Nurvus

For those of you who have paid for a Zeintop, and never received delivery, there is a new development to investigate: http://986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=217758#post217758 It says that Zeineke wants to resume production in Canada. The post is oddly worded, and suspect. I bought a Zeintop in December 2008, and received delivery in March 2009. I guess I was doubly lucky, in that the hatch was well-formed, and that I received delivery at all.

Sounds like yours is a DIY kit, like mine. When the top was off, I removed the triangular rubber pieces, trimmed them to seat better, and then re-glued them with super-glue. They are much better now. In my case, the central clamp would not close until I loosened the mounting screws for it. Then I could close it, making a tight seal. After that, I re-tighten the screws. If you have a gap after closing the latch, maybe it is necessary to add a strip of material behind the front rubber seal to close the gap. I'll be in MA in a couple weeks with the Boxster, hope to see your car on the road too!

I also had problems getting the ceiling piece to stick, with contact cement, bondo, epoxy all failing. What finally worked was 3M automotive double stick tape. I have not tried it in high heat, however, because I remove the top in the summer (and will do so shortly). I was not referring to wind noise, but rather engine, axle, and rubber-on-road sounds, all of which I actually like. When I intially fitted mine I did have some wind noise in front, but that was cured by adjusting the front center clamp to tighten the front seal. On yours, is something is sticking out, like one of the rubber pieces? Loren, at this point the thread is a "review of an item" ... and the item could be considered a "Porsche item," I think.

As one of the few Zeintop owners in the US, I find that quite interesting, and pretty shocking! Where does the Bose system interfere with the Zeintop? Is there no possible compromise between some sound quality loss and installation of a top you must like [at that price, you should]? Impossible to remove the interference temporarily? One of the funny things about the Zeintop is that engine and road noise becomes a little louder in the cabin with the top on. That said, you should be able to find a buyer on one of the forums. Try 986forum.com and porsche pete's boxster board. I have seen many posters remarking that they would like one, but at a discount. Good luck selling it, but I'm a little disappointed that I might never see another one in the northeast [i'm in New York].

I just had the steady-red problem on the key fob for my 1998 986. Did as you suggested, Mark, and now the light is off! The key, by the way, snaps right open using a jeweler's screwdriver [couldn't find mine, so I used a chisel!] Only difference is that I only disconnected the battery for about a minute.

Having just removed the convertible top structure from my 1998 base Boxster, I wanted to share one point that might help someone. Apparently some 986s have screws in addition to bolts connecting the structural base of the soft top to the car. Maurice's car appears to have one screw on each side. In my case, there were TWO such screws on each side, and man did I wrestle with it before noticing this. So to save someone else this experience, I attach a photo showing the screws on the passenger side, which appear inside the green circles. The location of the three bolts, which had been removed already, is shown by the pink arrows.

I did this low-cost/no-cost gps mount today. Using a form fitted block of bondo reinforced with a plate of 1/8" aluminum, I attached the gps to the upper panel of the dash just to the right of the emergency light button with some velcro. It's fully removeable, except for the fuzzy part of the velcro. which could be peeled off if necessary, and is pretty much invisible. First picture shows the result. Next picture shows a wad of bondo in a plastic bag, after I form fit it using the gps bracket. I cut off the excess from the bondo on the bandsaw, then screwed on an aluminum plate. Next mounted two #4 screws onto the plate for sliding on the gps mounting bracket, then spraypainted the whole thing black. The rest was 2" wide peel n stick velcro from a sewing store. I added some peel and stick thin rubber for the bottom. I like how the power cord naturally runs out of the way now. The high-mount of the gps is safer than one at radio-level, but not as good as windshield mounted. It stays in place very nicely and is simple to pull off and tuck away.

My friend has a black Carrera S with 19" lobster forks in black and it looks stunning. I don't have a picture of his car, but it is nearly identical to the one pictured here: ROFL at that picture ... it's worth painting your wheels if it gets you drive-up service to your personal jet and a slender blonde grabbing your a$$!!!

Here are a couple solutions for those who have mechanical problems with the top, and/or cracks in the rear plastic window AND have little or no money for repairs/replacement. Issue 1. My 1998 986 had nearly all of the top mechanisms removed when I bought it. The transmissions, pushrods and cables were gone. Iinitially, I bought replacements of all these on ebay, intending to re-install. But I have since found that it is almost as easy to operate the top manually, and I have done so for almost a year. Moreover, it is safer in that there's no mechanism to fail and cause a warped clamshell, an occasional occurrence. I just grip the very back of the clamshell, right above the brake light, and pull it up and back. With the rails for it greased, it moves very smoothly. Then release the center catch and pull the top back, doing the Boxster chop; it folds nicely. Then the clamshell drops back into place easily. Since we have to get up to do the chop anyway, it's not much more trouble this way, it's just less cool looking. To put the top back up, reverse the process, except you must make sure the windows are down or doors open when closing the catch. Issue 2. My rear plastic window also has cracks on the side, as is nearly inevitable after many harsh winters. I intend to get it replaced this winter, but until then, I have glued in patches of black nylon material [cut from an unused overnight bag I found in my closet]. I glued patches on using 3M windshield cement, the very sticky gooey black stuff used to glue windows into cars; applied using a caulking gun. See photos. It's not perfect, but it looks better than electrical tape, and postpones repair at very little cost.

