Chris_in_NH

a-ha! that will do it! i suspected it wasn't the cables or transmissions, as both failing simultaneously would be unlikely. so you bought the push-rod with the red cap (ball socket) and installed it. you didn't take the new red ball-socket off of the new push-rod and screw it on to the old push-rod, right? if you did, i would put the white ball-socket back on the new push arm and install the whole thing. the reason for this is because the new push-arm has new rubber bushings. your old push-arm probably has very worn rubber bushings. my 97's did. unfortunately, you have to buy the whole push-rod/ball socket as one piece. i haven't seen just the ball socket available without the push-rod. i got mine at Sunset Imports for $40. that's where i do most of my shopping. i think they have the best prices out there. also Suncoast Porsche and AutohausAZ.com. the white ball-sockets are the newer, reinforced plastic. as you have experienced, the red ones break! ;) the white one installed in your car tells you that the previous owner had conv top problems, and that push-arm was replaced. it might have been the red ball socket breaking or the cables or something else. one thing i would do ASAP is check those cables. if they are not the newer reinforced cables, you will want to get the new cables ASAP, because the old ones WILL eventually stretch, causing you grief. congrats on your DIY repair! you probably saved yourself $200!

i wish you luck, but if the plastic can break in its solid, undamaged form, i'm assuming that a cracked, repaired one is destined to fail. unfortunately, the $100AUD ($80USD) is the going rate for the stronger plastic ball joints with the connected push-arms, and considering the cost of repairs, it's worth it. ;) as they say... 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.'

i'm not sure which scenarios you're referring to. but to replace the cables (DIY), estimate $100. (if i remember correctly, the cables are $40 each, L+R). the conv top transmissions are expensive - maybe $400 each, but you should be able to find them cheaper. the push arms (the part with the red cap) i think are $40 each side. i'm not sure what a new conv top drive motor costs, but it can't be too much.

it sounds like the cables. you really should check them before you try to use the top again or you risk serious, expensive damage. see this thread: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=13065 more detailed info is available in the Conv Top forum: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showforum=46

no problem. i had cable troubles once before... i forgot to mention that the conv top mechanism is symmetrical; both sides (L+R) are identical, so you'll need to pop the canister arms off on both sides of the car, etc. if you are just going to check your cables, i would leave the red ball joints alone. popping the canister arms off of the V-lever (on both sides) will allow you to manually lift/lower the clamshell, which will allow you access to the cables/conv top drive motor. keep in mind that the clamshell will be totally 'unlocked' when you remove the canister arms from the V-levers. if your cables *are* bad, then we get into the really fun part of removing the conv top transmissions, prying out the old cables, installing new cables and re-timing the transmissions. :rolleyes: i am curious to know if it really is the cables. i would think that the chance of them both going bad at the same time would be incredibly small. if that is the case then you are very lucky. usually what happens is one cable works itself out of the conv top drive motor, and the other cable is fine. so when you push the conv top button, one side is being raised by the motor and the other just sits there. that's when the terrible snapping noises start and Porsche tells you they want $2500 to fix it.

you won't be able to see the conv top drive motor until you are able to lift the clamshell, so let's concentrate on that. here's a picture of the parts i've described. this is a view of the passenger side of the car. see the circle in the middle of the pic (it has a brass bolt in the middle that has red paint on it)? the piece that connects both arms on either side of the circle is the V-lever (but it's an upside-down V in this picture). attached to the right side of the V-lever is the black canister arm (with a white sticker on it) that you need to disconnect. you disconnect it by popping the end of the canister arm off of the V-lever. here's a pic of it detached from the V-lever: since your top is closed you will have to do this via the cabin, reaching back using the tool from the tool kit. depending on your size and flexibility, you can try to do this from in between the roll bar (where the windstop goes), or by taking out the mesh roll bar inserts and reaching thru the seats, or any other way possible. ;) here's a picture of the pry tool: take the red cap off the end. you could also use whatever will work - a screwdriver, a crowbar (be careful), etc. ok, take a look at this pic. see that the clamshell is raised, and right in front of where the 3rd brake light is, there is a black box with a cable coming out of each side? that is the conv top drive motor. this is where you want to disconnect the cables to see if you have 3/4" of drive cable sticking out. now, if you want to be able to open and close your conv top manually, pop these red ball joints off both sides. they are on 'push rods' that connect to the other side of the V-lever (the opposite side of where the canister arms attach). if you follow the V-lever towards the front of the car, you will see the red ball joints. pop them off and the conv top will move freely. whatever you do, don't push the conv top open/close button unless everything is connected. if you DO push the button, you will likely need to re-time your conv top transmissions. i hope this helps. by the way, all the info in this message i got from here: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showforum=46

access the transmission. on either side, there is a metal clip that holds the cables into the tranny. remove each one. slide each cable out. if a cable is busted, you will be able to pull it out of its sleeve. to check the transmission, unlatch the convertible top & put the e-brake on. have someone operate the convertible top switch and look inside the transmission to see if the gear is turning (on each side). my gut feel is that the transmission is bad. if it were a cable, your clamshell would have opened unevenly and probably bent in the process. this is semi-correct. the metal clips hold the cables into the conv top DRIVE MOTOR, not the transmissions. the transmissions are located on each side of the car. and it is unlikely that both transmissions (L+R) went bad at the same time. the dash light means that the conv top has not completed its open/close cycle. it is 'in-between' open and closed. have the cables ever been replaced/upgraded in this car? the older cables (MY97/98, etc.) were notoriously bad, and the sheathing stretched over the drive cable, pushing the drive cable out of the conv top drive motor. this may be the clicking noise you hear. as insite suggested, remove the brass clips holding the cables into the conv top drive motor. inspect them and make sure there is about 3/4" of drive cable sticking out the end of the sheathing. if there isn't 3/4" sticking out, then the conv top motor won't have enough cable to grab on to. to open the clamshell manually there are only 2 connections that you need to disconnect. from inside the car, when the top is up, if you look behind the rollbars on each side of the car, you will see a 'wheel' with a V-lever on it. connected to the V-lever will be a black canister-looking piece (looks like a shock absorber, kind of...). the canister is attached to the V-lever by a ball-socket friction. you just need to pry this canister off of the V-lever on both sides of the car to get the clamshell to be disconnected and move freely. there is a tool in the toolkit which should allow you to reach back there. it is the long piece with a red cap on the end. take off the red cap and it becomes a prying device. reach back behind the seats to pry the cansiter off of the V-lever. then you can open the clamshell manually to check your cables. also see the Conv Top Forum here. this has happened to hundreds of people. and it's either the cables, the drive motor, the transmissions or a microswitch/relay. for me, it was the cables on my 97.

