blundgren77

2001 Boxster. My drivers door, door pocket lid has a broken spring, and it's got some scratches on it. I'd like to just replace it. I Can order the new one for cheap enough, but how do I get the old one off? Looked at it, but I can't quite tell. Does one have to remove the entire door trim and everything and unscrew it from the back side? Easier way? Thanks! Bill

Thanks for all of the tips guys! I'll start digging. It's been raining here for a few days so it's been sitting. Interesting that locking the car will cause it to use less juice. I never knew that. I assumed leaving it unlocked would be better, as no need for the alarm. I will try a few of things things and see what I can find. Thanks!

I've been trying to isolate the cause of this w/o much issue. My battery has been dying, but not totally. 2001 Boxster, manual with 37K miles. Car runs great. But if I don't drive it, the battery dies in 7 days. Guaranteed. If I drive the car daily, or every 3 or 4 days, it's perfect. Drove the car last Tuesday to work (45 minutes one way) and back. Nice highway ride. Went to drive tonight (7 days later), and it BARELY started. The battery usually isn't "dead" though. I had door lights, dashboard lights up, etc. Even was able to let the computer check the oil level before I lit it off, and the fan on the AC ran as I didn't shut off the climate control last time. I was lucky and it started, but it was SLOW, and had the fires not lit when they did, I'd have been hearing the 'ol battery-is-dead clickety-click within another second or two I think. It's like the battery has enough voltage, but maybe not under a high-current draw like when starting. But it has enough current to light up the dash lights and the interior lights. Last time it died, it was really dead and I didn't have lights at all. That was the only time it was that dead. Normally, I at least have dash lights and things look normal, until I try to start the car. If I put the battery on a charger, it'll top off and charge, and as long as I drive, it's fine. I keep the car in the garage, top is up, and since it's in the garage, I don't lock it, so the internal alarms aren't on or anything. The only thing I can think of, is I do leave my radar detector plugged in to the 12Vdc. I can't see a tiny little radar detector pulling the battery down that hard. Battery is a Duralast that was with the car when I bought it in April of this year, but the sticker on the battery says 11/08, so it's pretty new. Other than taking the battery back to AutoZone to check it, (maybe I got a bad cell, and it's causing a slow discharge on the battery???) anything I can look at? Is this normal for a Boxster? It sure doesn't seem to be quite right. I know driving fixes it, (which isn't a bad thing) but sometimes that just isn't an option in Wisconsin. :) Pretty sure alternator is ok, because even though it was nearly dead tonight, once the engine caught, I drove around for about 45 minutes, and it lights off fine, w/o issue, so the alternator is charging. Very perplexed. But I still love my Boxster. :)

There isn't a dipstick or anything for Tips. On the bottom of the pan are two plugs. A smaller one closer to the bell housing, which is a drain, and a larger one, closer to the rear of the tranny, that's the fill hole. To fill the tranny, you insert a filling tool and pump in fluid until it runs out of the fill hole. Sort of like a differential. If you take a 17mm allen and remove the fill plug (after the tranny is hot) and a small amount of fluid runs out, it's full. According to the books, the ATF spec is ESSO LT 71141. 3.7Q to change it, 9.5 quarts total, including the Torque Conv.

Is it a Tip or Manual? Clutch switch maybe?

EXCELLENT idea! I got my hands on a "Sharpie" industrial marker. The ink in those things is supposed to be super permanent. I did a little inconspicuous spot, and the ink color is a dead ringer, (minus the metallic fleck) for Porsche black. Probably won't do it all over the car, but it's a great idea for little things here and there.

Everyone here always has great tricks learned through the years, so lets see what I get tossing this out. :) My '01 Boxster is Metallic Black. There are a few little spots here and there I'd like to touch up, w/o going to the body shop to have entire panels shot. Small little scratches and rock chips mainly. There is one spot in particular just above the passenger door handle that looks like a key scratch, about 3/4 of an inch long and 3/32 wide. On past vehicles (domestic) I've always had mixed results with touch-up paint. It never seems to try level (always a lump), and sticks out like a sore thumb. Does anyone have tricks for applying it that work? Using thinner maybe? I know it will never match 100%, but I'd like to at least make the spots harder to spot than they were just left alone. :) Can you apply it, and then wetsand it to blend and buff with compound? One person told me I go to an art store and get an ultra-fine liner brush for oil paints, so that I have control, instead of using the brush that comes with the touch-up. Haven't tried that yet but seems reasonable. Obviously cleaning the area with a wax-remover and prep is key. But what's the trick for doing it right without making it worse and getting a quality job? Thanks! Bill

