Glyn

Any 22" wipers will fit, however the original equipment has the passenger side wiper with a bend in it, the Bosch part number is AS22, alternatively get the double pack from Bosch 582S - this has the straight 22" wiper and the AS wiper in one box (Just a thought perhaps you over there dont use inches - then its 55cm) Dont have to stick with Bosch either.

Im with pearlman on this. Most likely to be the MAF. Disconnect the electrical connection on your MAF and try it, The management system will go into its limited opperation strategy and in built approximates will govern the fuel/air mixture, however the hestitation will be gone - confirming the MAF needs to be changed

I too get a whine over 80 - but then again i know what the problem is - I simply remove the wife from the passenger seat. Is it possible you could post a sound file to this forum as this will give us a bit of a clue. Can you get someone else to drive whilst you sit as passenger and root around the cabin to pinpoint where the noise is comming from? What you describe is when the engine is under load, off the throttle then the load is removed, Any chance it does this at the same revs in any other gear? If it doesnt do this in any other gear and is speed related then i cant imagine its anything to do with the engine, possible a transmission fault but you could get the vehicle on a rolling road to simulate conditions- that way you can nail it. The rattle on hard acceleration - are you sure ist not pre-ignition, perhaps a knock sensor has failed, if you can put a higher octane fuel in the car try it, the higher the octane the greater the resistance to pre-ignition. Pre-ignition produces a metalic knock when under severe load (full throttle) occurs more easily the higher the gear you are in. Pre-ignition can also be caused by a build up of carbon in the cylinders and the carbon glows which ignites the fuel before the spark plug fires, unusually high mileage may have this degree of carbon build up to cuase the problem. The metalic rattle is the piston swapping contact points from one side of the bore to the other prior to the piston reaching top dead centre, can cause overheating and ultimately will damage the engine

Cant see how you could have damaged anything with what you have explained, try disconnecting power to the radio unit, reconnect and see if the re-set has put everything right again. Are you sure you have not disconnected the dash speakers at the radio unit when you attached the new ones?

So your the guy that fixed the A10s to lock on to us brits in the tanks. Hope the door lock is more sucessful Glyn :D

First look at the microswitch just inside the door handle, it has a metal piece that hinges over the switch and when you pull the door handle the inner plastic extension of the handle pushes down on the metal which in turn activates the switch, with the inner door panel rmoved and the door open use a screwdriver to to close the door lock (simply put the shaft of the screwdriver in the part where the door latch on the B post would fit and push the mechanism to the lock position,) The glass should now raise to its full height. Put your hand inside the door slightly above the lock and locate this microswitch - activate it by pressing down the metal cover - the window will drop, if it now stays dropped until you release then its just the way the two parts are comming together, the switch is only held in place with plastic push in pins, they can and do get loose. If this does not solve the problem release the two securing bolts to the lock (next to the latch you just opperated with the screwdriver) and the lock has a metal pin that extends towards the door handle, you will see/feel a plastic shroud over the metal, this part slides away from the lock towards the door - when you have done this the door handle becomes disconnected from the lock, unplug the wires and remove the lock completely. The electrics and the mechanicals of the lock are not servicable according to Porsche, but oh yes they are. Remove the little screws around the plastic electrics cover and you can seperate the lock mechanicals - which wont be the problem and get at the electrical components Take phots if you need so you have a refference of how to rebuild the bits afterwards. There are a couple of microswitches in there, use a meter to find ourt which one is fault, you cant get a part from Porsch for this but you will be able to get a microswitch that will do the job from places like Maplin. If you stuff everything up then you stil only have a knackered lock - which is what you have now - so youve not lost anything. It all sounds complicated but all you need is a bit of bottle - its easy

The movement is part of the self test, with the ignition on switch on the lights, they move downwards then back up

look, we're not going to agree on this subject and i am tired of this 'battle of wits' with you. let's agree to disagree. you are a worthy opponent. but for the record, i did not resort to personal insults or ad hominem attacks. as i mentioned before, you have a way with words. please drive safely. ^_^ Chris, I agree we agree to disagree on this subject but i am sincerly sorry if you feel i have personally insulted you in my posts, I did say "Your world" as a tongue in cheek comment - i assume this is where you may feel insulted. You may have guessed, i do like lively debate but i do appologise for any offence taken - i will be more careful in future. Glyn

