rsfeller

I agree with Loren...this would have told you how effectively the pump is working. If these guys didn't try this first get that car out of there and tell them to stuff the bill up their butt. They are bilking or incompetent.

I will ask them tommorow...i would hope a porsche tech would think of this....and i havent a clue of what has been ruled out....all i know is the car is torn apart...driver seat out, back left wheel off, all types of wiring in the trunk out.....im starting to get concerned what this fiasco will cost me. would the pump make any type of whining noise if it were going bad? there is a slight whining noise...which I thought was power steering fluid level a little low.

it has 63 k miles on it

Fuel pump is up front and in the tank. They always have a slight whine if you are close enough to hear them but I think most of us cannot hear ours unless we try to put an error to it. They seldom make any sounds prior to failure beyound normal operation.

Often when an electric motor goes bad (or has an issue) the amperage goes up and that what blows a fuse. When cars (and more common in boats due to long wire runs) get old they often suffer from what is known as voltage drop which is a decay of power quality due to old connections and such. This causes issues with amperage going up and blowing fuses to. Your Porsche is newer and small so voltage drop is not an issue but I mention it for the theory. Vw (IMHO) suffer from voltage issues due to small wire gauge, long runs and bad connectors.

I am no means an electric expert and many on this board are engineers that can explain better theory. I just know from 20 years of wrenching cars and boats what common failure trends can occur for all vehicles. I don't think we see an abnormal failure trend in fuel pump fuses on the Boxster so more common troubleshoot can prevail. When fuses go bad it's either due to poor connections, poor wiring (cuts and shorts can show their head when humidity and moisture are present) and bad motors.

Maybe someone on this board can read the wiring schematic for your model year and determine what else may be on that circuit to consider.

A good mechanic should have isolated this concern in a couple hours.

My boxster blows its fuel pump fuse after start and warm up. Its been at the dealer for 2 weeks..they have put 10 hours into it.....and nothing ....anyone ever had this issue....or thoughts of what could be causing this?

thanks

I'll be Dr. Obvious then...has anyone though of swapping the fuel pump?

I'm not electrical genius but I do know from my job that electric (AC) motors tend to start blowing fuses before they go bad.

Now in defense of the mechanics I have replaced 4 fuel pumps in my Saabs in about 10 years. Not once did they ever toss a fuse before the pump go. They just tend to work one day and not the next with no warning.

Just what did they rule out in 10 hours of testing/troubleshooting!??!!

There is a guy on the 986forum who has a Twain one as does his friend. He says no problems. He had a few extra he was selling, but not for a 2.5. I see them being sold on US and UK ebay. Just look for a seller who is selling sensors for all sorts of cars. I can usually spot them because the o-ring seal is a different color then Bosch.

My attitude is that the Bosch made in Germany ones are crap anyway.

You make a great point on the Bosch ones. Obviously if it was superior it would not be such a common failure trend.

There are ones being made in Tawain now. http://www.innoteqelec.com/

So any complaints from buyers? I would guess these are the ones being sold at other discount retailers if they are all such a great price.

Some is selling MAF(s) on flea-bay for about $130 and this struck me as cheap from the last write-ups I read. I just looked up the Porsche suggested retail at $500+ and was wonder why Sunset sells them for (w/o bugging them). I may pick one up for safe keeping since I have yet to experience a MAF failure or AOS (yes I'm knocking on wood) on my 1997 with 70K miles.

So I am curious if anyone is been paying this low (common) for a new on with any online vendors or flea-bay.

Shawn:

Do yourself a large favor and DO NOT buy a MAF on fleabay. There are countless stories on the message boards about people selling their defective MAF's as new on the auction site. It's not worth taking the chance, IMHO.

I bought one for my '97 recently from AutohausAZ for about $160, with free shipping. I think it's as good a price as you might find.

Regards, Maurice.

Maurice,

That is a good price and worth the assurance over a cheap low quality knock off.

