Glyn

with gas reaching $4.00/gallon, i'm desperately in search for a solution..

come to England where we can sell you gas - we call it petrol, for what would be to you 9 dollars a gallon - mind you our gallons are a bit bigger than yours.

We also have less warranty, higher servicing costs, higher purchasing costs, road fund licence etc etc

Try diconecting the MAF - it will not do any damage, just unplug it then drive, the engine management will go into its limited opperation strategy. it approximates the value that the MAF would provide, it is possible i guess you could have a faulty new part, however the Lambda sensor could also create the same condition, get the car hooked up to an OBD tester.

I noise I'm refering to is a kind of chirp/squeal that happens just as you release the key from the crank position as the engine starts. Heard it loads of time on various vechiles over the years and never seen any damage caused. I think it's caused from the bronze bushing in the starter drive. I get a lot of VW suffering from this and just remove the starter (which is dead easy on a VW) and lube the starter drive which cures the problem. Wurth make a synthetic aerosol grease that seems to work well so far. Most of my customers just put up with the noise and it so far has had no ill effects.

This must be the modern way, but i for one would not put any lubricant on the bendix, lubricant only lubricates when it has moisture, clutch dust loves to stick to moisture laden surfaces, so although the problem would go away it would be a temporary fix.

Take the starter out wash the bendix with petrol, blow dry with an airline or just leave it for 10 minutes, refit, problem gone and wont come back - well not for a very long time :)

Hi Guys, just want to show you the carbon brace I've just fitted to my 986.

Two questions while we are at it.

What is this thing pointed by the red arrow? Speaker Amplifier?

What is the best way to remove the plastic bit within the yellow highlight?

I need to access underneath to clean all the leaves and craps.

Thanks

The strut brace.......Why?????????? The chasis will already outperform your driving abilities unless you are a proffessional driver.

Red arrow ..correct the audio amplifier

Hi Guys, just want to show you the carbon brace I've just fitted to my 986.

Two questions while we are at it.

What is this thing pointed by the red arrow? Speaker Amplifier?

What is the best way to remove the plastic bit within the yellow highlight?

I need to access underneath to clean all the leaves and craps.

Thanks

1

Daily drive for me and whilst i wouldnt park in a town centre car park i can leave it just about anywhere so i dont quite get the experience some have had.

Driving it is a great place to be and mine is wind rain or shine 365 a year.

Once you get rid of the annoying rattles (doors, wind deflector etc) the 3.2 is a solid piece of engineering, though always seem a rough when cold.

Love mine and preffer it to a 996.

Not only that, they are friggin heavy. Unsprung weight is everything, go and add huge amounts of weight to your wheel and tire setup (19" wow) and it will be like somebody just sucked 20hp out of your car.

Even if the weight is the same as your 17" the 19" are larger and thus pushing the weight out farther away from the center of the wheel taking more inertia to turn. Even at the same weight the car will be slower.

From a performance standpoint fit the smallest wheel you can (within reason) but one also large enough for visual appeal. On a boxster that magical number seems to be around 17" as you really can't readily get a 16" tire thats 265 in the rear. When you can find them they are super expensive. If you have to go larger than 17" then go to an 18" which even at that will slow the car down.

Jim, no logic in your assertion, the wheel diameter with tyre is the same no matter what the rim size as the aspect ratio of the tyre reduces, this also affects speedometer readings.

Weight difference would be so negligable no one could measure a difference, of course you could also claim driving at night the car is slower as there is a greater load on the alternator powering the lights, or having just had a meal the return journey takes longer - sure there are differences but not worthwhile differences, I would also guess the extra alloy to make a 19 inch rim in weight is less than the reduced tyre aspect ratio, well perhaps a few gramms.

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculato...p?action=submit

Too bad they don't give the weights for the wheel combo's.

