geoff

The normally aspirated and turbo V8 Cayennes also first got DFI in the 2008 model year

Took the car in this morning. Tech hooked up the PIWIS and no faults showing. Said no way to check tip fluid level with the PIWIS. PIWIS will give tip fluid temperature, but need to open fill hole and check level with the fluid cool. Above a certain temperature (something like 25°C), the fluid is too hot and it expands a lot when heated. Clunks don't show up with the PIWIS. I'll keep an eye on it, but they sent me on my way ($0 for all the mechanic time) until the next service. If there is a way to check the tiptronic fluid with the PIWIS, please let me know the steps. The mechanic, service writer and I always kid each other about info on the internet and it's always good to tell the head mechanic how to do things he doesn't know about The maintenance schedule has the tip transmission oil, ATF filter and tip transmission final drive oil being changed at 120K miles or 12 years (up from the previous model years), but that seems like a long time to go with the original ATF fluid, especially for stop and go driving and lots of canyon driving. Given that preventative maintenance is less costly than repairs, and Porsche seems to have stretched the maintenance intervals starting in 2005 (it was back down to 108K miles for the 2008 model), I'm planning to change the ATF and filter at the upcoming 60K service

I put the OEM 997 short shifter in my Boxster, which uses the same shifter as your 996. The 997 short shifter is not the same as a rebranded B&M, and is not notchy like so many have described the B&M. It comes with the complete shifter housing, and because it's made by Porsche is not inexpensive. They are sometimes on sale, and with the holidays coming up, some dealers might have specials. See this topic for more details

Thanks, Loren. I was afraid it wasn't something I would be able to check, but thought I'd ask. The dealer is expecting me in the morning already, but was hoping there was some way to figure it out on my own.

2005 997 55K miles tip. Is it possible to check the tiptronic fluid level myself? The owners manual doesn't say how to do it, and searching here didn't come up with anything. It seems like something that should be easily doable, but everything indicates to the contrary. Shifting is a bit rough lately and I want to make sure the tip fluid level isn't low

How much performance do you think you need to drive in the snow? Not just for your driving, but taking in to account all the bozos driving around you? No matter how much performance you have, it's still a 5,000+ pound car Is this a keeper, or just a car to keep for a year or two until you finish your MBA and then you're done with it? Starting in the '08 model year, the engines got direct injection, so more power AND better mileage, also larger displacement. My '08 S has been great, but I haven't driven it in snow yet Make sure whatever you buy has tires that will work in cold weather. I think a lot of the Turbos have 20" or 21" tires that are summer tires and won't get much traction in the snow. The larger Cayenne tires are expen$ive I found the Cayenne parts and service to be much more reasonable than for the Boxster or Carrera. You definitely want heated seats in whatever you buy. Park assist is a nice feature for the Cayenne as well

There are several TSBs (Porsche Technical Service Bulletins) that specifically pertain to squeaking, rattling and groaning cabriolet tops. A friend broke one of the "centering pins" on his top and I found a TSB that said there's a newer part that solves the rattling problem. Specifically, 996 TSB 4/03 6110, "Rattling Noises from the Cabriolet Top". After we replaced the broken side and good side with the newer parts (from Sunset), he said his car ('99 996 cab) was quieter than it's ever been. The part numbers are 996 561 605 02 A09 and 996 561 606 02 A09 (left and right sides). Do a search on cabriolet top rattling here. Also become a contributing member so you can access the TSBs - definitely worth it. The upgrade parts are not expensive and are easy to swap out in about 10 minutes.

I always call them instead of emailing. It's an 800 number and everyone in parts knows what they are doing. It's easier to discuss all the piece parts needed and alternatives than bouncing emails back and forth, confirm everything will fit, and I find out availability for when my order is going to ship. Unfortunately, I always think of other things I want or need, so it ends up costing more than I originally expected to spend

The Meguiar's polisher used to be a rebranded Porter Cable DA orbital polisher, just costing more and with a lifetime warranty. It's a great product Phillip - you're welcome to try mine out some weekend if you want to check it out before buying one

I don't think you want a rotary buffer. They are powerful and can do serious damage to your paint if you really don't know what you're doing, or just cause a bad case of swirl marks. I've got an old Meguiar's dual-action polisher that is great for polish and wax after washing and possibly claying the car. See http://www.meguiars.com/Faq/index.cfm?faqC...%20your%20hands for some details. Meguiar's online forum at http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/ has more information than you could possibly follow. Meguiar's also has a FREE open-to-everyone class regularly at their facility in Irvine on Saturdays, where a professional will go through all the techniques and tools for detailing your car, demonstrate, and let you try out everything. Your car will look better than ever before when you're done. See http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=110 for more details. I learned a lot when I attended

