number9ine

Expansion tank leaks were common issues on the 986, so maybe your '05 has the same problem. Do a search for coolant leak or expansion tank and you should find a wealth of information on how to troubleshoot.

My favorite kind of problem is the one that goes away on its own. Congrats! :thumbup:

teeheehee... "sales professional." Let's examine the facts. What do you get with 19" wheels? More unsprung weight, less tire sidewall, potentially larger contact patch if the 19's are wider than the 18's, and harsher ride. Let's not forget cost as well, for both the option and the replacement tires, which already are an arm and a leg in 18" size. 19's "fill" the wells a bit more, but it's still the same overall diameter. As far as more "sticky," the tire compound is the same on a given tire model from one size to the next, generally. maybe what your salesman meant was that the lower profile sidewall will flex less, causing the car to break traction slightly later than the already sticky 18's under lateral load. But who the hell doesn't want to break traction once in a while? :) My money (or lack thereof) votes on the 18's, even though I think that the 19's are prettier on the 987. Function over form.

You could try unplugging the rear defogger on your hardtop and closing the door to see if it still triggers the switch. If it doesn't come on, perhaps there's a short in the plug or harness. Maybe the rocker switch?

My GTI has a "pinch protection" feature that will reverse the window/sunroof motor if you place your hand in the way. Perhaps P-cars have the same (haven't tested on my Boxster's windows), and something is inadvertently triggering resistance (such as wind while driving or lack of track lubrication for the sunroof, and closing the door while the window is going up for the door). I like the "ghost of Ferry" explanation, but where the hell was he when my oil separator failed? ;)

Brian, I've seen your other post about the transmission troubles and offer my condolences. Although I don't have any specific knowledge about any of the failures you're seeing, I humbly suggest that if your Boxster's data bus is malfunctioning, that the Immobilizer in your car may affected, keeping you from starting the car. It's my experience that multiple symptoms are often the result of a single failure, and throwing parts at every symptom without expert troubleshooting could wind up costing far more than an hour's tech time at the local Porsche shop. Have you had the car tested by a mechanic familiar with Boxsters and access to a PST2/PIWIS tester? They may have insight into your issue that could solve both your trans "safe mode" and starting problems at once. Best of luck and keep us informed. Mark

Funny, I hear something just like this around the same engine speed in my '03 986 S. Sounds like it's coming from the passenger air intake. It only happens when I have the throttle in a very specific position, so I assume it's just vacuum and nothing to worry about. It also only seems to happen at higher altitudes.

lmao... :clapping: In all seriousness though, I'd recommend not being afraid of high RPM. Below redline, the entire powerband is at your disposal. Adsach's advice about downshifts is on the money. If the engine is working hard but you're not feeling any extra acceleration, upshift. And life above 4500 RPM is sweet in your car, man... it's where the sewing machine gives way to a banshee. :)

Well, After seeing a huge amount of oil pool under my car and more smoke on startup than a Cheech and Chong movie, I got my '03 Boxster S towed to Michael Stead Porsche. It was the oil separator issue seen on a few other Boxsters here. They made fairly quick work of fixing it (in on Monday, done on Wednesday), but I didn't get a chance to pick it up until today. For the curious, here's what they repaired/replaced, per my service receipt: PARTS 1 996-107-026-00 OIL-VAP.SEPARATOR 1 999-512-630-00 SPRING HOSE CLAMP 5 WTY000003A MOBILE(sic) ONE 1 996-104-216-02 CYLINDER HEAD COVR SLEEVE (what is this part?) 6 000-170-207-91 SPARK PLUG LABOR SPARK PLUG REMOVED+REINSTALLED ON BOARD DIAGNOSTIC (the code was P0301, misfire cylinder 1) COVER F. CAMSHAFT HOUSING REMOVED+REINST ENGINE CLEANED (this was either done on the top end only or they missed it, because the underside of the car is still covered in dried oil. Should I complain, or jack it up and degrease myself?) OIL SEPARATOR REMOVED+REINSTD ENGINE COMPARTMENT LID REMOVED+REINSTD INTAKE DISTRIBUTOR REMOVED+REINSTD GENERAL SERVICING The car is running very nicely, with two exceptions. My intake howl appears to be much louder with the top up than it used to be, and at part throttle I can hear a whistle that almost sounds like a turbo spooling. I'm assuming for the former that either I'm a bit neurotic, or that maybe the engine cover isn't installed correctly. As for the whistle, it sounds as if air is being sucked in through somewhere it shouldn't be. I'm going to take a look at the oil filler neck to see if it's being flattened like some other folks have seen, but barring that, any ideas? Other than that, I'm glad to have my Porsche back. :thumbup:

I posted an idea similar to ukchris' not too long ago and have recently decided to buy a CDC-4 and harness to see if it would work. I knew the audio came through the optical feed; are you absolutely sure the changer data bus runs through the same? Perhaps someone has a photo/diagram of the changer harness to help solve this. :)

I don't know if it's possible on the 987, but on my 2004 GTI I used my OBD2 connector and VAG-COM to deactivate the warning gong. I often get my seatbelt on as I'm already driving away (I know, not best practice) and I wanted to avoid the nag chime every few minutes. I did it by switching to a euro profile, where the seatbelt light behaved normally (lights up at startup and chimes once). Perhaps an equivalent process exists for the Boxster?

