stef

Sweet!

How sad... now I'm getting phishing scam emails from them. :(

Grats on that fine machine!

I have not found a good way to do an aftermarket system that's as good as the Bose option, although you can do one big thing. The plus option has enough sound, it's just missing the bass punch. You can install rear speakers with a subwoofer and an amp that powers on with the radio.

Argh, I have a lot of rodents at my place, often in my garage. My alarm has gone off more than once when it senses them scurrying about.

I guess I'll have to pull out the box of live traps.

Side story: my wife put the cat in the garage to find the mice, so of course he found that a boxster top is the best cat hammock ever made.

LIQUIDATION OF ZEINTEC:

UNFORTUNATELY ZEINTEC IS IN THE PROCESS OF LIQUIDATION!

AFTER 5 YEARS THE WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS HAS CLAIMED THE ZEINTEC BUSINESS AS WELL!

EVEN THOUGH ZEINTEC MANAGED TO RESIST IN THE FIRST 16 MONTH OF THE CRISIS BY REDUCING COSTS, GRANTING DISCOUNTS (TO KEEP SALES UP) AND INCREASING EFICENCY, WE EVENTUALLY HAD TO GIVE IN FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

- DRAMATIC DECREASE IN SALES

- THE SOUTH AFRICAN RAND BECOMING STRONGER AND STRONGER, WHICH HAS EATEN UP ALL EFFORTS TO REDUCE PRICES AND KEEPING SALES UP

- QUALITY ISSUES IN PRODUCTION

- SUPPLIERS CLOSING DOWN THEIR BUSINESSES

SIMPLY TOO MANY ODDS TO BEAT.

WE APOLOGIES TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS AND PARTNER WHO ARE BEING AFFECTED BY THE SITUATION. WE TRIED OUR VERY BEST!

THE ZEINTEC TEAM

AS SOON AS WE KNOW HOW THE PROCESS WILL BE HANDELED WE WILL PUBLISH RELEVANT INFORMATION.

http://www.zeintec.com/

They are liquidating.

On a somewhat related note, spammers got hold of my email from them, too.

stef -- i just had to wish you good luck on this. Let us know. Best, jef

$160 to tow 31 miles

$65 for the mechanic to open it up, check the marks were in place, rotate the engine, and start it up!

All in all, an expensive oil change, but not actually much more than the dealer would charge :D

:clapping:

(thanks RFM, JFP, all)

In the future, might I suggest not loosening anything until you know what it is? Just a thought...........

There's absolutely nothing you can say to make me feel stupider :P

I actually saw a similar bolt about that size and in a similar location, referenced in something else I happened to read recently. I had my 8mm hex handy, I just got confused on a different procedure and as I said, as soon as I got horizontal I made a dumb decision -- which probably isn't the first time, nudge nudge wink wink ;)

I'd suggest leaving it alone, flatbed it to the shop and let them properly check it.

That's what I'm doing. Not going to risk a 50% chance of a $4k rebuild on a $500 bet (towing + service). Thought my odds would be much better, so I'm very glad you responded.

Thanks again.

With your 50% pooch estimate, here's my plan. Maybe you can poke holes in it.

I'm going to remove the plugs, jack up one rear tire (chock front tires), and rotate the free tire with it in gear to see if there's any engine impact. That will turn the engine by hand, which presumably would not damage the valves if the timing was off. If it impacts, I have a shop that'll reset the timing chains for about $350 (plus towing). If it doesn't impact, I'll put the plugs back in and attempt to start it.

Thanks for your help, JFP. I've seen your posts before, and was hoping you, Loren, or Toolpants would comment.

This is not good…………while your picture is a bit hard to decipher, the item in question appears to be the primary chain tensioner for cylinder bank 1-3. Hopefully, nothing jumped time while you were doing this, but I would not bet on that. Suggest having your cam timing checked with either a Durametric package or a PIWIS system to make sure they are still correctly "allocated". If they are not, you are in for some serious expenditure to fix this…………….. If the M96 has jumped cam timing, it would be a good time to consider the IMS upgrade as you will already be doing most of the same work to get the cams back where they belong.

