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Charlestonboxster

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Everything posted by Charlestonboxster

  1. Excellent work Albert! I put a lot of work into customizing my system, and can sympathize with the work required! Smart idea on the sub, I though of that too, but with dual 6.5" long throws, tell, me, is there still adequate room for 3.5" coaxes next to the 8" in there, for rear soundstage fill in? Congrats on the good $ sale on ebay, and well worth it to the new owner, I'm sure. Question: I unfortunately totalled my 986 4 weeks ago, but stripped/kept the entire sound system (see signature) I'm considering parting it out for sale or selling it in one kit, I was wondering about your door baffles, would they take a standard 6.5" door speaker, and what is the depth limit for that speaker? Reason I ask is if I sell my 3 way JL audio front state system, with the door mid bass speakers, your drop in baffles may be a good alternative to the standard custom cut wood baffle method that is frequently done. The benefit to that is the entire door space/volume/area (when well selaed) is the area the mid bass speaker uses to develop quality 120hz + mid bass, instead of a smaller box, but your boxes drop in convenience is a great compromise. Thanks for replying, on the size and depth aspect of what can fit in your box, and also, if you have them for sale or reporductions for sale, peraps the buyer of my front sound stage system could combine your boxes with my 6.5"s for a simpler door install then the custom baffles. And...anyone interested in parts or all of my sound system, including the head unit and xm/sirius connector, please email or PM me or post, I have many photo's and original manuals of every component, many many hours of research, consultation and work were done on choosing and building it, and I would sell it, regretfully, but also very reasonably. The custom foberglass 8" deep throw double voice cil 200 watt RE Audio Footwell sub is astounding (but takes space), and the front stage is about as good as you can get, German made JL 3 ways, complete with black dash speaker grills and screws, just wire em and drop em in replacing yours, etc..... 5 channel amp, crossovers, entire black carpeted rear enclosure with 3.5" Boston Acoustic coaxes all available. Also have the mesh rear seat covers, a leather bra, and top quality car cover available. Regards, Tony
  2. On the right side, I had to grind down a bolt by about i/8th of an inch. FYI: MY entire audio system is for sale, If anyone is interested, or spread the word, I unfortunately totalled my car (see 100k+ thread) but kept the audio and willing to sell this complete turn key system very reasonably, want to see it go to a good home.
  3. Alas, my dear beloved 1998 986 was at 98k and going along great, bought it in 2006 with 65k, and unfortunately totalled her 2 weeks ago. Thought I'd have her for life. Long story short, was cut off, hit and slid up on a cement curb, car slid a ways on it, insurnace declared totalled due to underframe being bent all the way, requiring major structural work. Not to add a sorry story to this string of great stories, ut to add that, just to add, like like most of you, I was pouring on the miles without any major problems and enjoying the heck out if this wonderful car. Have since scaled down $ wise and gone the used Mercedes E320 way, which is better for by Real Estate Business, but BOY do I miss my boxy, especially with the temp warming up here in Charleston. Sigh. But there will come a time when I"ll get another one, had a 1977 911s, not a 98 986, ot's in my blood....:) I did well with the insurance company, kept the salvage comensation amount and sold her off myself to a local Porsche specialist shop, Autometrix here in Charleston, that's owned by racing fans, they are going to fix it and use her as a track car, around the South East. So she is in good hands and will back on the road, ionstead of scrapped for metal. On another note, please see my signature, I did get to keep my entire audio system, which is a very advanced installation, and I have the entire system ready to sell at a reasonable price. It's almost turn key, with all components, inlcuding the difficult to reporduce custom made dash speakers with high end JL Audio german version 3 ways (with door 6") Subwoofer is fantastic too, and 5 chanel amp an easy install. Rear enclosure is black, as is carpet cover ofer the sub enclosure. If you know anyone looking for a complete audio upgrade, send them to me, to do this system form scratch would be $2k+ I"ll keep in touch on the board, and for those clicking over 100k, happy miles!!!!!! TOny Schimek in Charleston tschimek@carolinaone.com
