The Boxster Gamble - Should I? I did - Progress thread!

MarkGolf · 5 Nov 2018

Funny you mention that, I remembered that the seller said he changed the thermostats and water pump as it let go on a trip to Italy.. I checked the receipts and yup, had a new water pump a year and a half ago.. I guess the belt was ok looking back then. Was a nice plus point to have had that done along with the IMS!

Did some future proofing with some bolt hamber and waxoyl to brake lines and seams too, ready for winter!

deMort · 6 Nov 2018

Awww that reminds me .. i expect you have already done it but these cars along with 996 suffer badly with corrosion on the brake pipes under the L shaped panel n/s of the car.

So just in case have a good look at the pipes and mainly in the brackets as thats were they rot through.

Whilst at it some protection , waxoil / acf50 on the clutch slave cyl pipe .. basically i like a lot of this stuff over everything you can get at under the car

Phil 997 loves to take the mickey here

but you cant beat a lot of underbody protection imho !

MarkGolf · 8 Nov 2018

Thanks again Iain,

Yep, got those covered, it was seeing those and your 997 post that made me sort them and other areas out. The last thing I want to be doing is replacing brake line, hate them! It's a job I am putting off on a Golf VR6 of mine where I fitted braided lines throughout but now want to fit as much hardline as poss due to a spongy pedal, really don't want to do it.

I agree, you can't beat it, not with winter about to hit, salt! :eh!: :sad: :?

8 o clock last night, wife was out and I got bored, so thought I would change the front discs and fit the new belt. I thought I would do the easiest job last, so did the discs first. Dead easy, a 45 min job tops, even with 1 stuck screw, dremel sorted that.

Disc off

Brembo replacement

The cut stuck screw, refitted the screws and applied copper grease on the threads, will replace that screw. 2 per disc.

Job done, nice and easy.

Now the job that should have taken me 15 mins ended up taking 45-1 hour and I didn't even complete it!

Got the old belt off

But for the life of me, I just couldn't get the new one on!! When laid out and pulled, it was the same length as the one I removed but where it had been coiled up in the packaging, I think this was costing me some length. The belt had been in the garage so was cold, I tried soaking it hot water but as I wanted to just get the job done, it was late and I did the job outside of the garage so I got caught in a flash downpour too, I had enough so 5 mins or so probably wasn't long enough for it..

I admitted defeat and refitted the original belt, went on without fuss. FFS!!

:sad:

I have now kept the new belt in doors and stretched it out and will have another go, it is a continental belt, never ever ever ever had a problem replacing a drive belt and it's a decent brand. (Don't pull the Porsche part only wand on me Iain! :floor: :floor: :floor: )

I will beat it!!

deMort · 8 Nov 2018

Lol .. it doesnt have to be a Porsche belt .. as long as its the same length then its fine .

New belt will be tight .. it might be that the tensioner is slipping a bit when you move it to get the new belt on.

24 mm spanner , push to the n/s as much as possible .. if the spanner moves the bolt then you have to get at the nut at the rear with another spanner .. this is a pain and i hate it when it happens ... another person with a lever bar sometimes helps in this situation .

To fit the belt then i would fit it over all the pullys bar the idler one next to the tensioner (make sure the belt is fully home in all the ribbed pullys )

Then move the tensioner and pull it over the idler pully ... which on your picture would be the lowest one .

i think the tensioner 24mm bolt is moving and thats why you are struggleing .. old belt will be more stretched than the new one so you are having to move the tensioner further .

EDIT ..

Just to say if the belt wont fit over all the pullys excludeing the last idler before moveing the tensioner pully then there something wrong.

MarkGolf · 8 Nov 2018

Cheers Iain,

I had a breaker bar on the tensioner and was able to lean on it while fitting the belt, I was able to move the tensioner to the point it was squishing the belts together between 2 pulleys, I could get it in all the pulleys but just not the tensioner, just! I think once the belt is straightened out it will be ok, with me getting soaked and it being 10pm, I wasn't being the most patient!

Do you guys ever do gearbox fluid swaps on these?

deMort · 8 Nov 2018

If the belt was jammed between the 2 pullys and still not going on then there is something wrong there .. sometimes the belt can catch on a bolt on the left side of the water pump so o/s .. have another go when you can but if no obvious points that its catching then i would have to go with the belt being a little short .