I installed one of those maxspeed motorsports MAF sensors about 1000 miles ago on my 1998 Boxster, and my CEL has recently lit up again, after being off for the 1000 miles. Car is throwing codes of P1123 and P1125. This may or may not be due to the MAF sensor. I also installed a new K&N air filter then, which people say can lead to CEL. I'll need to perform a few tests, and in the meantime hope that the light goes out on its own.

I sympathize with your situation. In the opinion of some [including me] Porsches get better with age; Porsches never were limited to the rich and there are many happy owners who could/would never spring for a showroom Porsche. I'm house poor but found a Boxster that is giving me a lot of fun. I've seen some affordable 996 series 911s out there too, but I much prefer the mid-engine configuration. A huge part of the expense of Porsche repairs is the labor cost; the $80-120/hour specialist mechanics. If you DIY, you not only save those costs, but also will learn a lot. And if you purchase an aftermarket part that is unsatisfactory, it is not a big deal to replace it, because you already know how. Porsches are relatively easy to work on, especially with RennTech and other helpful sites. Once you download a service manual, and save the tech sites in your "favorites" Porsches are not much more difficult to work on than Hondas. Used parts. There are numerous Porsche dismantlers in the US, and a couple in Canada. Look on ebay occassionally for cars being parted out. There are many parts being taken off low-mileage cars, so for some repairs, you can do great. That said, to minimize the risk of Boxster engine failure [a catastrophe for the budget minded], I would only use OEM or equivalent quality on the engine. And the highest quality oil and gasoline. Aftermarket lights, tires, brake pads & rotors, even wheels all can be OK. I did a post here on an ebay MAF sensor that seems to be working, knock on wood. Of course there is some garbage on ebay, but in my experience, most of the ebay stuff is OK; read the seller's feedback carefully. Most Porsche parts are not magical and can be copied. Unless you are racing, track or street, I really think there is no or minimal risk.

There is a way, but it requires a bit of luck, and is arguably a little sneaky. I was able to do it on my 1998 Boxster, kind of by accident. First, do a Carfax.com report on the car, if you haven't already. You will learn a lot right there. Study it, and think about all the information you find there, and think of any and all questions it raises. The carfax will tell you the dealer where the car was first purchased, and very likely a dealer where service was done. My carfax did. I then called the service department of the dealer where my car had been serviced for most of its life. A friendly person answered. He told me that due to customer confidentiality, he could not disclose the service information. I said, of course I understand. But then, I asked, "could you please tell me whether the car's engine was ever replaced? That is all I really need to know." He then read over all the service records and mileage for each visit, reading out loud for his own concentration and said, "nope, the engine was never replaced here!" I got pretty much the whole service history that way!

Mike, There's a terrific thread on Boxa.net entitled "Zeintop arriving tomorrow" in which three people describe their experiences of ordering and installing their Zeintops, along with great photos. I'm now adding to that thread as I describe the process of installing a DIY kit here in New York.

Slots, thanks for the suggestions! It really is appreciated. Do you have any photos of the new window on your top, preferably close-ups of the inside and out? That would tell me a lot. The more I think about sewing the new plastic on while leaving the old plastic in place, then slice away the old plastic later, the more it makes sense to me. I'm assuming you sewed the new plastic onto the top from the inside of the top -- is that right? If so, did you remove those approx. 1" wide cloth strips that run around the inside perimeter of the window? I plan to remove the entire softtop structure in a month or so, when I am expecting to receive delivery of a Zeintop hardtop for the car. I'll tackle the window job right after the hardtop is installed. Unfortunately, I do not live in San Francisco, but in New York. But, as you suggested, I found a sailmaker in Stamford, CT willing to sew it in for $150 or so. So thanks for that idea!

Update, and a test that might prove useful to anyone considering an aftermarket MAF sensor. On Friday the aftermarket MAF sensor arrived from MaxSpeed motorsports, mentioned above. I attach a couple photos comparing the original MAFS and the aftermarket one. They are identical except for the part numbers missing from the aftermarket MAF sensor, no doubt for infringement concerns. And the green O-ring is a bit darker. Installed the aftermarket sensor, and then disconnected the battery for five minutes. I then drove the car agggressively on a nearby fun-run, up Rt. 22 alongside Kenisco reservoir. Stopped for lunch, and then, after only 10 miles, the dreaded CEL came on. Sad, but didn't let it spoil our first top-down run the first really nice day this year! Next test. I located some properly colored blue/white wire from an old car radio. Soldered it crudely onto what was left of the wire for contact no. 5 on the wiring harness [see first photo in post #1 above], then stripped back enough factory electrical tape to connect to the other end of the original wire. Put on some baby blue heat shrink tubing. See photo. No CEL until about 65 miles -- then it came on. Then, at about 150 miles, CEL went off. I checked, and the solder appears to be holding on the wiring harness. Will update this post as we go along, so it might provide a semi-scientific test of a relatively inexpensive MAF sensor.