geoff

I've been told the active sway bars can make a banging noise when they kick in. Does the sound occur when you're going around turns?

I just went through a similar experience. Last month my wife's 2005 Carrera with 65K miles decided enough was enough and the IMS sheared apart. I took this as a wake up call for my 2001 Boxster and decided to have the IMS bearing replaced with one of the LN Engineering improved retrofit bearings. Since the car is 10 years old and everything was apart, I did the following as well: replace water pump (which turned out to be a good thing, as it wasn't spinning smoothly and was starting to leak, which the mechanic didn't notice until he pulled it out), installed LN Engineering lower temperature thermostat (which Charles Navarro strongly recommended along with the IMS bearing), replace the oil filler tube (since these are known to get brittle and crack with age), replace the coolant expansion tank (since I knew it already had a slight leak and it had already been replaced under warranty a long time ago), and replace the RMS seal with the latest version. My RMS seal wasn't leaking, but the labor to replace it was insignificant. I would have replaced the clutch (it had over 35K miles on it), but the mechanic said it looked almost new and still had the original printing on it. The dealer couldn't get their act together to order the LN Engineering parts (IMS bearing, extraction tools, low temperature thermostat), so I just ordered direct and had overnighted to the dealer. None of the mechanics at the dealer had ever done the IMS bearing replacement before, but it was straightforward according to them and they didn't encounter any problems. I spent a lot of time there looking at what they were doing, but missed the whole extraction process. Parts from LN Engineering, including overnight shipping, was a little over $1K, and the bill from the dealer with discounts was about $2.5K. Parts from the dealer came to a little over a grand, and most of the labor involved removing and replacing the transmission. Not exactly cheap, but a lot less expensive than a replacement motor, and I'm no longer wondering if/when my engine will self destruct at a most inopportune time. I just got my car back last week and it runs great (if anything, the engine seems a little bit smoother)

My mechanic at the Porsche dealer told me to order the bearing extraction tool along with the retrofit bearing (and low temperature thermostat). The LN pro tool kit comes with cam locking tools which are functionally equivalent to the factory Porsche tools but not as nice, and my mechanic used his. You should check with Charles Navarro about alternatives for the bearing extraction tool, but I suspect it's part of the price to play. As more and more of the bearings are replaced, mechanics will have the tool, but until then I expect just ordering the extraction tool is the fastest and most reliable way to get the bearing out

Besides the suspension items you listed, it could also be the front trunk lid. If the front trunk doesn't close very snug after all the miles on your car, you could get a squeak that's noticeable at low speed

Details are at http://www.lnengineering.com/ims.html According to the web site, you have the single row bearing, which is US $519. You'll also need the tool to extract the bearing, lock the cams, etc, which is another US $167. While everything was being done, I also replaced the RMS seal to the latest version which is less prone to leaks and got the lower temperature thermostat from LN Engineering and replaced the water pump. For me, labor was the significant cost, so I figured for a 10 year old car replace a lot of the wear items when access was easy and the mechanic was already in there

Several weeks ago my wife's 2005 Carrera made a horrible noise. It had about 65K miles and I've always had the oil and filter changed every 7,500 miles. The car was driven regularly. She had it flatbedded to the dealer, and the diagnosis was failed IMS bearing. The dealer (where I bought all three of our Porsches and have all maintenance done) went to bat with Porsche and got Porsche to goodwill a replacement motor and labor, even though the car was two full years out of warranty. The bolt end of the IMS bearing that snapped off is a joke, and it's amazing more don't fail. I took this as a wakeup call for my 2001 Boxster and my car is now at the dealer having the LN Engineering IMS retrofit bearing installed. After 35K miles, my clutch is still in great condition (printing is still visible on the surface), so pulling the transmission ended up being just to replace the bearing (and RMS seal while they're at it). It's going to be expensive with all the labor, and it's the first time my local dealership has done one of these, but I figure in the long run it's cheap insurance since I plan to keep the car, and certainly cheaper than a replacement engine. When I saw the bearing they took out, it looked fine and spun smoothly. It's going back to LN Engineering for further analysis. I'll post more details when I get the car back (I'm out of town this week and it wasn't ready last week). I suggest you contact Charles Navarro directly, who manufactures the bearings. He is extremely responsive. The bearing cases are made in Japan, so availability is an issue right now. His email is charles@lnengineering.com

