stargate823

Anyone?

Without removing the wheel???? Are you sure we are talking about the same part? Just to be clear... I am trying to replace part number 996 341 053 07. I can't imagine this can be done without removing the wheel???

Not sure what your ordered but I think the ball joints are integrated into the control arm and are not replaceable. Check out this DIY link from pelican parts for more info and pictures. http://www.pelicanpa...en_Overhaul.htm I realize now that I am usin gthe wrong terminology. What I have actually ordered and intend to replace is the "wishbone".

I have come to the conclusion that the obnoxious noise coming from the front of my Boxster (especially in hot weather) is the front right balljoint in the control arm. How straight forward is replacement? Do I need any special tools and what other components need to be removed in order to replace? I already have the part on order through Pelican; I'd just like a bit of guidance before I tackle this. Is it worth farming the labor out to my local shop or can I make cake out of this? Any help is appreciated. Edit: This is a 2003 2.7 Boxster.

Hello all. I am coming here to get some biased and unbiased opinions on something that is nagging me. I currently own a 2003 Boxster with just over 78000 miles. I've have the car about a year. I have done an oil change, spark plug swap, air/oil seperator replacement, water pump replacement and I am about to replace the alternator pulley. Obviously I am not afraid of getting in there and making repairs. The car is a daily driver in the Baltimore, Maryland area (just to give an idea of climate). My Boxster is a daily driver. I have a 30 mile round trip driver five days a week for work. I put at most 10-15k a year on a vehicle. As of this writing it is my only vehicle. My question is actually quite a simple one. Would I be crazy to get rid of this car and replace it with a late eighties 911? I have passivly been looking for about a year at the 911'; the Boxster was a band aid for my obsession. I'm about to go and look at an 87 Carrera with a rebuilt engine this week. I'd just like someone with experience to give me some pros and cons here. Thanks for any and all input!

2003 Boxster On the passenger side to the left of the rearward spark plug there is some sort of electrical sensor or something that is obviously leaking oil. Can someone tell me what this is? Thanks in advance!

You probably "accidentally" repaired a bad, or intermittant, ground connection. Hey...if it ain't broke, don't fix it ! :P Whatever I did it's still going strong! We'll see how long my luck holds out!

Well as it turns out the wires were fine. Had continuity no matter how I jiggled the harness. That left the amp the suspect. While I had it out of the car I decided to pop the cover off and see if I could find a burned track or loose connection somewhere. I managed to get the top board out but the bottom board looked like you needed some special tools to remove it. So I put it all back together and guess what? Suddenly its started working again. I played around with it last night and had it going the whole ride to work this morning without a hiccup. We'll have to see how long this lasts!

UPDATE: Today I lit a spark under my *** and went to troubleshooting. I pulled the dash speakers and swapped them. Right sie still does not work so the speaker is now known to b good. The only two things left are wiring and the amp. Can anyone tell me what pins to check at the amp connection to test for continuity so I can rule th wires out? As Loren likes to say: "Have you used the search function on this site? it has been covered many times before." http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...st&p=144770 Respectfully, after searching spark plug changes and reading mulitiple non helpfull posts, I must say the search function leaves much to be desired. However thank you for the reply. That was exactly what I needed. :-)

UPDATE: Today I lit a spark under my *** and went to troubleshooting. I pulled the dash speakers and swapped them. Right sie still does not work so the speaker is now known to b good. The only two things left are wiring and the amp. Can anyone tell me what pins to check at the amp connection to test for continuity so I can rule th wires out?

Better yet, anyone have a wiring diagram they can look at so I know what wire to check at the amp for continuity?

I have a MY03 Boxster with the stock stereo system that includes the woofers in the doors. When I purchased the car the right side dash speaker was not working. Suddenly a few days after bringing the car home it started working again. Then it stopped. The funny thing was, in the beginning and only when the weather was cold, if I got out of the car and locked it, then got back in a few minutes later the speaker would start working again. Now that the weather has turned warmer it stopped working all together. I pulled the speaker yesterday and the connections are fine. What should I test and how should I test it? I am thinking I may have a bad amp but I want to be sure before trying to find a good used one. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I'd like to change spark plugs on a new to me 2003 Boxster with almosst 70K on it. What would be a good recommended spark plug and what is the proper gap? Also, I have seen people talk about replacing the o rings and tubes. Is this something I should have on hand "just in case"? I don't want to strand myself if God forbid I need parts since this is my daily driver. I also need new brake pads all the way around. Mine were just barely good enough to pass state safety inspection so I woul dlike to tackle them before the sensors need replacing. I would like some feedback on a pad that will put out as little dust as possible while maintaining street driveability. Can I assume that ceramic pads would be too aggressive for street use? I appreciate any feedback!

