openwater

Yep.... part 996 107 183 03. Oil level dipstick guide tube.

This Boxster lives outside and it's raining... so I grabbed this pic from the internet. Not a great angle, I can get a shot of mine tomorrow. It's hard plastic tubing with a cable? inside. It starts somewhere near where the coolant reservoir comes through the trunk. I'm thinking oil dipstick. Hmmm. Easy enough to test in the morning. FYI - after driving about 20 miles tonight the idle settled down and is as steady as ever at 780 rpms. Thanks again.

It took a week to get the gasket in stock but I finally tackled the throttle body and idle control valve today. As advised, the cleaning did the trick! A couple of notes for those who follow... I thought that I needed to remove the hard plastic air intake body from the engine compartment to get access. It only needs to be loosened and the engine mounts removed. A magnetic wand is a must to make sure you catch the lower right throttle body bolt when reassembling. Its blind, and in a tight spot. It's easier to remove the left side engine mount at the engine side than the throttle body side. All the bolts/nuts on this project are 10mm. I found it easier to leave the rubber tube on the lower right, rear side for last when disassembling. My clamp was positioned pointing down so there was no way to get to it until I could translate the whole body. Also, at some point someone forgot to feed the tube through the engine bracket and I was developing a wear spot. Make sure you feed yours back through. I used "Throttle Body and Intake Cleaner" on the whole set up. The Idle control valve has a curved "door" inside one of the openings. When I first filled the valve with cleaner I didn't realize the "door" moved. But after a few minutes of cleaning and soaking I realized that it has a spring action that closes it. At first the movement felt "gravelly'. The more I soaked, the more fluid the movement became. I used a q-tip to move the "door" back and forth. Finally, it felt smooth. Questions: When disassembling I managed to slip with the wrench and crack the hard black tube that runs just to the right of the throttle body (as you face the engine). It appears that there is a cable inside. What is this and what does it do? I put it back together with duct tape for now, I'll wait for final reassembly of the engine compartment trim until I hear back from one of you. The idle is fine now. Seems to be hunting a bit though.... will the computer take some time to learn the new flow pattern? When the car is warm and I idle for a minute or so it stabilizes at the familiar 780rpms, but when stopping briefly it wanders between 800 and 1000. Thanks in advance! Steve

1999 Boxster Base - 89,500 miles. This car is driven about 4,000 miles/year in a temperate climate - San Diego Five or six times over the past three years I've experienced the following issue. This happens completely out of the blue... One day an absolutely rock solid idle at 780RPMs, the next this craziness. No CEL. No pending fault codes on the OBD2. The MAF (OEM) was replaced about 10,000 miles ago, no obstructions in the intake, air filter is clean. Acceleration feels "normal", but let your foot off the gas even slightly and the car lurches like it either air or fuel starved. Warm or cold engine... no difference. This condition usually lasts about two or three days, then goes away completely. I was thinking of puling the throttle body and cleaning the idle control valve but the intermittent nature of the issue has me guesing... Thanks in advance! Steve

'99 US Boxster 2.5 I started having some unusual electrical problems a few weeks ago... the passenger window was not dropping, manual lock light going on, etc. As I had done a number of years ago, I replaced the plastic part of the ignition switch under the dash. Last time that solved my issues, this time with no luck. With Maurice's help I diagnosed and replaced a bad passenger side locking mechanism. The window drop when activating both the inner and out handles is perfect now, thanks Maurice. At first, the intermittent lock light on the dash mounted rocker switch stayed off. Great, two birds with one stone. But today the lock light is back on... In the 10 years I've had this car I probably have used this manual lock switch less than a dozen times. Here are the symptoms;My key fob button went out years ago, I've been opening the car manually for years with no problem. When the car first starts, the "lock light" may self illuminate, it may not. After driving a while the light will come on for sure. While running, touch the unlock side of the switch and the light tuns off briefly, you hear the door locks cycle through twice, the horn beeps twice and the lock light re-illuminates. When locking with a key (the only way I can) the driver's door locks, but the passenger side doesn't. The alarm does not arm. The windows now work perfectly.If you happen to turn the car off when the rocker switch light is not illuminated, both doors will lock and the alarm will arm. The only other repair I did recently was replace the steering wheel air bag frame.... the horn was "going off on its own". This door lock issue started before the horn issue, and has continued after the new frame was installed. Thanks in advance for your input. Steve

A bit more info.... I knocked off work early today and hit the road. (What do you expect? San Diego, 75 degrees, gentle breeze, not a cloud in the sky. ). The lock doors light did not come on during the 10 minute trip so I stopped and locked the doors. The alarm armed and the passenger door locked... Thanks again.