I've had some interesting discussions recently with both the service manager and head mechanic at my local Porsche dealer, and with Charles Navarro (LN Engineering, talked to him at the recent Ventura show) about low mileage, lightly driven Boxsters. From everything I've been told, the cars love to be driven a lot and driven hard, and have a lot fewer engine problems than if they just sit parked. Enjoy driving your car and please keep us posted on how it does. I'd love to hear Jake Raby chime in on any recommendations for your particular car. These days, I feel guilty if my car sits for a week when I'm out of town on business and think I'm doing a disservice to my Boxster.

Got the parts from the dealer yesterday. Talking to the mechanic, when removing the wiper arm, the plastic cover has to be removed first, and odds of it being usable afterwards are hit and miss. So I picked up the cover, which is only sold bundled with the switch for releasing the rear glass (part 6, Tip Switch Rear, in Loren's figure 904-05). I found the removal instructions here but didn't see any indication of how much to retighten the 13mm nut. Anyone have the torque spec for that nut (part 10 in Loren's figure 904-05)? Before and after pictures are coming Compared to the Boxster and Carrera, Cayenne parts seem to be quite a bit less pricy, although wiper blades are expensive!

Loren - Thank you for the info. Since the wiper arm appears to be a complete assembly in the parts diagram, I'm guessing mine isn't going to snap back together. My dealer's parts manager ordered parts for me, so I think it's time for a trip to the dealer to confirm parts, etc. It's kind of hard to confirm which outside trim piece is needed since the drawing perspective is from the inside looking out. Since the tailgate automatically opens and it's easy to hit garage ceilings, I'm sure others will break these parts, so I'll report back on the final resolution of parts and installation

Loren - thank you very much. On the 2006 PET on Porsche's web site, the rear wiper arm is on MG 9 SG 04 Illustration 904-05. The wiper arm that's broken off is part 8 in the figure, but mine looks like it's constructed differently from the '06 model. The rear trim piece looks like the '08 equivalent of MG 8 SG 07 Illustration 807-35 part 15 or 20/21 - hard to tell what's what from the fine illustration. The rear window is part 11 in MG 8 SG 05 Illustration 805-00. All I have to go on is the old PET, so I'm not sure if anything changed with the '08 model year Since I've seen the online PET before but never paid much attention to the page headings, what is MG and SG? Something like "Service Group?"

When my wife got home tonight, I asked her what happened to the back of our Cayenne, and she said "huh?!" The horizontal plastic trim piece that looks like a dark smoked color under the rear window was cracked with chunks missing, and the rear wiper arm was missing. She thought someone might have hit the car when it was parked, but I'm guessing the valet parking guys at her office went looking for goodies and opened up the rear lid in the garage, hit it on a low spot on the garage ceiling and cracked the parts. The telltale sign was the rear wiper arm sitting on the floor of the back seat! The latest Porsche PET online only has the Cayenne up to 2006 model year, and the rear wiper arm assembly looks different on our 2008 from the pictures. I'm trying to figure out what we need to replace. It looks like the rear glass has a deep gouge, the trim piece below the rear window need to be replaced (it just snaps in to place), and the wiper arm is now loose. Does someone (Loren?) have a parts illustration and part numbers showing those areas for a 2008 Cayenne S, please. Of course, my wife's office's valet parking agreement doesn't hold the valet service liable for any damage. But the fact that they broke the car, didn't say anything and just tossed the wiper arm in the back means someone knows what happened.

A few weeks ago, my local Porsche dealer had two afternoons where customers could spend quality time with the mechanics under their cars to do a complete check. Obviously the intent was to build goodwill, educate customers, and sell more work. My 20 minute session at the end of the day turned in to almost 2 hours each day because the head mechanic is a great guy. On my wife's 2005 Carrera (it's a 997, but this is a battery thread), he asked if I ever checked the water level in the battery, to which I replied "I thought it was maintenance free". He laughed and essentially said that's what they want you to believe. He scraped off the decal on the top of the batter with his thumbnail, revealing 6 round fill holes just like on a non-maintenance free battery. This was the original OEM battery, over 4 years old, around 56K miles, and never maintained other than sometimes plugged in to the Porsche battery maintainer. We unscrewed each cover and found each compartment way down in terms of water. Given the age of the battery, we just used the 12 oz. drinking water bottles with the dealer's name on the label instead of leaving to find distilled water. The battery drank almost 6 of the 12 oz. water bottles before it's thirst was quenched and the water level was back above the battery plates where it should be. Moral of the story - Porsche maintenance free batteries are only called that because they cover up the fill holes. I haven't had any problems with the battery, but I'm sure periodically checking and adding water will help them last longer

The wires and where they connect changed sometime around the 2001 model year. What year Boxster?

