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Old 09-27-2016, 05:11 PM   #1
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Join Date: May 2010
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Never a Dull Moment

Like airplane crashes, problems with my ‘99 Boxster happen in threes.
1) You all might remember that I had an alternator failure last month. Using my ‘101 Projects for Your Boxster,’ my 986 Bentley Manual, and YouTube videos I was able to remove the old alternator, but installing the new alternator was too difficult for me. After a few hours of cussing like a sailor, I ended up having my local mechanic install it for me.
2) Two weeks ago while driving the interstate highway home from work I had a blowout on one of my rear tires. No problem. I quickly replaced it with the space-saver spare and was on my way again when the spare fell-apart. I plan on seeing Woody tomorrow afternoon to get a replacement for the space-saver spare.
3) This morning on the way to work I got a whiff of burning oil. I arrived at work before the sun rose so I could not see the source. That afternoon before I hit the road home, I checked and could see I had a class-3 oil leak on the driver’s side just ahead of the leading edge of the rear tire. When I got home I jacked up the car and removed the rear tire. It looks like the oil is coming from the center sparkplug. About two years ago I changed two sparkplug tubes on the passenger side when I had an oil leak on that side, but it wasn’t the tubes. It was a bad oil sending unit. Now if I can only remember where I put that boat plug. I have four new sparkplug tubes and tomorrow I will get some jack stands and replace the tube.

All these problems would be troubling if not for the fact that I have over 287,000 miles on the car.
So I am not complaining, I just wanted to share:-)
MNC-I

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Old 09-27-2016, 06:06 PM   #2
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I feel for you.

My Boxster has been very reliable...to the point that, even though I consider my self to be just slightly above a hack, I have not had to enlist the services of a professional mechanic in my 8+ years of ownership.
That being said, I have a 2, 2002 4Runners (167K miles 252K miles) a 350Z Roadster (125K miles), an Alfa Spider ('nuff said) and three boys in college driving cars with mileage between 120-180K.

There is ALWAYS something automotive that could use attention. Overall, the cars have all been great but when one needs something, it does seem to snowball!

Just have to back off and take a breath. Address what needs to be addressed and don't wonder too much about the timing.
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Old 09-27-2016, 07:18 PM   #3
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I feel for you.
g.
In the same situation as Dghii

With three different family cars waiting on the repair/maintenance cue, this morning my oldest son called saying that his car just died as soon as he got off the freeway, 2 blocks from school, and now I am waiting for the tow truck to bring his car home for me to take a look, and after hearing the symptoms, I am fearing a bad fuel pump (Volvo S60)...

uh, tomorrow perhaps..???
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Old 09-29-2016, 03:41 PM   #4
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Holy !!!!!
That's a lot of miles sir!