Loren, You just saved me from crying myself to a very drunken and somber sleep. The drive home from work is a paltry 13 miles and it was only about 55 degrees today. Thanks for the info! :renntech:

Is there supposed to be slight condensation under the oil fill cap? Please tell me this is normal due to hot air and chilled plastic located in the truck. (Crosses fingers)

Must have been a Scorpion no doubt?

Yes, the airbag light does in fact work. I have not had a chance to pull the seat forward and check the wiring yet as it has been crazy cold here in the Baltimore area. I'm also sort of sand bagging the whole thing because I do not have the software yet to reset my light if I unplug anything. Just waiting on that good old tax refund. :-)

Bump. Anyone have any ideas here?

I have an '03 as well. Great car. How did the engine look when you removed the firewall to replace the drive belt? I imagine pretty clean in that area. Water pump and everything look good? The top of my engine looks very similar to yours at 139,000 miles. I've never cleaned it and never had any sensor or engine related issues...just change the oil, oil filter and air filter every 15K along with regular scheduled maintenance (such as the belt you're doing at 60K and 120K). All the best, Bill B) Bill, It really has been a great car so far. I've had it two weeks tomorrow and I am finally starting to get used to the shift ranges and such. This car can really run! It was pretty clean indeed. Everything seemed dry and leak free. It has a coating of dirty dusty "stuff" but no grease or oil to speak of sans the top of the engine in the pic. I still think that thhere should not be all that blow by mess on the top. I need to find the source. Unfortunately it was snowing today in Baltimore so I will have to tend to those issues when the weather breaks. The water pump pulley did not wiggle much at all when I took the belt off. The car hasn;t leaked a drop of anythign on the driveway so far so i am assuming that all is well. The air filter looked good although I would prefer to look into aftermarket options. No oil type air filters from what I have seen though. I plan on an oil change as soon as the weather is nice enough to allow. I would like to really go over everything once it gets nicer out. Cleaning the throttle body and changing the plugs are high on that list. I suppose keeping the engine "eat off it" clean really isn't all that important since you rarely see it huh? Matt

I decided to replace my belt yesterday on my '03 Boxster. This was my first time lifting the lid so I snapped a picture of what I found. There appears to be a little bit of oily mess on the top as you see in the picture. Is this normal for a car with 67k on the clock? How should I go about cleaning this and fixing the problem. Would there be any negative effects if I hit the engine with a degreaser and a hose? Judging by the way this looks I have a feeling that cleaning the throttle body is also in order.

Well thew ignition switch is actually NOT ok. I have the new part and will be installing it tomorrow. I will post an update whaen that is done. UPDATE! I replaced the ignition switch today and all I can say is wow what a difference! I had the old one out in less than 10 minutes. I did have an issue when I installed the new one. The key wouldn't turn. It wasn't until I took in back out again that I realized that the key wouldn;t turn because the steering wheel had locked. So after feeling like an *** hat, I put it back in and it worked like a charm! The hardest part was putting the duct back up in there. I also went ahead and replaced my serpentine belt. Wow was that the easiest belt I've ever replaced. The old one was of Porsche branding and didn't look bad at all. (Car has almost 68K on the clock) But I figured the new Gates belt I put on was piece of mind. The air filter was clean and I figure I will tackle the plugs when the Baltimore area isn't frozen solid. So now that I have my ignition issue settled we are back to my original problem. When I turn the key to position one, the seatbelt light does not come on. If I remove the seatbelt while driving there is no chime, no light no nothing. I'm shooting in the dark a little here because I have no idea what it is supposed to do when functioning correctly. Where do I need to start looking? I know disconnecting the harness at the belt receptical results in an airbag light so it must be connected. Anyone have any ideas for me? The one that stands out in RFM's reply is that the warning system thinks that the belt has been clicked in. How does one test for that without pulling the plug and requiring a trip to the dealer to have the light reset? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Well thew ignition switch is actually NOT ok. I have the new part and will be installing it tomorrow. I will post an update whaen that is done.

My 2003 Boxster's seat belt light does not come on when starting the car. There is no warning bell either when you unfasten the belt. I would assume that something is not quite right. Can someone point me in the right direction please? Thanks is advance!

I am sure that woul dbe fine in fair weather. But what about in 20 and 30 degree winter weather like we have right now in the Baltimore area? I woul dhave to think that you would want the engine to warm up at least somewhat before you go putting it under load?????

In several places I noticed that my Boxster manual states that you should not let the car idle to warm up, but you should basically start it and just drive it easy for the first 5 minutes. WHAT!?!?!?!?!?! :eek: I'd love to get some feedback on this. That goes against everything I have ever learned about engines. Am I missing something here?