Just sticking my head in here to say hello as i'm a new member on this board and wanted to say its great having these online resources to aid in keeping my car up and running.
I bought a 2000 Boxster S, 3 weeks ago, Ocean Blue with just over 40k miles on it (68000kms). So far i've done the brakes, emergency brake cables, AOS, Sparkplugs and tubes, belt, CV boots, coolant tank and just yesterday started taking apart the intake to clean the crap out of it.
When i picked up the car everything was fine until on day 3 i started reving it a bit and it started to smoke like mad on left turns only.... how bizarre was that... so as i was reading i figured AOS... changed that still the same, changed oil and filter (thought maybe level was too high) still the same... until i read about the cylinder head extractor pumps... so i figured it was a pump gone bad since the pump on the 1-2-3 side sits at the rear right making left turns oil swish to back of right cylinder (and conveniently the vent to the AOS is directly above it)... anyhow to make a long story shorter... I put the car on the hoist to check the pump only to realize when the flashlight hit it, that the pump was installed backwards! The pumps for left and right are the same but one has to pay attention to the markings on the extractor pumps for proper orientation. Anyhow loosened the bolts, flipped the pump, went for a run 6500rpm full throttle, stop left turn full throttle and NO MORE SMOKE! Wow I still cant believe some schmuck installed a pump backwards. The good thing there is no knock, smooth and steady idle... changed the oil again, just in case and all is good.
As i was digging in there i noticed the Oil Level Sender unit under the driver side intake tubes was leaking through the plastic of the sender unit; so i ordered a new one for 60 bux... and just realized that to get it out one has to dismantle the entire air intake from the block on the drivers side OMG.
So after not even having the car for a month, I think i've had a good intro into ownership and the few rides i did take so far were quite enjoyable... I just want to make sure the car is perfect before i have to store it away for the snowy season here
All i can say thank goodness i have a mechanics background and my online resources (such as this forum) or this would cost me a fortune in labour bills at the shop.
Thanks for this great forum...
Cheers,
Heiko