rsfeller

Compared to most other cars and especially like cars (BMW Z3, Mercedes CLK) ect it holds about the same percentage best I can tell from my constant ebay searching.

has anyone just considered the 996 is just a bit over priced and holding it's value to well?

I'm amazed that the 996 is half the same car but can be almost three times the same price! (not including turbo and extreme models!)

Additionally other then the 911 serires is seems to me that 944 (924), 928, 968 and now 986 can be had for resonable money at 7-10 years old. It's only the mystic of the 911 that holds it's value in the same respects as other collectable cars. Like any car if it was really a garge princess it will hold it's value. I would guess more Porsches (then not) are garage princess and thus have good resale.

Supply/demand are what drive economics but fashionability aand perception are the issues at work here to. Let's face it everyone has always said the boxster was the poor man's porsche. it's the only reason I can afford a reliable one!

image. image. image.

Additionally entry level cars are not only meant to be driven, but are.

I'm not at nervous as others about unknow history and 3rd ownership. An informed consumer can just as easy buy a good car at a great price on the used market. Now if you are just one of those rich guys with more money then brains then yea go ahead and pay 33% over average market value. Chances are you will get a better car and less headaches but...

I have a buddy (weathier then me for sure) that constantly buys CPO cars (mostly european) paying 25-33% over average market and there is no question that our cars go to the repair show the same amount and mine has twice as many miles. Yes I am a bit more savey consumer and DIY'er then him cars but his CPO need just as much work on regular as mine. His last CPO lost the tranmission (BMW) 60 days out of warrenty.

putting in my sirius receiver soon. i figured i'd pick up switched 12v so when the stereo is turned on so is the Sirius unit.

What have others done and who has a pin out of the back of the CDR-210. thought I had a doucment on it but cannot find it now

Shawn

Yea when my girlfriend picked up the part they told her she would be back for the entire tumbler assembly. So on here say their local dealer ONLY sells the full assembly now, while my had not problem with just the switch.

I wonder what makes them feel the entire tumber fails more often as evidence on this board points to 90% ignition switch only.

screw dealers.

count me in on the need for link too!

I need those rails to keep my skull from smashing to the roll bar and inch of lower seat would help emencely, although I'd be concerned it may push things up an inch too.

Shawn

...that cannot have larger rims. what is so unique to the suspension that year that larger rims dont' work?

what actually occurs with larger rims, wear issues on tires?

Shawn

The plugs were replaced about 6k ago,..but the ruff idle was there befor. Also, i only have an issue with starting up right after after i fill up with gas. It starts like a charm all the other times. These may be 2 seperate issues, i only had a problem starting about 3 weeks now.

I figured you would say that. since you had so many other things.

Have we rulled out all vacumn issues including oil filler leaks and gas cap leaks. Any error codes at all from the system? That gas fill really makes me thing a venting, vacumn or cap issue for sure.

I know this weekend when working on my 986 I was amazed at how senstative these vehicles are to leaks. Simply losening the oil filler cap sent the car in to crazy land. I would also recommend 02 sensors for such odd behavior on other cars (such as Vw) but we all know you would have error codes for such behavior.

If the idle is rough after prolonged sitting (over night) that makes me think leaking fuel injectors but there seems to be very little on that failure trend on the P boards.

Shawn

what's the status of your plugs. I cannot speak for Porsche but my Direct Ignition Saabs do the same when the plugs have lived their life in full. One day they are fine and then all of a sudden they can be hard to start.

I had a fuel pump go bad and once we got that fixed the car it still didn't start well. My buddy pulled my plugs to check on them and they were bad but not horrible. New plugs solved the issue.

You guys never read the manual do you? It says not to use any other coolant right in there. Could have saved yourself a bunch of trouble. I stick with Porsche fluids in my car. There is no need to mess around to save a few bucks.

There is more to then just "doing what Porsche" says. There is nothing magically unique aboutr Porsches that prevents from using other products as long as they are phosphate free and of high quality.

Not all of us want to buy rediculous P antifreeze at $50 a gallong when MB has been making photophate free antifreeze for years (and others)...but it is a good idea to flush and not mix different brands.