i prefer NOT to engine brake in the wet as the abrupt speed change can cause the wheels to lose traction, and then it's all over. i agree about downshifting when the police enter the highway so you don't have to use your brakes and alert them to your car. ;) OK. so you AGREE that rev-matching minimizes wear on the clutch, engine and transmission. but, as you state - these parts are 'designed' to take the extra wear of not rev-matching - but for HOW LONG? rotation=wear. more rotation=more wear. if the idea is to minimize wear to extend the life of the engine/minimize repair costs/drive the car as long as possible, then engine braking is opposed to that idea as it creates MORE wear. now who is being 'obtuse'? you can't agree with this concept in one sentence, but then disagree in the next! if there is more wear then there is more wear. period. it also comes down to the fact that brakes and rotors are far less expensive to replace that clutches and engines. you seem to be fairly knowledgeable about this subject, but the real question is 'does engine braking cause more wear on the clutch, engine and transmission?' and you have admitted that it does. so what is left to argue about? whether the increased wear is 'significant'? by your reasoning, clutches, transmissions and engines should last forever. if you disagree with this statement then you admit that at some point the wear becomes significant. OK, here we go. I have said in previous posts that there is wear, however the important aspect is whether or not that wear is significant, and also whether or not the components are designed to do it. I note you are very selective about what you lift from my posts to use as a quote and therefore take what i say out of context. Lets get into the theoretical world, your world:- When you get out of your car to pop into a local shop - leave the engine running because the starter will wear out if you keep using it. Never drive at night, lights will wear out and there are only so many opperations of the light switch before that fails Also night driving puts extra strain on the alternator - so save that too, oh yes lights on at night also place extra wear on the engine as it has to work a little harder to turn the alternator because of the additional load. Leave the top down and jump in and out of the car without opening the doors - to minimise wear on the hinges Never use the heater or air con, wears the fan out and the compressor - oh yes and saves on a re-gas or indeed having condensors Dont indicate, do hand signals and save the stalk and bulbs In fact leave the car in the garage and eliminate all wear. Now come on, all the above is true but so insignificant that no one would follow those lines and in reality is so insignificant that it doesnt matter - but someone could argue that in theory it is a fact, which is pretty much where we are with this topic. It is silly driving a car and letting the engine get to almost stalling before moving it out of gear, engine braking is predictable and correct driving, no driving instructor would have taught you otherwise. Loosing traction on a wet road when downchanging?, on snow or ice yes, but if you get this on a wet road try putting some decent tyres on the car, and if you prefer not to engine brake on a wet road because it causes you to skid, then it must mean you do it - to know you develop a skid Nothing last forever, and that is my point, the thing will wear itself out anyway, but engine braking will not advance that condition by anything significant, at a guess, if your car could last 1oo years then it may be worn out a year earlier by engine braking - but you will have had loads more disks and pads replaced in that time. :rolleyes:

are you trying to say that rev-matching creates the same amount of wear as 'slipping' the clutch into the next lowest gear? i would have to disagree. the example given was of getting off the highway onto an 'offramp' (where there are no intersections or oncoming traffic) and was made to illustrate a point. the engine and transmission components will experience much more wear over a lifetime of 'engine braking' compared to actual braking. while we're agreeing, let's add the engine in there too. you certainly have a way with words. engine=go. brakes=stop. Rev matching does minimise wear, no one could disagree with that, the less time the clutch is slipping the less chance of wear, Not sure if you are all trying to be obtuse, but, The clutch, engine, transmission is all designed to take that extra wear without it being a significant wear factor - an analogy - lighting a match in a room will warm up the room - yes it will, but the actual effect is so small that specialist equipment would be needed to spot the difference - therefore the real effect is no increase in temperature. In an absolute theoretical aspect clutch wear will increase with slipping it in on the overrun, in the real world the change down and the amount of time the clutch would slip is so small the wear is insignificant - anything that creates friction introduces wear, so should we all let our cars get dirty because polishing shaves a nats of a micron from the thickness of the paint? Lets get real - engine braking and downchanging is the correct way to drive. The throttle blip matching scenario is from the bygone age of crash gearboxes, people had to do it that way otherwise the gear wouldnt go in,Its a very old way of driving which was necessary because of the technology available at the time, the advent of syncromesh did away with all that, sure some may do it - but the gearbox is designed to engage two shafts running at different speeds by a system of Baulk rings - why did anyone bother doing this if everyone is to match speed and revs? Have you ever driven a truck? Most trucks have an exhaust brake, it assists the brakes by increasing the engine braking by semi blocking the exhaust gasses going out of the exhaust, the back pressure slows the pistons as they rise, This increases the load on the clutch, gearbox and transmission - but it was factored into the design of the truck and is within tollerances set by the manufacturer - or do manufacturers all guess what standards are required or the loads imposed by doing this - of course not. And yes, lets add the engine in here as well, if an engine rotates say clockwise as viewed from the front of the car looking to the rear, each time the compressed gases are ignited the push down the bore is on the same side of the bore every time, the left hand side, the wear therefore is exagerated on that side of the bore (this too is factored into engine design) on the overrun (engine braking) the forces are transfered to the other side of the bore, likewise the crankshaft big end - the forces are always towards the crankshaft when accelerating, on the overrun they are the opposite side of the big end - the big end shells therefore are getting a more even wear pattern. It doesnt matter if the example was given as comming of the highway or not - you should always go down the box so that you are in a gear in which you can accelerate if needed, to allow the revs to drop to almost stalling point is just a lazy style of driving - sure a lot of people do this but that does not make it right. Engine braking also shares the wear on the tyres, when braking 60 to 70% of the retardation is provided by the front brakes, by using engine braking you actually assist the slowing process by forcing the driven wheels to brake too, this provides a very stable braking platform (assuming we are talking about a rear wheel drive car here obviously)

