rsfeller

Wow this is a rough one for sure! Is it possible for the autozone guys to check the alternator easily in a boxster at the shop? I would think to pull the access panels and take it to your local corporate autoparts that offers free alternator checks. Although I don't know this alternator or VR from experience I have in fact experienced a alternator (on my boat) that came back from a supposed rebuild with a VR that was putting out 18V. I cannot image what issues this may cause (high or low voltage) on new cars with sensitive computer systems. Always consider a recent repair as questionable when issues are not resolved. It can and does happen. Anymore CEL(s) occurring?

how about a used OEM exhaust from ebay? I'm sure it's in great shape as the new owner wanted ugpraded exhaust, will go for cheaper then a new cat and you can sell what you don't need! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-Box...sspagenameZWDVW

Google the topic and you will find lots of pros and cons to these extended warrenties. If you are a DIY guy you don't need one but if you cannot do you own work and you car scares you it's always something to consider. Someone in my family sells for one of the big extended warrenty companies and he makes LOTS of dough and he is legit. He's told me the redemption rate is very low on these warrenties and not does he make good money but so does the underwriter. You should be able to find good coverage for half that price too! Lastly, consider the cost to loss. If you put that $2000 in the bank for 5 years it would be a better investment. Even with an RMS failure you are only looking at $1500 to fix and that seems to be the worst that happens. I would do some research on your 98 (prone to engine failure that year) to find out if you have already been replaced and if so forget the warrenty. If you have not replaced the engine, have an auto transmission and cannot fix your own car you may want to consider such a warrenty but I would go lots cheaper and get a shorter warrenty. Are you so sure to have the car in 5 years?

It's hard to believe the MAF has such a great impact on the value of the system but as far back as the 80s on my Vw Vans the temp2 (computerized water temp) and AMM (air mass meter) have huge impacts on the computer's decisions and they failed regularly. When either of these temp or air density sensors were bad there would be bucking and flat spots in the power band or a failure to hold idle and/or start. Usually it was easy to figure out they were bad w/o having to put meters on them as simply unhooking them puts the car in a default or limp home mode. If the disconnection gives an a limited improvement you answer is usually there. I make mention of this because CJ did the test of unplugging it and I would not of thought of this on a modern car! I post this so others that find this tread can see that unplugging their MAF for testing will show show it's failure. Good job CJ... ...now when is my MAF going to fail? I feel like I should just buy one now as it has to eventually happen to me! (70K miles). It's a shame the price on them hasn't drop considering how many aftermarket ones are needed by the public.

holy blurry photos batman! How can we admire you fine craftsmanship? Is this tool needed to reset the new seal or remove the old one? I've seen this done on old Vw engines before and am wondering how the process is different?

CJ, I am NOT speaking from experience here but I think your answer may be in your comments. I've read on this board (and others) many times that there is only a certain point that MAF cleaning is effective before the intervals get short or non-existent. It seems that most of use have mentioned flat power at approx. 5,000 rpm with MAF in need of cleaning and replacement. My only other thought would be fuel filter age but my experience with other cars has been serious lack of power, bucking or deceleration if they truly get to the point of failure or clogging. I'll be keeping my eye on this post because I know my MAF replacement days are coming soon!

start with the basics...check for fuel and spark. Additionally, the ignition switch could be to blame.

1200 or 12000 miles? either way that is seriously low. Keep and eye on the RMS leak for sure, if that goes you are SOL! That is a shame the RMS leaks with such low miles. I understand it could have dried out and it may very wheel reseal if you continue to drive it and get lubricant where it's supposed to be flowing, as in the engine! Shawn

You would have to have really low octane and serious "pinging" going on before efficiency would be affected. Changes (especially going up) in octane affecting fuel economy are considered a myth by most experts. http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/webtemp3.cfm?dept=3&id=2049

wow a crate engine that costs as much as the car!! Is that quote installed?

Hello Christa, Is the sound in the far right by the vent or more down low by the feet of the passenger compartment? Does the tic-tic stop after a minute or continue forever? Can you make the sound go away by directing the air flow in a different configuration? My thoughts include: 1. If it's from the far vent it may very well be the air temp sensor, do a search on the board for lots of information on this. There is a sensor in there that measures the cabin temperature and helps set the automatic climate control (ACC). The fan that helps draw the air in can either get something stuck near it causing a sound or the fan motor itself is "off" a bit and making some noise. Often a squirt or two of a silicon lubricant can solve the issue but some may argue it could cover the sensor too. I've done it for years in other cars to solve a noise suction fan but often I take the whole part out to direct the lubricant and clean the sensor with a q-tip. 2. If it's more tic-tic that is noticeably heard only at certain times when the temp and air flow in configured in a certain manor then you may have an obstruction in the flap that opens close a particular vent. Often when something obstructs these flaps the gear may "jump" to compensate for the plastic parts NOT to break. Or it may be a symptom of a damaged flap mechanism or an arm out of place. Obstruction could be caused by insulation foam from further upstream. Have you had issues with foam coming out of your vents in the past in small pieces?

