Jump to content

Welcome to RennTech.org Community, Guest

There are many great features available to you once you register at RennTech.org
You are free to view posts here, but you must log in to reply to existing posts, or to start your own new topic. Like most online communities, there are costs involved to maintain a site like this - so we encourage our members to subscribe or donate. All subscriptions and donations go to the costs operating and maintaining this site. We prefer that guests take part in our community and we offer a lot in return to those willing to join our corner of the Porsche world. This site is 99 percent member supported (less than 1 percent comes from advertising) - so please consider an annual subscription or donation to keep this site running.

Here are some of the features available - once you subscribe RennTech.org

  • View Classified Ads
  • DIY Tutorials
  • Porsche TSB Listings (limited)
  • VIN Decoder
  • Special Offers
  • Paint Codes
  • Registry
  • Videos System
  • View Reviews
  • and get rid of this welcome message

It takes just a few minutes to register, and it's quality Porsche information at a low cost.

Contributing Members also get these additional benefits:
(you become a Contributing Member by subscribing or donating money to the operation of this site)

  • No ads - advertisements are removed
  • Access the Contributors Only Forum
  • Contributing Members Only Downloads
  • Send attachments with PMs
  • All image/file storage limits are substantially increased for all Contributing Members
  • Option Codes Lookup
  • VIN Option Lookups (limited)