It does look like a timing chain tensioner bolt (although at a different angle from what I've seen on pictures at pelican parts), so I guess the oil that drained from it would just be engine oil, which I changed. But apparently, that's the least of my worries.

If it didn't jump timing, sounds like it should be fine. If it did, then I screwed the pooch and will have to replace my soon-to-be-bent valves. Any good way to check this without taking apart the engine? Can the PIWIS tell without starting the engine?

If it adds any info, that bolt had a spring on it (which is when I did that wtf moment) but it was cool enough to remove but too hot to screw back in. It was designed to be bled. It doesnt seem like the tranny drain, though, since that is supposed to be on the bottom of the tranny pan.

A little help requested :)

20k maint, changing oil... something I've done a hundred times on other vehicles:

A few months ago I had read how to change the oil, where the plug was, and what I needed. I dropped by the porsche dealer and got the filter insert, the O ring, and a compression fitting for the bolt. Couldn't find an oil filter wrench to fit, but I figure I can do that later (hopefully, it's easy to change the oil filter without too much issue without draining the oil).

The issue:

The moment I got underneath the car, all the blood must've drained out of my brain, and I loosened the "WTF bolt" and lost some fluid.

What is it, and where do I need to refill it, and with what?

Pic taken near driver rear wheel

wow, I better get mine changed then.... Porsche dealer told me every 15k.

D'oh. They are smaller. 235/50 ZR17 N1. It was about $240 per tire, + ~$15 for mounting/balance/warranty/etc, +tax.

They quoted you over $600 each? :o

So the decal's are on the way. Now any suggestions on how to make sure it is placed correclty?

where did you end up ordering from?

The dude above him in the thread!

Sure it's not a rubber smell? Rubber does get on the exhaust and can be quite strong... Did you change tire brand or compound?

Tire brand was the same (ps2) but first tire change I did. It could be a rubber smell, although it was ridiculously strong.

At this point I'm figuring it'll either burn off or will give me a CEL soon. I think the smell has gone down a bit, though, so that's a good sign it was just rubber crud somehow on the pipes. (vulcanized rubber certainly will stink bad, but it seemed to be coming from the exhaust, not the outside of the pipes. )

My 2006 Boxster has about 20k miles, and after getting the rear tires changed (don't think there's a relation but maybe), I noticed that the exhaust is really smelly. Like burnt hair. Like a mouse crawled into the cat (haha) and died. It's horrible!

After a spirited drive for about 30 miles, it's still there. The tank was half full when I noticed it, so I don't think it's the gasoline, either. Oil level is good, engine power is good. It just suddenly stinks! There is definitely more smoke than normal, but I don't feel any deposits on my hand when I hold it up to the exhaust.

Any ideas? Did my O2 sensor just go south and I'm just waiting for a CEL?

I just got back from Costco with a new pair of Michelin N1 Pilot Sport 2's on the back of my car. Road hazard, N2 filled, free flat fixing, and free balancing. Total cost: $550 for two rears. Don't underestimate the value of having free balancing!

My thoughts are if you can get a full set of ZR, Porsche N-rated tires for under $600, go for it! Even if they only last 15,000 miles, you're still winning.

JFP, could you elaborate without as much of the nomenclature, possibly with some examples of appropriate brands?

What is UoA? ACEA? I assume A3/B3/B4 are qualities of oil. Yes, I'll google it, too... but that won't give me the context of "oil in my porsche" as if you explain it.

I posted a good link here a while back.

Mine does this, too, but usually when reversing. Never worried about it.

Do you get the feeling that Porsche is gradually trying to discourage owners from accessing the engine compartments?

I'm waiting until they have a seal and a EULA attached which voids the warranty if you break the seal. That is when I will never buy another Porsche. But they seem to be avoiding such annoyances.... for instance, they do not put in a data recorder unlike makers like Saturn.

Insurance isn't too bad on the boxster.

Maintenance is pretty bad, though. Repairs are not cheap, and tires are also expensive. An oil change is $200-300 (9 quarts of synthetic!), although it only needs to be done every 20k miles or so.

probably hit it with a hammer :D