Thanks Smshirk for taking the time to relay your M96 experiences. I bought my 2000 S on E-Bay in 2003 with 15,K miles & 1 year remaining on factory warranty.
Drove the 1,200 miles down Pacific Coast Highway from Oregon to So.CA to get home. During the year of warranty coverage I had the dealer fix a minor RMS & IMS leak, 2 interior squeaks & faint gas smell which after a couple trys turned out to be caused by a fuel tank sending unit seal. Out of warranty I have replaced clutch twice, CV boots @ 70K miles, water pump @ 78K miles, & AOS @ 82K miles. Thoroughly using but never abusing my cars I autocross with PCA & time trial with POC at The Streets of Willow and change Mobil 1 every 7K miles. Found 986forum a little over a year ago & started following the work of Jake Raby & LN Engineering. Signed up for Jake Rabys first M96 engine rebuild class in Feburary & just completed the 3.2 - 3.6 rebuild on the original engine where I discovered a very loose IMS bearing I estimate would have failed within 5K miles. No more Mobil 1 for this engine. Currently having a blast breaking in the new engine, keeping revs between 2000- 4000rpm. The added torque makes it so easy to start off from a stop & make turns in 3rd gear. Passed CA smog inspection with less than half the emissions from last test 2yrs. & 10Kmiles ago. Boxster S is the funniest device ever invented by man & the cost to fix the IMS bearing is more than offset by the current market values.
