KevinH90

It was the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor. The MAF had failed and allowed the fuel mixture to become too rich. This set off some other problems including a vacumn leak and an overheated catalytic convertor. I have a new MAF and the car ran fine on the way home.

Lufteknic did a good job. It is a nice shop and the folks running it are great. Not deadly cheap, but it's a Porsche.

Thanks

Someone had mentioned Lufteknic to me and I couldn't remember the name.

Near the end of my commute of about 30 miles, I stopped to refuel. The car was hard to restart and then ran rough the rest of the way. It also stalled when I stopped for a traffic signal. Then the check engine light flashed a few times and stayed on. It also felt like my brakes were not getting any boost from the power brake unit. My car is a 2000 base with about 34k miles on it. I purchased it in March after a good PPI.

I got the car in my driveway and turned it off. It seemed like the back of the car was hotter than normal although the temperature gauge had not moved past the 8 in the 180 degree mark. I also thought it smelled like something was burning.

I'm planning to find a good independent Porsche mechanic with the proper diagnostic tools and have them check it out. Here are my questions:

1. Should I drive the car to the mechanic or should I have it towed?

2. Anyone know a good independent mechanic in the Richmond, VA area. (I used Krynock to change my spark plugs, but he said he didn't have the software to read the engine code.)

3. Any ideas of what this problem could be?

Thanks in advance.

I decided to buy it and installed it about two weeks ago. I chose the manual winch and multi-point attachment. The installation wasn't too difficult and it works as advertised. The price is high, but not out of line with the quality of the unit.

Here's a picture of mine: http://s112.photobucket.com/albums/n161/Ke...mgAnch=imgAnch1

Based on recommendations, I'm seriously considering the purchase of an E-Z Top Hoist for my hard top. Here's a link to the product: http://www.eztop.com/boxster.htm

Does anyone have any comments before I "pull the trigger" on the purchase? I'm planning to buy a manual hoist model with the multi point attachment system.

I decided on the hoist because my wife was uncomfortable helping me lift the hard top on and off my Miata, and the Boxster top is heavier. (I could actually put the Miata top on and off by myself, but I always considered it risky behavior.)

If anyone has a used E-Z Top Hoist they would like to part with, please let me know.

Thanks for the quick reply. I've only had the car 3 months, and $8 is the least expensive item I've had to buy for it.

I washed the car with the top on it today, and I didn't notice any leaks, so maybe I won't have to adjust the window.

I picked up a used hard top for my 2000 Boxster last night. It is from a 98, so it has the "ears" that cover attachment points for the roof transport system. This site was a great source of information on installation of the spin locks.

I have two questions:

1. The seller didn't have the cover for the latch that attaches to the windshield header. Does anyone know how much these cost and where I could buy it? Are there any recyclers who might sell them? It's not that bothersome that I want to spend a lot of money on it at the dealer.

2. It required several attempts for the seller and me to install the top. The driver's side rear wouldn't go in. Eventually, we aligned the pins in the holes and simultaneously closed the passenger's and driver's side spin locks and pressed the top in place. It went in and fit perfectly - no gap, wind leak or noise. I realize that you can adjust the top by loosening the allen bolts under the plastic covers. Is it worth fooling with in this case? Do you think the top will adapt to the shape of my car?

Thanks.

Thank you for all the help (and the pics)! I now have spinlocks but my source sold the top before I could get it. If anyone hears of an AS top available, let me know. I'm getting e-mail notification of replies so I'll write back immediately if I hear from anyone. Thanks again!

I can't tell where you are located, so I don't know if any of these tops are close to you. I managed to find five. I'm picking one of them up on Friday. :)

There is also one in California, one in Washington, DC, one in Philadelphia and one in Virginia Beach. Two of them are advertised on Porsche Pete's Boxser Board. The one in California is on eBay and the auction ends tonight. Good luck with your search.

I have a 2000 Boxster with a CDR-220 radio. I installed an auxiliary input for use with an iPod using the standard adapter from Becker, and a Belkin adapter as shown in this thread: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=5190

I used the same set up for my friend's 2002. Last week my friend told me he was hearing a hum on some of his music. (He listens to a variety of music including classical that contains quiet passages.) I thought a ground loop isolator would solve the problem. Even though I don't normally listen to "quiet passages" I thought I might as well put an isolator in both cars.

I installed the ground loop isolator in my car last night. It caused the stereo to act strangely. It played normally for about 2 minutes. Then it turned itself off and showed the word "PHONE" on the display. I tried resetting everything by disconnecting the battery. That fixed it for 2 minutes and then it went into "PHONE" mode again.

I don't know whether I got a defective unit, or if it is just incompatible with the Porsche radio. I removed it and returned it to Radio Shack.

Does anyone have an idea what caused this? Should I buy a different ground loop isolator? I've had good luck with components I've bought from David Navone and I thought I might try his.

I appreciate your responses. To be honest, I don't think I totally understand or have a lot of confidence in the explantations from the two places I contacted in this area. I know that part of the problem is my own lack of knowledge, but usually I can appreciate a logical explanation.

I tried AutoZone first. They had a code scanner, but said it wouldn't work if the light wasn't on when the scanner was in use. I really didn't expect a lot from them, but they were convenient.

The second place was an independent Porsche specialist. He was the person who changed the spark plugs and told me they were in bad shape. He is highly recommended but he seems to specialize in older cars. He had several 911's and 356's sitting around in various states of restoration. It was like a Porsche museum. However, I didn't see him actually hook the car up to an OBD scanner.

I'm going to be taking the car on a 600 mile round trip next week to pick up a hard top. I might just take the car to the Porsche dealership and have them see if they could pull a code.

Any recommendations on OBD scanners?

