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So, I'm beginning to feel that my transmission is not completely normal. I have a 98 Boxster with the 5 speed manual. Clutch seems completely fine, it's just the shifting that's worrisome. With the clutch depressed at a stop, I cannot freely access every gear like in other cars. For example, at a stop, I can sometimes select 1st, 2nd, 5th, and R, but not 3rd or 4th. At least not with ease. And if I push the transmission into 3rd, it becomes more difficult to choose other gears. Nonetheless, driving is still OK just not as pleasureable as I want it to be. I start in 1st gear, but it never slips in like silk. Shifting into 2nd is not completely smooth either, but it'll still go in w/o force. Twice, when going down an incline with the car in 1st gear at very very slow speeds, the car has even popped out of gear. Every gear is selectable/usable, the shifting is just not smooth. No grinding of the gears or other noise from the gearbox. The car has very low miles (only about 10k) and has not been abused in any way. So, I'm less inclined to think it's an internal transmission thing, at least I hope not. The symptoms have not worsened. Everything is connected under the shift boot in the cockpit. Everything is stock, no short shift kits. Is there any kind of adjustment that could be off, maybe at the cable joining the transmission itself? Or would a transmission fluid change be helpful? Any advice is appreciated.

James

If any of your gear changes feel 'rubbery', it is likely a slipped shifter cable. Either the adjusting nuts on the cables at the shift lever or a cable has slipped off the retainer bracket at the transmission end. You will have to remove parts to look at either of these. If the rear main seal was ever replaced, I would check the transmission end - especially since you already looked at the shifter end.

good luck - and maybe someone else has a better idea

- Ad Sach

Hi folks,

I own RoadsterSound.com, and my particular area of expertise is getting big sound out of small, stealthy little packages. ... I've seen a few options for stereo upgrades for the Boxster - the Becker/PNA kit, the Harvey Peck kit, the Techart rear deck kit, and the Bose rear deck kit. I've also heard of another kit, OEM I believe, that converts the door speakers to "subwoofers" (can anyone give me details on this kit?). None of these kits strikes me as ideal - none offer good low frequency performance and all seem expensive for what you get.

I believe ALL the factory door speakers are sub-woofers. This speaker upgrade also included an amp in the trunk and cone tweeters beside the dash speakers. Without the door speakers, the dash peanut grills cover a single speaker.

As for the rear deck, I'd rather have a pair of mid&high stereo speakers behind driver and passenger heads than a sub-woofer.

A few folks have added a subwoofer in the passenger footwell and sacrificed legroom. Since my wife is 6' tall, this is not an option for me. Others have added a sub and amp to the bottom of the front trunk, I prefer not to sacrifice the room or share that much of my bass with the neighborhood.

For the 986, One place I would investigate is placing a downfiring subwoofer UNDER the dash on the passenger side where the 996 has a glove compartment. It's at least a good place for the wiring - it might not be bad for the sound. The 987 actually has a glove box there.

- Ad Sach

2002 986S in Boston.

hell I can feel my AVS sports overnight here and it's only 50 out

I expressed myself poorly - My PZEROs would flat spot every night whether the overnight low was 40 degrees or 100 degrees - they ALWAYS flat spotted. I switched to YOKO AVS ES100 and prefer this tire to the PZERO in every way.

Has anyone ever actually experienced flat spotting on their Boxster? I've stored my Boxster for three winters now, and every year I pump up the tires to 45 psi, and every year, I never have flat spotting problems.

I've always thought these tire cradles were a gyp, since I've never actually heard from anybody who had flat spotting before and now doesn't because of the cradles. I suppose if you let your Boxster sit on race slicks for 6 months at low pressure you might get flat spots, but I've never heard of anyone getting flat spots on street tires.

Oh, it can (and does) occur. But, there are numerous variables, some of which you've mentioned. Pressure and load, of course, but the tires themselves are big factors. Ambient temp and more importantly, temp of the tires when first stored. I get noticeable, but not objectionable, flat spotting over night after driving my highway commute and parking in the garage. Dissipates within a few miles in the morning. I run Bridgestone Potenza S-03.