Is there real evidence of people selling used and claiming new on this issue or just unskilled speculation? I buy many parts online new and used (ebay too) and it is pretty obvious even with electronic parts if they are used. I have yet in 10 years and 10 cars bought anything claiming to be new and received a used part but I am quite sure this happens. I only ask as if it's been an observed scam with the MAFs or just nervous speculation of those who hate buying parts on ebay. Thanks again.

Hi.

Did the 9x7 shifter (standard) swap today and love it. Just one question... I tried moving over the green plastic "plate" that was under the black shifter cable, but I felt it was in the way so I removed it again. Is it supposed to be on or off?

Atle

Usually we leave it off - it odes not seem to fit on the 997 shifter or the B&M installs. It's just a coin/debris guard anyway. Older cars never had them to begin with.

It was there on my 1997 and the great write up I mention above never covered this removal need so I scratch my head for a minute or two. I guess we all find this out the hard way when we see the right cable start smacking it right away!

I didn't see it as a coin/debris cover as much as something for the stock shifter to lay on when moving front and back. maybe to keep it snagging? I looked it up (as it clearly has a number on it) hoping to see what Porsche called it, but there was no description.

I suggest you not throw it away. I noted it was superseded by party number SS 98642401003 and is retails for $182.49!!! Mine now hangs in my garage to make my friends laugh when they ask if my Porsche is expensive to maintain. I point to my little green piece of plastic and ask them to guess how much!

Some is selling MAF(s) on flea-bay for about $130 and this struck me as cheap from the last write-ups I read. I just looked up the Porsche suggested retail at $500+ and was wonder why Sunset sells them for (w/o bugging them). I may pick one up for safe keeping since I have yet to experience a MAF failure or AOS (yes I'm knocking on wood) on my 1997 with 70K miles.

So I am curious if anyone is been paying this low (common) for a new on with any online vendors or flea-bay.

thx juniinc, would that explain the big puff of blue smoke after resatring the car and is the alternator the same as in the reg 2004BoxsterS. Keep in mind that some things are slightly different in the 2004 Boxster Special Edition ex: the air filter and airfilter housing are the same as the 2005 BoxsterS.

A blue pump of smoke is common for flat this engine from time to time. Many will state they get it after the car sitting for some time but I have found no rhyme or reason for my puffs from time to time.

Most likely unrelated to your alternator issues.

Mike covers alternator swap here:

and blue smoke here: http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/airoilseparatorreplacement

covered in his 2nd paragraph:

"A quick puff of smoke occasionally on startup is not at all unusual nor is it a sign of the AOS failing as long as it is only at startup. It is a characteristic of the flat-six engine and the way oil sometimes drains. You should check inside the AOS tubing where it goes into the air intake for heavy oil in the tube before removing/replacing the AOS. A light coating in that tube is normal. "

So simply correcting the leak and topping off the manual trans fluid solved your shifting concerns?

Thanks. The reason I ask is I have a "stiff" shifter that will not return to N from a left or right motion. I have to help it over to the next gear. I suspect a bad cable or something with the linkage but have not had time to get the car up on a lift to diagnosis.

You may know this but cable misadjustments make for poor shifting too.

Did this leak and plug really have anything to do with helping your shift pattern? Were you low on fluids that would have made shifting difficult?

You can see I am very curious to what I may find for my shifting issues. No leaks for me but am a bit curious on your issues.

Hi all.

Recently bought a used 1998 5-Speed Manual Boxster (Silver on Black) and have been extremely pleased with her. It is my first Porsche so there is an understandably steep learning curve I am on right now!

A couple days ago, I was lowereing the driver's side window when I heard a loud bang. The window stopped moving. Once I pressed the button to continue, the window would erratically move up and down, and makes a painful grinding noise.

I assume it is the regulator after reviewing previous posts. Since I do not have access (yet!) to a nice set of tools (something I am working on as a new Boxster owner!), I am left with the choice of taking her into the dealer (Monetery, California) for a look.