Ive done countless belts over the years and the only problem ive had is wrong belt or the tensioner bolt slips .. i use a spanner .. bolt slipping is a pain as theres no access to get to the nut behind .. i think its a 15 mm spanner but trying to do it up .. mate .. i hate it . im just not strong enough .. embarresssing to have to get another guy to help .. but i have to .

Box oil change .. off hand i think its either 10 or 12 year intervals .. worth doing once in a lifetime but unlike the 996 then second gear never seems to be a problem .. i guess Boxster owners dont use second that much :floor:

if no history then get it changed .. diy and its only the cost of the oil so pretty cheap.

MarkGolf · 5 Dec 2018

Cheers Iain!

Still no luck on the belt, tried 2 others that a mate let me have from ECP to try, asked him to get me a proper Porsche one now.

Oddly, 1 of the belts my mate got me was an Optibelt, the same people who make the Porsche ones. If the Porsche one won't slip on, I will just have to get a slightly bigger belt, I can't work out wtf is going on!! The original belt just slides straight on, no issues, all 3 of the others just won't go!

To be continued!

I want to do the gearbox this weekend, I'm guessin it's just a 75/90 transaxle oil, gl4 or gl5 no issue?

Nothing else going on at the moment apart from washing the car.

I did get some new decklid struts, the originals were failing to hold it up since it got cold.

Cheers!

MarkGolf · 5 Mar 2019

Not much going on here, the car is being used daily by the wife and it hasn't missed a beat, I enjoy taking it out, could do with more power but as a B lane basher, it's a superb car, had the opportunity to have the roof down the other morning and I did enjoy the run, the exhaust is slightly on the loud side but with the roof down on a spirited run, it did make me laugh!

In colder times, it got us to the pub on a snowy day, it did however get stuck in this position as the snow turned to ice.. :floor:

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Not much in terms of new bits for it, everything works and feels in good order!

A quick visit to get some paint from Halfords results in someone hitting the car, I was quite happy as there are some marks on the front bumper which are not bad enough to warrant having it repainted but ultimately, they shouldn't be there so I saw the knock as an opportunity to have it refreshed! The number plate plinth had split also.

It looked worse than it was, I thought the black marks were the plastic showing. Anyway, on the spot, the person gave me £300! :thumb: I had already spoken to my mate who owns the bodyshop that did my 964 and other cars, so the £300 was enough to have the work done and go out for dinner for the trauma caused :grin:

I got home and had a closer look at the damage and to my surprise, it all just wiped off!!

The moral here, don't attempt to wipe any damage off when at the scene :floor: :floor: :hand:

A few minutes with the polishing machine got it all off

So now I'm back at the stage of, it's not bad enough to warrant the hassle of getting it redone, just this time I'm £300 better off, minus £19 for a new plinth. Having said that, the back bumper does need a paint, when the missus can go without it, I'll have that done.

So far so good with this car, a brilliant car for what was an opportune purchase. :worship:

MarkGolf · 21 May 2019

FFS! It's bad enough to warrant a paint this time around! :floor:

Looks like someone backed in to it while at the gym. No cameras.

c:

The return of Marty Wild · 21 May 2019

:evil:

MarkGolf · 12 Aug 2019

Slacking on this, the bumper hasn't been repaired yet, busy with baby!

Went for an MOT however, passed but need to replace a wiper that was juddery due to being a bit hard. :thumb:

77,000 on it now, was 74k last year.

Let a mate drive it one way and he was so impressed with it that he now wants one!

I am slacking here, looks a state but it's just some waxy stuff that needs cleaning off the ally tray and arms so I'll try and get around to doing that before winter.Got to get under there and fix a rattly heat shield too.

Aside from that, I want to do a fluid change on the gearbox/transaxle to keep it sweet and give it an oil change as it is coming up 1 year since the last, I'll do those together.