--Brian

My Factory Pirelli would flat spot every night at (100+ or 40-) degrees in Arizona

I was at the Porsche dealer in Newark, DE on Wednesday and they had one sitting in the show room.

It had a do not touch sign on it.

Jon

They also had a do not touch sign on the one in Herb Chambers Boston showroom. When I walked between it and the window they yelled across the room at me. That will probably be my last visit to this dealer even though it is 6 blocks from my work.

What a difference from Penske in Scottsdale, AZ. Penske group had a showroom of new Ferrari, Maseratti and Porsche. They preferred you not to touch the high end Ferraris, but they greeted everyone in quiet tones and loved to talk about the cars. Now they have the Penske museum(free) a block away from North Scottsdale Porsche.

The folks at Herb Chambers couldn't even tell me the HP, torque or suspension upgrades of the new BMW Z4 M on the lot. Some people just shouldn't be allowed to sell cars.

for the cupholder problem, I've been using a pair of "ultimate cupholders" ( www.ultimatecupholders.com ) since a tragic coffee spill left me with 2 hours of detail work, I don't even use the stock ones anymore, to the point that I'm going to get a gt3 console delete and pull them out completely

I like my Ultimate Cupholders, but the fit is not as good as the Ultimate Cupholders for my wife's BMW. The metal bends and they fit a bit loose. Do you have a photo showing your install?

If you want to do this job in 2-3 hours instead of 4, you can just loosen the wheel well liners by removing the front 3-4 fasteners and then remove the front bumper cover. I found removing the plastic rivets on the wheel well liners to be the most time consuming part of the job - the rivets tend to stretch and break on a car with a few miles on it.

When I did this last month, I moved the front radiators to the side(leaving hoses attached) and cleaned the back radiator too.

Hi All,

I have just booked my car back into the garage as it's started leaking oil again,

same patch on the floor so guessing the RMS again,

I have done about 2000 fairly steady miles since the last change,

does anyone have any advice or know what the latest revision of the seal is?

anouther thing is the car is now out of warrenty and this *May* cost me. i am hoping they will do it for free, If i did have to pay for it, is it worth doing it now or leaving it for a while,

thanks

The car may be out of warrantee, but the RMS and IMS service they just did for you should be warranted.

I'd say take it back

Yes, I am hoping to finish my long term evaluation of the Durametric Software soon.

I personally see a need for two of the four you mention.

The OBD-2 software is really good for tracing (graphing) O2 sensor performance and looking at real time DME (only) data. It can read (and reset) only DME fault codes. The software is updated every two to three months - and updates are free. As a bonus it also works on my (other car) Mercedes and my wife's Jeep. For $123 it is a no-brainer.

The Durametric Software can read faults in the DME, Alarm, Airbag, ABS, Seat memory, Heating/AC, Tiptronic and more. It can reset those faults in all but the alarm system. It can also read real time data and they are constantly updating it and adding new features. So far the updates are free which is nice with all the added functionality. For the "introductory" price of $197 again this is a great bargain. I don't expect their "introductory price" to last too much longer.

The only tool that can do all (and more) of what these two do is a PST2. Latest prices for used PST2's on eBay are still running well over $3000.

Loren thanks for your honest evaluation.

I purchased and installed the Durametric software yesterday.

I had my seat out to transport a heavy chunk of ,arble, so I used it afterwards to reset the Airbag light.

I thought the driving or front fog lights were what he was talking about, they shut off when you turn on the high beams, which is what shorting the relay fixes :)

:oops:

Sorry guys - Apparently I should brushup on my reading skills

Removing the rear bumper cover is not too hard - I couldn't find the link, but one starts by removing the spoiler cover.

ADJUSTING the rear bumper doesn't involve removing anything and there is very little to adjust, basically you are adjusting the gaps and to look good against the fenders. To adjust, loosen the one or two adjacent screws , shove the cover into the position you like, and retighten the screws.