Bump for smokin' Boxster. I read somewhere that it's because a small amount of oil will pool in the cylinder head when the car sits, and burn off after ignition. I park mine on a hill, and occasionally when I start it there's a puff of white smoke, but no irregular valve noise as jefla has. I park uphill, and I wonder if that has something to do with it?

I'll drink to that. :cheers: I've actually got a brand-new Alpine HU with controls for my iPod from my GTI, just sitting in its box. However, I don't want to rip out the miles of fiber plumbing and reinvent the wheel (whilst draining my wallet) just to get my iPod to work. I'd much rather find a way with the CDR23. So here's my idea, and more experienced folks can tell me if I'm bat$hit. I'd like to "spoof" the CD-changer. It might require me to actually install a CDC-4, but here's two ways I think it might work: -Install CDC-4 and hijack audio bus for iPod (most plausible.) Installing the CDC-4 looks like no easy task (great writeup found here: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2429), but doing so offers me an option I don't have now, which is a recognized external audio source other than Phone Mute on my CDR23. What if I bought an analog->digital converter (available for around $40) plugged my iPod into the analog end, and passed out a digital signal to an optical A-B switch (about 10 bucks)? I could then plug the CDC-4's optical signal into the switch as well and when in CD changer mode flip back and forth between the two. This will obviously only work if the changer uses the optical bus for audio only and not for data signals, because I'd "lose" the changer every time I flipped the switch. Anyone have some idea of whether or not the changer data (power, disc in, track, etc) passes through the optical portion of the bus? -The alternative is to "spoof" the CDR23 into thinking there's a changer installed when there's not. Same gig, using the CDC-4 wiring harness, A-D converter, and A-B switch. This would require knowledge of how the CDR23 "pings" for the CDC-4, which I don't have. Again, if it passes data through the optical bus, this is not an option either. I've just created more questions than answers, but if I could wire in my iPod through the CD changer bus for $50-60 (plus a changer if necessary), I'd be a hell of a lot happier than wasting $300 bucks on a third-party solution that still isn't available and will only give me my iPod, instead of anything with a miniplug jack. Comments welcome on the feasibility/infeasibility of my hare-brained idea. :lightbulb:

Actually, it turns out that the part number is, BNA-13.19. Tell them you want to hook up an iPod and they'll know what part you want. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Shoot, sounds like I missed out on getting rid of my 116.276, since it won't work on my CDR23. :) Your 13.19 is likely the AUX without the phone audio, which is what the 3rd RCA jack is for in Tool Pants' pic. Do you have a pic of your part?

during my initial search here, yes. I'd like to avoid the FM modulator though, and he doesn't elaborate any way to avoid it on MY 2003+ cars with MOST. If the DIY crowd here doesn't have a wired solution, then there probably isn't one. :) And so, looks like it's time to spend some cash on an amp/wiring for my Alpine CDA-9855 and live with the results. :(

I've been loving my 2003 S so far with nothing but the engine's soundtrack playing, but I got curious about auxiliary input for my CDR23. Thanks to these forums, I learned about Becker and its parts dept., so I gave them a ring and ordered 2 parts: *BNA-116.276 - This part is a Phone-in audio only with radio mute feature interface for the CDR23. It comes with a green plug, single RCA female input, a black and red lead between them, and a gray cable to wire into the "A" block on the back of the radio for the mute. It is monoaural, and as a result, is said to only produce sound on one speaker or channel. Because of this it's useless to me for my iPod, but I figured I'd get it to see if I could rig it up for my needs. To hedge my bets, I also bought: *1319-116.276 - This part is intended for CR220-CDR220 radios, and provides AUX in as well as phone in and mute. It comes with a dual RCA wire set with one red, one yellow and one brown lead, a blue plug to poke them into, a single RCA phone lead with red and black cable, and a gray cable for the phone mute. I was told that this is incompatible with the CDR23. The Becker parts advisor tells me that I'm SOL on an aux input, and after futzing around on the back of the stereo, I'm pretty sure he's right, although I haven't hooked anything up to the phone mute lead to test my theory. I'm wondering if there is a pinout diagram floating around somewhere that might school me on how to get stereo sound into this thing without resorting to a new stereo and amp. I find it interesting that despite the CD changer now using a MOST interface, that the pins still exist for what used to be the CD changer plug, maybe something there? I hear Dension is coming up with the IceLink:Fibre, but judging from how it's now hidden on their website, I assume it's vaporware for at least a few more months. Can anyone share their experiences with a MOST radio and aux? :help:

Hey, at least I'm guaranteed color-matched body part availability. :rolleyes: Unfortunately for me I'll be seeing a lot of myself pass by on the highway, esp. where I live. However, I could not argue with the condition or the price of my S, so it's rare enough in my book. :) I do have a question. Who can be unequivocally recommended as the best Boxster mechanic in the Bay Area? I'd like to find someone I can trust with the car.

Just saying hi to everyone, and thanks for contributing to such a great resource--I've learned a lot here in my quest for a Boxster. Finally found one to suit, and here it is: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?&...CODE=12&CID=276 Look forward to learning and contributing as I go. Cheers to all. Mark :D