Anyway i am going to go with 17" being the lightest of all. I can't remember off the top of my head the equation for calculating the weight of something spinning but i am sure it is more then negligable. Anyway remember back to when Porsche had the brake calipers on the front of the rotor? I am talking about the front brake systems. Then they moved them behind the rotor. Why? Cause having that extra weight behind brings the balance of the car closer to the center. Less weight in front of the front wheels the better and opposite for the rear.

The "Negligable" comment refers to the measurement of performance, the mass as a whole has the same diameter no matter whether you have a 17" rim or a 19", the tyre weight for the smaller rim will be greater than the tyre for the 19, put the two together and the difference is negligable - and couldnt be measured in straightforward performance.

Anyway if performance is everything then only slim people shoud have a Porsche, spare wheel can go and have a can of inflater/sealer, remove the passenger seat to prevent extra weight getting in the car and saving the weight of the seat and remove the roof as you can get a hard top (alluminium) for the wet days, we could go on but i just find people become so focused in the minutia that reality gets lost (Like audio boffins who have their speakers on little metal cones,, and driven using low loss cable) the world has gone mad.

Drive and enjoy the car, focus on what pleases you, If you want 19s have them

Not only that, they are friggin heavy. Unsprung weight is everything, go and add huge amounts of weight to your wheel and tire setup (19" wow) and it will be like somebody just sucked 20hp out of your car.

Even if the weight is the same as your 17" the 19" are larger and thus pushing the weight out farther away from the center of the wheel taking more inertia to turn. Even at the same weight the car will be slower.

From a performance standpoint fit the smallest wheel you can (within reason) but one also large enough for visual appeal. On a boxster that magical number seems to be around 17" as you really can't readily get a 16" tire thats 265 in the rear. When you can find them they are super expensive. If you have to go larger than 17" then go to an 18" which even at that will slow the car down.

Jim, no logic in your assertion, the wheel diameter with tyre is the same no matter what the rim size as the aspect ratio of the tyre reduces, this also affects speedometer readings.

Weight difference would be so negligable no one could measure a difference, of course you could also claim driving at night the car is slower as there is a greater load on the alternator powering the lights, or having just had a meal the return journey takes longer - sure there are differences but not worthwhile differences, I would also guess the extra alloy to make a 19 inch rim in weight is less than the reduced tyre aspect ratio, well perhaps a few gramms.

thanks ,just tryed it ,and got no codes :thumbup:

What MY is your Boxster? If it is an early car you might not read codes which don't trigger the CEL - http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...ost&p=66718

im not sure what you mean by MY ,MY CAR IS A 1999 2.5 BOXSTER

MY = Model Year

I have a Boxster S and the radio code was lost, the battery went flat and the Radio code was lost, the dealer said he cannot help with the code.

It is a CDR-22

Type BE-4467

Serial number - 15004070

Any help would be appreciated trying to locate the code.

Porsche can provide you with the code for the unit if it is the original fitment, you will have to prove ownership but all that information on your car is stored in their computer, if they say no then under the freedom of information act write to them and ask for the details, there is a ten pound charge for this, and by law they must supply you the information, unless the cost to retrieve is over £460, which accessing a computer record is not

Glyn

OK I'll look into that one, whats there to clean?

Bruce

Hi all

Repalced the MAF and it got rid of numerous problems as per previous posts, now the only issue is it needs some throttle to start and idle.

It takes about a minute to idle ok and drives great, although I would say the idle is a little rough but OK

Any ideas

Bruce

Clean or replace the idle spped control valve

Glyn

Inside the idle speed control valve there is a curved flap that opens and closes like a door, this gets gummed up.

It should move easily, clean it all out with carb cleaner, electrical cleaner and WD40 (yes i use all three)

get a tiny bit of grease and put it on the gasket (this will prevent air leaks)

Glyn

Hi all

Repalced the MAF and it got rid of numerous problems as per previous posts, now the only issue is it needs some throttle to start and idle.