  4. Getting close to 100, 95k on my 98, owned since 65k, only minor things so far, a joy to drive and enjoy daily!
  5. Great News Bill!!!! The smoke from an AOS failure is temporarily heart stopping, as you (and I) have experienced, so the easy fix is great news, happy motoring! Tony
  6. Progress report: Removed access panel, and removed plastic tray after figuring out there was one last middle area bolt...not easy when car is barely jacked a few inches, a few cracked parts, but it will go back on fine. Yes, the plastic tray had a lot of coolant dripping form it, both wet and perhaps dried. From below, the entire area on the bottom and surrounding the water pump has what appears to be coolant spray. The Y hose & screw clamp have drips and remnants of coolant on their underside, but don't seem to be perforated. From above/interior panel, all seems fine, I can see the serpentine belt needs to be removed to remove the water pump. I'm now at the stage where I'm wondering if I should: 1- Run the engine a short while and see of coolant is indeed leaking from below the water pump? or 2- Just remove the water pump and diagnose further. If 2...how do I tell if the water pump is the cause of leakage? Worn gasket? Car is jacked up a few inches, right rear tire, with this in mind, is there a danger with oil flow if I run it for 10 seconds? It appears the water pump can be removed by removing the serpentine belt, and about 5 bolts, asides form making sure I clamp the one hose leading out of it, are there any other hoses or aspects I should be aware of before trying to remove the water pump? I see in the middle photo above that a larger hose and clamp, just below/close to the water pump hose/clamp, have been removed, wonder if I should/need to do this too for convenience/access. Thanks guys, Tony
  7. Gentleman, Thank you gratefully for the guidance, I'm off to Autozone for the plier/clamps, and will report back on further diagnosis. Just a quick question, is it ok to start the engine briefly (to check leakage location) while the right rear wheel is jacked up? Tks, Tony
  8. 1998 2.7 with 95k miles As I entered my driveway, I noticed steam type smoke coming out of the rear...then the coolant temp light came on, I immediately drove in the garage and stopped the car. A trail of leaked coolant stretched for about a hundred yards down the street. Coolant continued to leak I guess as steam type smoke, smelled of steaming coolant, came from below the car on the passenger side mostly, and from the side vent. I let the car cool down, it continued to steam a bit out of the side vent mostly, for almost a half hour, as the engine cooled down or leak stopped. I checked the Coolant tank, it's close to empty but still a bit left in the bottom. Note: I replaced the cracked coolant tank myself a year ago, and the cap at the same time. I removed the carpet and the coolant tank is fine, as are the hoses on the tank side. I checked in the engine bay at the rear firewall where the tank comes out, all 3 hoses on that side seem to check ok, and no wetness or leaks there or around those hoses. The coolant seems to have leaked from somewhere near the bottom of the engine, as it was dripping from the plastic protector panel under the engine when I looked. I filled the tank back up, and a bit started dripping again at the bottom of the engine area, but only a few drops. The coolant tank has stayed pretty much full, so I suspect it's the pressure with the engine running that caused leaking wherever the fault is. I did start the engine for a second and turned it off again, it dripped just a bit more from the same area. I do not want to start the engine again unless I get an ok from this board that it's safe, to test. If anyone can help me diagnose the most likely source of leakage, be appreciated. I read over numerous past threads, even one of my own when I replaced my tank, all seem to address tank, or firewall area hoses or the water pump, but not leakage somewhere else. Here is a picture of a hose in the area where dripping seems to be occurring, you can see an orange drop under the shield, perhaps it's leaking either from this hose part, or the metal part to the left of this hose, where this hose connects. On that metal engine part, I did see a few drops on the bottom of that part. I'm trying to upload a few other pics, but having photobucket/slow internet problems. Could it be the water pump? I thought this pump was near the firewall, and the leak "seems" to be from the bottom of the engine, right above where the plastic shield is. There are small weep holes in this shield and the coolant gathered up in this shield and dripped from the weep holes. Lot's of steam came out, so I wonder if it's not more serious then just a hose or the part near the bottom. Car is presently jacked up by the passenger wheel, coolant tank is full, not leaking at the moment, I'm concerned about starting to engine to test, and also assume I should not start the engine with the car jacked up, due to oil flow. Any and all help appreciated, to help diagnose what hose or gasket or part may be the cause, thanks!! Tony
  9. HUGE Richard. I'm hopeful this is the issue. Thanks very much! Bill I'm not mechanically inclined, and did the AOS replacement myself following Mike Focke's instructions, lots of scraped knuckles and a long afternoon, but did it. Hope that's what's wrong, and not major engine trouble. Read below for diagnosis: http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/airoilseparatorreplacement Sidenote: If I were to do it over, I'd pay a few hundred plus parts to have it done, rather then do it myself.
