I bought a 1999 996 about three or four months ago, that's pretty much when I discovered the short falls of the engine. Soon after I bought it the CE light came on with a long list of faults, not to mention the car didn't ant to idle very well and liked to die upon start-up. So my worries got the better of me and I began buying parts to fix the engine. Obviously the IMS was first on the list. I completed the IMS upgrade today and started on the cam chain noises and idle problems. I hadn't found anything really wrong until I removed the 1-3 cams and seen the bottom of the actuator. who ever had been in there before me hadn't put the bottom cam chain guide back on, (cam chain noises), luckily I had already bought a new one, anticipating the old one being bad. So I had to share, it isnt everyday your going to see something like this!