It takes about a minute to idle ok and drives great, although I would say the idle is a little rough but OK

Any ideas

Bruce

Clean or replace the idle spped control valve

Glyn

Hi Richard,

Thanks for this - the values you quote are all different from what I'm seeing and what my manuals tell me they should be...

It makes me wonder if maybe the Durametric is mis-reporting the values in the DME for segments A and B ?? Given that they appear to be a factor of 10 out either way, if you see what I mean??

However, at least I now know what the values are meant to represent - its to do with adaptation - which is good to know at least.

I wonder why your manual mentions the flywheel with regard to adaptation ????

Cheers,

Jules

Keep at it Jules, I can see you are not going to give up on this one, After 4 years with the 2.5 i never found the cure (as you know) until now ---I bought the S.

I will continue to follow your progress - best of luck mate

Glyn

First of all, I own a 1998 Boxster Blue metallic or whatever it is blue green and purple. Second, I changed the engine mount, brake pads, serpentine belt, brake pads, and rwl tires. Third the cars pedals vibrate a bit, sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. Fourth, I hear a ticking sound coming from the passenger dash side stationary or on the move. Fifth, The steering wheel vibrates a bit. Sixth, There is a ballish sound coming from the soft top area, not the rear control arms. And finally the most recent prob. When starting cold, the car hesitates to start. I also noticed, that when accelerating somewhere from 900rpm-2000rpm, the car sort of has a delay like if the valve from the throttle body was stuck or no lubricated. FINALLY, HELP!!!. I want to fix all of this before April 11, 2007 which is my birthday. Thanks to anyone who helps and even those who just read it and say too bad for you!!!

The pedals - i would guess this is due to the front wheels requiring balancing and this is also your steering wheel problem, there is nothing connected that could cause a vibration on the pedals unless of course the vibration occures when braking - if so this is disc run out - new discs required.

The ballish sound from the soft top area - try lubricating with vaseline the two locating lugs on the clamshell (male) where they meet with two female corresponding lugs (these tend to clunk and move a little as the body flexes)

The hesitation sounds like MAF - Disconnect the MAF and run it unconnected - the engine will default to its "Limited opperating strategy" which is an approximate setting but much better than a crap setting from a faulty MAF - This should sort your hestitation out and if so buy from Europarts for £175 then fit it yourself in a couple of minutes and save over £100 from an OPC

The poor starting is probably down to spark plugs, not sure why but people avoid changing the plugs on Boxsters and try to motor in excess of 50000 miles why? dead cheap and dead simple to change, new plugs aid much better combustion, change them at every service especially as they only cost a few pounds each

Glyn

the problem is when i lift the door handle to open the door the window goes down (like it should) but the door won't open, there is no click, i then have to open my paasenger door and i can then open it from the inside! weird. Anybody out there with an idea to solve my problem?

The handle on the outside of the car is connected to the door lock mechanism via a short rod which is anchored to the lock by a sliding ring, this may have broken or come loose.

Get the door panel off and have a feel above the lock, put the rod back into the sleeve and slide the ring up over it.

Sounds tricky, but it is simply and can be done just by feel

Glyn

I have posted the same thread on 986forum but nobody there seems to have any suggestions. I am hoping someone here can give some pointers.

I have had this problem for a while now. I will try to describe this in detail. The car is a 97 Tip without alarm or remote modules.

Initially - and I don't know if this is related - the driver's side window will not stay slightly lowered after the door opens. But pulling on the door handle both inside or out does lower it so I have been pulling on the door handle to lower the window to close the door to avoid hitting the window against the top frame for a few months. That problem is gone spontaneously now. And at about the same time, the new problem started:

Driver's side:

I can't lock the doors from the driver's side.

If I try turning the key once on the driver's side, the doors (including the fuel door) would lock, and then all three doors would automatically unlock straight away within the same mechanical sequence (I hear the mechanism's locking sounds, straight away followed by unlocking sounds).