  10. HUGE Richard. I'm hopeful this is the issue. Thanks very much! Bill I'm not mechanically inclined, and did the AOS replacement myself following Mike Focke's instructions, lots of scraped knuckles and a long afternoon, but did it. Hope that's what's wrong, and not major engine trouble. Read below for diagnosis: http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/airoilseparatorreplacement
  11. I have a custom 8" sub that was built by Jamey Rawlings who used to be with Paris Audio...It sounds awesome and I pound the h*ll out of it...e.g. mirrors vibrating, punchy bass (on the right song), seats vibrating, etc. It's really amazing. On the install, basically I drilled a screw right through the back of the speaker box into the floor board. E.g. remove the drive to access in the inside of the enclosure, drill the screw through, and replace the driver. Be careful not to use too long of a screw or you will go into the gas tank (not a problem unless you ever have to remove the gas tank or the the sub). Bhavesh Two very big thumbs up for Jamey Rawlings from me too, I consulted with him a lot when designing my system, he made door baffle boards for me and led me in the right direction in making my own sub box, similar to what he does. The 8" sub in the footwell is the real deal.
  12. Uh, before anyone tries JBweld on this type of part, as soon as I tried to lift the top to put it back on temporarily, the "weld" failed. Guess this 2 part cold weld material does not work well for this, I am still not sure if it is aluminum or magnesium. Guys at Sunset don't know. Think it's alu, but tool pants think it might be mag. I am somewhat broke (not cheap, broke:) and trying to save on the cost of the part, if it's aluminum, local welder should be able to weld it easily, but if it's magnesium, the 4 welders I have called all won't touch it. Back to the drawing board. I think I will bring the part to the welder, ugh...car is my daily/only driver.
  13. Ok, Once top removed and upside down, taking apart the pieces to access the broken part was pretty straightforward, fortunately I did not have to remove any rubber parts or canvas. 1- Rather then replace the part that cracked in two, ($217+) I decided to try 2part JBweld, and it bonded very nicely. Pulled on it rather hard held strong, plus the way the tension happens on that part, I believe it's not that high, so the weld should work. (Will report back if it does not) Put it back together, all told, 1 hour tops 2- Siliconed many areas of the foam. Time to test for water leaks, and diagnose the skipping cable problem. Question: What is the purpose of the "microswitch"? Is it a backup to the normal open/close switch? Thanks, Tony
  14. Tony: Some Boxsters only have one phillips screw (on each side) in addition to the three large bolts. Others have more than one. Take a good look (maybe with a small inspection mirror placed down under where the frame assembly is attached on each side) and make sure there isn't another phillips screw holding it in place. If you are absolutely sure that there are no more phillips screws still fastened under there, then try giving the frame assembly in the same area a couple of sharp blows WITH A RUBBER MALLET. It's possible that the parts have sort of fused or slightly corroded themselves together. That sometimes happens when dissimilar metals stay in contact. Keep in mind though that some of those surrounding parts might be a little delicate and are definitely very expensive. Keep us posted. Regards, Maurice. Update: Thank you, there was indeed another screw, a second one, about a few inches ahead of the first, pretty easy to see had I looked more closely, thanks for the tip, I looked and found! Top very-very easily popped right out after I removed that screw, now I will - seal the foam with silicone - try to dissablme part of the top assembly to remove and replace/repair the cracked part - Diagnose the new problem Will keep the thread updated, thanks for checking in Maurice!
