Grinding? on left turns under acceleration
 

2000 Box S. 92000 miles.

I have a boat load of small issues on my car. but ill handle them one by one.

When making left turns, unless I keep the acceleration under 2krpms, I get a pretty nasty grinding sound. May not be a grinding per se but I cant come up with a better term. Has been that way for 30k miles. (I'm lazy and just drive it slow and boring instead)

Probably unrelated, The boot is ripped on the pass side axle shaft. Has been since I bought it. (68k miles) Are they a pain to put a new boot on? specialty tools?


This is only two of MANY. lol. This has been the most reliable car I've ever owned. zero shop visits in 35k miles. But there is a bunch of small nagging issues. Any help is appreciated

I had this happen at around 60k miles, except it was when I did right hand turns. Turned out it was a worn engine mount. Once changed out for a new one, the grinding went away for good.

Well get ready, you are not going to like what I'm sure you're going to hear. One of the quickest things to walk away from is a Porsche that the seller claims "Most reliable car I ever owned" haven't done a thing to it in X years. Usually results in a "Boatload of issues".
These cars require maintenance, not doing or deferring can get expensive very quick. The grinding you're hearing is very likely the result of driving with a torn boot for 68k miles. I'm sure there is no grease in there and plenty of sand and dirt. Unfortunately if this is the case a new boot is not going to repair anything. What could have been a cheap repair ie new boots, will now require an expensive new axle or two. Hope for the best.....

Not cheap
 

Its going to be quite a bit to fix that and the "boatload of issues". Porsches are not cheap to begin with and if you do get rid of it trade it in to a dealer instead of some poor person who is buying headaches.

Hi John, I have a 2000 S that had a 'shipload' of issues when I bought it, but I'm getting it down to the size of a cabin cruiser now and perhaps a canoe by Spring. The take-away from all the other posts is preventative maintenance is a lot cheaper than repairs in the long run. Sounds like you are trying to catch up on it now, so... Good for you. ;)
If it were me, I'd just peg the throttle and do right 270s when I needed to turn left. If that's not your style, DO replace the engine mount. I have replaced the engine mount on 5 of the 7 986s I bought. One of the five didn't really need it, but I was already there with the engine hanging when I figured it out - that one just needed transmission mounts. I expect that the engine mount is only one contributing factor, but it's a good 'get your feet wet' sort of project.

Michigan eh? I see that you are under the thumb, I lived under the little finger for a while and worked on the lakes. Unless you are only driving on sunny summer days, I bet that your CV joint has plenty of contamination, probably including some road salt. You may want to just replace the axle instead of the boot. The most significant note on replacing the axle on a Boxster is the the nut at the hub is very high torque. Someone else can give you the specs, but every couple months someone posts about getting that nut off or on. :eek:
Here's my helpful recommendation: Get Wayne's 101 Projects book or read through these articles:
Porsche Boxster 986/987 (1997-2004) Technical Articles | Pelican Parts
Porsche Boxster CV Joints and Boot / Axle Replacement - 986 / 987 (1997-08) - Pelican Parts Technical Article
Then post questions here if you get stuck or scared. :cheers:

Replace the Axle
 

Get a drop in replacement, it is something you can do in a weekend

Thanks for all the replies, ordering engine mount now to hopefully stop the grinding. Though the car has a ton of issues, I believe most are small and besides inner engine work can all be performed by me. Having managed Napa, o'riellys and now in sales at LKQ, parts come at lets say ..a discount rate. My problem mostly is diagnostic. Most are electric it seems. Many things went out at once. I give the axle a replace next week as well. Thank you . I will update.

Fix what you can
 

Then bring it to a reputable shop. Or bring it over and show em what it needs. If they are reasonable, then have them do it for the tougher jobs. Its time vs money vs letting things go for a while. Unfortunately we all pay the Piper eventually!

I have a pair of low mile axles (33K) from a 2001 986 S. Send me a pm for details if you want to go the replacement route.