If I try to emergency lock on the driver's side by turning the key three times, the driver's side and the fuel door would stay locked, but the passenger side is not locked at all. Also, the doors can be opened from the interior door handle if locked with the triple turn like this (I don't know if this point normal, never did it when the car was working fine).

Passenger's side:

If I try to single turn lock from the passenger's side, all three doors would lock and then straight away unlock much like if I tried to lock from the driver's side.

I can, however, lock all three doors successfully if I emergency triple turn lock on the passenger side. If locked this way, I can unlock all three doors normally from the passenger's side. But if I unlock from the driver's side, the passenger door would stay locked from the outside and the central locking switch light would stay lit as I drive the car. The passenger door can be unlocked via the interior handle.

I am completely baffled. I need some thoughts as to the logic of what is happening. I can't think of a sensor or actuator failure that could single-handedly lead to such symptoms...

What exactly is emergency lock anyway? I assume it was designed to bypass some circuits or mechanism which may be faulty to make locking possible in an emergency situation in case of component failure. But what exactly is bypassed?

Also, the fact emergency lock works on the passenger side would seem to suggest that the actuators on boths sides are working properly (unless emergency lock doesn't actually use actuators?).

The fact that emergency lock on driver's side doesn't work may suggest some sort of one-way communication failure between the driver's side and passenger's side, but what could that be?

I think it may well come down to the mechanism that'is actually involved in emergency locking. Part of it may have failed. If you guesstimate the emergency lock to be a "skeleton system", the most basic system, the simplest electromechanical pathway to lock the doors then this would account for the higher functions of normal single turn lock not working on both sides too. The question then remains, which electromechanical parts are actually involved in the emergency lock pathway?

Anyone have any thoughts on the situation at all?

I plan on opening up the doors to have a lock, but it would help if I know where I should be looking at.

This sounds very much like the passenger door lock mechanism as you can emergency lock, otherwise you hear the locks acutuate then unlock.

There are a series of mocro switches within the mechanical lock, officially they are unserviceable but it is possible to strip the lock down and get to the micro switch, the use a screwdriver to close the lock and a bit of wire across the microswitch terminals, then try the lock procedure, the car should then report everything is locked.

The window dropping thing is another micro switch fixed just above the exterior handle (within the door) it is held in place by two plastic push in lugs, they often become detached, As you pull the handle to open the door the micro switch is released and the window drops.

Very easy to check, remove the door card and look just above the lock mechanism where the door handle assembly is, operate the microswitch manually or again use the wire to make and break the contact, Replacement is dead easy.

Glyn

A few pictures attached .. as you can see, it definitely looks like item #22 in that picture you showed me. My car was sold in mid-2000, so perhaps they started using that new part when they built my car.

I did a bit of research and it seems as if part #22 is 986.512.117.00. Tool Pants - does that look right to you, based on your part list? I know it says for 01+, but this definitely looks like what I have.

Having tried so many things have you attempted sending a 12 volt supply to the solenoid from a 12 volt battery, the unit unplugged from the car of course, if you hear nothing then you will know the solenoid has died

Glyn

GSD3s all round, excellent Dry, very good wet, Crap snow - not safe even at walking pace

Glyn

That was the odd thing when the CV joint broke..... it was as quiet as a grave, even when we put it in first gear and let the clutch out. With the broken metal bits in there I couldn't believe it didn't make a sound. We could see the axle shaft turning in the joint and it did start to vibrate/rumble when we reved it up. Whatever it turns out to be I hope it's an easy fix.

But with your problem you would have had the speedo reading working as you reved whilst in gear as the CV is at the end of the driveline - but most unusual not to have made one hell of a bang when it failed.

Glyn

Lemmy, the weak link in the chain is the clutch plate, they are robust but not as bullet proof as the gearbox or transaxle, i would be very very surprised if anything but the clutch is at fault.