If your muffler sits bad in relation to the bumper cover, it is probably an issue with the muffler mounting - fixing this has nothing to do with the bumper cover.

Chris - try a search on this forum for MAF DISCONNECT

There have been many posts on unplugging your MAF and driving (as a diagnostic test.)

:oops:

huh, i never noticed ToolPants mentioned the relay, now I feel stupid for asking

I only noticed because I am considering this for a spring upgrade(moving to Boston where drivers are..um..erratic).

After your install, please make a post giving your impression of loudness and delay.

stumpjumper - How do you like your new setup?

Is is possible to make the fog lights stay on with the high beams on? It sure we be nice on those dark rural roads in the morning to see in the distance and also in the ditches. My car is a 2000 Boxster S that had Litronics added when I got it.

Phil - Have you discovered you driving lights?

On my 02S, if you pull out the light switch dial(or otherwise fiddle with the dial) it turns on the driving lights as well as the headlights. It is a visible difference on mountain roads.

I only discovered my driving lights LAST YEAR, and I bought mine new in 02,

- Ad Sach

(please - no RTFM comments, I have read the manual front to back at least 3 times).

been waving at every p-car I see but so far only a GT3 and another boxster have waved back :(

Try the flash (flashing your headlights), it's the traditional Porsche greeting. I've flashed 2 p-cars and waved back once in the last month (I'm in Newton).

2001 Boxster S, 6 Speed manual, UK-South Wales

Had my air con regas last week after noticing a decline in the cooling. The guys at the aircon garage said it was down on gas but was not leaking- When I got it back I noticed that they had checked the fuses because the panel wasn't fitted properly and was hoping they had not just changed a fuse although they looked fine to me. When I checked it -it did seem better but it was quite a cold UK day anyway but a week later it's back to normal, infact its the same temp with or without air con with the setting set to LO. I checked the air con pipes with the engine running after a long run with it set to LO around the battery area and the pipes were at a temperature equivalent to the metal work surround ie not cold, the pipes felt like they were slightly pulsing.

Is there anything I can check myself before I take it back. It had a 48k service recently is there anything that may have been disconnected perhaps near the polyrib belt that was changed (clutching at straws now)

Grateful for any ideas

"anything I can check myself?" Not really. First someone needs to recheck the gas pressure.

If it were me - I would take it back to your aircon guy and ask for an explanation. He should recheck the pressure for free.

If the aircon guy now has a different story, such as a bad compressor, and wants more money - ask for your money back, and run-don't walk- to another aircon shop.

He might be honest, but your results don't inspire confidence.

I went to do an oil change yesterday, and low and behold, the oil drain plug is stripped out. :oops: :oops: I mean the torx hed is stripped out. so I can't remove the plug. Fortunatly, I haven't yet drained the oil.

Any idea how to get the plug out so I can replace it????? I'm sure I'm not the first to have this happen.

If the drain plug head is REALLY stripped (not just some wierd, non-TORX, triple square) the next step would be to use an easy-out. The spiral kind are available in any autoparts store. I've never tried the square kind, but they might work better on a TORX head IF you luck into a 'perfect fit' that fits without pre-drilling.

Yep.

Your best bet is to get the passivated to a nice clear and zinc passivation, use hexavalent so that they are RoHS compliant just to be good to the enviroment.

Or buy new bolts. I think I paid about $4 each to replace the locking style.

I have seen rusty bolts on 993 and older Boxsters, my 02S bolts have not rusted.

Sounds to me like bad alignment. If you are running toe-out up front, that will cause all of the symptoms you are describing. Take it to a *reputable* alignment shop and get them to check it out for you.

Good Luck,

Graeme

While agreeing about the alignment--

Rascal what tire and size do you have now - and what did you come from?

I usually ask myself a similar question about my car this time of year - as I change from my 235/17 winter tires to my 225/265/18 summer tires. It is a big enough effect that my wife also notices on her heavier BMW.