They simply state this to make it easy on the consumer and sell more of their expensive services. If the consumer is confused just tell them to bring it to the experts and by their magically and secret product...right...

I need to establish an acceptable baseline as I continue to figure out my lack of heat concern:

New thermostat

My Duremetric software states all air max flaps (including temp mix) are in working order. I pulled the foot bulkhead to visually check the temp mix motor and arm. They are in fact able to move the full range from "lock to lock".

System properly bleed out

Yet I still don't have heat while under way (ECTS 90C) but I can get acceptable heat if I keep the car stationary and keep the revs up (2500) I get ECTS temps of 99-102C.

What I'm looking for is someone to give me a baseline temp of their OUTLET TEMP under the following conditions.

run car up to temp and let idle for 5 minutes

set temp on AC to HI with FAN to HI

Turn off AC (*)

Take PST2/Durametric readings of

• ECTS Temp
  
• OUTLET Temp
  

and PM or email with your results (carboncow@gmail.com)

I get ECTS 90-91C and OUTLET TEMP of 47C. I need to know if you outlet temp is higher at the given ECTS temp.

UPDATED: This was resolved and it's an interested one a full write with photos will soon follow but here is the short of it:

Removed heater core to test for blockage, air or foam covering it. We'l foam was involved but the opposite. You know all that foam you get out your vent sometimes? It doesn't come from the filter is comes from the air mix flap doors. They are actually full of holes and covered in foam. If all the foam has dry rotted and blown away the doors are swiss cheese and allow cool air to bleed into the heat during the winter and the opposite in the summer! Never great heat or AC at highway speeds. So I cut open the top of the AC system with a dremel to remove the flap, recover it with foam covered in electrical tape and all is well. Heat is incredible.

I took some bad photos with my camera phone but those who are curious or need to know will get the drift. In all my searching and travels NOBODY has ever mentioned this missing foam or door flaps, can I really be the first? I believe this may have been troubleshot by a tech before as I had subtle signs of entry. My guess is a tech may have figured out the issue but since their solution is a $1000+ air box assembly (you cannot just buy the flap anyways) and $1000 in labor to remove the dash, evaporator and airbox...my way rocks. 3 hours, $3.00 in foam and roll of electrical tape!

Lastly when I was told the foam was coming from the air filter area I was somewhat skeptical becuase the foam has to travel through the evaporator and/or heater core to come out the vent...and the chunks were just to be big to get past those two items. Therefor I'm sure the condensor still does have foam slightly blocking it as some foam is missing from the air filter, but I removed the rest to play it safe.

Believe me if you have foam coming out of your vents you have the air mix (temp value) flap foam falling apart and eventually your heating capacity will deminish. As the early 986 and 996 start to get older we'll be seeing this...and remember my write up...becuase I was the first!

In AllData I don't see a heater valve either. I see a "heat exchanger" which seems to be what they call the heater core. It looks like the heat is always "on" with the temperature mixer flap opening and closing the valves to allow either hot or cool air in.

That's the problem with mine. I have no heat when it's below freezing outside. If I run the car to normal operating temperature, I can pull over and re-start the car and the heat will work againl. The temperature mixing valve makes a grinding noise so it was easier for me to find the problem.

Hope you find it soon before it gets too cold.

Thanks fo the confirmation. We are really crossing our fingers for the easy and obvious "stuck open" thermostat. I highly recommend the Durametric software for the price because the guys now have "real values" for all the ACC system. Thus you can check the Temperature Mixing Flap movement from 0-100 percent of travel to determine it's "issues". Sounds like yours is obvious w/o the software!

I just wanted to make sure there was in fact NOT a fluid based valve in the system, as I would then suspect that more then a "stuck open" thermostat.

Therefor Bentley is just plain wrong because you wouldn't need to start the car and turn the ACC to "high" for any reason. Moving the mixing flap from cold to hot would have no affect on the flow of the coolant for draining and thermostat replacment!