mikefocke

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    729

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

 Content Type 

Everything posted by mikefocke

  1. mikefocke
    You want the Porsche part for the updated Rear Main Seal. You want to know, for the InterMediate Shaft Bearing, if they are using a Pelican kit (like the original Porsche one as Porsche doesn't offer any IMS parts) or the LN kit. Once they have the work done to replace the clutch, they have easy access to the RMS and IMS so any labor change for doing those should take that into account.
  2. mikefocke
    Trey, 'familiar with the Porsche' is a good quote to get you in the shop but find out just how many Boxster TIP IMS/RMS jobs they have done and if the mechanic who did them is still there. Just as in heart surgery, experience counts.
  3. mikefocke
    As I see it, you have a Mass Air Flow sensor problem and, after combustion, a bunch of O2 sensor problems. If the MAF isn't working, I can see the fuel/air mixture being seriously fouled up leading to some seriously confused O2 sensors. So I'd start by looking at the furthest upstream problem as it needs to be right or it can affect all the readings after combustion. P0650 says there is a connection problem between the ECU and the MAF and it can be in either the wiring and or the connection. If you don't have the factory manuals, some hints can be found at Info on the MAF site. The disconnect doesn't say the MAF is bad, more like it can't be seen by the engine management computer so you need to look at this first. Could be disconnected wires, chewed by rodents, all sorts of things. I'd also look at the air cleaner not because it should cause any of these codes but just because it is the first step in the air coming in to be measured for computation of the air/fuel mixture. It is odd that the CEL isn't lit with all these serious codes. Are there any mods to the car (air cleaner, headers, modified cats/exhaust)? Could someone have pulled the light bulb behind the CEL?
  4. mikefocke
    Did you install or have Spinlocks on the car before putting the hardtop on? You've adjusted them?
  5. mikefocke
    Looked at the color of the oil recently? Any indication out the tailpipe? Looked around the water pump? When you filled the expansion tank, did you burp the engine or use a vacume pump on the system? Are the front fans running? How about the trunk lid? Under the carpet in the rear trunk? Cleaned the radiators recently? Pressure tested the system recently? How old is the water pump?
  6. mikefocke
    Can't there be a crack where the coolant reservoir meets the motor? Old motor mounts allowing too much movement? For some reason, other forums this week are full of stories about how guys have cooked their engines by driving after they got warnings of coolant problems. Aluminum engines can get damaged really quickly by air bubbles in the cooling system allowing hot spots to lurk just where cooling is needed. Been there, cost me an Alfa engine. I only tried to drive the same distance. And the Boxster fix is $4 to $40k. Have you inspected the area around the water pump? So unless you have been able to locate the cause, fix the problem and then fill the cooling system and pressure test it and pull all the air out with a vacume pump, I'd swallow the expense and get my local flatbed to get you to the best mechanic you can find.
  7. mikefocke
    Bulbs, fuse, short, switch. You just gotta debug em one at a time. I'd go fuse, bulb first as easiest cheapest.
  8. mikefocke
    When you put water/anti-freeze into the coolant tank, does any end up on the ground? If you look at the front of the engine by removing the panel behind the seats, do you see anything odd looking around the water pump shaft/seal? We are looking for leaks that are external to the engine/heads, if we don't find any, we get it flatbedded to the nearest engine specialist and hand him the keys and our wallets. And just filling the tank is not enough if air has gotten into the cooling system, the system must be totally free of air eith by using a vacum pump or burping the system. An air pocket can allow a hot spot which can cause an engine failure. I can't emphasize enough how important to an aluminum engine having a functioning coolant system is. (Been there, lost one..an Alfa). I wouldn't run the car until I find out what is happening and fix it.
  9. mikefocke
    Since I'm not standing with your car in front of me and instruments for measurements in my hand, all we can go on are probabilities and your description of sysmptoms. And, concerning the AOS, it could cause problems at its age and mileage and it is easy to figure out if it is a failed AOS by removing the tube between the air cleaner and the throttle body and examining the amount of oil in it. A thin film of oil...probably not the AOS. Drops of oil and probably worth changing the AOS and J-tube. The AOS filters oil out of the "air" within the crankcase and routes the unburnt hydrocarbons back into the air intake stream to be used in the combustion cycle again. If the AOS isn't filtering, then much more oil will get up into the intake and cover the throttle body and cause hesitation and sputtering because the throttle body can't react as well as it should because it is covered with deposits. Same thinking about the valves Maurice mentioned. Clean things react well, dirty clogged ones don't.
  10. mikefocke
    The AOS is easy to diagnose based on the amount of oil it would dump into the intake and onto the throttle body if it fails. The AOS is plastic and 12-13 years old....
  11. mikefocke
    I assume you added the cleaner to an almost full tank of gas. So you already have gas with cleaner in it even beyond the cleaner the gas comes out of the pump with. So I'd wait on adding any other cleaner until you have burned that tank of gas. And how is your AOS? The throttle body cleaning will tell you about the AOS condition.
  12. mikefocke
    Mike had a '99 and loved it. As to comparisons to the other cars you mentioned, I'd suggest driving all of them and see which satisfies you. No reason my choice should be yours. When I bought my first Boxster (4th sportscar) I drove all the cars you mentioned. It was obvious to me but you may have different wants or needs so check em all out. The '99 is a 13 year old car and you can anticipate certain things to wear out just from age...plastic parts mostly. I'll bet its front engine mount needs replacing. And each oil change in a Boxster costs more because there is just more oil in the engine being used to lube and cool the engine. I like the mileage on the car...just enough. I like the idea of getting the Porsche-experienced mechanic to look at the car for leaks, and other issues that he might pick up that a general mechanic might not. Good luck.
  13. mikefocke
    I cooked my first Alfa in the '60s by doing just what you did so you aren't the only one. OTOH, I've owner 2 Boxsters and they were the most reliable cars I've ever had (owned at least 30 cars over 54 years). I define reliable as never stranded me and spent almost no time in the service bay except for routine scheduled maintenance and replacement of parts that wear out on any car (belts, O2 sensors, etc). I was fanatic about maintenance.
  14. mikefocke
    Or a battery that wasn't maintained. Back in the late '60s, I had an Alfa which had its battery under the right rear fender. One year I didn't even look at it. Mostly driving around town in the cold winter on short trips. But come spring I took a 50 mile trip and the battery cooked because it didn't have any water to cool the plates and the battery overheated and burned the paint off the fender. I was young and broke and didn't have any money and was at a boatyard so I threw the battery away, got a jump to start the car and drove the 50 miles of so back home without a battery in the car maintaining about 2,500RPM all through the trip including at stop lights because below that the engine would start to die.
  15. mikefocke
    P0102 - Break in wiring - Short to Ground (GND) Wiring from MAF to ECM. Has anyone been inside the engine compartment recently doing anything?
  16. mikefocke
    Agin I have read every message for the last 6 years on at least 4 and up to 6 online Boxster forums. If there were any defects causing this, the owners would be commenting/screaming. I can only assume there is some class hatred against people supposed to be rich or some collect from insurance scheme going if you are seeing a bunch of burned cars. Or people parking in inappropriate places where combustables come in contact with the catalic converters.
  17. mikefocke
    A header collects the burned gases from the combustion process from the engine and routes it into the exhaust system. Since the Boxster engine has cylinders in each side, there are two of these headers. Again, I'll say I brouse probably 6 Boxster online forums daily and have for 6+ years and can't recall a single "fire burned up my Boxster" story. As for the cats get hot and ignite tall grass, sure that can happen with any car.
  18. mikefocke
    Brett, my complements on posting so much information with your question. It really helps those who do the answering on the forums to not have to dig it out over a series of question/answers. The only other question I'd ask is did the lumpiness/fault occur before you changed the plugs/coils? Since the CEL can also be a short or break in the wiring back to the ECU, it always helps to know if the symptoms can be related to anything you did recently (like bump a connection).
  19. mikefocke
    If you are losing coolant, you need to identify the cause fast! Boxster M96s are sensitive to cooling and cooling depends on the water/anti-freeze circulating successfully. Lose the engine and it could cost you the car. Classic causes are water pump seals, head gaskets, water/oil heat exchangers, filler tube cracks, radiator cracks, and internal engine failures. First thing is look at the oil and see if there is any intermix. What color is the oil? Coffe with milk color says intermix and point to some of the causes, leaks to another set. Look at the plugs, are any different from the others?
  20. mikefocke
    Often because extra-wattage bulbs were used. I've heard stories of people polishing through a hole they cut in the back. About 5 years ago, when Litronic upgrades were priced reasonably, base headlight assemblies were commonly available. Not so much now though you might try the wrecking yards.
  21. mikefocke
    You have many options re your motor...those I've heard of are described here . Also on that site is a list of wrecking yards known to handle Porsches.
  22. mikefocke
    Ask her if she dropped anything under the seat and had to retrieve it.
  23. mikefocke
    In theory, isn't it possible to replace the bearing in a '97 with a bearing without teardown as Hartech is doing in the UK using a bearing similar to the bearing originally used by Porsche?
  24. mikefocke
    Ever check the fuel pump which is, on some model years, cooled by the gas in the tank? I can see running dry cooking the pump. I'd be looking at a fuel pressure check assuming that one abnormality was somehow associated with the other.
  25. mikefocke
    Lets not confuse the indicated temp with the internal temp. Indicated temp on both my '99 and my '01S was at the right side of the 8 in the 180 and many others I've spoken to said theirs settled there too. So unless the external temp is really really high (100F+) or you are driving at max RPM all the time or you are in some sort of traffic where your air intakes are blocked, there is something suspicious to me if yours settles at 200...like maybe a fan or temperature sensor or a water pump wearing or ....
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.