1st Boxster 7th Porsche, we now have 4 in the family

[TrumpyAl]

I'm not familiar with the values on these cars, including the MAF value, so this may be off the mark, but...

It could be too much air, or also too little fuel?

Blocked injector/s, low fuel pressure, bad fuel pressure regulator.

But the car runs ok?

[Froggo]

Great write
up many thanks , you said that you used a low cost fault code reader and cable , could you tell me what brand / model so I can get one , once again thanks

[jcslocum]

I bought one for $20 on Ebay. It's a chinese version with the older software. DO NOT try to upgrade the software as it will render the cable useless. It worked fine for the basics but it did not work for the Alarm.

[itsnotanova]

Any updates?

[jcslocum]

Just a bit. We are still still struggling with a code now only on the drivers side. We replaced the fuel pressure regulator and that fixed most of what was going on. Allie has yet to check the power brake vacuum line as the code it's throwing, is just lean at idle. I hope we can get it solved with the power brake hose.

[B6T]

What products/method did you use to polish the car? It looks great!

[jcslocum]

We have been using an Orbital polisher and Griots polishing products for a few years. They do a superb job for us. Some areas were wet sanded first to remove the bumps that are created when touch up paint is used. We have lots more work to do.

[jcslocum]

Update time:

It has been a while and the Box has just of late been running and driving just great. We worked thru a few issues to transfer the car here to MD as my daughter has bought a home here in MD and it has to pass safety inspection here. The clowns at the local service shop found a bad ball joint in the L front, cloudy headlights, cloudy rear plastic window and a non factory muffler. Well, the muffler fail is a joke because almost no 15 year of car has an original factory muffler. To top it off, the guy was a bit rude to my daughter by advising her that maybe her boy friend can fix these things. This set her to Steaming MAD at them and resolved to never go there again!.

Allie is becoming a good wrench and was so insulted. Here is a picture of here setting the ring and pinion backlash on my Dodge Cummins that needed new bearings a few weeks back.



She still needs guidance but who doesn't when doing these types of tasks? Well, in defense of the guy at the shop, he had no idea she is a gear head..... Back to the Box.

The Box took a back seat to the new house project for 2 months but now that is settled (new kitchen, 100% new heating system, fence, etc... The last real issue was the lean condition/hard starting HOT and the battery (new 10 months ago) will go flat after 5-8 days if not used. That hot hard start was the biggest problem. I have replaced the MAF in the past and it seemed good but I kinda figured something was wrong there. I bought a new older style MAF that has the right part number for the early 2000MY and installed that. this made the car run better in my opinion, but had no effect on the hot hard start, car starts up quick and fast when dead cold. Durametric shows perfect driving trims but still high-ish idle trims. Lower but not real low. Still work to do there...

Battery and electric system still causing problems. So, the Saturday we rebuild the diff on the Ram, we have the box there and use it to run for lunch, get back to the shop, clean up and fiddle around for 20 minutes before leaving. I take the truck and Allie gets in the Box to head for home. Truck always starts instantly, nice thing about a diesel, but the Boxster cranks with the hard start issue and won't start, after 2 minutes of trying to start it, the battery is flat. Allie is pissed, gets out of the car locks it and jumps in the truck, a dark look on here face. Her comment: that car us dead to me.

Well, it occurs to me that we just drove for 20 minutes for lunch from a cold start and all was well, we drove back and the car sat for 20 minutes and mow the battery is flat after cranking for maybe 2 minutes tops. The new battery must be bad and the reason it goes flat so easily. I was thinking that we had some kind of draw in the elektrickery system that would pull it down after 5-8 days of non use and that is used regularly it would be ok until we had time to diagnose that. I was pissed about the new battery being bad so during the week I returned the one we had for a refund (3 year replacement warranty) and got a new one but the bigger one for the Tiptronic cars. Why not? It's a size 48 vs. 94 and has about 100 more CCA. I throw the battery in and immediately I notice a difference in the cranking speed of the starter, the car starts right up (cold) and I take it for a 25 mile drive to get the computer learning and charge the battery up. I return to the shop, once again spend 15-20 minutes cleaning up and lock up, go out to the box to drive home and dread the hot start nonsense.

Miracle of MIRACLES, it starts up immediately with very little cranking!! This has NEVER happened before :-) I sit for a minute and savor this event and drive home. Call Allie to tell her the new battery cranks much faster and the hard start issue didn't happen when heading home. She's quite skeptical but may think it a 1 time event. We use the car for a week every day and the slow crank (cold or hot) is GONE and the hard start problem is GONE too. This hard start issue may have been a weakish battery all along!! Once way to tell is to use it more and see what happens. I have a 3 day trip that past few days and i drove it 500 miles total. Not 1 time was there an issue with hot start. I stopped at least 10 times for anywhere from 5 minutes to 45 minutes along the way and it started perfectly every time.