Bunk... The engine is designed to rev to redline so should you rev it to redline with each shift because it was designed to do so? No obviously not. The car is designed to down shift but engine braking is retarded. Use the brakes thats what they are designed to do, not the engine. Just because it does do that and the tranny does down shift doesn't mean it is ment to do that but thanks for coming out. The brakes are designed to be easily changed, you don't even have to pull off the caliper. Rotors are cheap. Use them up, use them all the time, press them hard on purpose, thats what their designed for. You can say the engine and tranny is designed to do that all you want, but guess what, the brakes were designed MORE to do that than the engine is, ask any engineer that and see who is right. There is simply NO REASON AT ALL to engine brake. You can not justify it no matter how long your post on RENNTECH is... :o 986Jim. I just dont understand your post? I was not trying to say i am more right because my post was long - i was just providing a full explanation for my assertion. As you slow the car down you should be downchanging so you are in the correct gear at all times, on the overrun (engine braking) the injectors are turned off - no fuel used- wonder why this was designed this way if the engineers didnt expect people to use the engines natural braking to slow a car down without using the brakes. Of course brakes are designed soley to stop the car - but why would anyone drive up to a junction knowing they had to stop race up to it then apply the brakes, surely anticipation, off the throttle, allow the engine to slow the car down and apply the brakes gently as you get on the final approach to the junction is the correct way of driving. Better finish off now otherwise i will be even more right with an even longer post

thanks for your help mate! I dont know which fuses or relays to check? Do you think it might be the light switch? I hope its not the ignition switch because that takes alot of time? do you have any links on how to do the ignition switch and light switch. I also forgot to tell you that the high beams only work if you hpld them and do not function when they are switch on to they stay on mode. I assume you have checked that the connectors that engage as you push the light unit in are not broken, Of course you will not be able to see this when the unit is in but have a look at the black connecter after you have taken the headlight unit out - are the connectors dirty or clean, the plastic that holds the connector in place can break and when you push the light unit in the plug simply moves back, you can check this if you take off the wheel arch cover but you should be able to tell by having a quick pull/push of the connector. If the connector terminals are clean this would suggest the plug unit is connecting properly. If its a fuse or relay, then on the inside of the fuse/relay box (on right hand drive car its next to your right foot) there is a diagram inside the cover, it indicates which fuse controls each circuit, it also identifies the relays above the fuses

Air lock. Did you raise the bleed valve when you refilled with water? Underneath the plastic bottom cover where the oil and water caps are is a valve. Take the caps off, lift the plastic base out and put the oil cap back on, the valve is a piece of metal that you simply pull from its rest position to the opposite side - this lifts the valve, now with everything like this start the engine, do not put the water cap back on, let the engine tickover, water will be pushed around and this will shift the air up via the valve. When the engine reaches normal running temperature the thermostat will open and this will send a gush of water around the system, the trapped air will also move as it now has somewhere to go, leave it ticking over for another 5 minutes or so, water will gurgle up by the valve and as the air comes out and water repalces the hole you will need to top up the water. When no more water is needed the system will be bled. From the thermostat opening to the job done will be about 10 minutes. Your heater will then work. where exactly is this valve,sorry im trying to figure it out which plastic bottom cover? The overheating is the trapped air, the pocket allows steam as water boils at 100degrees, the rad cap introduces pressure to the system and every pound of pressure raises the boiling point of water by 2 degrees. All your problems will be fixed by bleeding In the boot of the car - you may call it the rear trunk? on the right hand side is the dipstick, the oil cap and the water cap, underneath this is what looks like the bottom of the enclosure - Its not- Its a piece of plastic. Take off the two caps and with a screwdriver just lift an edge, the whole plate lifts up, it has no fixing, under this is the valve