  15. Monsieur Maurice, thank you thank you for the diagnosis, will go through it tomorrow and report back. Any thoughts on why the assembly is so hard to pull out? Thanks, Tony
  16. Hello all, I started the top removal process to see if I could access and remove a broken part to repair or replace it. Thread about broken part: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=21585 I also need to add some form of sealant to the foam that leaks a bit with heavy rains, I have located where it leaks and it's under the metal top brackets, so by removing the top, I figure I would access the entire foam area to seal it properly with some black silicone or similar. Problem #1: Top Removal, won't come off. Following Maurice's superb easy to follow steps from previous threads, I did the steps to be able to remove the top in one piece. The top won't "unstick", I tried prying the foam apart with plastic as well as possible, no go. The brackets do move a bit when I move the entire assembly back and forth (carefully), but no matter how hard I try to pull back or up, it just won't pop off, nor can it slide backwards any distance at all. All 3 big bolts and phillips screw removed, bolt on control arm removed and red ball joint popped off (and defroster connector) I'm hesitant to try a pry bar anywhere for now, any advice on leverage or what's needed to pop it off appreciated. Problem #2: I figured I would use the power to close the clamshell. (with top partially up, stupid move I guess). After taping the loose control arm ends to the V piece so they would not dangle, I pushed the close button, the clamshell closed, but the motor didn't stop, and I heard a few popping/cracking sounds. Click Click Click. Tried the button to open back up/raise clamshell, didn't work. Clamshell does not move, and click click click (more like a hard snapping click) The clamshell control arm mini shock absorbers (sorry for non technical terms) were pumping a bit then clicking back. I pried off/removed the black ball joints to enable manual release of the clamshell. They come off with a sharp pop, therefore the ball joints were under a bit of pressure... Now when I power, the motor turns freely, non stop, but the V's don't turn. Manual operation of the Clamsheel fine, I greased the tracks, open and closes freely Did I perhaps snap both cables, or connections, or something else? With the clamshell ball joints disconnected, should the V's be turning when the motor is activated? They don't. Any help with both problems, very appreciated. #1- Can't pop off the top assembly #2- Did I snap or break anything, how to diagnose. I have ordered 2 new plastic caps to replace the red ones, and once I have removed the broken cast aluminum part, will repair or replace that. Part #13 in this diagram I believe. Mistakes I made others can learn from: - The old red ball joints are brittle indeed, sure enough, I cracked one. Ordered 2 replacements ones from eBay. - I didn't pay careful enough attention to the control arm that was dangling when I was moving the top back and forth to pry it lose..sure enough, it gouged the foam a bit. Thanks for any help! Tony
  17. Hi, I have been working on top issues, had one of the old red caps break, found the ebay link live again, perhaps this can help you or someone else sometime. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-pla...sspagenameZWDVW
  18. Uh, I dunno man, I thought you said that, with your new subwoofer, you were done spending for a while... B) Kiddin, T
  19. Wow, magnesium may be a whole other ball of wax, thanks for the insight, and I PM'd Mike to see if he still has his top. If not, I won't screw around, I'll order the part. Many thanks TP Tony
  20. Ok, I have researched that it certainly should be weldable, but knowing exactly what type of ally it is would help the welder. http://www.welding-advisers.com/Material-identification.html Therefore the million dollar question: Anyone have any how to find out what the alloy type is for this part? I imagine it's identical to the other similar convertible top mechanism cast aluminum parts. The more info I can bring to the welder, the better, I'm sure. Tks! Tony
  21. Car is 1998 986 Mistake #1: Passenger side seatbelt assembly was not working well, belt not retracting, so I unscrewed it from the frame to play around with it. I twas still dangling up near the belt loop. Mistake #2: A bit later, I opened the top, while it was opening, the dangling seatbelt assembly was in the way of the opening top mechanism, top opening started to slow down and CRACK!!! Something broke. I have the autotop button, but was paying attention, and stopped the opening procedure. Opened and closed slowly a few times to diagnose, right side does not follow along as it should about 3/4 of the way open, looking deeper into why, and found that: Part # 986-561-34600, steering arm lower, a cast aluminum part about maybe 8" long x 2" wide, has literally broke in two, severed in two in the middle area (not broke where there is a bolt hole, just the arm part). Porsche PET Illustration # 811-05 shows the part, #11. When the Germans say "very strong motor"..., they sure are right! My primary question, being a boxster on a budget owner, is - Can an aluminum part like this be welded back together by a welder (probably $25), instead of buying a new one? Sunset part is $217+ship and sticking delay, parts guy said the cast part "might" be weldable by a pro who knows what he's doing, as it's a metal that gets soft when heated. No Jin, I won't try crazy glue:) I have yet to attempt to remove the part, I'm assuming the best way is to remove the top assembly from the the car first "A la Maurice" instructions, and hope I can remove said part to either have it welded, or replaced. Thanks for any advice as to; 1- Whether this part should be repairable or not 2- Anything I need to know in trying to replace it (remove top from car or not, potential problems, etc..), with welded part or replacement. Sidenote and off topic: The seatbelt still won't come out of the assembly, it's stuck all the way in, have removed it from the car, have not taken it apart yet, any experience on this problem is welcome too.
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