geoff

I'm thinking about getting a new floor jack - one that will work on the Boxster and 997, as well as for my truck ('88 Toyota 1/2 ton pickup). Any recommendations? Sears? Harbor Freight? I've seen good things about the Harbor Freight aluminum racing jack in the past (at http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...emnumber=91039) and was wondering if that's still good. Anything else I need? I seem to remember reading something somewhere a long time ago about a hockey puck... Loren - I didn't see any jacks in the reviews, but feel to move this if you like

Have been on a business trip all week, so haven't had a chance to try to reproduce the problem when not in gear. Normal routine is as follows: back car out of driveway (relatively flat area), stop, put in drive, and head down the driveway. About 100 feet from garage to bottom of driveway. Stop, push clicker, and proceed after gate opens. Stop on other side of gate at street to make sure no cars coming, then proceed. Bottom of driveway at street has enough slope that nose will scrape ever so slightly unless going very slow. The slip occurs when stopping right before the gate, or when stopping right after the gate before hitting the street. It doesn't feel like any kind of traction problem, and like I said, nothing similar happens on my Boxster, or any other car I've driven down the driveway. I think PSM is standard on the 997, so the car has that. Not sure if that would affect braking. Tires are original Michelin Pilot Sport

Wouldn't warped rotors be apparent other times as well? I haven't tried it in neutral. Good idea. :thumbup: I'll give that a try

Car parked inside our garage - dry. Only happens slowly downhill in our driveway, haven't experienced it anywhere else. So don't think it's oil, etc on wheels, pads, rotors.

about 5,000 miles - my wife's daily driver. New in March '05, been doing it since new

Not as far as I can tell. It it has, it's been an extremely short blink only

Heading downhill in my driveway, maybe 5 MPH, and have to stop at the bottom of the driveway for my gate to open. Press on the brakes (not real hard, since going slow), the pedal presses, it feels like the brakes are slipping, then the brakes grab again. It's never been felt in any other car, and my '01 Boxster (manual) does not do it. At first I thought it might be the transmission, but I've had it happen in tip manual mode in both 1 and 2, and in the automatic mode. I haven't noticed any dash lights coming on when it happens to help pinpoint what's going on. It's not always repeatable, maybe one out of 5 or 10 times. Driveway surface is dry asphalt, so water / wet is not the issue.

sticker says 2006, but Scouser's VIN decoder says it's a 2005!?

Here's one that has my dealer perplexed so far... The brakes on my wife's 997 tip will sometimes slip and then grab at the bottom of our driveway at speeds under about 5 MPH. It's steep, but not extremely steep. Speed doesn't seem to matter. Happens in either first or second gear. The service manager is speculating it might be ABS related, and may come over some time to try to reproduce the problem. It happens on a dry asphalt surface. No skidding or anything, just unnerving to my wife. Has anyone else seen anything like this? Are there any known issues with ABS programming on the 997? The car is totally stock, and it's happened to me as well as to my wife.

I saw Foreign Intrigue's ad in the recent Excellence for a brand new Boxster Owner's Maintenance Manual. Here's the link to their web site: http://www.foreignintrigue.com/specials_html/986/index.htm Does anyone know anything about this manual? Is Bruce Whittier really a "well known individual, (that has excelled in the German Automotive Manual writing business for years)"? Any chance it has more information than found here?

$3K was for parts and labor, but that was with 10% PCA discount as well. My memory is really getting bad. I thought there were several items listed, but the only part on the invoice is: 997-844-900-70, Retrofit Kit - Nav, list price $2,690 The retrofit kit includes the fiber optic cables, GPS receiver, etc. The existing screen inside the car was used. The service manager said there is a problem with the earliest build cars, and more parts were needed. I was lucky in that I didn't have one of the first cars.

I printed that off for her right after I had the nav installed (great feature of the web site by the way), but still, if you spend $3K, it should at least come with instructions :eek:

My wife's 997 did not come with nav, but she wanted it. Dealer ordered the parts and fully installed with 10% PCA discount came to a few dollars over $3K. Works great, except it didn't come with a manual and the dealer is still trying to track one down. I can post the parts list installed if you need it.

My car (2001 2.7) used to very occasionally make a horrible metal on metal grinding noise. Dealer could not reproduce. Finally, right before warranty ended (February 2005), they replaced the starter. Haven't heard it since. But now, every so often, I get a cross between a sucking/squeal and your elephant sound. It doesn't sound nearly as bad as before. So I guess it's the starter, and not the engine smashing itself apart.