OK, so how about this issue....lowering the car it will force the rear tires to angle in thus creating more wear in the inside of your tires

Lowering the car will change your tire wear - whether this is good or bad depends on how you drive. The way highlander drives, this compensates for what would otherwise be excessive wear on the outside edge of his tires :jump:

Alignment after EVO springs probably has a rear camber range of 1.25 to 2.75 compared to a stock range of about +0.5 to -1.5. If you are worried about wear stay at the low end. At 1.5-2.0 degrees negative in the rear(MO30), I have never had a wear problem.

I can't think of anyone who has lowered for performance reasons, that regrets the tire wear.

I have a 2002 S with 13,000 miles and I noticed a crack starting to form in the rear plastic window. Is this covered under my manufacturer's warranty? The warranty doesn't expire until August.

I would ask the dealer to cover it.

My 02S top failed at 52,000 miles so I still have a cracked rear window.

Mostly, these crack from the cold, so if you live in Arizona or So Cal you have a better case.

If you live in cold country, you might wait until June to inform the dealer that it broke :D

Hi Loren,

I have a #5 panel which I need to install. . . .

Here is a photo of what can happen to part#5 if you drive through a big puddle fast to make a big splash.

Jay,

I think your time estimate of 3 hours is reasonable. Having done my 02S once, I could pull and reinstall the stock muffler in 2 hours. If you decide to wire the noise reduction flap for the PSE or you have to move that horizontal beam from stock to the PSE that could add another hour. If you like tinkering, this is a do-it-yourself job.

I can't speak to pre-03 vs post-03 fit. Leave the bumper cover on and there is nothing to align. It will either fit or not fit. If the fit is close, you might loosen screws and be able to force the bumper cover 3/8 of an inch or so.

I recently posted a picture of the 02S muffler and mounting bracket, if you haven't seen it it will help visualize where to find the bolts.

I've been looking for a used set of 17" turbo twist wheels for my '00 Boxster. What do I need to know as far as offset and tire size to end up with a standard 17" installation. Also, could I do an 18" wheel? I assume the common opinion is the larger the wheel the better the looks? Is it worth the loss in ride quality?

Jon

Basically, what fits is a Boxster wheel. Either a 17 or an 18 should be fine in your car. Carrera rear wheels don't fit.

If you drive in snow country, or anywhere else that has horrendous potholes, you may not enjoy the 18s as much as someplace like an Arizona highway. If you regularly 'push it' around corners you will appreciate the added grip and clean turnin of an the 18" wheels. I believe the 5-spoke lightweight that came out in 03 is the lightest of the stock wheels - significantly lighter than the turbo twists. And there are good aftermarket choices for a slightly wider tire or lighter wheel.

2 good places to see common selections are:

Wheel enhancement www.wheelenhancement.com/ a large selection of reasonably priced take-off wheels

tire rack www.tirerack.com - be sure to look for wheels by make and model - many choices are not available for the Boxster.

I hope that the unit can be installed without removing the rear bumper and all the related body pieces. Was that just to illustrate the look?

There is no need to remove the bumper cover as in the picture.

There are 2 important points to removing the muffler

#1 - disconnect the exhaust pipes at the SLEEVES between the muffler and cats rather than at the 3-bolt flange. In the picture below - left is good - right is bad

#2 - It is tricky to locate and loosen the TOP mounting nuts. See the two bolts sticking out of the flat bar spanning the top of the muffler? You can see them in the picture but they are not visible on the car. These bolts attach to a large aluminum bracket which attaches to the transmission. All of the bracket bolts and nuts are basically invisible until removed and in some cases you have to reach an arm around each side of the transmission to operate a ratchet wrench with a swivel attachment.

Pictured below is the aluminum muffler bracket for the S. This can be left on the car for muffler replacement. The muffler is only mounted with 4 nuts. 2 nuts are removed at the top(one is removed in the photo) and two screw/nut sets are loosened at the bottom to allow the wire/bar at the bottom of the photo to come loose. These are obvious and easily visible from under the car.