RW986

I have a 2002 Boxster S and the ignition switch works but key will not come out in the far left position. Steering wheel will not lock and now the air and lights will only work if I start the car and move the switch slightly to the left. I'm sure I need a new switch, but is there a trick to getting the switch out. I removed the rubber cover but thought I'd check here before attempting removal. Seems like something that would't be easy or stealing the car would be simple. Any help would be appreciated.

Tranny problems So I decided to replace my rear wheel bearing myself and save the 1000.00 the not so local guy wanted. Found out I could pull the carrier and take it to a shop and for 50.00 have my old bearing pressed out and the new one in. Well thats true except…when I pulled the carrier off, the axle, together with the CV joint and I believe the joint flange pulled out of the tranny. The car was tipped so I lost some fluid, but the problem is now I cannot get the joint flange which is still attached to the axle to go back into the tranny. It goes in to within about 1/2 of pressing into the seal. It goes in far enough to insert into the spline, because I can turn the opposite wheel with the car in gear and the axle Im working on turns. Any ideas out there of why that CV joint and assembly will not seat all the way to the seal in the tranny. Hope this makes sense to someone who has worked with this before. My email is rwyma@att.net if anyone can shed some light on this. I cant even get it to the point of taking it somewhere, and if I do, my wife hinted I could live in the car too! Shes not happy,$$$. FYI, I have been working on Porsches since 1977 and many other types as well, so I am not a novice. Use to be changing a wheel bearing was a ½ hour job, if you took a 15 minute break…no more. Any help might just save my marriage! UPDATE: I removed the circlip at the end of the shaft and the spline slid right in up to the seal. Its seems that clip was holding it out. But if thats the case, why did it come out of the tranny to begin with. It is there I assume to hold it in the tranny. Any ideas how to get it in the clip on the shaft? Thanks for any help.

One other thing I forgot. Do you know the torque settings for all the nuts. I don't have a complete manual so no way of knowing. Funny, they don't include them in the owners manual...ha. Also if you would like, I would love to have your email address so if I run into a problem, I could ask you directly. I promise not to bug you with every little thing, but may run into something major. So you don't have to post it here, mine is rwyma@att.net. Thanks again, Rick

Thanks much. Now to find someone who will do it.

Yes, you can. That is what I do. Ironically, I have the tool, but I added permanent studs to replace the lug bolts, and they are too long for the tool to work...(My 986S is a race car and I kill a lot of bearings in a year) You can pretty easily strip down to just the wheel carrier with the wheel hub still attached. The wheel carrier is the big aluminum piece to which all the suspension components are attached. You do not need to take the struts out = the wheel carrier will slip off the bottom of the strut if you get everything disconnected. You do need a ball joint seperator tool to get the control arms off. My guy charges me $30 to press out the hub, then the bearing, press in a new bearing and then press in the hub. He does it while I wait. He does it with either a tool he made that is just like the SIR tool, or he uses a shop press with a bunch of attachments. I provide the part, just because I keep spares since it is a wear item for me. On the rear, if you cannot get the axle to come out of the wheel hub, you can disconnect the axle from the gearbox and take the axle still sticking into the wheel carrier. A shop will be able to press out the axle easily.

Question, if you don't want to spend the 200+ dollars on the tool, can it be disassembled enough to take the carrier to a shop and have them press out the old bearing and press in the new. Seems to simple to work but had to ask. Thanks Rick

Thanks again JFP. But what if I have already added non OE antifreeze, do I need to drain the entire system and start all over. Scary part about that is I know Porsche, they probably get 100.00 a gal for the OE stuff. I will get a new gasket.

Thanks so much for the quick response. Couple other questions. Since I have the new pump, would it be wise to just replace it since its all apart, and I took the thermostat housing off, but don't have a gasket and sure I would have to wait the usuall 3-5 days to get a new one. Could I just put a small bead of gasket liquid on the one side and have it hold ok. Thanks in advance

A while back driving my 2002 Boxster S, the water temp rose to about 210 or so. Aways ran just above 180. I got of the freeway and it went back to normal and has been that way until this week when I pulled into a lot and antifreeze was poring out the by the passenger rear wheel. I got some antifreeze, fill ed up and started home. Almost immediately the temp pegged far right. I stopped let it sit awhile, more antifreeze and continued home. Again in about 1 mile the temp pegged to the right again. Did this probably 3 more times in the next 2 miles. Figured since it was still losing antifreeze, must be either the pump or thermostat. Car has 73,000 on it and read that water pumps go bad often, so I ordered one. Took the old off expecting to find pieces of plastic and it was in perfect condition. So must be the thermostat. Pulled it and in 200 degrees open about 3/16-1/4 inch. That must be ok. The fans were working when all this overheating was happening. Now I had driven the car daily for 2 weeks after the origional problem. Question is: Could a air bubble in the system have caused the the origional problem and after 2 weeks got into a place that would not allow water to flow through the engine and cause the major overheating? I'm stumped. Been working on cars for 40 years, so I'm not new to this, but first problem with the Boxster. Anyone have any other ideas. Sorry so long but needed to explain the whole problem, didn't want someone to waste their time telling me it was the water pump. Please help, I'm dying here.

Loren 5307 or 5305 did not work. Any other ideas? Thanks Rick

Loran, Yet another, drives ya crazy with these codes. 2002 Boxster S CR 220 Type 4362 Serial 25006043 24/99 becker card with the car says serial Y 5054478 code 1490, but radio lists above serial number. Code 1490 does not work. Thank in advance for any help.