gcortes

Wow that's a lot of info to digest and I really want to thank everyone for taking the time to write out such great information. When I start the car I do hear the vacuum cleaner sound. I wish I hadn't as that certainly would have made things easier. This is what I figured I would attempt (in this order) and check each time to see if that addressed the issue.

1. Check for vacuum leaks (somehow beyond a visual inspection)

2. Replace the sensors

3. Check for electrical problems

4. Raid my kids college fund or win the lottery

Thank you everyone. Loren, I'm traveling for the next month or so but when I get back I'll gladly take you up on your offer of assistance, thank you.

All my best,

Gabriel

Thank you very much for the information. I think swapping them both if it proves to be a sensor problem is the way I'll go.

Your car has 4 O2 sensors. To see if it is a sensor or a wiring problem, you can remove the two upstream sensors and swap them, Clear codes and start it until you get aa CEL. If the fault stays on the same side, it's a wiring problem, if the fault moves, it's a bad sensor. I'd do the upstream, and after you check that swap the two downstream senors.

Based on the age and milage, You might think about buying and replacing the two upstream sensors, since they are the ones that affect the engine computer, the after cat sensors monitor cat effiiciency.

You'll need a 22mm wrench or a O2 sensor sockey to remove the sendors.

A word of caution, you will find people selling generic 4 wire O2 sensors, I've never had one work right. I tend to buy Bosch replacement, either through Sunset, or a local auto parts place.

Let us know what you find out.

Thanks for the info, I'll order soon. The CEL is not flashing and anytime it has been on has always been solid.

986.606.126.01 Oxygen sensor (after cats) -- US MSRP $296.90

Try the folks at Sunset Imports (Porsche parts at Dealer Cost) - link at top right.

The likely reason reason it is running poorly is because the DME can not compensate the mixture for the bad O2 readings. Then it finally adjusts enough to run better but still throws the codes.

Is the CEL flashing?

Two things I forget to say: First, thank you very much for your help. Second: when I clear the codes the car run terribly, like it's not getting any gas. Then after about three minutes the CEL comes on and it runs great again. Does that add to the mystery or could it still be a sensor issue? Thanks again.

Loren that would be fantastic. Can you recommend a place to get the sensor? I'm flying blind in that I don't even know the part that I need and I think I'm about to ask a stupid question: Do I simply ask for a Bank 2 sensor?

Hello everyone,

I'm in a world of hurt as my beloved '98 Boxster (81K miles) apparently has some serious issues and I'm looking for direction and/or assistance. First, the car seems to run fine after a brief warm-up. The issue is that the check engine light is on (I can't get it smogged or registered with the DMV) and when I took it to the Porsche repair place I use they came back with this:

CUSTOMER STATES: "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT ON

SCAN SYSTEM FOR STORED CODES AND RECORD: P1121. P0160, O2 SENSOR

CIRCUIT NO ACTIVITY DETECTED (B2S2). P1117, P1128, P1130, P1123,

AND P1125. NO DRIVE CYCLES ARE COMPLETE.

EVALUATE LIVE DATA. FUEL TRIM BANK 1 IS 32% AND BANK 2 31%. O2

SENSOR, B2S2, IS FLAT. O2 SENSOR, B1S2, IS NON RESPONSIVE.

I talked with the mechanic and he said I could potentially pour thousands into the repair and it still not be addressed as it could also be an electrical issue. I'm tempted to try to replace the MAF and any other parts myself except that I've never done anything even remotely close to this and I'm concerned about turning the car into a large silver paperweight. Has anyone ever encountered these issues before? Any ideas on the cost of parts? Also, any mechanic mentors out there willing to work with me if I decide to move forward with working on it (I'll pay you of course for your tutelage)?

Honestly, I LOVE this car and am hopeful I can get this addressed. Thank you for your time.

All my best,

Gabriel

Roseville, CA

Hello everyone,

I have a '98 Boxster with the factory stereo and front speakers (no door or rear speakers). I'm looking for a recommendation for a new stereo with an MP3 input that's relatively inexpensive for both purchase and installation. Also if anyone has recommendations for door or rear speakers, I'd be very interested in hearing them. I've come across this offer on EBay but I'm hesitant to purchase as it seems too good a price:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-Porsche...sspagenameZWDVW

Thanks for your time.

Regards,

Gabriel

Thanks to both of you for the advice, I'll try to shine her up in the next few weeks and will post before and after pics.

Regards,

Gabriel

Hello everyone,

I have a 98 Boxster, silver with black interior and I'm looking for recommended products and methods for getting the paint to look new again. I'd like to do it myself so any suggestions are greatly appreciated. The paint doesn't look bad, it just looks, well, ten years old and I want to get it back to it's original glory.

Many thanks,

Gabriel

P.S. Any recommendations for the wheels would be great as well.

Hello everyone, I have a 1998 Boxster with 64K miles on it. Recently I took it for a drive of about 35 miles on the freeway (it was about 72 degrees outside) and when I turned into a shopping center my front suspension (I assume) started making noises like it was resting on rusted bolts. It was kind of like a grinding sound but only happened when I slowed down (it's not the brakes). After the car sat for a while I drove it again and there were no problems. The same thing happened the next day. Does anyone have any similar experiences or any thoughts on what it could be?

Many thanks,

Gabriel

Hi Everybody,

I recently replaced the (driver's side) radiator (cracked but I had lived with it via some temporary fixes) on my 98 Boxster with a brand new one, the install went fine, no problems other than the usual scraped knuckles. The car runs as well as before, but seems to run hotter now. By my estimate the car is running at about 210 degrees (the temperature needle is right in the middle of the "0" on the 180 degree number) when it used to run about 20 degrees cooler. The big issue I have is that I am now leaking some sort of fluid (it doesn't smell like coolant and I'm trying to avoid the taste test) from around the middle of the car, towards the passengers side, conveniently difficult to get to (it's not the overflow drain from the trunk). The amount of fluid is small, like you would see from running your AC on a hot day.

My long-winded questions are: Has anyone experienced this kind of problem before? Could I have caused a pressure increase that caused me to blown something and that is the cause of the leak? If I take it to a mechanic, any rough idea as to how painful would it be to address?

Thanks for your time and help.

Regards,

Gabriel