The faster blink is indicative of a blown bulb, the reduced load allows the flasher unit to run faster, one of the bulbs is not working. The lights is probably the light switch - a common fault - I assume of course you have checked fuses and relays, the light balasts must be OK as they are built into the light units and they work on your 996 Targa - so its only the feed at fault

I DONT THINK SO,FROM WHAT MY MECHANIC TOLD ME PLEASE I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP ASAP I NEED MY CAR NO THE RADIATORS ARE NOT GET HOT The radiators wont get hot because of the air lock - do the bleed - it will all be OK Oh yes - take your caps lock off (the keyboard)- the type is shouting but my mechanic did the bleed and still not working Not done it right then, did he access the bleed valve- not many know it is there. I assume of course that he did refit the polyrib belt so the water pump has a drive

Run the buggers over, then park up and honk the horn at them to get out of the way, then continue your journey

Lyn, you are spot on, i thought my comments would just antagonise people- not that i set out to do that but each post compounded the previous. everybody, Lyn is correct and backs that up with personal experience now there two of us to take the flack

I DONT THINK SO,FROM WHAT MY MECHANIC TOLD ME PLEASE I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP ASAP I NEED MY CAR NO THE RADIATORS ARE NOT GET HOT The radiators wont get hot because of the air lock - do the bleed - it will all be OK Oh yes - take your caps lock off (the keyboard)- the type is shouting

You are very right but... but within 2 months I have however had a cracked compression container, broken water pump, oil problem and right now I have a servo-motor that is somehow causing problems if I drive the car for more than a few hours - the steering begins to feel like there is sand in the steering wheel! Most of these problems would have been pretty big if I had not noticed them and had them solved. This has made me expect the next problem to be around the next corner. This is of course stupid because it makes me enjoy the car a lot less. It is my first car and therefore also my first Porsche. Maybe I should have owned some oooold cars first. But I will take your advice, thanks Glyn! Your welcome, and if the worst happens that is what these forums are for. I agree the constant worry will spoil your enjoyment of the car, i think you have been a little unlucky and i guess you wonder how big the next bill will be, in reality you will have this spate of problems because the previous owner didnt worry, they enjoyed the car but allowed minor maintenance to slip- this results in you putting those thing right. You will reach the stage where you trust the car, become at ease and have years of trouble free motoring, My previous Boxster - a 97 2.5 had very little go wrong despite all the panic over 2.5 engines, mine had a thrashing regularly but apart from 2 MAFs, 2 radiators, aa air con condensor and a throttle position sensor nothing else had to be done in nearly 5 years. I did spend a lot more because i was always chasing upgrades- but thats my hobby. I now have an S, even let the warranty run out- i am so confident about the Boxster.

Air lock. Did you raise the bleed valve when you refilled with water? Underneath the plastic bottom cover where the oil and water caps are is a valve. Take the caps off, lift the plastic base out and put the oil cap back on, the valve is a piece of metal that you simply pull from its rest position to the opposite side - this lifts the valve, now with everything like this start the engine, do not put the water cap back on, let the engine tickover, water will be pushed around and this will shift the air up via the valve. When the engine reaches normal running temperature the thermostat will open and this will send a gush of water around the system, the trapped air will also move as it now has somewhere to go, leave it ticking over for another 5 minutes or so, water will gurgle up by the valve and as the air comes out and water repalces the hole you will need to top up the water. When no more water is needed the system will be bled. From the thermostat opening to the job done will be about 10 minutes. Your heater will then work. The overheating is the trapped air, the pocket allows steam as water boils at 100degrees, the rad cap introduces pressure to the system and every pound of pressure raises the boiling point of water by 2 degrees. All your problems will be fixed by bleeding