Lastly it can be confusing for a DIY or newbie considering that Porsche Tech Manual, PET and Bentley all call the Temperature Control Valve Flap Servo Gizmo something different in each reference. Toss ALLDATA into that and I'm sure there is a fourth therm!

getting ready to swap my thermostat tomorrow and reviewing Bentley. COOLING SYSTEM 19-5 at the top for Cooling system, draining filling and bleeding states:

With ignition ON, turn heater fully ON to open heater valve

This has me perplexed. Many cars do in fact have heater "valves" but the best I can tell from the schematic on 19-2 there is no heater "valve" in the system. Flow of the heater/cool in the system is mixed by the Temperature Mixing Flap to regulate the flow.

I see nothing in the Porsche Shop Tech Manual nor Bentley that says anything about a heater valve nor how it fits into the system.

• Can someone explain to me if and where there is a heater valve on the 986 or if this is a misprint?
  
• If there is in fact a heater valve is it electronically controlled somehow? (again there is no mention of it in the Porsche Service Manual).
  
• If there is in fact a heater valve could it be closed manual (or opened) in a way to allow flow in the heater core and thus solve my lack of heat problem that is NOT caused by a heater mix servo issue or possibly NOT the thermostat?
  

i had my regulator installed for 30 bux in about an hour, maybe u should take it in somewhere and not even bother...

but then again u will miss on the satisfaction that u fixed something on ur porsche

Thanks for the suggestion but I'm not sure solutions on DIY boards include "taking to the repair shop"!

I don't doubt you had it done that cheap but that is one in a million...I"m quite sure there is NOBODY in the my area that would remotely know how to pull apart a porsche without breaking clips for let alone for $30. it's a two hour job minimum not including adjustments (if needed).

where do you go that they charge $30 an hour for Porsche repairs...could be worth it for a few of us to drive several hundred miles at that cost!

We'll here is what I finally figured out. There was one reference to +rivet & +window on the 996 board and I found a photo to the so called rivet/stop here: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...l=rivet++window

With help from that post I determined that a 996 window "bump stop" is already installed on the front regular at the bottom to prevent window travel being stopped by bottom of door. Therefor that parts in the bag are for a Boxster. The 996 window travel is farther for some reason. (maybe someone knows why). I really didn't see the need until after the regulator was installed.

Looking at my photo at the bottom. I was still able to (barely) rivet in the hardware with the regulator installed. This is looking into the drivers door at the front regulator at the very bottom. The "bump stop" is on the back side rubber side up.

If you have an early model 1997 986 like me I would not re-install the blue stopper in the rail. I was going to do this and determined that the cable does rub on it and can get caught under it while installing it, if done incorrectly. This solution was obviously an upgrade to accomodate an inexpensive solution for both the 996 and 986.

ok i may have found a fit for this gimzo that doesn't match anything on my current door. it looks like it could go on the window clamp but once again with no photo, TSB or exisiting reference it could go on two differnt ways...

still looking for help here!

is it really needed (the tool) to pull the thermostat out of the housing?

any write-ups floating around?

I did this repair a short while ago. On the rail that is closer to the front of your door, you will see that there is already one of those white plastic things riveted in. I'm not sure if that existing one is for a 996, but for your Boxster, you will need to rivet the plastic item from your bag right above it. There is a little slot and setting for you to place it and you will need a pop rivet gun to apply it. If you don't apply the extra plastic piece and rubber grommet, your window will rattle when you close your door.

thanks. interesting but there is nothing similar on my early model 97. there is a blue plastic hump on the lower front rail but it doesn't match what is in the bag.

anyone got a photo?

EDIT: I just added two photos of what may be the need on mine...as I don't see such a piece of plastic on the new regulator. The design is 100% differnt then what is in the bag, so I don't have a clue how it attaches!

See images...

replacing window regulator. everything is going great, easy to do...i'm sure the fun will come in the post install adjustments as I had air leaks that needed tweaked anyways.

the new regulator assembly came with a small bag with two part and a rivet nail (see photo). i'm hoping these are for a 996 install as i see no part on the existing regulator that corresponds nor any reference in Bentley or other writeups (such as bombaydigital).

i'll finish the install in the morning so I'd appreciate any input tonight before i finish up tomorrow.

shawn

They don't call them "Car stealers" for nothing. Like everything dealing with them, you have to haggle the prices down and then ask for a PCA discount.