Get one of the laser infrared thermometers and see what temperature your seats get up to on each setting. Then go to the dealer and try the same thing on a similar Cayenne they have sitting on the lot. If your seats aren't as warm, as shown on the thermometer, it will be much easier for them to identify and fix the problem. Harbor Freight has them for about $30-35

Unless you have the stock size wheels (17" on a Boxster S), dropping down from 18" to 17" wheels should soften the ride somewhat without changing your suspension. You'll have more sidewall rubber to take up the bumps. If someone put non-stock 19" wheels on your car, you'll really notice a difference

Check the tension on your front hood latch. Mine was making a squeaking noise like you described and after several joy rides with the mechanic he figured it out. He increased the tension on the front hood latch and no more noise ever since, although it is a little harder to close the trunk. Also an '01 with a little over 60K miles on it

I had the same problem getting N-rated Michelin tires for my Cayenne a little over a year ago. In the end, the only place I could get them was my Porsche dealer. Apparently they have first dibs on any Michelin tires. Porsche dealers in the US get Michelin tires from the commercial side of TireRack, not the consumer side you and I deal with. Since then, America's Tire/Discount Tire has worked out a deal with Michelin to get higher priority than before, and they have better insights into Michelin's ordering system. If none of your Porsche dealer, TireRack or Discount Tire can get the tire, chances are extremely good it's not available. Michelin produces tires in limited runs, then stops production of the tire for a while and produce something else.

If you have an '01 and Porsche is offering to replace your motor, it's a no-brainer to go for it. My wife's '05 Carrera just had the engine self-destruct almost 2 weeks ago and Porsche stepped up to goodwill the engine replacement with labor (exactly 2 years out of the original warranty, but always serviced at the dealer, and I've bought 3 Porsches there). The new motor has all the latest upgrades and beefed up parts, so the likelihood of another failure is greatly reduced. My mechanic and service advisor at the dealer said don't expect it to happen for anything as old as my '01 Boxster. I'm taking the wake up call without hitting snooze and replacing the intermediate shaft bearing soon. If Porsche is replacing the motor in your '01 and you're not the original owner, you're doing extremely well. You should definitely go out and buy some lottery tickets! The only downside is you will have to go through the new motor break-in procedure, so no high revving for the first 2K miles. Not sure if it's harder as a new owner or someone who's enjoyed the car all those miles, Congratulations

Phillip - take a look at Jim Hall Kart Racing in Oxnard. I did two of their basic cart classes and learned a lot about driving and control. Easy to get up there for you for the day, without even hitting warp factor 4 on the 101! I keep getting emails from them about various specials, so things must be slow for the winter. You will be exhausted at the end of the day and your Turbo will feel like a fat pig!

My Ctek cigarette lighter plug had a little red ring on it. I think if you pull out the red ring it might fit the Euro-sized cigarette lighter socket better. I lost the little red ring on mine and it was loose in my US spec Porsches and Ctek doesn't sell just the red rings. It was easier to just buy a generic cigarette lighter plug and solder it on to one of the unused connectors that came with my Ctek charger, and I found it fit better than the stock Ctek cigarette lighter plug. If it's a plug fit issue, you might want to just take one of your unused Ctek comfort connectors and splice in a Euro size cigarette lighter plug

If your dash lights start looking like a Christmas tree all lit up after driving a while, your alternator is probably going bad. The alternator on my '01 Boxster went bad at the 5 year mark. Remanufactured Porsche Boxster alternators are a lot more expensive than you would expect, so you might want to get it checked before it fails and look into having it rebuilt. Search here for more alternator threads Have you checked your maintainer on another car/battery to see if that's the way the maintainer works? The original Porsche maintainer takes a long time to bring a battery to full charge, even with everything working right, whereas the CTEK and Battery Tender products are a lot quicker

If anyone is looking for XZN sockets, ToolTopia has an 8 piece set on sale for under $21 this week. I just bought one, figuring it's a good price for when I need it. The set seems well made and they shipped fast. They also have stubby sets on sale as well. No affiliation with ToolTopia, other than as a satisfied customer