Just a stab in the dark... Correct me if I'm wrong gang but there are two or three horns on the car. One for the alarm and one or two for the traditional horn. 1. If the airbag bushing/horn failure is in the "on postion" then the horn would sound all the time, thus why the fuse is blown 2. If the horn has failed then it's still reciving power from the system thus draining the battery My fuse was blown or pulled when I bought my car used. It had not only a failed air bag frame horn bushings but both horns had failed and I had to replace them (cheap if I recall, one for alarm and one for beeping). I seem to also recall from other car repair and my Boxster that horns always have 12+ to the horn area and some how the ground competes the circuit(?). duel failures here could be leaking your power after the fuse was replaced. Pull that fuse and see how you do again. The way I understand your write up is the power drain didn't come until after you found the bad fuse. Additionally, pull those horns and test them and until you get the new air bag frame you are on hold.

and a coolant pressure test will tell you of a bad head gasket or a crack in the right area...

As you may have read the most common failure trend with the horn is the failure of the rubber bushings within the air bag frame on the 986 models. These tend to fail either in the on position (and thus you must pull a fuse to keep your horn from sounding permanently), no horn possible at all due to connection failure or very strange intermittent consistence. None of which should have any bearing on the ignition position. If it's not in fact a strange coincidence then there is an issue at work with either a ground or a leaking 12v+ from the system. Maybe an electrical expert here could explain how this could happen. Since the the horn tends to recieve a voltage all the time it makes me think you may have a ground issue but I'm not sure how the airbag/bushing failure could play into this. Obviously I'm doing a lot of speculating here that may be of no use. I would truely start with the common bushing failure before going to far. Are you sure it is the ignition that is the connection and not the fact the wheel is unlocked or turn and then messing with the connection? I cannot recall how the "clock spring" plays into the horn on this car. I'm done talking smack.

I've been soldiering 02 in many german cars for years with boesch generics with no issues, although the newest cars may have a greater tolerance to operate with a given range compared to a 1986 Vanagon!

Gang, This discussion has had me thinking... Has this site or any others done poll questions to try to get some history on common issues? I have been seriously thinking about updating my old automotive tech websites to a newer web product (joomla based) to post all my documents and opinions. One of the features that I would think would be great is the poll question functionality. I'm not considering giving Loren a run for his money with forums or such but between my Vw, Saab and now Porsche projects I would love to know questions such as: Q: Have you experienced RMS leaks? A. Yes, on my 2.5L B. No, on my 2.5L C. Yes, on my 2.7L D. No, on my 2.7L I know it's not a perfect sample but it would be interesting to post questions from time to time. There are alteast a dozen common issues I would love to know how frequent they are amount posters to this site. Thoughts? Been there done that on another site? Useless data? I've set up and example here, ignore all the test text: http://carboncow.net/www2

If so we are still looking at 32.5mpg if we assume he left some gas in the tank. Feds say different, I think he has a bad odometer or forgot to reset something!

boy I hate to be the guy who yells b*%$^#@t but seriously, 35mpg...was it downhill the entire way or were you driving 50mph? I have a flat drive 50 miles to work I drive daily in three different cars I rotate. When I take the 2.5L Boxster 26-27mpg is the best I've ever seen and that is driving 65mph. I get a bit frustrated on the BB I frequent when some guy selling (or not) is telling us he gets 32mpg out of his vanagon or eurovan when the rest of us are getting 18mpg. I've seen it on the Saab boards too with values 10+ mpg then the rest of us. I have new plugs ever year along and plug wires when they apply to the vehicle. I feel they are doing bad math, have bad data or are just BS'ing. How sure are you of your data? Unless you ran the car bone dry I'm assuming you still left a gallon in the tank or am I wrong here and there was a tank larger then 15.3 gallons in the US cars?