Any thoughts on what I am in for? I have heard everything from $400 to $1000.

Thanks!

Jack

If my memory serves me right I think the regulator issue I had from a frayed and stretched cable was about $200-250 from our site sponsor Sunset Imports. You can always check part needs once you know the problem by a free part list from Porsche. Then cross reference the suggested retail on this site with the database Loren maintains. Then contact Sunset to get parts below retail. Sometimes at considerable discounts if they stock it.

You will spend $1000 at the dealer in my oppinion by the time they are done.

This is very much a DIY job. Buy the Bentley book, follow comments and procedures on this site and others and get it done yourself. About $30 worth of tools to do the job.

Were you having issues prior to the failure such as the top of the window not going all the way up or clearing the channel when you pulled on the door handle? Often early signs of a common failure of the cable regulator.

Since you are new to a Boxster you get my standard rant. Buy the Bentley and buy the Durametric and save yourself many headaches and dollars with the great resource of this board. If you are NOT a DIY'r or have no desire to wrench a little bit take out the check book and go to the stealer. If you insist on taking it somewhere ask members on this board for a recommended indie shop or check with our local PCA for recommendations...and Indie can save you half in many situations.

Just a reminder to inspect you car periodically. I woke the other day and had some oil under ther rear of the car in the approximate shape of the Engine skid plate. After inspecting the undercarriage I determined that it was Gear oil and consulted with my Indy. Once in the air, he found the Shift Shaft plug on the passenger side , above and aft of the axle to be backing out. I have never seen this problem before and he had only heard of it happening once. He re-torqued the plug and applied Lock Tite. Symptoms included irregular shifting requiring more effort and the oil. $172 fix for a problem that could have gone into the thosands had the transmission had to come out or worse. I hope this is an isolated incident. However, as we have more cars reaching for the 100K (101298) this may become something that we see more often.

How do you define irregular shifting and more effort?

Thanks for your help.

I can hear the whining sound most of the time while the air con is running not just when the air con clutch is engaging. The high pitch sound from the vents is seemingly random, I haven't been able to make a connection with any other event such as accelerating or braking.

The car is going in for a service soon so I'll make sure all the belts and associated pumps etc are all checked out.

CMCK,

I guess I assume the vent from the side of the car and not the dash board! The AC is technically ONLY running when the clutch is engaged, otherwise the fan is just blowing around ambient (or heated) temps. Noises due to compressor failures would come from the engine compartment behind you. Therefor the if the whining can only be the AC compressor when the AC compressor clutch is engaged and from the rear with the engine. If you hear a sound when the AC clutch is NOT engaged then sound is most likely something else.

I assumed you sound was coming from behind you but now you state up front. When you said vent I though you mean the air intake on the side of the car. If you hear a sound from the vents (random in nature) it would have to be the blower fan rubbing, blower motor failing or something lessor such as the air sensor on the passenger side. If you do not know what the later is please state so and we can help, they often make random but low annoying sounds. The blower motor and/or fan are very easy to get to and covered in my write up here:

http://www.carboncow.net/index.php?option=...6&Itemid=51

Shawn

Please clarify where all the

The air con in my 02 986S (UK model) has started making some peculiar sounds. There is a whine from the center/rear of the passenger compatrment. And there is also an intermittent sound from the vents. The sound is like that of the fans blowing normally but louder and higher pitched.

The air con is still blowing cold air OK and I have already had the condensors replaced 2 years ago and there was a leak in the suction pipe beneath the drivers door which was fixed a few months back.

Personally I suspect a problem with compressor but I dread to think how much that'll cost to repair!

Regrettably you may not get to much help as your description is a bit vague at best, but I'll try to get the ball rolling and we can narrow down some options with some more accurate facts.

Have you determined first that the sound is ONLY heard when the AC button is on an the AC clutch is engaging? If you here a sound under those conditions then yes you may have a failing AC pump clutch or pump internals. I am speaking from generic AC troubleshooting and do not know the failure trend of the boxster AC units but I seldom see clutch/bearing failures on modern AC pumps. MOst have in fact failed internally from my experience.