I had the spark plugs changed today. The technician said that the electrodes were in rough shape. I haven't had the light flash since the incident on Monday. The technician who checked the car couldn't pull a code. He said it was because Porsches only hold codes when the light stays on.

I'm hoping that it was the plugs, but I will keep an eye on it.

Thanks

I'll try to have the code checked today. The temperature sensor theory makes sense. The car was baking in the sun all day. Of course, you would think Porsche would have accounted for those conditions. But, it could have been an odd combination of conditions.

I was driving my 2000 Boxster with 32k on it home from work. The car stalled after I had driven about a half mile. I was driving about 35 mph in third gear.

I restarted the car and drove a few more miles - I was about half way up an on ramp to I-95 when the Check Engine Light started to flash. I turned off the car and coasted to a stop. Because I was in an awkward location, I restarted the car to move it to a safer spot. It drove fine and the CEL stayed off. So I decided to drive it home. I didn't have any other problems after the car reached full operating temperature.

Here is some additional information:

1. It was extremely hot and humid. I estimate it was 95 F and 95% humidity. About 10 minutes later, it started raining.

2. I filled the car with gas about two miles from work at about 7:30 am when it was still relatively cool.

3. I know I'm about 2k miles overdue for a spark plug change. (The interval on a 2000 is 30k. It's 60k on later cars, so I thought a few thousand miles wouldn't make a differenc.)

4. The car didn't overheat, and no other warning lights came on.

5. Just before it stalled and just before the CEL came on, the car seemed to hesitate.

I probably won't have much luck finding a Porsche specialist open tomorrow to check the car out. Any thoughts on what is happening? Any advice? It is possible that an auto parts store could check the OBD code? Where is the connector for the code reader?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks that's what I needed.

I have a 2000 non-S. I drove over some debris yesterday and cut the driver's side rear tire. The flat tire or debris also damaged the plastic piece in front of the tire. I've attached a picture of the undamaged piece on the passenger's side.

Does anyone know what this part is called? How much should it cost, and where is the best place to buy it? How easy is it to replace?

Thanks in advance for your help.

I saw the reply the Becker folks gave you. I'm sorry I suggested that you post there.

You might try posting your question on the Becker Board: http://www.beckerautosound.com/beckerboard/

They are the manufacturer of Porsche radios. It will help to have your model number.

I just bought a 2000 non-S and my friend just bought a 2002 non-S. Both had just under 30,000 miles on them when we bought them. My car has the On-Board Computer, silver gauge faces and painted wheel crests, but otherwise they are similarly equipped. His car has improvements that came with more recent cars such as the 3-spoke steering wheel, electric trunk openers, soft-top headliner and cup holders.

The cars are in nearly identical condition, but I paid about $5000 less. When I was looking, I found a 2000S with 60,000 miles on it for about the same price as my friend's 2002. I thought the lower mileage and lower price made sense in my situation. If you have the money and want the improved performance of the S or a newer example, I think you should do it.

My friend and I had pre-purchase inspections performed by a Porsche dealer before we bought our cars.

I have a 94 Miata M Edition and a 2000 Boxster (non-S). I second Kabel's advice, but a lot will depend on how you plan to use the car. If you want to have a weekend toy, both cars are great but the Miata fills the bill at a much lower cost for acquisition, maintenance and operation.

For a daily driver, the Boxster is superior. The Boxster is more comfortable on the Interstate and it is probably much safer. (I have not driven the newest version of the Miata, so that statement just applies to the first two generations of the Miata.) The Boxster has more front and rear crush space, side-impact air bags and an integrated roll bar. You can add a roll bar to the Miata, but the Boxster solution is more elegant.

If money is no object, choose the Boxster, but keep in mind that a Miata in similar condition will be less than half the price and will be almost 80% as good.

Good luck.

I spent Sunday afternoon installing an auxiliary input for an iPod in my 2000 and my friend’s 2002. We used these instructions: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=5190 The cars have Becker CDR-220 radios.

Both of our cars have the dash storage bin as shown in the attached picture. (My friend’s car has cup holders, so he doesn’t have the CD storage device. In addition, his climate control is at the bottom of the stack instead of the top.

Originally, I was going to run the iPod connector up through the ashtray as shown in the referenced post. However, I didn’t want to carve up the bottom of my ashtray. The cable and connector are currently running out the back of the center console, and around the right side to the front.

Instead of running the connector to the ashtray, I’m considering cutting a hole in the top of the storage bin and letting the connector through that way. It seems to me that the only way you could see the hole is by lying on the floor and looking up. When I’m not using the iPod, I could tuck the connector up in the top of the bin and it would be out of sight. I’m wondering if anyone has done this or would like to comment on this approach.

Also, when we did the install, we used the un-switched power supply due to an oversight. (The instructions above suggest using the switched supply.) I’m thinking that it would be better to use the switched power supply to avoid having the circuit powered continuously.

The PNP rear speaker kit made a remarkable improvement in the sound quality of my 2000 Boxster. I'm running them off the headunit.

I like Cassibox's approach and when I have some time, I will probably upgrade my other speakers and the amp as well.

Some people advocate replacing the headunit, but I like the stock look.

This link shows the routing of cables for the CD changer - should be similar for the speakers. I'm assuming you are hooking the rear speakers to an amplifier in the front trunk.

http://www.iq.dynip.com/~gary/hacks/cdchanger/cdchanger.html

I put a set of non-Bose rear speakers in my 2000 and my friend's 2003. They make a fairly big difference in the sound quality especially with the top down. The sound seems more "spacious."

The kit I bought was from PNP products and cost $210 U.S.

The installation is fairly easy. The first set required about 6 hours. The second set required less than 3 hours. The only difficult part of the job is running the speaker wiring through the channel beneath the door sill.

Good luck with your project.