N41EF

Warning, don't set your car on fire or blow your self up! It would be possible to remove the battery, the plate and pull the sender out of the tank and power it up and move the sender to see if the gage responds. With the battery removed you'd need a charger or something to power the car whn you turn it on. Remember that to do this your fuel tank is open with a hole about 6 inches in diameter. A less explosive test would be to remove the sender and use a resistance meter to see if the resistance is linear as you move the sender. When you turn the car off does it drop? Then go to full when you turn the car back on? Or is the needle always full? I'd check Sunset as well as pelican, I got mine fron sunset because pellican wasn't in stock, the 03 has a seperate pump and sender, so it was cheaper. You may need to find the stupid tool on line to remove the sender, it has a large black plastic lock ring, Mine was less than finger tight when I replaced mine, I tightened it with a strap type oil filter wrench.

I have the low temp thermostat and never had a check engine light from it. I don't know that I've ever checked the monitor readiness, we don't have inspections in SC.

Might try reseting all of the monitors and driving it again. I know the evap on a Land Rover is a pain, only trys at half a tank so if you never let it get that low it never trys and never sets. I told the wife the CEL was a 1/2 tank reminder light. Anyway, sounds like you are on the right track with your OBD reader. I'm almost two hours east of Atlanta and I have a Durametric if you need it.

I have an actron 3150 for multi car stuff. It is a great OBD reader that does real time date and emmissions stuff, as well as anti-lock brakes on domestic cars. I have an older version od durametric for Porsche running on an old Thinkpad. For the rover I use tha Actron and have an ABS amigo as well. Ross-Tech makes the best VW aftermarket. I bought my Actron at Sears, they run a sale about every other month or so.

I buy two oil change specials when advance or simmilar have a sale (5 quarts and a filter for $27ish). I put 8 quarts in, start it to check for leaks, then add to set the level on the dipstick. Putting the level in the middle of the range on the dipstick for my car leaves the level at the top of the band, or one bar from it on the gage.

Most of the better OBD readers will show real time values from the DME. When I installed the low temp thermostat I used it to see how much cooler. Also, when was the last time you cleaned your radiators out? Not an indication issue, but a real cooling issue.

There were two black plastic wire plugs that go to the passenger door inside handle. One goes to the light, one to the handle. I'd pull the door panel off and check those as well as the wiring to the door lock, you might have nicked or cut something when you did the regulator.

Is it a catalitic converter rattling? Like the matrix is broken?

If the electrical portion of your switch is white, I'm pretty sure your ignition switch has already been replaced once. So you would need to "new" switch portion.

I don't think you have the right part. The white one is a new design, and the black one is the original design. Not sure when they made the change but the older boxsters had the black switches originally, and Porsche's answer is to replace the rntire mechanical part of the switch with the new white part. I don't think the black switch fits correctly in the new design. I think you need the new white switch part to replace it. Do a search on ognition switch replacement, should find several write ups.

I found them on eBay, bought two, and have never had my original one fail. You should be able to walk in and get one at any VW/Audi dealer if you have the part number.

I used to wonder why auto repair manuals almost always begin with "disconnect the battery" steps. Most times as Loren pointed out, disconnecting and reconnecting the seat or steering wheel dosen't disable the airbags, just sets a fault code. I learned this the hard way doing door window regulators, I reconnected the battery to adjust things, only to have a warning light because I had power applied with no door airbag installed.. If you plan on staying in the Porsche family, it's worth it to buy a durametric. There is a used "enthusiest" version on eBay right now. Even buying a new one, if you need it twice, it's paid for itself. If you are a PCA member ask the local folks to see if anyone has one that will help you.

I would look for a used tranny to replace it outright. I'd also replace the clutch, the rear main seal, and do the IMS upgrade all while you have the tranny out. Also, take a good look at your CV boots, I had three leaking at 60k miles.

I got my belt at Advance Auto parts. It's the same belt used on GM FWD V6's. Most stores should have it in stock.

Check the CV boot to see if it is split, which would allow the grease inside to leak out. It tends to sling it in a 360 arc so if you look above it you may see oily residue. It could also be the transmission seal where the yoke mounts. I'd bet on the CV boot being bad.

