JFP in PA

Thanks. The dealer did confirm that the part # for 7 was superceded by a different number: 90037832901 which is what I have on order. So who knows, Porsche might have superceded the 110 bolt with a longer 160 bolt precisely to avoid what happened to me!

Not an uncommon occurrence, Porsche is learning by experience, just as we are. I would suggest also getting a replacement for the same bolt on the other side of the car, bolts are relatively cheap, fishing the car out of ditch after the front end falls apart at speed is not.........

Jfp, any chance you can lookup torque values for the #7 from your Bentley manual for me?

#7 is a M14X160 bolt, spec is 118 ft. lb.

Thanks JFP. I think you and I are looking at different fiches for some reason. Here is what I am looking at from Porsche's website and shows #7 as a M14x1.5x110.

I was using the diagram in the Bentley manual; the PET should be more correct, although the bolt may also have been superseded, so I would stay with the PET. The torque spec (from the OEM service manual) is correct at 118 ft. lb.

Jfp, any chance you can lookup torque values for the #7 from your Bentley manual for me?

#7 is a M14X160 bolt, spec is 118 ft. lb.

It did turn out to be # 7. Special order from Porsche I have both on order. In the mean time I found a couple of M14x1.5x100 bolts at a local recycler. The #7 bolt I have on order are M14x1.5x110. I figured 10 mm shorter bolt should be ok for a few days to get me around till the Porsche bolts come in.Assuming I'd need a full front end alignment once this is all done correct? Any special tools or machine needed or can the local shop get it aligned to factory spec?

I would also suggest a front end alignment done by a competent Porsche shop. Considering what started all this, I would also get under the car with a torque wrench and check every non castellated nut for the correct torque specs.

so my understanding is that the P0xxx codes are the standardized codes and mandated by law while P1xxx are the additional porsche specific codes. Does that mean that smog check will pass the OBD functional test even if P1xxx codes are present in memory (w/ or w/o CEL on)?

I think that if you have an active or pending code, you are toast; but you may want to check the California DMV web site for details on where the lines are on this subject.

OK, I am sort of safe at home from you fantastic Forum Members to dare to suggest the following: Why not use regular oil and just change it more often than use synthetic oil?

I have a newly acquired 2005 CS that is out of warranty. Yes, I am a CS rookie.

Will not using synthetic oil screw up the variable valve timing thing? ( I assume that its Porsche's version of Honda's VTEC )

I would think not using synthetic oil would void warranty... if you had warranty.

Actually, I haven't found any place in the manual that indicates which oil to use. I am just guessing synthetic (Mobile 1 maybe... a Mercedes recommendation for a E320)

What would screw up if I don't use synthetic oil?

So far I have driven this monster of a SUV "sparingly"... I don't think I've gone past 2800 rpm. This also brings up the question of just using regular gas vs premium high octane as recommended. If I am not driving this vehicle "hard", I don't need premium gas, right? OK, compression ratio is high = 11.5:1. So pre-ignition with low octane gas would damage the engine. But I am not driving this suv hard at all and there is a knock sensor right? And if I am not reving the engine up... thus advancing the timing/cam shaft, thus igniting the fuel/air mixture earlier in the power stroke... then I don't need premium gas, right?

Its getting late and I am just rambling on... regular oil and regular gas... what do you think? (Its a serious question with a bit of fun mixed in).

You should not be using anything but a full synthetic oil in the car. Full synthetics are a different animal than conventional oils; they have lower surface tension, better heat transfer, and much superior film strengths than conventional analogs. They also utilize totally different additive packages and have much longer running lives before they fall out of grade. Using a non synthetic is false economy, you will pay for it in the long run. As for what brands and weight, that is always a topic of conversation, but there is a published list of Porsche approved oils in the document archives.

Hello!

I bought a 97 boxster few months ago and it doesn't keep fluids in too well. Today I was actually doing coolant flush because it seems previous owner had used plain water to fill the tank. I noticed that when i turn on the heater it starts raining water from somewhere between front tires. Hoses and stuff looked good as new to me.