The colored crest wheel caps have two small holes in the crest so you can pull them off without removing the wheels. You can use a paper clip, small allen wrench, coat hanger or buy the expensive Porsche tool to remove them. Your current b/w wheel caps should have similar holes in the crest. I made a little removal tool I can show you on Sunday in Ventura

You should check with your insurance company to see if you have windshield coverage first. My agent had added windshield coverage for me without even asking (about $5 for 6 months), so I had a $100 deductible for the windshield, instead of the usual $500 or $1000. When I had my windshield on my new Cayenne S replaced, I asked my dealer where they sent cars and just went there, paid my $100, and everything looked as good as new. Porsche dealers just outsource windshield repairs and then mark up the work.

The past 2 days, my local dealer had special PCA tech afternoons where people could bring in their cars and go over everything with the mechanics. I've gotten to know one of the mechanics pretty well over the past few years, so my half hour session at the end of each day turned into nearly two hours each (I brought in 2 P-cars, a different one each day). My '01 Boxster didn't show any faults on the PIWIS. I had the 60K service done about 1,500 miles earlier, and going through the mechanic's notes when I picked up the car from the major service, I saw there was an oxygen sensor fault he noted and cleared. I asked him about this, and he said the cars will have faults appear, and most of the time they clear themselves. My '05 Carrera showed a fault in the rear control unit when hooked up to the PIWIS, so we talked about this for a while. With all the computers, controllers, buses, etc. in the cars, sometimes the controllers can't get time on the bus to communicate, and will store a fault. Not bad enough to cause a check engine light, but something that's stored in the car's memory. Most of the time, the mechanics just note the fault, clear it, and it never comes back. If customers complain about a persistent problem, they use the mechanic's notes over time to track down the cause and determine how long it's been happening. I was told you could make yourself crazy worrying about every fault the computers in the car record. If your service writer will let you talk to the mechanic the next time you are in, you might want to chat with him about the faults to see if they are something to be concerned about, or just normal for the cars. If normal, at least then you're on record about pointing out the issue before your warranty expires, so it's easier for the to goodwill any fix afterwards (dealers will goodwill more for good customers than the other kind).

I never heard of the Sprint Booster before, so I googled it, looked at their web site - http://www.sprintboostersales.com/ - and read their product info. From what I could tell from their specs, this thing only changes the throttle mapping, doesn't increase horsepower (per their web site), and doesn't improve 0 to 60 times (again from their web site). As far as I can tell, it doesn't do much other than making the gas pedal operate the throttle more aggressively in the lower RPM ranges, giving the illusion of power and speed. I'm not knocking the product, but does it do anything more than making the car feel faster?

Contact Marc Warden on ppbb.com - his new Cayman was totaled and he has a wealth of experience dealing with insurance companies as far as totaling a car and what the insurance company will pay. I think he at least broke even. His saga went on for over a month

What I did is pull the little metal piece out with the ash tray open. It's just pressed in

If you change the tire width from the standard sizes, you will affect the amount of understeer or oversteer, i.e., handling. Boxsters have a bit of understeer in stock form. Larger rear tires will increase the amount of understeer, which might not be what you want. I think 255/40-17 is the standard rear tire size and 205/50-17 is the standard front tire size, so if you put narrower rear tires on, you will end up with less understeer or possibly oversteer I have been very pleased with the Michelin Pilot Sport tires on my Boxster and Carrera, although very few places seem to have the Porsche N-rated tires in the older sizes these days

If you only need a bit of space and don't need to remove wheels, ramps work great. Rhino Ramps works great. I have the regular ones, but would buy the SUV version if I had to do it again, since the SUV version is wider, which works better for low profile Porsche tires. There are two jack points on each side. Your Boxster is stiff enough that you can jack up the entire side of the car from one jack point, and place a jack stand under the other one. I have an Imagineering Web Floor jack adapter which is sold on eBay by seller delubozparts and have been very happy with it. I recently bought a pair of Esco jack stands, which have a flat base, but haven't had a chance to use them yet. They are expensive, but I found a pair on eBay for about half price. I've seen them advertised at Pelican Parts and Northern Tool If you search renntech, you will find a lot of information on jacking up Boxsters and Carreras