If you have not determined that it's isolated to the engagement of the AC then there are many other system components that could make noise such as the water pump, idler and tension pulleys or rarely the power steering pump.

If you have a failure of the pump I would be rushing back to the guy who did the fix (replacement) of the low side hose and/or condenser. He most likely (impossible to prove) did not put oil back into the system properly and thus killed the pump prematurely. Negligence of AC system repair by tech is impossible to prove but I have experienced in my early years of AC issues. That is why I do ALL my own AC work now.

This is done on purpose due to a german law than places large fines on manufacturers that have speedometers that read too low. If you display the actual speed in the DME you will see that the speed is artificially increased in the speedo display over that determined by the wheel sensors. It does not affect the odometer readings as that would be illegal.

-Todd

I do not doubt your reason but never noted such a difference on my Audi or BMW!?!?

Can someone tell me why this problem is such a concern. It's only a few kph/mph over the actual speed..... what's the big deal??

We'll for some of us this concern is 4-6mph and not acceptable for quality car builders.

As a matter of fact Honda Ridgelines have a class action lawsuit on the matter for the same factor we experience.

"Odometer: Due to a class action suit claiming that the odometers were reading high, the company extended the mileage warranty by 5 percent. (2006)"

This has been well documented as a concern on this site and other by boxster owners.

My rears (original) look amost like yours. I feel the calipers do drag a bit but wear looks fairly even from what I can see. I'm going to rebuild the calipers and get new pads/rotors next spring after getting a few other projects done. Braking is fine but you do here the scraping of rust excessively at first after sitting a week.

If I took a photo mine would look just like yours.

I did stare at the larger ball and the small square socket that came out of the white slider for several minutes wondering what everyone else did. I figured that there was no way it was going to fit and didn't see any post about it so it must just elimiate that small square. I didn't notice if it's hitting the side though. I bet it is and that's my problem.

Does your shift pretty easy or is it much stiffer? I don't think my wife could even shift it now. I must have something wrong on the cable adjustment.

I also noticed that the shifter assembly can move forward or backwards depending on how the allen screws are adjusted front and back. This makes my marks on the cables not so accurate now as the shifter could be about 1/4" off from where the stock one set.

Ryan

Ryan,

I did stare at the ball (with out the slider on the new one) for about 30 minutes until I understood it was not an error too! I noted some of the higher priced ones do in fact have (or reuse) the square slider. Only us buying the "el cheapo" have the issue. I agree that most do the job and move on.

As you may have read I had a "stiff" left/right motion with (what I believe) my cable (or linkage). I just test drove the car 10 minutes ago and it is no better or worse. If you feel it is a bit stiffer it is due to the fact the longer lower part decreases your leverage against he resistance of the system. I believe I feel it slightly too. It is notchier for sure, but I don't think that will bother me in the long run. I did like the feel on my first ride to dinner!

I had trouble understanding the need for the allen bolts as my shifter fit perfect into the bushing, no play at all. I do now understand the need and you are correct that this front/back sliding would affect the right (what is called the shift cable) adjustment. I personally do not believe that a wrong adjustment makes the force any greater, regardless of what another poster said. But such an error would obviously change the adjustment of the linkage so you are either not going far enough or too far. I actually accidently wipped off my "white out" mark on the treads/cable and had to take a good guess on the left (blue slector cable). I had it almost correct and everything worked except the R (5 speed). I only had to move the cable head up 2 threads and life feels really good.

RULE 1 AFTER DOING THIS JOB: Drive around for two days with your central console out for adjustment needs.

RULE 2: Be ready to modify if you want to save $200 over the "big dog" shifters.

RULE 3: Bring beer...you'll need it...

PS. The wife looked at me nervously as we drove to dinner tonight with the sound of the shifting and such. I think it seemed dramatic to her with the cover off. I let her throw a few shifts when we went down the road and it didn't phase here that much. But keep in mind she is used to the drag and stiffness in our blue selector cable already.

