mark in sunnyvale

Marco, I forgot to say that once press the down button, you ended up with a V mostly up position. Like Toolpants mentioned. Good luck!

Marco, I think I know what the problem is(or at least I think I do), Once you get the clamshell connected on both sides, manually put the top down. The lever should be in an inverted V with the joint for the clamshell pointing towards the rear. Then Press the DOWN button to get the transmission joint for the top to line up. Be careful not to get the arm with the red joint stuck, or you would need to replace it ($45 each). If the lever jumps out of gear before you get it to align, you put the lever the wrong way, 180 degrees off. Take note of how you did it previously and flip it. Hopefully, we can get this on video someday! We just need a volunteer with a broken top. -Mark

wait, don't change the arms. I was referring to the levers not the arms. I'll look at my transmission to figure out what's going on with yours. -Mark

Marco, Just want to make sure. Have you tried flipping the lever 180? Also, are you sure you have to correct side for each lever? Is it possible you have the left lever connected to the right side? If I remember correctly, the joint that controls the clamshell connects first, then once both sides are connected, you can connect the red joint for the top. If you think about it, it doesn't make sense to be able to connect the joint when the top is up, since you were pressing the down button. Is it possible for you to post some pictures I stole this link form Toolpant's directory, check out the orientation of the lever. The V is pointing down, the joint for the clamshell is near the rear trunk. Check out: http://www.986host.com/albums/ToolPants/to...vin12.sized.jpg Once you have the clamshell connected on both side0s, you need to put the top down, and mess with the up/down switch to line up the joint for the top.

Marco. What year is your car? It might be a good time to check the cables. See if you have 1" sticking out on the end that connects to the motor. You might as well fix/replace it if you have a 97-99. Actually, check if your cable housing is smooth or textured, this will tell you if it's reinforced or not. Also, what do you mean by act up? Would it not work? Come up skewed? Chatter on the way up or down? http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=68 http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=589

Whoah! Are you serious? That's a crap load of snow! Keep us updated regarding your top! Why did you take it apart anyway, did it break on you? -Mark

Ah, here's the problem. The top should be in the DOWN position. Fold the top and extend the clamshell, then start all over again. Hopefully this solves your problem=). What you're trying to accomplish is to put the top in a known position before you synch it. In this case, you're putting both sides in the fully down position. After you press the down button and the gear jumps off, the act of twisting the opposite way and pressing the UP button begins the up motion of the top. So, all your adjustment when you are timing should be done by pressing the UP button. If it's any consolation. You're about 30 mins. from fixing your top and saving yourself $2000 US. -Mark

Hi, Unfortuantely, it's not a relay. What you have is a transmission off by 180 degrees on one side or both. It's due to the stupid half moon design of the gears in the transmission. The symptom is, it works great going down, gets stuck on the way up. The fix requires two people. A switch pusher and a the guy who tries to time the gear and yell at the switch pusher=). My kid sister did an excellent job at pushing the switch. I cut and pasted the directions for you: You're going to need to time it if the arms aren't lining up. It will be very obvious if you need them because you can't connect the rods.=) A couple of things before you take stuff apart. 1) Take not of the position of the V-shaped lever, it's possible to reinstall it 180 degrees off. 2) When you replace the cable, do NOT mess with the gears. Do no move them in anyway. After removing and installing the cable, or removing the metal end and re-installing the V-shaped lever 1) You need to line up lever to the clamshell's arms, put the clamshell in service position as far as it will go. The clamshell bolts first. Make sure the arm for the convertible cover doesn't get stuck while moving the transmission, or else you will need a new convertible arm with the red plastic joint ($45). 2) Use the up/down switch to move one transmission at a time in order to line up your convertible top. If you are using the switch, it helps to have a second person. Ask them to press it one second at a time, this will prevent a lot of screw ups. You can also use a power drill (also know as Toolpants patented timing device) to drive the end of the cable to move the transmission Once you get everything hooked up, do an up down cycle. If it does a complete cycle, congrats. If it gets stuck in one mode(up or down), your gears are off 180. here's how you fix it. 1) Disconnect all the rods again. 2) Take not of the direction of the motor when you press the DOWN button. Now, cycle each transmission while pressing down until the lever disconnects(it's not a full gear). Be sure to hold the lever to take note of which direction it's spinning (CCW or CW). Once the lever has disconnected, spin the lever opposite the direction it spun when going down. So if it was going CW before, now spin it ccw. You won't be able to spin the transmission by hand, you're just holding it to the right position. Now push the UP button (or reverse the direction of the drill) Do the same procedure to the other side. 3) Put the clamshell in service position. One side at a time. Move the lever by pressing UP until it lines up with the clamshell's arm with a black joint. Make sure the arm with the red joint doesn't get stuck! Repeat on other side. 4) Put the convertible top in the down position, the read joints should now line up and bolt it. If not, play with the up/down switch a little to get it to line up. It's not as complicated as it sounds. You just have to take the time to think through how the top works. When a local Boxster's top breaks, I'm sure Toolpants production will come out with a DVD showing how to do this. Hopefully this helps.