Question is, last year I did an interim service, this year it is due a scheduled 2 year one, so a stamp in the book job, is it worth taking it anywhere for the stamp or should I just keep this self serviced now? Obviously I can do everything myself and have done the plugs/belt, I keep on top of everything, so is it worth paying for the stamp?

easternjets · 12 Aug 2019

I've just read through your thread and I've done virtually the same as you. Bought a Cat S car, with slight damage to the passenger side sill and door, like you I couldn't believe it was written off for so little damage but the one thing that Porsche will NOT do is repair, they only replace. So the bill for my car was going to be upward of £6k so it was written off and I bought it.

I got the damage fixed in the first month and then like you I set about doing major and minor stuff. The major being a replacement gearbox as the original was making a lot of noise, especially in fifth.
Gearbox replaced with an exch item, new clutch and slave cylinder and IMS checked and replaced for good measure. The old bearing was perfect but as it was out I fitted a slightly upgraded new one, think it cost £12!
New coffin arms, new plug tube seals and checked all coil packs which were only a few years old. Biggest improvement was new plugs, really made a difference to the acceleration and smoothness.

Like you I've got a relatively cheap car, body work is great for a 17 yr old car and now I've had the arms and alignment done it handles really well, it was a bit wayward when I got it but now it's great.

Was going to sell mine but for now I'm just running it as a daily and it's great for the summer.

Yours looks in very good condition, which has now made me realise mine needs a good clean!

MJA911 · 12 Aug 2019

I'd say in this part of the market you doing your own service, backed up perhaps with a manifest that shows you've followed the Porsche schedule and invoices for all the parts, would be absolutely fine. No doubt if and when you sell on, it will be a private sale so you'll have the opportunity to convey how well the servicing etc. has been done.

My 986 had a patchy service history and like many of these, the previous owner had run it longer that he should without attending to the usual suspects like condensers, coils, plugs, fluids, various suspension bits & center gravity set up, discs and pads, battery, AOS, tensioner seal, drive belt, exhaust clamps and bolts and rattly heat shields!

Car has paid me back by being sweet as a nut and has two new reputable service stamps too, but I'm nowhere near your league in the spannering stakes :thumb:

easternjets · 12 Aug 2019

The problem I had was finding a stop point in all the work I wanted to do.

I ended up spending far too much for a car of such low value but at least now I know that it's good for at least another 4 or 5 yrs of motoring. I've been really surprised at how good the body work is, mind you there are dirt traps that probably cause a lot of the rust that seems to be a problem with a lot of early Boxsters, plus mine also had a hard top which was a big plus for the winter time.

I've now got a fully sorted 2.7 Boxster for the price of a second hand Focus, result.

MarkGolf · 15 Aug 2019

easternjets said:
I've just read through your thread and I've done virtually the same as you. Bought a Cat S car, with slight damage to the passenger side sill and door, like you I couldn't believe it was written off for so little damage but the one thing that Porsche will NOT do is repair, they only replace. So the bill for my car was going to be upward of £6k so it was written off and I bought it.

I got the damage fixed in the first month and then like you I set about doing major and minor stuff. The major being a replacement gearbox as the original was making a lot of noise, especially in fifth.
Gearbox replaced with an exch item, new clutch and slave cylinder and IMS checked and replaced for good measure. The old bearing was perfect but as it was out I fitted a slightly upgraded new one, think it cost £12!
New coffin arms, new plug tube seals and checked all coil packs which were only a few years old. Biggest improvement was new plugs, really made a difference to the acceleration and smoothness.

Like you I've got a relatively cheap car, body work is great for a 17 yr old car and now I've had the arms and alignment done it handles really well, it was a bit wayward when I got it but now it's great.

Was going to sell mine but for now I'm just running it as a daily and it's great for the summer.

Yours looks in very good condition, which has now made me realise mine needs a good clean!

Was that the black one for sale on here? I was going to go after that if so!

It's a superb car for the money and if you're handy, you can DIY most things, they're quite simple cars to work on. I have a habit of buying cars to sell on but I end up keeping them, I get too attached once I've put the effort in!

The Boxster Gamble - Should I? I did - Progress thread!

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

deMort

Monaco

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

deMort

Monaco

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

deMort

Monaco

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

The return of Marty Wild

Paul Ricard

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

easternjets

Paul Ricard

MJA911

Singapore

easternjets

Paul Ricard

MarkGolf

Sao Paulo

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