Wow! I'm certainly no expert, but I think getting a qualified second opinion if definately in order. From an engineer's perspective, how does this mechanic quantify "heavy"? Has the guy worked on a Porsche before? Where is the evidence that this is a problem? Did they take anything apart, visibly see anything, or anything else? Or is he subscribing to the Johnny Carson "Carnack" method of clutch repair? ;-) Having to replace the flywheel after 22K miles seems really bizzare. Provided you haven't done anything crazy (and it sounds like the car shifts fine so that isn't likely), replacing the flywheel might be a little drastic, as well as the clutch. When replacing the clutch, I've always been told to inspect the flywheel and if it's scored or there is lots of wear, to have it checked, and possibly resurfaced so that the new clutch seats properly. I've never known anyone who actually replaced the flywheel during a clutch replacement, unless they really burned one bad or had something mechanically wrong, or they've replaced the clutch so many times, the flywheel just isn't meeting spec anymore. I'd seek out someone else to flush the clutch cyl for you, and get a second opinion. Perhaps not even mentioning anything about a "heavy" clutch and see if another indy makes the came comment/recommendation.

I haven't used Swissvax, but a friend of mine swears by Zaino. He's a 'vette guy, but I have to say, his new ZR1, after using it, looks like you could almost jump into his paint and do a back stroke. I think any of these new polymer based "optical polish" solutions probably yield the same result. Provided you're willing to jump through all the hoops. On my Boxster, I've been using Mequiars and really can't complain. Maybe one day I'll try something more fancy, when I have three or four days to put on the 4 coats required of some of these new polymer deals. :) Just seems like (the Zaino products) a lot of work and fuss for a shine, especially on a daily summer driver like the Boxster. Bill

Just a little internet blurp I saw today... "Porsche global sales slump by 28%" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8108863.stm

Planning on doing front pads on my '01 Boxster this fall before I put it away for winter. They aren't bad, but by end of the season, it'll be about time. The pads on it (I think are original) stop well, and without noise. No complaints. But they create dust like mad! I can spend all weekend detailing the car, take it for a spin around town, and by the time I get back, the wheels are dirty again. Anyone have any recommendations? Something good, quiet, and low dust? Is ceramic the way to go? Bill

Found it for you. From an older post by Loren: "They can be tested as follows: Check the resistance across pins 1 and 15 (black wire and green wire w/stripe -- not brown). Resistance should be 0.3 to 0.7 ohms at 20 degrees C."

I believe Cyl 1-2-3 should be on the passenger side. Replacing a coil isn't hard - just pulling off the elec. connection to it, and two bolts to hold it on. If you do a search here, I believe Loren commented once in a thread on how to check the coils. Using a VOM, you can go across two pins and measure a value (resistance I think it was) to determine if it's really the coil that's bad. I don't remember exactly the procedure or nominal values, but if you search here, you should find the thread. --Bill

I too bought a 2001 Boxster a little less than a month ago. To date, I've changed radiator caps, plugs and tubes, flushed the brakes, oil change, swapped the cig lighter, and replaced a pasenger side seat belt buckle to fix the airbag light. Each of them addressing something I noticed was wrong (and found the answers here) or just wanted to check off the maintenance list. By trade I'm a computer engineer and not all that mechanical, but grew up around my Dad always working on our cars. I have always changed my own oil and done basic maintenance, but I'm not about to attempt an engine rebuild or something very complicated that involves a lot of dissembly. But, thanks to the fine folks here, along with the Bentley service manual that you can pick up from Amazon or any good book outlet, I found everything I needed to do the entire list of projects above. For the prices you're looking at, you could pick up the parts, a durametric, a complete set of tools to do the work, and a 6 pack of your favorite frosty beverage, and still have cash left over, if you're willing to give it a try. :) To give you an idea.... a good socket set, sparkplug socket, an old boat drain plug, and your time, along with 6 to 7 bucks each for the spark plug tubes and o-rings, and you can change them in your driveway. Check out suncoastparts.com or some of the other sites mentioned here for parts, and you'll save a bundle! Not to mention by working on my own, researching here and asking questions, I've learned a ton and appreciate the car and engineering that went into it that much more. Good luck!