That is the long and long overdue update for now. It looks like we finally have a solid 2000 Boxster to use as her DD and continue to refine the car now that she is HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY and getting confidence in the Box.

[TrumpyAl]

Wow. I'd have never guessed it.

Although.....had you reset the ECU after changing the MAF? Or was the battery swap the first time the ECU has been reset since the new MAF went in?

It doesn't make sense either, just kicking possibilities around in my head is all..

[jcslocum]

It was fully reset after the MAF change. The new battery provides better steady voltage and as I mentioned, cranks much better. Raining hard here today, so no Durametric time to read some numbers.

[fatmike]

Originally Posted by jcslocum

That Box has earned the name Stella.

I might have gone with "Sandy" after the storm that flooded it out...


You're doing an amazing job with this car, but I think this thread proves how worthless a $3K Boxster really is to the average buyer out there.


/

[Converse986Black]

Awesome thread as others have stated. Definitely a good read for anyone considering rescuing a Boxster and may not know what they are getting themselves into lol This thread should be posted every time someone asks about perspective new ownership, possible problems, costs and how lack of mechanical skills (tools, diagnostic tools, garage space, etc.)--can translate into $$$$ purchase cost!

[jcslocum]

Thanks for the kind words!!

Not a Sandy car. I can't find any signs of flooding or salt water ingress anywhere. Anything is possible tho...

I should add up the repairs that were made to get her on the road and useable. Much of what we have done is purely optional and wasn't "needed."

I have said/written it a thousand times... "There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche"
Our journey with Stella is fun and rewarding for us ,and cannot be used to compare for the average guy/gal. We have tools and skill that most don't. We also have multiple cars and there was NO pressure to get this all sorted for use as a DD.

[jcslocum]

Originally Posted by fatmike

You're doing an amazing job with this car, but I think this thread proves how worthless a $3K Boxster really is to the average buyer out there.
/

So, this is an interesting question. I have replace many items over the course of the past year to get this car 100% reliable and on the road as a DD. Some parts were changed at our discretion, so I have listed the must do parts only.

Cost of car = $3000.00

Parts:

Seats (electric vs original manual) = 400.00
Touch Up Paint = 20.00
Cubby Hinge = 32.00
Ignition Switch (Audi) = 7.00
Headlight Bulbs = 20.00
Engine Mount = 35.00
Cam Chain Tens = 85.00
Oil Cooler (S Type 2x Larger) 121.00
MAF = 125.00
Coolant Tank = 320.00
Thermostat = 44.00
Water Pump = 76.00
Coils 2x = 84.00
O2 Sensor 4x = 260.00
Coolant = 100.00
CPS = 72.00
Coolant Cap = 35.00
Radiator DS = 120.00
Horn = 15.00
Gauge Cluster = 125.00
Control Arm PS = 115.00
Battery = 122.00

Total spent to make a $3000 car into a durable dependable DD = $2,333.00

[Steve Tinker]

Its a good job you aren't including your's & Allie's hourly labour rate jc - the bill would be significantly more....

[BruceH]

Originally Posted by Steve Tinker

Its a good job you aren't including your's & Allie's hourly labour rate jc - the bill would be significantly more....

Yes, but a lot of that stuff can be done by anyone who is handy. That's still pretty cheap money for the end result

[jrebot2]

Wow, a rough car, but good luck and enjoy the project.

[jcslocum]

I guess it's just sweat equity and the opportunity to work with my daughter on another Porsche. This is the replacement for her 944 DD. She also didn't have 6-7K to get a better car and would rather spend a a bit at a time as we worked thru it. It also builds her mechanical skill-set up as well as her confidence. I have 4 girls and they call do some things on their cars. Keeps them safer and better informed when they have to deal with service shops. Dear old dad won't be around forever!!

[TrumpyAl]

Some people just like saving things. In my opinion, they should be applauded for it.

Besides, it's rewarding. The more infuriating the process, the sweeter the final reward!

[78F350]

Originally Posted by TrumpyAl

Some people just like saving things. In my opinion, they should be applauded for it.

Besides, it's rewarding. The more infuriating the process, the sweeter the final reward!

Exactly. Many of us consider this stuff to be rewarding recreation rather than labor. To many of us the monetary value or balance sheet of these cars means very little.