So whats in the middle front of the car that leaks coolant or water? It was really raining hard. And only when heater was full on.

I have not contributed yet to the forums but forums have been really helpful for my research and study. Thanks.

Without the radiators or heater core, the forward cooling system looks like this:

Part # 90037832901 would be item #4 in the diagram.

Go to http://www.autoatlanta.com/ website, look up your model and you will find that diagram under the steering/front end section with the part numbers for each item. You can also find the same info if you have access to a Porsche PET. Good luck!

Thanks. Item # 4 does not look like the part. I think the bolt I am looking for is # 11. But I will print this out and take it to the car this morning and confirm.

FYI, I found these on Porsche.com also. http://www.porsche.com/all/media/pdf/originalparts/usa/996_USA_KATALOG.pdf

That is an online copy of the PET, which is their parts catalog.

All this talk about oil quality is intriguing but how in the world does that relate to a sealed IMS bearing. I read this over and over to change your oil every 5K and use the absolute best oil money can buy for IMSB health. Porsche always thought Mobil 1 was good enough and any oil you use has no effect on the IMSB!Alan in Boston

We have seen more than our share of OEM IMS bearings, none of them had any signs of grease left in them, only oil, even though the seals often looked intact. And quite often, the oil was in pretty bad shape.

Part # 90037832901 would be item #4 in the diagram.

Go to http://www.autoatlanta.com/ website, look up your model and you will find that diagram under the steering/front end section with the part numbers for each item. You can also find the same info if you have access to a Porsche PET. Good luck!

I thought it might be easy to spot. See if this helps ID the part you are looking for:

Guys, thanks but thats exactly my intention also. I am asking if anyone has tips on what to check inspect that might be a common wear item on these cars. "take it to a shop" is easy, but looking for more insight.

You need to start looking at the entire front suspension and steering, giving things a good shake as you go. If something fell off, and now the steering wheel is shaking, I cannot imagine looking at the car and not seeing anything wrong........

I agree 100%, get the car up in the air, pull the front wheels and start looking. I also would not be driving the car until it is inspected.

Many thanks for the constructive feedback. First sensible explanation of what Calcium batteries are. Thanks for that!Got a new battery and new (revised) alternator. Read the 997 DiY alternator replacement on this site first and was apprehensive about the amount of stuff that has to be removed before accessing the alternator. Well not on a 996: took me one hour and 15 min to replace both. Straight forward. Now I notice the difference: althought the old battery was not faulty ( no shot circuit in one of the cells) the starting power (revs made by the start motor) is much higher. The battery must have been tired. Another noticeable thing: since a while the idling of the engine was not clean, with noticeable vibrations and hesitations regularly. I did change the spark plugs (30k old) and the 6 ignition coils (11yrs old, 133k and some rusty...) but it didn't improve idling smoothness. Guess what, with the new alternator the idling fault is solved! It probably did send tension peaks into the car's electrics....Grz...

Glad you got it worked out.

Your comments point to a common misconception about the battery and charging system in modern cars; despite what many say, they do age and lose significant output over time, particularly the battery. This why the bench mark tests for batteries and alternators is how they perform under load. To that end, the standard testing procedure to check out either unit is by using what is called (not surprisingly) a load tester, which puts a heavy drain on each one separately to see how they respond. While the test only takes a few min. to run, it is a fail safe "go/no go" way to determine if it is time for a new battery or alternator. Most competent shops have the equipment to do this, and many serious "DIY" own them as well as they work on anything with a battery and/or a charging system. A decent hand held digital 130 Amp unit sells for around $80-100 over here.