Greetings. 2001 Boxster with 36K miles. Bought it used, and last night got around to bleeding brakes and crawling around under it. The engine/tranny is pretty much spotless, no leaks anywhere that I could see or feel, except for around the plug coils. With the rear wheels off, to the sides, and under each plug coil (both sides of the engine) is a bunch of oily schmootz that can be wiped away. Nothing on top of the coil packs though. No noticable oil consumption since I've owned the car (about a month), and it's never marked it's territory on the garage floor. :) Leaking plug tubes my most likely culprit? Should I just wipe it clean and see if it is an old issue that was never cleaned up? Or with 36K miles, is this just a quirk of our beasts with plastic plug tubes? Thanks! Bill

I have an '01 Boxster I bought about 4 weeks ago. After buying and getting my durametric fired up, I noticed the Range 1 and Range 2 ignitions counters. My car has 1750 hours on it, with around 13000 R1 ignitions (last one over 100 hours ago, before I got it) and it has 2 ignitions in the R2 range, that were counted only 100 hours after the car was new. My question is, how many is too many? If I understand it right, The R1's are the number of ignitions where the rev-limiter fired at red-line. The R2's are ignitions are over red-line. The R2's are obviously bad, but what about R1's? If the rev limited did it's job, is that number anything to be worried about? And out of curiosity, how does one get over red line in the first place, when the engine has a rev limiter to prevent it? Bad downshift? Thanks! --Bill

I had a similar issue with my top. As mentioned by others, some of those marks are fold marks and may not come out. However, after trying lots of things to remove them on mine, I had a brain storm one day that did work on some of the spots. I wet the top down, and I had a bottle of "Blue Magic Carpet Stain and Spot Lifter" in the car cabinet. I sprayed it on the areas (again, after it was already wet as to not be full strength) and let it soak a bit, and then used a stiff brush to scrub the canvas. After a water rince and a good drying in the sun, I treated with Porsche Cabrio top protector, and it looks great. Took the marks right out, and no discoloration. (I have the light grey top also). Like I said, it didn't work on a few of the areas, mainly over the metal rods in the top, but I'd say I got rid of 80% of them. I'd imagine a "resolve" cleaner, or other fabric cleaner would work just as nicely. Bill

I just put new tires on the rear of my '01 Boxster. It's got Conti Sport Contact 2's on it (N2) all the way around (265/35 18's on the rear), and that's what I tossed back on it. The ride is nice, and the tires are quiet. Cornering is excellent, and wet traction is not bad. They are definately a summer only tire though, and on cold Wisconsin spring mornings, you can tell they aren't quite warm. :) I haven't owned it long enough yet to comment on the tire wear, but I've been told to expect 10 to 12K out of the rear. I'll have to keep an eye on it and report back. --Bill

As a side note, Suncoast had one of these in stock shockingly. A whopping 2.70 cents too! My local dealer wanted close to 8 bucks.

You sir are awesome! Thanks!

I just got a 2001 Boxster, and tonight I went to check the cabin air filter (plugged solid BTW). In removing the plastic cowl cover under the "hood", I noticed that the rubber expansion plug that the Torx screw goes into is mangled beyond belief, obviously done prior to my getting the car. This also explains why that cover was so lose to begin with and the screw was barely tight. Are these rubber expansion plugs that go into the top of the strut tower available from Porsche? Anyone know the part number, or do I have to order an entire passenger side cowl? The drivers side was fine. I checked the plug for any numbers at all, and there isn't anything on them. Thanks for any insight you can provide! Bill in Wisconsin.

Greetings, I have a 2001 986 with factory installed cup holders at the top of the center console. They are the ones that slide out from the dash when you press them. However, the plastic has started to decay, and they're sticky (like the radio button problem) and frankly, the location and their usefullness is a pain in the a**. :) I arouwas nosing nd on suncost parts and noticed they had a trim ring available for the AC controls, as well as a "lower" storage bin. Currently my AC is mounted where the lower bin would be, above that, a CD tray, then the Radio, and on top, the cup holders. How much of a pain would it be, and is it possible, to eliminate the cup holders, move the AC controls up there, and install the lower bin where the AC is now? Is there enough wiring behind there to allow the AC controls to be moved, or since it was that way from the factory, am I stuck with it there? For less than 40 bucks, I can do away with the cup holders by buying the bin and a new trim ring, versus over 70 for a new cup holder that I can't stand. :) Thanks! Bill

I'm a first time Porsche owner, and so far, loving the car. A few quirks (got a used one) that I need to deal with, but thanks to this forum and a few others, I've gotten all of my questions answered, without having to take it to the dealer (yet). In looking over some of the TSB's and such, they make reference on occasion to "Porsche tool XXXX". I'm curious to know, other than a good metric set of wrenches, sockets, and torx, are there any must have "Porsche" tools that I should invest in? Or are there some tools that accomplish the same thing as a some specific Porsche tool, that you can get from Sears, Mac, or Snap-On? What's in your tool box that you can't live without? My upcoming projects will be a brake flush (got the power bleeder for that), to replace the passenger side seat belt buckle due to an airbag light and code, and a coolant flush. I've got a 2001 Boxster. Thanks all!