I think your logic is wrong on many labels. Just because it is "racing" oil it means nothing. Use a synthetic oil, change it every 5k to 7500 miles, and use an oil that is approproately rated. I prefer something ACEA rated A3/B3 or higher. Common oils that are available and typicaly on sale are: Rotella Synthetic T 5w-40 Blue jug, Walmart Mobile 1 5w-40 Turbo diesel truck oil. Castrol Syntec 5w-40 or the edge. Penzoil Ultra in 5w-30 LN Engineering and Flat 6 have some great info on why you should change your oil more often than the factory reccommends. I buy whatever is on sale, but I prefer the 5w-40 oils since they have high temperature protection. Recently Advance had 5 quarts of Castrol with a K&N filter for $27, I get two of these "specials" and have an extra filter for next time.

Dude, she drives a Boxster and you drive an Acura? Do you have a picture of her and is she looking to trade up? Seriously, troubleshooting an intermitant problem is tough. Buy a short jumper wire with two alligator clips and jump the "pedal down" switch. Drive it a few days and if it dowsn't act up, it's the switch/ I've also jumped switches like that with a paper clip to test them. Let us know what you find. Chuck (drives the Boxster while the wife drives a Smart).

It's the switch that keeps you from starting the car with the manual transmission in gear. With the car running and stopped, you can hear a click of the relay when you press the cluth down, and then as you release the cluth you can hear the click as the relay releases. You may have to pull out the black platic vent duct under the steering wheel, but you should be able to see, and adjust or replace the switch. Mine does require the clutch pedal to be pushed all the way down. Being 6 feet tall it isn;t an issue with me.

You can find them on eBay for a buck or so plus shipping. It's mot just Porsche, they work on just about any new german cars.

Do you have something in the trunk that could be causing it to bind? Might try pressing down slightly while you press the key fob. Might cause what's binding to release.

The spring you are thinking of is called the clockspring. It goes on the stering shaft between the steering wheel and the turn signal switches. it conducts the ground for the horn and the signal to fire the airbag. Make sure the battery is disconnected for at least ten minutes before you try to remove the airbag. While you have it apart make sure the turn signal switch assembly is in the correct position on the shaft, there is a measurement in the Bently's about how far from the end it should be. If it is too far up it will crush the clockspring. I've never had a clockspring go bad, check with the online parts places, and maybe check one of the dismantelers for a used one depending on price.

Welcome to the Boxster world! As a contributing member here (make a donation) you have access to all of the doccumentation such as owners manuals that you can download. The peace of mind of contributing also buys a little karma. If the car hasn't been driven much, electrical switches can get dirty and be intermitant. Many people's wierd intermitant electrical issue end up being the ignition switch. You can find the black replacement switch on eBay for about $12. You need short small screwdrivers to replace it, i bought a pair at Sears. The radio has a fuse in the fuse box, and a fuse on the back of the radio. You also need the radio code on a 1997. There is a post at the top of this forum on how to get the code. Please follow the instructions, you need numbers off the radio and the vin I believe. You can get a pair of radio removal tools on eBay for a few bucks, they look like pointed hooks or a broken pair of kids sissors. If your displays are bad, not just the backlight, you need to replace the cluster, but if it doesn't bother you, just drive it. If you have no maintenance records, I'd do a baseline 60k/90k service just to make sure it won't strand you. An oil and filter, spark plugs, air filter, pollen filter, serp belt, you are alos due to flush the brake fluid. On a just because you can I'd replace the electrical portion of the ignition switch, the water pump, install the 160 degree thermostat, flush and replace the coolant. If you get vibrations at about 3k RPM or the shifting feels notchy, your front engine mount may be bad. While you are crawling under and around, wiggle the four sway bar end links, check the four boots on the cv joints and make sure the drains under the convertable top are clean, check the carpet under the seats to make sure they've never flooded and gotten wet. You car needs about 9 quarts of oil, when Advance runs a 5 quart special I buy two plus a boxster oil filter. Most here stock the purelator filter which is above average in quality. The last oil special here was 5 quarts of castrol syntec plus a K&N filter, but my local ones don't stock K&N for the boxster so I get filters for one of our other cars. I like 5w-40 in the Boxster, thin enough for winter, and high temp protection, I look ACEA ratings and castrol syntec 5w-40 meets it. Let us know how it goes, and let us know how we can help.

Spark plug tube seals? Someone might have replaced them and they broke off inside?

Not that I've ever done it, but did you install the red clip? It keeps the top from operating. The car has to be stopped with the emergency brake on before the switch will operate the top.

There is no light that comes on as the ABS works. It's more like a feeling of pulsing that you can feel in the brake pedal. A light only comes on if you have an ABS fault. You might also feel a wheel grab as it comes on.