TP, Do you know if you have a passenger or driver side? I had my passenger side regulator replaced. The mechanic claimed that the part couldn't be replaced, so they replaced the entire regulator. I bought a driver side regulator off ebay waiting for the day the driver side fails. The regulator was around $250 from Porsche. I haven't done the repair myself, but what Jean is describing is exactly the same problem I had. I was charged 200 for this diagnosis, this is free of charge for you Jean ;-). When I examined the part that broke, I *think* one can put a shim to fix the problem. I'm always down for some work on cars day to try to fix this. Although I don't know how we can test if the fix worked or not without plugging the battery back on, which could set off the Airbag light. -Mark

TP, I'm replacing my MAF this weekend. Anyone interested in seeing that done? -Mark

That's great news, Dave! I'm off to Vegas for thanksgiving so I opted for regular ground shipping. I'll get mine Dec. 1st. glad to know I won't be expecting any surprises. I've learned to shop around after being charged $25 for my first oil filter from the dealer.

Keeping my fingers crossed, too. I think the parts bin has multiple websites, not just two. I've ordered from one of their websites before. All of the websites have the same interface and points to the same SSL site. By the way, the airfilters and Pollen filter are branded Mahle. It doesn't have the magical Porsche brand (in gold leaf) ;) thus the lower price. It looks the same stuff to me. Toolpants, I got rid of the K&N as soon as the my CE light lit up. Anyone want a free K&N filter? :rolleyes:

We might have a winner!!! I just called up the place and I've asked them to read the Porsche number on their MAF. They gave me 996.606.12300. Several websites have the part, one I'm going to try is: http://www.autopartsperformance.com They call it an Air Mass Meter, PN B3130-70627. It's in stock. They confirmed it's a Bosch part. The list price is $327.69 and their price is $166.26. Shipping is free for anything over $50. I contacted both Sunset and suncoast, their price was $245 and $275 respectively. I guess I'll be the guinea pig and try to order this MAF online. They also have the new style MAF, but that's around $400. I have a pesky CE light that's been bugging me. It started after I added a K&N (a month after I bought the car). It keeps throwing O2 sensor codes at me. P1102, P1107, P0140 and P1117. All 4 points to the heating element. I've tried swapping out relays and checking the voltages and checking for shorts, no luck. I've swapped out the O2 sensors. Still no luck. I've tried cleaning it with contact cleaner, no luck! Now, I'm going to try swapping the MAF. I've taken it to the delaer, and the work order said it had a vacuum leak. They cleared the code and the CE light came back on after 1 month. I'll update you folks if this website is any good.

Thanks, Toolpants. By the way, I still have the same AOL address. I just use the hotmail account to sign up for websites. I found this place online that's selling a new MAF for $170, a lot less than sunset or suncoast. I've used them before to buy O2sensors. The sensors were less than 100 each. I'm going to give them a call to confirm they have the correct part. By the way, they list the 2.7L MAF for $370! That must have been some update.

I should add, it's for a 2.5.

Does anyone know what the Bosch Part Number for the MAF? TP? TIA

OUCH!! That's the worse position to be stuck in!!! The engineers from Porsche figured you'll get stuck in the down position. Unlatch your top. From the inside of the car you have to disconnect the ball joint and bar that holds the canvas. This is the same process you do when trying to access the engine, but this time you have to do it from inside the car. After that, use the tool from the toolkit(remove red cap, looks like a big screw driver.) You have to disconnect black ball first, then the red one. Black moves the clamshell, red moves the top. Anyway, I recommend a lot of wd40 on the joints or some lithium grease to ease the disassembly process. By the way, disconnecting the ball requires a lot of force. Like toolpants said, drive to San Jose, we'll fix it for you. Toolpants, you have a potential blockbuster when you get a top DVD together.