Thx for all the information - last question - is it really necessary to have some power going to the car when replacing the battery? The owners manual doesn't address this - just don't want to loose the computer information

It is not critical, but it does make things easier as you don't lose everything from the radio presets, window auto up/down stops, to the DME's learned settings. On some models, you would even lose the gas tank calibration settings, so you would have to empty the tank, refill it with a known amount of fuel and then reprogram the gas gauge so it was correct, which can be a major pain in the butt not to mention very time consuming. Do you have to retain power: No; but it is easier if you do.

Also, whether it works depends on the charger too. Chargers are so smart these days not sure they will output any (or the correct) voltage if it detects the battery is not there...

Which is why I suggested using one of the several makes that has the feature, like the Ctek 7002. In a pinch, there is a $10 "dongle" with a cig lighter end on one side and the two snaps for a 9 V battery on the other that works as well.

It cannot be connected to the battery posts as the charge would stay with the battery, not the car; it either has to be connected via the cigarette lighter plug (preferred method), or on the cable ends.

Several maintainers, and particularly those from Ctek, have a specific setting to do this. but while conducting the swap, you need to remember that the cable leads are still hot when disconnected and do not short or ground them.

On the 997/987 cars, Porsche changed the design of the relay banks, apparently for space reasons. The one in the rear boot on a 987/Cayman now flips somewhat and slides out on arms unlike the early ones that are bolted to the firewall under the trunk carpeting on a 986, and the one up under the dash appears to be a similar design, although I have never tried to move it as it is in a very confined space so something has to move out of the way to make room for it (when you look up under the dash, you are looking at the bottom cover of the relay bank, so you need a small telescoping mirror to extend above it to see what you need to do). While it may represent progress, it is a bit peculiar. In any case, relay changes are not a daily occurrence, and remain possible if a bit arduous.

Not without going to some lengths; you would need to pull the headlight assembly, remove the bulbs and then try to get it out, and in the end it would not make much (if any) difference in how the light performs.

I would try to do it without pulling the gear box, that is a lot of work for one fastener, unless the car is going to see severe duty (e. g.: lots of track time), I would not be overly concerned about it not being there.

What I would do, however, is find another shop; people that leave fasteners out when putting these cars back together get up my nose and should not be allowed near them. I would also double check that all the other bolts are torqued properly.

Perfect - many thanks.

Any chance of the instructions to extricate the relay board #1 - on my back looking up at it from the footwell I can see the underside of it, and reaching up I can feel the relays on the top (with a cover for the connections below) - there looks to be clips to release it somehow, but I can't get it to release..

I've found some pics on here for the 986 which shows the board mounted vertically with lots better access, but none for the 987 which seems to have been designed by Houdini - there's no way I could get at the relays without dropping it down somehow...

Being double jointed definitely helps; we have never tried to pull one down, preferring to work upside down with my head under the dash using a small mirror and light. Not comfortable, but it is quick. The front relay panel may be mounted on a similar set of arms that the rear one is.

This photo of the engine with the transmission removed shows location and type of the fasteners that attach the transmission. The location and orientation of the hardware can be very confusing and it's not well documented in the Porsche factory diagrams, so I've provided a legend with part numbers for all Boxsters 1997-08 here: A- M10x40mm triplesquare (999-073-118-09) B- M12x1.5x100mm (999-072-010-09) C- M12x1.5x100mm (999-072-010-09) with 15x28x3.5 washer (N-905-028-02) D/G- M12x1.5x70mm (999-072-008-09) E/F- M12x1.5x90mm (999-072-009-09) H- M10 hex nut (900-377-011-09) attached to M10x30mm stud in transmission case (999-218-088-09)

Sorry, I gave some incorrect info, it is not in the front of the trunk, but on the drivers side (behind a removable panel) on your car. :huh:

1. Open luggage−compartment lid, turn the two fixing clips at the side by 90° and fold down the luggage compartment cover.2. Pull relay carrier forward on the two supports.

Oh for a decent workshop manual....

Where's the relay panel in the rear boot then? :)

Facing into the trunk from the rear of the car, pull down the inside trim liner at the front of the trunk area.