You're right about donating to this board because this board is like the having a hell of a lot of Porsche techs standing around waiting to give very good advice on your car. I try to donate twice a year because of the warm and fuzzy feeling I get when an answer is answered correctly and fast. My hat is off to Loren and Toolpants and the rest of you. :cheers:

So saying I'm PCA is the secret password for most Porsche dealers not charging way over suggested retail?

It's funny the wife went into pick up the part today. They didn't leave it at the front desk with her name on it like I asked so another staff member helped her and gave her the $300 price too! She then said that was not the correctly price and he reverted to $198 w/o even asking a question. Very shady if you ask me...

:renntech:

I won't trash talk here, I"ll just let the facts speak for themselves. I've seen a couple fellow Porsche owners on here from the Central Ohio region.

I was going to order a window regular from the wonderful Sunset Imports but they are out of stock and my local dealer has one. It broke 100% yesterday so it needs fixed ASAP. I used Loren's Retail Price List to arm myself with what I should pay for this item (approx. $198.00 Porsche retail). I called MAG in Columbus and they told me $300!!! I instantly asked why Porsche recommended it at $198.00 and without and argument he said he could let it go at that price.

You have to be kidding me! (FYI Sunset was $150).

Moral of the story:

1. Be an informed consumer. Donate to renntech.org so you have access to the retail price list, it will save you money the first trip to a unscrupulous dealer.

2. Be an informed consumer

3. Consider all Porsche dealers untrustworthy until proven differently

These were the same guys that told me they would charge me for 3 hours labor for an ignition switch I did in 10 minutes in the parking lot across the street.

Shawn

Ohio

During deceleration while in gear, my 2001 boxster has a strange vibration at about 3k rpms. Higher or lower it is not evident. It doesn't matter what gear i'm in, it always happens when i slow to around 3k. I am not using the brakes when this occurs. Any ideas?

I'll be curious to see some comments. I get the samein the low 2000 range, then gone.

I know I have some light suspension issues (bushing, strut bearings) and posibly a common rear motor mount issue. Maybe the later will be the solution as I seem to notice the vibration about the same time some other rear motor mount issues arrised.

My poor car. 1997 with 60,000 driven by a little old lady for 8 years. I've had it for two months and everything is starting to rattle, squeak and creek in the suspension as I give it the drive it never had. Sounds like I may have a motor mount, strut bearings and others wanting to be relaced.

But now I've got some serious "creeking" when the front end moves up and down over the road. You can even here it when I get out of the car now "creeeeeek", and I only way 190lbs...so it's not my fat ***!

What are common "creek" locations on the 986, what bushings are hating life and will I be able to see this once I get it on a lift or are some of the culprits imposable to see their failure.

Before those of you who have far more money then me or are Porsche mega-purists thumb your noses at me, you ought to see the fix job he did on my boat camper top two years ago. amazing work at any price, a true artist!

Plenty of owner drivers out here who dont want or have money to throw away man. Not sure many would admit to that though! Chill yer boots.

Lastly I have the auto up/down top module. Although this module rocks for getting caught in poor weather but I don't recommend blindly just hitting "open" and driving away w/o see what crease may be developing in the wrong place. my damage was done before I had time to notice.

Which auto module do you have?

I'm thinking of getting one, which is best/easiest/cheapest?

ha! tell me to chill my boots and then ask me a question, good one! you know exactly the purists i'm taking about...

https://www.wilhelmy-it.de/sms/shop/index.p...cts&jump=23

not cheap but it rocks. the first time i had to pull my e-brake and put up the top at a light only to have it take to long...i knew i needed this!

Sounds like motor mounts. See if this thread make sense.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...hl=motor+mounts

I'll have to check that out for sure as I do have a new slight vibration at a couple of rpm ranges, that would explain a bit.

having just bought an arctic silver top for my plain black car, I didn't like the combination, arctic silver was just too light

so I had it painted for at a good local shop and it came out great

at first it creaked like crazy, over every bump, and if I dropped the drivers window when I was moving it wouldn't re-seat, now it's quiet and there's no gaps at all in the windows, they definitely do settle a bit :)

I also drive my car year round with snows in Mass and it's great, the only problem like Graeme said, is clearance, if there's more than 4 inches on the ground it starts to plow

Did you have to take it apart for the paint job or did they do a great job with it in one piece?