My original trade was a motor mechanic and i have continued to keep my hand in over the years after leaving the trade.

The Boxster is a bit of a lemon for silly niggly faults but all the major parts are pretty solid, guess you will worry until you get the final diagnosis.

If spigot shaft broke or transaxle or even a CV joint it would have made a very very loud cracking noise - which you have not mentioned.

Let us all know how you get on

Glyn

If you can select gears with the engine running without depresing the clutch then you have a drive failure, there are a few causes for this

1 Clutch has broken up - the clutch plate splined centre has broken from the outer friction plate

2 The splines on the gearbox spigot shaft (the input shaft which engages with the clutch plate splines) have sheared

3 Differential - a drive shaft has broken.

The most likely is the clutch plate breaking up.

Glyn

Reason im asking this question is cause the mechanic that replaced my MAS months ago is replacing it again but for free. He wants me to drop off the sensor and wait till the end o the day for the new one to arrive. Anyone know how many miles i could drive with the MAS unplugged?

BTW the boxster is my only car and i dont wanna miss work cause the car is sitting at the shop waiting for a new MAS to be delivered the same day.

With the MAF disconnected the system goes into its limited operation strategy - a sort of approximate setting, it is approximate because it wont have air temperature or flow being measured and if presented for a MOT then it would fail on emmisions.

However because you intend to remove the MAF you will need to blank the hole where it comes out or you will take air in unfiltered, once blanked however you can drive all day - there will be a slight hit on performance but nothing to cause worry

Glyn

Cant dispute its a nice job but the colour doesnt do it for me

Lately my car has been idling at 1200 rpm when first started in the morning ( 40 degrees ambient temp, AC off ), it would idle at about 800 before. When warmed up, it idles fine, but I have noticed the RPM's about 200 rpm higher at given speeds. Example: At 75mph in 4th RPM would be 4K, now its 4200. Car is 02 Tip with 78K. Could oil be a factor? I know it has Mobil 1, not sure on the weight, but I know its not 0W-40 as recommended. :oops: BTW....NO CEL. Any thoughts???

Revs cant change when in gear unless the torque converter is slipping and you would notice that,.........., therefore i suspect your tachometer is reading wrong.

Glyn

Dear All,

OK here comes the update on my 986 battery discharge problem.

A quick summary first, drive about 500 miles a week on pretty long trips so battery has plenty of chance to charge itself, if i don't drive it for 2 days the battery is flat.

1. I fully charged the battery and had it tested, the garage told me it had a cranking figure of 580 which was fine, he couldn't tell me if it was holding it's charge though.

2. Purchased a clamp meter and and clamped it over the + lead next to the battery

3. I set the dial to 200ACA (the lowest available)to check the reading and then start pulling fuses

4. The reading was 00.0

Can't pull the fuses because the reading is at 0, am I doing this right or could it be that the clamp meter range is too high and I need a meter that measures miliamps.

So i guess i have a couple of questions

Am I using the clamp meter in the correct way?

Should the battery guys be able to tell me if the battery is fully charged and secondly is it holding that charge?

Not happy, i've spent way tooooooooooo much time trying to sort this out, it's stopping me from refurbing my recently acquired sport design split rims that I picked up for £300 from fleabay

As usual thanks for everyones help so far.

Nik, you have the meter set to AC amps, select DC amps.

Measuring AC will produce 0 as there is no AC current

Glyn

Okay, say I want to remove the mount from the windshield, the mirror is easy enough to remove but once it's off I also want to remove the button. From searching I've come across two suggestions, either get the area warm then give it a twist with a wrench or try to dissolve the glue with acetone. If I try this I think I'll try the second one first as I am nervous about a loud cracking sound following the first siuggestion but thought I'd check in first to see if anyone has tried this and how it worked out.

Chris.

Apply heat and you will crack the screen.

Take it to an autoglass agent, they can remove it by using a garot type wire in the same way they remove bonded windscreens

Glyn