Jason's 99 Boxster doc thread

[Radman]

On 12/28 I picked up a 99 Boxster. Arena Red, 63k miles, spotless interior, manual, paint needs some work, nearly new tires, new top with glass rear window, cruise control, a wealth of weird noises when the road gets bumpy, and it seems to be an instant smile generator. I'll use this thread to document what I plan to do and have accomplished. Meaning, it will help me remember what I wanted to do and what I've done lol!

It was a local car so I called Porsche of Orlando and got a little bit of information on it. When it was in for service in May and August they recommended that the rear sway bar end links, rear brakes/rotors, and front tie rod ends be replaced and the service was declined. Some of the work may have been done elsewhere but the rear brakes and rotors are definitely due.

So, first order of business are the rear brakes, rear sway bar end links, may as well do the bushings at the same time, and the outer front tie rod ends. I'm very intrigued by the powerflex bushings. Haven't made up my mind quite yet.

While I'm doing those I can inspect everything else and go from there. I'll be getting what I hope is a nice paint touch up kit to start tackling all of the rock chips. When that's done, I may even consider attempting to put a PPF on it lol! I'll probably just ceramic coat it though. Oh yeah, water pump and spark plugs/coil packs will be after the suspension. I'd also like to get the LN spin on adapter before the next oil change.

Hopefully this ends up being a fun ride for a long time. My wife and I were joking the day after we got the car that it was our anniversary car since we were married in 99. On a whim, I went and checked the build month, same month. We're dedicated to this car now.

Also, it's amazing how quickly my kids said they wanted to learn to drive a stick once I brought it home lol! I'll teach them, but only once I'm confident that the car is squared away.

[rexcramer]

Cool beans, welcome to the tribe, safe travels.

[Zzorro]

Great looking Boxster! Crew here is helpful. And lots of great information on here.

Do a suspension overhaul and the smile factor increases dramatically.

[Deserion]

Welcome from your northeast neighbor.

[986 Boxster]

Congratulations, enjoy it. I like the color

[piper6909]

Congratulations! Beautiful car!

[Radman]

Thanks everyone. I've been busy reading through years of threads lol!

[BruceH]

Congratulations on the purchase! Boxsters are wonderful smile generators, enjoy and welcome

[986Chick]

Congrats! Love the color.

[Radman]

Originally Posted by 986Chick

Congrats! Love the color.

Thanks, I actually like yours more lol!

[dghii]

Your car looks great, congratulations!
Do your maintenance but don't forget to just drive it and get to know what you've got.
As for oil filter maintenance, if you don't go with the LN right away, get the OEM oil filter housing and filter so the filter bypass spring will be replaced. The entire housing and filter isn't much $...under $30 if IIRC.

Suspension and brake items you mentioned are easy and inexpensive to replace and will make a world of difference in the noises you're experiencing.
Enjoy!

[Radman]

Originally Posted by dghii

Your car looks great, congratulations!
Do your maintenance but don't forget to just drive it and get to know what you've got.
As for oil filter maintenance, if you don't go with the LN right away, get the OEM oil filter housing and filter so the filter bypass spring will be replaced. The entire housing and filter isn't much $...under $30 if IIRC.

Suspension and brake items you mentioned are easy and inexpensive to replace and will make a world of difference in the noises you're experiencing.
Enjoy!

Thanks! Due to medical concerns I’ve refrained from working on cars for years. Slowly getting better and looking forward to getting back to a hobby I love, doing my own maintenance 😊

[Radman]

Rear rotors and pads are on the way as are plugs, tubes, and orings. Those are the first projects. Then I’ll start tackling suspension components like the front tie rods and rear sway bar drop links. Basically, everything Porsche recommended to the PO and was declined lol!

Anything wrong with Tires Plus alignments? They have a lifetime alignment that may be worth it as long as they aren’t known for hosing cars.

[Radman]

First “mod” completed. Purchased a Scosche 12v port mounted mag mount for my phone. I really miss my Apple car play but this will suffice while I focus on more important matters.

[simplysql]

very nice!

[Radman]

Went ahead and ordered the rear control arms as multiple threads indicated the "rattle" I hear right by the top of the seatbelt is almost certainly the control arm. Should have most of what I ordered by next weekend. Still need to order the motor mount. Will probably order the Powerflex mount. I really like that it has a lifetime warranty and the reviews on the bushing have seemed to be very good, it's the insert that gets panned pretty regularly.

Will probably do the water pump in a month or two as well as the driver side window regulator. The window drops, but not as far as the passenger side and it needs to be helped a little before closing the door so it doesn't catch on the trim. I have zero history on the car other than what the PO declined to do over the last year or so.

It'll be fun to be wrenching again, as well as showing my son how to do it.

Definitely still in the honeymoon phase. This car is pure bliss. We'll see how I feel after getting under it and seeing what other deferred maintenance I've been left with lol!

[dghii]

On suspension items....
the drop links (front or rear) will make clunking noises that will make you think more expensive components are failing. The drop links are cheap. replace them first and see how things sound.
Next item in rear is track arms (trailing arms). Noise is most prominent at low speeds on bumpy roads. Track arms are about $150 each but are easily replaced in driveway (30 minutes/side) once car is on jacks.

Motor mount: If you're not tracking your car, consider OEM mount or insert. It works fine and once you see how easy this job is to do, you won't worry about having to do it again at some point way down the road.

Water Pump: Great time to do the WP is when you do the motor mount. Also consider doing thermostat at the same time as you have coolant drained . Two thermostats are available...OEM and low temp version. I'll stay out of recommending one over the other.

[dghii]

Not must do but the fuel filter is easy pickins' while you have the car up for WP and motor mount.

[Radman]

@dghii Thanks for the advice! I am torn on the motor mount. We'll see. Probably going to hold off doing it until I take care of everything I have coming in right now anyway.

Good call on the fuel filter. I ordered one and should have it in time for this weekend.

[Radman]

Fun day. Front outer tie rods came in, rear sway bar drop links, spark plugs, a set of pickle forks, new rear brakes(rotors, pads, clip thingies, and wear sensors), and two new Esco jacks to go with some old ones I have. I also got a hockey puck for the jack from my daughter's boyfriend before they left to go back to school.

Still waiting on the rear control arms, plug tubes, and the fuel filter. A solid, first month, start to taking care of some deferred maintenance.

Found out this evening that the mirror control trim panel was glued in place. I'll need to see it in better light(freaking old eyes suck) to see if it's a problem with the trim piece or what it snaps into.

I also got down my grandfather's old wooden creeper. He was a mechanic and driver for Mercedes based racing teams back in his day. It still works and has significant sentimental and cool factor value.