also do the driver door proactively? Any other tips are welcome.

[gnat]

I hope what I WILL be doing to my 996 in the future posts are allowed. Rolling up my passenger window yesterday, it started making a loud crunching noise. This seems to be indicative of needing a new window regulator. It doesn't seem like the toughest job in the world, although getting door cards off are always their own kind of pain. Do I need to unhook the battery? Seems like if I am working around air bags that makes sense, but I don't see it in any of the instructions. Is the window adjustment as big a pain in the neck as the Pelican Parts DIY makes it out? Should I also do the driver door proactively? Any other tips are welcome.

Yes you are supposed to disconnect the battery and bleed the system before messing with any airbag. I never do, but I'm prepared to horribly regret it one of these days

How big of a PITA the window regulator is depends on how far you got the window up and which speaker cabinets you have in the doors. The one time I tried to DIY the job the window was stuck down and since we have the HiFi setup the speaker box prevented me from being able to do anything (without fear of breaking the window or otherwise making things worse).

[808Bill]

I hope what I WILL be doing to my 996 in the future posts are allowed. Rolling up my passenger window yesterday, it started making a loud crunching noise. This seems to be indicative of needing a new window regulator. It doesn't seem like the toughest job in the world, although getting door cards off are always their own kind of pain. Do I need to unhook the battery? Seems like if I am working around air bags that makes sense, but I don't see it in any of the instructions. Is the window adjustment as big a pain in the neck as the Pelican Parts DIY makes it out? Should I also do the driver door proactively? Any other tips are welcome.

Keep us posted. I need to do my passenger side some day.

On a brighter note, I finally finished my "fake" racing pedal install and the look is good!

[sweet victory]

I did things, and made a thread.

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=695

[Battery Guy]

I've done this job twice. The speakers in my current 996 were junk! Crutchfield is the best. They even have 2 ohm speakers manufactured by PowerBass. Finally a perfect factory replacement for the 2 ohm HAES door speakers.

All four of my speakers are completely shot. The foam was just gone. I was surprised just how crappy the factory speakers actually were - they could not have cost more than $5 when these cars were new. Have the back speakers on order - there is only one speaker that fits on the cabrio, probably due to depth, and of course they are twice as expensive as the Kicker front speakers I bought. Agreed - Crutchfield is great but in this case they did not have a clue what is actually required. At least now I know what to do and will be much faster when the rear speakers arrive. Plus they are way easier to get to. My car has the base stereo, so no door speakers. Fronts that I got are 4 ohm and seem to work fine. If the original head unit blows up it is getting replaced anyway...

Next step is a double-din head unit with Apple CarPlay. Will be ordering the Sony AV-1000 from Crutchfield shortly - and it is on sale right now. Hopefully that goes smoother than the speaker replacement!
Daryll

Project update - got the rear speakers installed over the weekend. Knowing what to do helped - other than waiting for the glue to dry the whole job was probably only an hour or so. One very important step was to wear rubber gloves when working with the glue...

Finally I can listen to the radio! Also just received my package today from Crutchfield with the Sony double-din head unit and the install kit. Hopefully can get that done this week - lots of steps on that job but there are a couple of U-tube videos that seem like they show all the tricky parts.
Daryll

[B3DAWG]

All four of my speakers are completely shot. The foam was just gone. I was surprised just how crappy the factory speakers actually were - they could not have cost more than $5 when these cars were new. Have the back speakers on order - there is only one speaker that fits on the cabrio, probably due to depth, and of course they are twice as expensive as the Kicker front speakers I bought. Agreed - Crutchfield is great but in this case they did not have a clue what is actually required. At least now I know what to do and will be much faster when the rear speakers arrive. Plus they are way easier to get to. My car has the base stereo, so no door speakers. Fronts that I got are 4 ohm and seem to work fine. If the original head unit blows up it is getting replaced anyway...

Next step is a double-din head unit with Apple CarPlay. Will be ordering the Sony AV-1000 from Crutchfield shortly - and it is on sale right now. Hopefully that goes smoother than the speaker replacement!
Daryll

Project update - got the rear speakers installed over the weekend. Knowing what to do helped - other than waiting for the glue to dry the whole job was probably only an hour or so. One very important step was to wear rubber gloves when working with the glue...

Finally I can listen to the radio! Also just received my package today from Crutchfield with the Sony double-din head unit and the install kit. Hopefully can get that done this week - lots of steps on that job but there are a couple of U-tube videos that seem like they show all the tricky parts.
Daryll

Sounds great! Let us know if you have questions. Are going to be using the factory amp in the frunk? What about the door speakers?

[808Bill]

Just driving...Got it out of 3rd gear too!

[32wildbilly]

Just driving...Got it out of 3rd gear too!

...and just exactly where on the island is the speed limit that high?