Have you had the engine out ever? How about the transmission?
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2002 Boxster S - NHP 200 Cell Headers,test pipes,Borla CatBack,Competition Plenum,74 mm TB, EVOMS Tune,Tarett UDP,Eibach Swaybars,BIlstein PSS9s,TuneRS rear toe links,wheel studs,15 mm wheel spacers on all 4,EBC yellow stuff pads,Sebro rotors, EBS oil baffles,160 deg Thermostat,2 quart Accusump,full filtration remote oil filter,rad fan switch,custom gauge/switch plate, Race Capture data logging, 90K miles
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Old 09-29-2016, 07:18 PM   #5
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Thanks again, Woody!
This may not be the right place to post this, but I feel compelled to once again shout the praises of Woody.
Yesterday afternoon I stopped by Woody’s place and picked up a super clean & practically new space-saver spare (it looks as if it has never been used) for $50.00. Woody even threw in a pristine cover for the spare and a new oil filter.
I first met Woody in 2013, when he sold me a pair of sport-seats. Over the years I have purchased other replacement parts from Woody, and each time Woody has been professional and quite fair.
The buying experience with Woody is second to none, but I think I value more just being able to talk to someone in person about my 986 who understands the car and how a Boxster enthusiast feels about Boxsters. Central Texas was cooler than normal Wednesday somewhere in the 80s, but it felt like it was well over 100 degrees. Yet Woody stood out there in the sun and spoke to me about his Boxster, the 2.7 liter engine he just took out, oil, selling parts (to Porsche owners vs owners of other makes), 997 & 991 owners coming to him for spare tires, driving a parade lap at COTA, his IMS bearing replacement and butterflies in Bastrop (while driving to Woody’s shop I ran into thousands of butterflies, it was like the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds and instead of attacking me the butterflies attacked my front bumper cover and my windshield), but I digress.
I just finished replacing the sparkplug tube that was leaking oil. The old tube was missing lip and the rubber gasket on the narrow end of the tube. I put a few miles on it to burn off all the oil on the headers, but I will know if the new sparkplug tube worked when I drive to work tomorrow. Oh by the way, Harbor Freight has a sale on 3-ton jack stands. A set of two are going for $25.00.
I cannot wait for something else to go wrong with my Boxster, it will give me an excuse to go see Woody.
MNC-I
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Old 09-29-2016, 08:03 PM   #6
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Problems solved. Very good!

After getting through 'the moment' when things seem to be piling up, its nice to be able to step back and realize that things weren't as bad as they seemed and all is back as it should be,

Your Boxster, like my 4Runner has over a quarter of a million miles. They owe us nothing.

I replaced a driveshaft in the 4Runner this afternoon after new U-joints failed to fix a driveline vibration that starts at about 50 mph and made the car miserable to drive at highway speeds. I've never had to replace a driveshaft.....shouldn't have to!

The shaft is actually one pressed into another, with a rubber spacer. I guess after 252k miles, enough was enough! With a new driveshaft $425 (ouch!) and 1 hour under the car in my driveway the problem is solved.

This is the only repair bill I've had in the last year. Did I mention that the car has 252K miles??

On to the next one.....What's that oil spill under my Alfa? Never mind, its an Alfa, its pissing fluids to show its still alive.
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Old 09-30-2016, 04:38 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mnc-i View Post
Thanks again, Woody!
This may not be the right place to post this, but I feel compelled to once again shout the praises of Woody.
Yesterday afternoon I stopped by Woody’s place and picked up a super clean & practically new space-saver spare (it looks as if it has never been used) for $50.00. Woody even threw in a pristine cover for the spare and a new oil filter.
I first met Woody in 2013, when he sold me a pair of sport-seats. Over the years I have purchased other replacement parts from Woody, and each time Woody has been professional and quite fair.
The buying experience with Woody is second to none, but I think I value more just being able to talk to someone in person about my 986 who understands the car and how a Boxster enthusiast feels about Boxsters. Central Texas was cooler than normal Wednesday somewhere in the 80s, but it felt like it was well over 100 degrees. Yet Woody stood out there in the sun and spoke to me about his Boxster, the 2.7 liter engine he just took out, oil, selling parts (to Porsche owners vs owners of other makes), 997 & 991 owners coming to him for spare tires, driving a parade lap at COTA, his IMS bearing replacement and butterflies in Bastrop (while driving to Woody’s shop I ran into thousands of butterflies, it was like the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds and instead of attacking me the butterflies attacked my front bumper cover and my windshield), but I digress.
I just finished replacing the sparkplug tube that was leaking oil. The old tube was missing lip and the rubber gasket on the narrow end of the tube. I put a few miles on it to burn off all the oil on the headers, but I will know if the new sparkplug tube worked when I drive to work tomorrow. Oh by the way, Harbor Freight has a sale on 3-ton jack stands. A set of two are going for $25.00.
I cannot wait for something else to go wrong with my Boxster, it will give me an excuse to go see Woody.
MNC-I
Thanks again! I'm still drooling over your 996. I wish the 986 came with those colors

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