Rough start to the new year - I need some help
 

Hi all,

My wife is out working tonight so I thought i'd start tackling my winter projects on new years eve. I need some stupid, unpredictable guidance and all help will be greatly appreciated.

I should've stopped as soon as I started....so far:

1. I scraped some paint off the side of my garage onto my boxster when backing into it. Some initial polishing with a very soft polish (klasse all-in-one) shows paint transfer to the boxster but not scraping or scratches. Talk about being micrometers away from a costly mistake.

2. A rear winter wheel fell off onto several of the wheel studs, adding some nice small nicks and scratches to it.

3. Numerous small bits of Porsche plastic have simply broken off. Nothing vital, but, for example, a plastic clamp to hold a coolant hose steady disentegrated in my hand.

...

Anyway, here's where I need help:

1. I'm trying to do my front engine mount. The bolts attaching mount to engine are a PITA. I have an OPEN-ended 15mm wrench that can only reach the bottom 2 bolts and isn't moving them. Feels like it could be stripping the bolts...

My intention is to go pick up a 15mm ratcheting wrench, but I'm wondering if I'll break it as soon as I buy it due to the bolts being stuck. They seem intensely tight.

Further, how the heck am I supposed to access the top engine mount bolts? They seem in a nigh-impossible location from top or bottom. I've read 2-3 DIY guides and it seems everything simply says "its tight"...maybe with a 15mm ratcheting socket it's ok? I'm afraid of the amount of torque I'm going to need to apply to get these loose :)

....

2. I decided to back away from the engine mount and go after something simpler: engine air filter. Of course, as soon as I start I hit a significant snag. My father had a rear strut brace installed for whatever reason.

Now the strut brace is fairly straightforward. It attaches to the closest strut bolts and looks identical to this evolution motorsports model (http://www.gmpperformance.com/index.cfm?PG=detail&PID=148433) except that its gold in color.

I've taken the 2 19mm top nuts off and now the thing won't budge. How do you remove these things?

The strut is directly in the way of the bolt attached to the convertible top fabric-to-bulkhead attachment point.


I'm going to go continue wrenching, but its been a rough night and it might be time to stop for the night and regroup

I'm not sure why you need to remove the brace? The fabric to bulkhead attachment is a plastic clip that simply rolls onto the bulkhead. No need to remove bolts to undo the top for engine access.

Thanks. I overlooked something so simple. I read this DIY: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/03-BASICS-Air_Filter/03-BASICS-Air_Filter.htm

And thought he was saying to unbolt plastic where the yellow arrows point (i.e. take off the nuts). This is why I stopped working for the evening....

Don't you just hate it when fatigue makes the simplest tasks seem impossible?

The car was trying to tell you to go have a good time on New Year's Eve instead of working on the car.

Actually the Boxster is not that hard for a DIY to manage the regular maintenance. Check out Pedro's Garage and Mike Fockes for DIY info.

http://pedrosgarage.com/Site/Technolab.html

http://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/mikesporscheboxsterwebpages

Yeah, considering my likely use of 7500 miles a year (give or take), it's going to be a piece of cake to manage for years on end. I'm currently working on the 60k mile service, fluid replacements of most types, and the motor mount.

JTP - when I pulled down on the plastic piece, it literally fell out of it's clips. Convertible top now in service position :)

All - Looks like the torque spec on the motor mount is 34-48 lb/ft. I soaked them in penetrating lube, but using an open ended wrench I got no movement.

My car has not really been driven in salt, so there is very little corrosion underneath. Did everyone else's 15mm nuts simply break loose with ease?