'99 US Boxster 2.5 I started having some unusual electrical problems a few weeks ago... the passenger window was not dropping, manual lock light going on, etc. As I had done a number of years ago, I replaced the plastic part of the ignition switch under the dash. Last time that solved my issues, this time with no luck. With Maurice's help I diagnosed and replaced a bad passenger side locking mechanism. The window drop when activating both the inner and out handles is perfect now, thanks Maurice. At first, the intermittent lock light on the dash mounted rocker switch stayed off. Great, two birds with one stone. But today the lock light is back on... In the 10 years I've had this car I probably have used this manual lock switch less than a dozen times. Here are the symptoms; My key fob button went out years ago, I've been opening the car manually for years with no problem. When the car first starts, the "lock light" may self illuminate, it may not. After driving a while the light will come on for sure. While running, touch the unlock side of the switch and the light tuns off briefly, you hear the door locks cycle through twice, the horn beeps twice and the lock light re-illuminates. When locking with a key (the only way I can) the driver's door locks, but the passenger side doesn't. The alarm does not arm. The windows now work perfectly. The only other repair I did recently was replace the steering wheel air bag frame.... the horn was "going off on its own". This door lock issue started before the horn issue, and has continued after the new frame was installed. Thanks in advance for your input. Steve

Thanls to all for such detailed descriptions of this procedure. This weekend I had the joy of dealing with my base 98's top stuck in the up (closed position). A couple of observations and questions... After eyeballing the cramped areas around the red ball joint, and concerned about damaging the water barrier around the black ball joint, I opted for removing the clip that holds the clam shell to the push rod. That process went pretty easily, but I damaged one and it will be replaced. I would suggest everyone look closely at posted pictures of that clip, note the construction which should help on removal. (10 min total after removing the vinyl skirt) Top motor operation - each cable just shook for an instant when subjected to torque, but no top movement. One note, the motor appears to have an automatic cut off if it repeatedly runs into too much resistance. Toggling the top switch back and forth a few times made the motor stop "trying". Then there is an audible click after 5 seconds or so, then the motor will resume function. Some sort of built in 'motor saver' I assume. U clips and cables were removed from the motor... the posted "screw gun tip" produced no movement in the top on either side. With the clip removed, the clam shell was easily opened to expose the transmission. Also, by going after the clam shell first it makes removal of the red (or white) ball joint very simple when you use the porsche supplied lever tool. Just look forward from the transmission when positioned over the quarter panel. (5 min) This appears infanitely easier than going after the joint from inside the cabin with the top closed. In that case I had no room for an eyeball... and a tool... and a hand. My reds did not break, but will replace with whites as long as I'm in here. The transmission would not turn so removal of the the red ball arms were neccessary via an allen wrench and cheater bar. (5min) Questions; 1 - who is the supplier for the NAI white ball joints? 2 - where are the pics/thread for the inside of the transmissions? I know I've seen some on the board, but my searches are going nowhere. 3 - the transmission cover is just held on by the big 20mm bolt, correct? 4 - besides marking the postion of the transmission arms, anything to be concerned about before I prodeed? Thanks in advance. You guys are saving us $$$... and it's appreaciated! Steve

Fit at top of window is fine... will update when completed this weekend. Thanks for the info Maurice! Steve

Got my '99 base Boxster out of storage last month and have ben dealing with a dying/dead top motor. In driving around with the top up I've experiences a significant wind leak around the driver's side window. I have read a number of posts regarding window issues, I believe mine dates back to a poor asembly by an auto body shop who did work after I was backed into... my question is how to shift the window towards the rear of the car. I've read Maurice's posts on the Carrera forum, but am uncertain as to weather they apply to my 99 Box. Here is the passanger's window where clearances seem nomal + And here is the driver's side... air (and water) can get in where circled + Any help would be appreciated! I already have experience in removing the door panel...

Try 0859 or 0857 Neither worked... my failing memory was saying 0831, but it's been a while since I had the battery disconnected. I'm now in wait mode.

CDR-220 Becker 1 Type: 4462 Serial No: Y5041903 24/99 THANKS Loren!

I suspected the oil separator based on previous posts... didn't know it could have this effect on the idle. TP - Is there a gasket required for the re-install of the valve? Difficult to see from the photo. Thanks

'99 base - 71k miles. Two weeks ago the idle would not settle in at the usual 780 after a cold start. Wandered between 800 and 1000 in a random manor. Realized I had not been on the freeway in some time (I live a mile from work) and rarely got up to temperature for prolonged periods this winter. Went on a 40 mile loop at 80 mph or so but idle did not even out. It wandered less, but started to get rough when approaching the typical 780 rpm. Ran a tank with Techron injector cleaner with no change. No pending OBD codes. No loss of power. Noticed excessive white smoke on cold start Saturday. Monday - even more smoke then the idle started going crazy. Pulsing between 850 and 1200 over and over at about a second and a half interval. Spark plugs changed 8k miles ago. New MAF - 5k miles. New 2nd air system plumbing 2k miles. New oil 2k miles. Thanks in advance!

In the process of removing the 1-2-3 intake manifold to get at my change-over valve for replacement. I can get to the six mounting bolts easy enough but am having issues with the fuel rail. What is the best way to remove supply/exit lines from the rail? The aft fitting has a nut that looks accessible, the fore fitting looks to slip on... should I expect a fuel spill when removing? Also, the electrical connectors to the injectors appear to have a small wire retaining clip on the bottom side. Does the wire move straight down? Any other advice on this project would be appreciated! 1999 base - 65k