The logic is correct on the AC comment, but you'll have to drive quite a bit!

If you do not own a small fan, go buy one, run an extension cord...keep your windows cracked all night and keep as much air as you can circulating through the interior. Air flow is the most important aspect of good evaporation.

If those drain holes are plugged yes you will have much water on the floor under the seat. Depending on the amount of rain it could be very bad and many here have damaged their security computer beyond repair. The front would possibly feel as wet as the back due to osmotic creep in the carpet if it got wet enough.

I have some drain hole issues on a Saab that require a check and clean every couple of months as the car sits outside.

The support/brace can bend and the connectors can even hit each other. Transmissions issues are not common, the cables are mostly the culprit.

Thanks RFM, that is the type of input I was looking for. I will be inspecting the brace/linkage/connectors this weekend.

Oh my!!!

You have sealed up the drain holes that remove the water from the rear window area? Don't you think those drain holes were designed by Porsche for a reason?

You have actually compounded your problem by doing this. Those holes are to channel water from the rear window area out of the car. If they become clogged you will have water under your seats! They are most likely clogged to begin with and you have made it worse, or maybe I am misunderstanding your post.

You need to search this wonderful website. This issue has been covered again and again and all the data is here. Go search!

rsfeller,

Funny but not really. I just installed my ebay shifter last night. tore the car apart 2 days ago and then realized that in order to flip the handle, I needed to get someone to press the bolt out as I couldn't get it to budge. Once I got it back, I proceeded to install. I was only able to view your first picture but based on your post, I know exactly what you went through. I took my time and it came out decent. I am able to shift through all gears now. At first I was not able to get 5/6 well so I had to tighten up the cable on the left. Now it goes through the gears. I have test driving and buttoned it all back up last night. I drove it again this evening and it just barely goes in reverse. Everything is very tight, stiff when moving from gear to gear. It's not like the handle is got tension on it like I tightened the pivot bolt too much but like it's a lot harder to go in and out of gear since the throw is shorter so it's like i have half the leverage now I guess. I'm hoping there is and adjustment I can do to loosen it up a little. I believe I need to re-adjust the left cable to account for the barely going in to reverse.

I would be interested in seeing you images if you can repost or email.

Well, at least you should feel better now knowing you aren't the only one.... At least I know how the center console comes out now.. ha ha

Ryan

02 boxster s / 6spd manual

I am curious if more have issues and just don't comment!

I did see (you) someone post about pressing out the bolt. Mine just falls out as it was just a quality stud with two nuts...so I think we got different units.

I'm leaving my apart for a week while I tweak the cables.

I never touched my pivot bolt, saw no reason nor any slop in the left/right movement. Mine is tight due to (most likely) a bad cable or linkage.

Not sure why you are having issues with my website, maybe give it some more time and patience (like the shifter project!). It's hosted on a home server but I just check it and the photos are there and opening acceptably.

Did you have to grind, cut or modify anything?

Did your ball and socket arm that came left off of the shifter go back into a plastic square slider or was it an over sized ball that fit into the white arm?

Moral of the story? You get what you pay for...

I had a less then fun experience installing my $60 short shifter (from ebay). It is built well but there are some design issues that required modifications to the shifting housing. I think many of us have been on here researching and asking about the inexpensive units before we bought them. 90% of the comments seem to be positive so I took the plunge.

I as cussing and drinking hard the whole way through my modifications :cheers: !!! Part of my therapy to talk myself down after this experience was to put my procedure notes on my website with some poor quality phone camera images for others to learn.

Again I am sure the $200-300 shifters fits better, I now understand why the manufacture of this did what they did (to save resources and money). It may or may not be worth it for you to buy the "el cheapo". I know many of you can do the work but prefer not to dremel and blow torch your car!

read here if you must...

http://www.carboncow.net/index.php?option=...7&Itemid=85

I'll tighten up this page when I get some more time.