PK, I though the issues you mention were ONLY with late year 98, so as you stated resolved by 99 but does exempt 97 from everything I have researched. Shawn

Most people who are not techie or shade-tree mechanics that are surfing the boards looking for dependability on a given car are going to always be scared into paralysis by analysis. By definition most tech boards are ways for the general public or DIY'r mechanics to get inside information on others on how to fix common items that are ridiculously expensive at the dealer. Don't get me wrong I have been swayed from one engine to another in a given model on the used market due to dependability issues on forums but I'm also someone who has been on a forum for years getting opinions from people that I know and respect. For those who are simply stumbling in reading for research they will seen nothing but bad things... With that said I see those who post on the boards I frequent for Saabs, vw and Porsches of those looking to buy and being scared by all the negative things they read. People seldom post to a board because they are wanting to tell everyone how perfect their car is running. Now add in this information to the fact many Porsche are run hard even for daily driving and there seems to be many people commenting on blown engines. I also think the type of people who buy these cars are questionable to, but that is another post. Additionally these engines are not known for being rebuilt. Porsche has a history of replacing and most tech shops are just not into rebuilding anymore on newer Porsche engines. When these starting getting older more may comment on rebuilds but for now these are rather techie engines for shade tree mechanics from what I read. I've been on this board for about two years after buying a 1997 with 65K miles. I've seen very few rant about severely damaged engines from daily driving compared to other boards on other models. I see the same amount of common failure items on my Porsche as other models I drive.

So are you stating your battery went did while you were driving? Did the auto store state your old battery was indeed in that bad a shape? Is the new battery holding a charge? If not you have a alternator issue most likely. Shawn

Keep in mind that most car manufacture recommend a very specific process for jump starting their cars including specific ground points to attach to. The reality (including myself) is most of us just hook up +/+ and -/- and go. Additionally, I always let the donor car rev and slow charge my cars battery some and try to start after a minute or two. It sounds like this battery was drained considerably and may have been hit with quite a spike from the donor car. The donor may even have excessive voltage from a bad regulator on their alternator! There are so many variables to explain this they are possible but not always probable for all makes and models. I would bet money the jump start was not by the book and something jolted the system. If everthing checks out count your blessings you have not lost any expensive subsystem computers and be careful on future jump starts. Modern cars are not the same as a 1974 Chevy pickup! Shawn

OBD2 is a good tool but if you have the resources the Durametric goes way beyound with it's ability to tell you all sensor values. For example I was troubleshooting a heating/cooling issue and it can tell you what angle the servos that run all the vents and valves are at to determine issues. It's almost a complete PST and they guys who develop it respond to feedback and keep bring new needs online. Shawn

The motor could be good and just binding. YOu really need to get in there to make the assesment. Even if the news is bad you could posibly get the window up, drive the car with the panel off and wait patiently for parts to arrive. 1. Get the Bentley, seriously. 2. Get the Durametric software (google it) if you have the budget and a laptop. Worth it's weight in good with the first issue you have. with the motor in hand you can directly apply 12v one way and then the other to test the motors capacity in both directions. You most likely have the very common window regular cable frey problem. Lots of info is already on teh board including from me. As with most cars you buy used there will be a bout 3-6 ugly problems that may rear their ugly head with a Boxster. The day I bought mine it had 3 of them and then the window regular cable came later. This issues include. SRS and failed horn due to bad bushings in the SRS drivers airbag assembly failing. Cheap and easy fix. SRS airbag codes due to failed connections at seat belts and ground point. Well documented and cheap DIY fix. MAF failure. RMS failure. and my favorite, foam shooting from your air vents. Read my long winded solution on www.carboncow.com Shawn

Mike, Welcome newbie, let me be the first to tell you to get the Bentley manual if you don't have it already. Nobody should be w/o it especially if you plan to be a DIY'r. Since you have some many posts on vortex I'm guessing you can do quite a bit. First do a search on the board. The common issues with the window are well documented. Sounds like the switch and relay are working so you issue is with the motor or drive system. The later fails the most with the fraying and stretching or breaking. Often the fray problem is detected by the the windows inablity to go up or down the small amount to clear the seal when you pull the handle. If the problem was neglected completely then the wire could have broke in the down position. Get the Bentley and read the posts, you need to pull the cover off the door and get to the motor and drive system. Can you hear the motor attempting to turn? The drive system for the car can be found on ebay as well as new with our site sponsor, Sunset Imports. See the link under Special Offers tab for P parts at dealer cost. If you get anything from this board (and you will) please donate to the hard work and costs of Loren the owner/moderator and become a contributing members. Shawn www.carboncow.com