By the way, if your top was working fine before you replaced the cables; the should be NO need to retime the transmission. Just don't move any of the transmission independently. In your case, it's easier to put the top down with the clamshell still up. This is the easiest way to access the rods. Yours should be a straighforward job.

You're hoing to need to time it if the arms aren't lining up. It will be very obvious if you need them because you can't connect the rods.=) A couple of things before you take stuff apart. 1) Take not of the position of the V-shaped lever, it's possible to reinstall it 180 degrees off. 2) When you replace the cable, do NOT mess with the gears. Do no move them in anyway. After removing and installing the cable, or removing the metal end and re-installing the V-shaped lever 1) You need to line up lever to the clamshell's arms, put the clamshell in service position as far as it will go. The clamshell bolts first. Make sure the arm for the convertible cover doesn't get stuck while moving the transmission, or else you will need a new convertible arm with the red plastic joint ($45). 2) Use the up/down switch to move one transmission at a time in order to line up your convertible top. If you are using the switch, it helps to have a second person. Ask them to press it one second at a time, this will prevent a lot of screw ups. You can also use a power drill (also know as Toolpants patented timing device) to drive the end of the cable to move the transmission Once you get everything hooked up, do an up down cycle. If it does a complete cycle, congrats. If it gets stuck in one mode(up or down), your gears are off 180. here's how you fix it. 1) Disconnect all the rods again. 2) Take not of the direction of the motor when you press the DOWN button. Now, cycle each transmission while pressing down until the lever disconnects(it's not a full gear). Be sure to hold the lever to take note of which direction it's spinning (CCW or CW). Once the lever has disconnected, spin the lever opposite the direction it spun when going down. So if it was going CW before, now spin it ccw. You won't be able to spin the transmission by hand, you're just holding it to the right position. Now push the UP button (or reverse the direction of the drill) Do the same procedure to the other side. 3) Put the clamshell in service position. One side at a time. Move the lever by pressing UP until it lines up with the clamshell's arm with a black joint. Make sure the arm with the red joint doesn't get stuck! Repeat on other side. 4) Put the convertible top in the down position, the read joints should now line up and bolt it. If not, play with the up/down switch a little to get it to line up. It's not as complicated as it sounds. You just have to take the time to think through how the top works. When a local Boxster's top breaks, I'm sure Toolpants production will come out with a DVD showing how to do this. Hopefully this helps.

I'm curious, what offset do you need to clear 10" in the rear? I'm thinking 8.5" in front 10" in the rear. Any offset guides out there? Thanks!

I have two, unfortunately, neither is laptop based. I have an Actron reader; which cost $400 and an Auterra (auterraweb.com) reader which is palm pilot based. I had problems with the earlier Auterra software, it didn't work with my boxster. It worked with a honda, BMW, ford, volvo and toyota. I bought it for $200 on ebay. The later (3.0 and above) Auterra software works with the boxster. The upgrade was free so no big deal. I think there are 4 standards out there. I believe Porsche uses the same standard as BMW. I can't remember if it was ISO or Keyword 2000. I would recommend the Auterra reader since it's easier to upgrade and the code look-up is better. If you don't have the Porsche manual, I would suggest a membership to alldatadiy.com. The numbers mean nothing if you can't diagnose or look-up the error codes. alldatadiy.com has a trouble-shooting guide based on P-codes. Go to the auterra website for a demo. I hope this helps. (corrected links -- Loren)

Jeff, I didn't replace my coolant tank. (knock on wood), it's not leaking.. yet. You're correct, I was trying to diagnose an electrical problem. I replace the water pump on my V8 explorer and getting those spring type clamps where a pain!!! I can just imagine doing it on a boxster.

Hi Mat, I have some guesses with reagrds to your problem. The first one is that your clamshell(or plastic tonneau as you reffered to it is lose. Get your top in the service position to see if there's any play in the clamshell. Second guess is that you need to lubricate the rail that your tonneau shell is riding on. While on teh service position, look at the inner portion of the body and add some grease to that. My third guess is that for some reason, your transmission is not synced. I have no clue how thsi would happen unless you broke your top before. Since you've removed the red ball joint, you know ho to remove the plastic taht covers them. Put your top down up to the point before it starts clonking. Measure the vertical distance between the from the top of the body to the red ball joint. Also, measure the same distance with the black ball joint. The black ball joint controls the movement of the clamshell. When I disassembled my top, I remember having something loose. I can't remember what. I would have to check it as soon as I get over my jet lag. Good luck!