I cant believe all this bollocks, downshifting and using the engines natural braking is so normal, unless you are all used to automatics.The gearbox has baulk rings (small rings of brass that are cone shaped that slow down two shafts running at different speeds and match them up) two shafts are running in the gearbox at different speeds as you drive, when you select a gear the baulk rings are activated by the selection of the gear and do their job The downshift in a manual car or a tip is designed to do this, i cant see why this seems such a Wow factor.Using engine braking saves the brakes, does no damage to the car and whilst the engine is on the overrun no fuel is being squirted by the injectors. On an auto it wont select the gear if the speed is exceeding the max revs in the gear below it, it will wait before engagement, in a manual it is a different story, if you drop it into first at 50 mph the engine will overrev and you are likely to do damage, Drive your car - you know what the top speed is in each gear and dont drop it into that gear above that speed. Those that advise speed matching (blipping the throttle whilst double declutching) was great in the days of the crash gearbox - no syncromesh in those days (syncromesh is the addition of the baulk rings) The clutch plate is not any stronger in one dirrection than the other, its a disk with a friction material on it - it doesnt care which direction it spins in or which direction load gets placed on it. Quote "slowing down, keep the car in the same gear that it's in until the RPMs are so low that the car *almost* stalls in that gear" - not wishing to sound rude but that is complete rubbish, suppose someone shoots out of a junction and you need to accelerste and there you are in 5th at 25mph - where is your power - surely when being trained to drive the instructor always told you to be in a gear that can provide acceleration and engine brake? You should always be in a gear wherby you have a choice of either, doing as suggested is absolutly wrong. As for load on the transmission and extra wear on the clutch - this is true - but all vehicle manufactures factor this into their design- do you really think a clutch size is determined by what size plate they can get their hands on cheaply - All parts for all cars are made specifically to do the job for the car they are in, The transmission can cope with this easilly - You can spin the wheels and do a donut- then you think that engine braking could snap the shaft or the CV joints fail- The clutch wear is insignificant, nobody wore a clutch out downshifting. Quote "Because using a 10,000 dollar engine and 5,000 dollar transmissions to slow down a car to save a set of 500 dollar brakes just makes sense" - Oh no it doesnt, its doing what it was designed to do Hope ive not pi**ed too many of you off with my comments, but talk to a few engineers and see who is right

I think you are super nervous and will worry about everything, therefore dont lift the bonnet or any oily areas, just turn the key and drive and every year take it in for a service - the car will be fine, The Boxster is pretty bullet proof, If a warning light comes on - just take it in a little earlier - or go take up an evening course in motor vehicle maintenance, cheap as chips and youll find it very rewarding. seriously you do seem to worry a lot about your car - its made it this far and still on the road and it will still be on the road in years to come - unless you crash it

As an alternative to a propriety cleaning fluid you can use brake fluid, a great cleaner on throtle deposits just dont get it on any paintwork - it will soften, blister and remove the paint. When i worked for British leyland (BLMC in those days) brake fluid was generally regarded as the top product for cleaning carbs

Some smoke is normal and it is a characteristic of the engine design, however if you park on an incline to either the left or right oil will seep easier into the cylinder bores. When cold a piston is not round it is oval, the aluminium piston expands with heat and as there is more metal aroung the little end (the part where the con rod joins the piston) there is more metal - so more expansion. To allow for this expansion the piston is slightly oval. When switching off a hot engine oil will drip back towards the sump, if you are on an incline (side to side) oil will drip on the lower part of the cylinder bore and make its way up towards the piston under gravity- when the engine cools and the ovalness reappears the oil will seep past the piston rings and the oil control ring - perfectly normal - but as millage goes up then the slight wear will allow a little more oil past. Only a tiny bit of oil will create a lot of smoke. resulting in the cold start when the oil is now in the chamber, as the engine fires it will burn the oil. believe me if you had a real problem with oil seepage you would know about it, loads of smoke. I know you will read quite a bit on these forums about white smoke and blue - actually there is no real difference, oil will burn a slight tinge of blue, but as the catalyst heats up any moisture in the exhaust will vaporise as steam, we all have it to varying degrees dependant on whether or not it is kept in a garage, or near a waterway (increased humidity) - Its all normal now go drive and have fun, stop worrying and dont be bothered about a little wear - at least it wont sieze up :D

try driving on a quiet road then steer from side to side, does the noise increase and decrease as you go in different direction, if it does it is your wheel bearing. When you turn one way - if the noise increases it is the bearing on theopposite side, drive at speed, steer to the left - noise increases the the right hand bearing has gone - as you turn to the left more weight is transfered to the right - heavier loading = more noise - just reverse all this if the noise increases when you turn right