WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND
Twenty-one years ago, when the 996 Turbo first came to the UK, I had the pleasure of driving one of Porsche Cars GB’S press cars for a week-long roadtest. In order to obtain some good photos for a feature for the magazine, snapper Peter Robain and I took it to the area round Crickhowell in south Wales – the scene of perhaps many hundreds of car-magazine ‘shoots’. My godson, Simon, would have been only about 14, but he was mad about cars, so I invited his step-dad to bring him to the session, together with Simon’s younger brother, Tim.
And the day clearly left its mark. Subsequently, Simon’s first vehicles ranged through the inevitable Minis, then a Westfield kit car, his late father’s Jaguar 340 (which he still owns), and more recently numerous Audis and BMWS. The last of those was a museumquality E30 M3 which he was increasingly reluctant to risk out on the road, so earlier this year he sold that and on the strength of that trip to Wales treated himself to his ‘dream’ car – none other than a 996 Turbo.
Simon, being a cautious and naturally curious young man – and having carefully studied several buyers’ guides – did the right thing, and bought the car from one of the country’s leading independents: JZM Porsche in Kings Langley (jzmporsche.com; 01923 269788). At the time of writing I haven’t seen the car in the flesh, but I know it will be one of the best.
And his diligence soon paid dividends. Not long after taking delivery – a process delayed by you know what – his new pride and joy started emitting a disturbing whistling noise from somewhere within the engine compartment, and which oddly diminished for a short period each time Simon pressed the clutch.
Back to JZM, then, where it was established that the cause was the pressure control valve inside the steering-fluid reservoir. Apparently, this can vibrate when hydraulic fluid flows through it at more than 100 degrees Celsius – which, of course, is quite normal. The cure, unsurprisingly, is a modified pressure control valve – which was factoryfitted in cars built after February 2005 – but that is available only as part of a new reservoir, part number 996 314 920 34, and (from Design 911, for instance) costing around £750.
Needless to say, JZM did the right thing, too, and promptly honoured the terms of its warranty. And since then, with (so far…) the easing of lockdown, Simon has been enjoying what will surely remain one of the best all-round Porsches – and arguably the most complete and usable supercar – ever likely to be built. That might not be much consolation if you have to fork out for a new reservoir, plus fitting, but it could save you a lot of time and effort if your Turbo, too, suddenly starts to whistle in mysterious ways.