I put 19" Michelin Latitude Tour HPs on my Cayenne last winter when the original Contis wore out (after 30+K miles). The Michelins are vastly superior and handle well in the snow (I tested them out last winter at Tahoe). The dealer accidentally put the summer Latitude Sports on without realizing it and the car drove fantastic! Unfortunately, they're like the SUV version of the Pilot Sports and are useless below about 35°F. The Latitude Tour HPs are a great all season tire. America's Tire web site shows the Latitude Tour HPs as the 19" N rated Michelin rubber now. The Continental ExtremeContact DWS was also highly rated when I was looking at new tires last year, but they weren't N rated

A new cigarette lighter socket only costs about $10 or so from board sponsor Sunset. It's a relatively easy DIY

If you're still on the original MAF with 98K miles, it seems like you did really well compared to many of the postings here. Did you clean your MAF with contact cleaner, and if yes, did that seem to keep the CEL off? As far as problems filling with fuel, the easiest place to start is to check fuse E6 - if that's blown, you need to replace the fuse. In 2003, Porsche started taping up the electric connector for the phone in the center console (under your radio and A/C). Look at this topic for more details

You didn't say how many miles on the car. Somewhere between 40K and 65K miles? The first thing to try is to clean the MAF, since you can get either a P1128 or P1130 without the other (I did). If that's the mileage range, you should probably also clean the throttle body while you're at it. Cleaning the MAF should only be considered a temporary fix, and has been said here many times, you have no idea what you're getting when you buy one on eBay or similar

Part number 191 201 557 (gasket) [from the PET at http://www.porsche.c...USA_KATALOG.pdf ]? The retail price search shows it as the "gas cap seal" at over $10!! Does it just press into place on the fuel tank cap?

A friend with a relatively new Mazda RX8 just had her engine replaced under warranty. Apparently if the car is cold and you try to start it, but it doesn't start right away, continuing to try starting it while cold will do nothing except eventually kill the battery (she's done it twice already). Most recently, she valet parked (her first mistake), and the valet boys couldn't start the car. She ended up having it it towed to the dealer (not the first time) and they called her the next day to tell her she's getting a new motor under warranty. I'm not sure how any car manufacturer, let alone a Japanese one, could design a car that a parking lot attendant could break the motor just by trying to start the car! :eek: The only valet parking destroying a Porsche motor stories I've heard always involved actually driving the car

Contact Deltran customer service and see if anyone near you sells the cigarette lighter adapter. Chances are nobody does and odds are good they will just send you one as goodwill. Then just connect it to your cigarette lighter plug, which works the best. There's a notch in the bottom of the driver door rubber seal to route the maintainer cable through. Or you could always order one through Amazon

Thanks Loren - as always! The gas cap was tight - down around 1/4 tank when the light came on and I stopped to get gas on the way home and always make sure it's tight (lots of clicks). Any tips on checking the gas cap seal, and folklore summary of how long they last and why they fail?

2005 Carrera coupe with about 65K miles. Had to valet park the car today because we went to a golf tournament and no self park anywhere. When the car came back from the valet, the check engine light was lit up (solid light). I read the codes when I got home and had P0447, P2400 and P1482 were present. P0447 has been discussed here in the past, but searching didn't turn up anything for P2400 or P1482. Has anyone experienced this combination of codes before? The code description here makes them sound like it's related to the final stage tank leaking The funny part is the head mechanic from the Porsche dealership was with us and we gave him a ride to his car. He just laughed and said he would be seeing me again soon

Another update: I took the car back to the dealer the other week, since the error message was showing up more frequently (although not on the way to the dealer). The head mechanic and I went through the wiring diagrams, checked out all the connectors and went as far as sanding the contacts on the ground lugs behind the rear seats. Then we plugged the car in to the PIWIS and found the stored coed 8034 - third brake light. The fault symptom was: open circuit. We also found the error code 9470 for the additional brake light. Not very informative, but we started going through the automated fault diagnosis procedure, and got to the step where possible problems were listed. One of the possible problem causes listed was a faulty brake pedal switch, and the mechanic said they had a lot of problems with them failing on the early 997s, but nothing causing this error. Since it was a known problem component and the part was less than $25, we decided to go ahead and replace the switch. After over a week with the new switch, the error message hasn't returned, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this actually fixed the problem. I'll post again if the error returns. For reference, the part number for the new brake pedal switch was 996-613-113-02