If you're looking for metal, try http://www.boothedesign.com/centercaps.html - kind of pricy, though

I'm pretty sure they're plastic (I'm on a business trip right now, so can't check). I think Boothe (sp?) makes something similar in metal

What about these - the one on the right? This is the new 987/997 style center caps with the large colored crest. My wife's new 997 came with these, and I'm thinking about replacing my smaller Porsche colored crests (shown on the left) with these. I think they look better. Plus, they look like they'll hold up better, because they don't have the cheap piece of plastic covering the crest.

I asked this question on the Boxster side, and didn't get any responses, so I thought I'd try the 996 guys... I installed the Litronic headlight upgrade with the control unit on my Boxster, and the control unit works fine (lights rotate up on high beam). As received, the headlights were pointing up at the tops of trees on low beam. My dealer adjusted them the other day, and now they seem to be OK. I've read about the ball and socket gimbal coming loose on many when they are shipped (as mine were). If the dealer adjusted them and they rotate properly, is it safe to assume the ball and sockets are all properly connected? Is there any other way to tell if things have come loose inside? Does anyone have pictures showing what the inside of the lights look like when the ball and socket are loose, and what they should look like? Thanks

I installed the Litronic headlight upgrade with the control unit, and the control unit works fine (lights rotate up on high beam). As received, the headlights were pointing up at the tops of trees on low beam. My dealer adjusted them the other day, and now they seem to be OK. I've read about the ball and socket gimbal coming loose on many when they are shipped (as mine were). If the dealer adjusted them and they rotate properly, is it safe to assume the ball and sockets are all properly connected? Is there any other way to tell if things have come loose inside? Does anyone have pictures showing what the inside of the lights look like when the ball and socket are loose, and what they should look like? Thanks

Loren, That did the trick. One good yank loosened the visor enough to pull it the rest of the way out. Thanks On my Boxster, I tried several things to remove the airbag stickers: 3M Adhesive Remover, Lacquer thinner, and denatured alcohol. The alcohol works the best, and that's the only thing I used this time

Went to tech session at a local dealer last fall, and with car up on rack they point out several oil leaks. I take to my regular dealer and have the RMS and ISS seals done around 31K miles. Oil filler tube replaced at the same time. Valve cover leak fixed also. All leaks visible when looking at engine, but no oil spots on the ground. Around 33K miles in February, took car in right before 4 year warranty up, and dealer pronounced no oil leaks. (It's a 2001 Boxster) Went to tech session at same local dealer a few weeks ago, and the mechanic points out the same oil leak they found on the right side last fall. Take back to my regular dealer this morning to have the oil leak taken care of. In both cases, tech session mechanic says engine is leaking oil by freeze plug Just got off the phone with my service manager and he says the bank 1-3 (i.e., right side) head gasket is leaking oil to the outside. No oil / water mixing, or anything like that. Just external oil leak. No big deal, just replace the head gasket. No head machining, no break-in once fixed, Porsche has replacement head gaskets. Anyone else have this kind of leak before. I've heard lots about RMS, ISS, valve cover and oil filler tube leaks, but nobody complains about head gaskets leaking oil visible on the outside. What gives? Any suggestions? This dealer has taken VERY good care of me under warranty, and Porsche is paying for this repair. Also, no temperature problems or check engine lights have come on. Anything in particular I should be worried about (other than more oil leaks in the future)?

You've got to love an $80K+ car that makes too much noise with the sun roof open at speeds above 28 MPH! I took my Boxster back to the dealer this morning to have an oil leak re-checked, and when talking to my service guy about the 997, he suggested closing the sunroof just an inch or two to stop the sound. He said they used to open all the way, then close just enough to stop the wind resonance noise. Since some people have this problem, and others drive with the sunroof open at 80+ MPH, I have to assume it's an adjustment item

With the sunroof all the way open, it sounds like a helicopter is directly overhead starting at about 28 MPH, even on smooth roads. If I put my hand up, the noise stops. Anybody else have this happen, and is it an easy dealer fix?

My wife's 997 is the first of any kind of 911 I've ever driven. It's not broken in yet, so no comments on performance, handling, etc., but if you believe the reviews, the base 997 is an exceptional performance and handling car. My wife couldn't care less about that. She was looking at the 7 series BMW, Merc S-500, Audi A 8, Lexus LS, big Jag, etc. She also briefly looked at the SL500. The 997 is at least as luxurious as anything she looked at (once you add the leather, etc.), but was easier to drive, had better ergonomics (except the Lexus), and made her feel excited about driving a car (something none of the other cars could). I don't think the Cayman will ever be considered as competition for any of these other cars.

Thanks, Loren! I tried pulling on it last night when I snapped the picture, but it didn't come out (easily). Pull harder? Does it need a specific orientation to release?