have you reset the DME/ECU by disconnecting the negative battery cable for a minute, then reconnecting it? (have radio code handy if your radio needs one.)

see this thread over at PPBB. http://www.ppbb.com/scgi-bin/boards/986/main.pl?read=1184396

no, you can leave the oil in.

my 97 does the same thing. i open up the front trunk and the light does not go on for about 3 minutes, after i've fumbled around in the dark and found what i was looking for. :rolleyes:

LOL! :lol: i believe your car is Ocean Blue. mine too (MY97). i can't help with everything you listed, but i can give you some suggestions. if the steering wheel is vibrating, it could be that your wheels need to be balanced and/or you need an alignment. does the wheel vibrate at a certain RPM range or speed? when driving on a straight, level road, if you let go of the wheel does the car track straight or does it pull to the left/right? if the car is hesitating to start in the cold, i would suspect the battery. how old is the battery? batteries seem to last about 4 years. but maybe it's just darn cold out. my car has a pretty new battery and if the temp is really cold (5-10F) the car doesn't like it, but will start reluctantly. not sure what to tell you on the vibrating pedals. and i'm not sure what a 'ballish' sound is. can you describe it? hesitation when accelerating has been traced to the MAF on more than a few occasions. have you ever replaced it or cleaned it? i hope this helps with your **** car. :lol:

i have twice that mileage on my original clutch. no worries. enjoy your trip! ;)

the window regulator is bad. this is a very common problem. if you search for 'regulator' i'm sure you will find plenty. you can get a new regulator from www.sunsetimports.com for $150. it took me about 2 hours to install in my driveway, and the hardest part is getting the interior door panel off. otherwise, it's a breeze. (don't bother buying a 'used' regulator from anyone, it's not worth it.) the window motor is probably fine, so just order the regulator. here are the DIY instructions i used: http://www.bombaydigital.com/boxster/projects/window/ good luck!

after enough 'good' cycles the CEL would turn off by itself. but you can remove the negative battery cable (if done for 30-50 seconds you will not need to enter the radio code - but i would have it handy just in case) to reset the CEL. if the error pops up again, the CEL will light again. if you can reset the CEL with the code reader, even better.

pretty sure they're 20.0 F and 21.8 R.

ahh, that was the part i wasn't getting. got it now. ;) although he could use the 4-prong plug for everything except that pulse connection, and just run a wire from the DME to the PSU, right?

hi joesan, i'm not sure if i understand this completely, but here are my thoughts. use the 4 prong power outlet under the center console. if the wires are not long enough, cut the 4-prong plug off of the wires, terminate them with bullet connectors, and you can add extensions to the factory wires so that you can place the PSU wherever you want. i would think that the front trunk would be the best place for it. is it very easy to run the wires from the center console into the front trunk area. the 4-prong power outlet has everything you need. constant +12V, switched +12V and ground. you mentioned that you weren't sure what switched power is. switched power supplies no power unless the key is turned, as opposed to constant power which is always on, regardless of key position (like the cigarette outlet). i really think that using the 4 prong outlet will be the easiest way to do it. i'd also locate the computer in the front trunk. that's where mine is...

far left? maybe on your car! ;)

the CEL is the big bright yellow/orange CHECK ENGINE light on the instrument cluster. be glad you don't know where it is. ;) in this picture, it is the uppermost orange light above the row of lights where the fuel gauge and tach come together.

after further reading i found that since the build dates were 10/98 to 2/99, the cars with the slipped sleeve problem would be 1999 cars, so with your 1998 model year the slipped sleeve issue should not be a problem. sorry for the scare. i just remembered the build dates that included '98. ;) here is the official story from PCA. http://www.pca.org/tech/tech_qa_question.a...D-BB4F445F5A8F}

i did some reading and i think you can only tell the model year from the VIN (yours is X which is 1998). the build date should be on a sticker on the driver's door jamb. i believe the cars that have the sleeve issues were built from 10/98 to 2/99. you can also check this forum for more info, search for 'slipped sleeve' and you will find more info.

i think he's referring to the 'slipped sleeve' issue. cvhs - post your VIN here and someone will be able to tell you if your car is one with the cylinder sleeves.

that is an extra power plug. i think it is meant to power a cell phone. it has constant +12v, switched +12v, ground, and phone mute. you can buy a cable from www.beckerautosound.com that connects to this plug and gives you bare wires that you can terminate any way you want. i just cut the plug off the end and terminated the wires with bullet connectors. since you've got both constant and switched +12v, you could power 2 devices from this plug (e.g. cell phone and iPod, etc.) here's a diagram of the plug.

hmmmmmmmmm......remove the bulbs????? put a piece of black tape over them? :lol: don't look at them? :lol: :lol: keep door closed? :lol: :lol: :lol: seek professional help? :help: