Hello people, Im a noob, I just bought a 98 Porsche Boxster but have problems : (

[dti]

No I live down here in L.A.
I went to another radiator shop and they said they couldnt test it because you need "special plugs" for the bottom. The prior radiator shop that did a test on this oil cooler did not do it under alot of pressure. Isnt this thing working at least 60lbs because of the oil pressure?
They showed me what test they did and it was just the covering holes with thumbs and blowing air through the top then submerging it under a tank. Is this right?

I went to a machine shop and they said they can test it under about 80 lbs but it's 45 bucks and they can tell me a for sure if it's leaking or not.

It's just that alot is riding on this thing being good or bad so I want to be 100% sure.
can someone please let me know if it's supposed to be tested under high pressure? thanks!

[dti]

but that machine shop is charging me 45 dollars I think they are only trying to get money out of me, what do you guys think?

[Steve Tinker]

dti,
You don't have much history of the car (Why did your Aunt take it off the road? Was it broken? Just lack of use? Did the inter-mix of fluids happen over the years of sitting). As you said, your plugs look good, so maybe the engine is just suffering from the standing idle and 120,000 miles on the clock.

If your serious about getting the engine up and running relatively cheaply (ie, not removing the engine and heads), have you considered spending a few hundred dollars on a new cooler, replace the oil and filter and flush out the cooling system? Sunset or Pelican Parts will sell you a cooler for a couple of hundred $$ and the oil / filter / distilled water another $100 or so.
Then run the car gently for a few miles and see if there is any inter-mixing of fluids - if there is, then you know where you stand, with a big decision as to buy another engine or rebuild what you have got. If no inter-mixing, thats a big win and you can reassess what you want to do to get the car up to scratch.

After all, unlike most of us here, you havn't invested thousands of $$$ in the car so what have you got to lose??....

[dti]

Haha you got a really good point. I guess I will try it, saw a type S cooler on ebay for not that much. I guess it doesnt hurt to try, that's what the machine shop guys told me. Thanks for the advice. And you are definitely right I don't have anything to loose if this engine goes in the crap hole. Only thing I can do is get a new one

[Lil bastard]

Sorry, but I think you're on a long painful nickel/dime road to discover the obvious.

It's not the heat exchanger - it's top end related - cracked head, D-chunk or gasket.

Forget the 3.2 swap. You need the DME, Wiring Harness, Accelerator assembly, fuel system (tank, return lines, etc.). These bits will total more than the car is worth.

Essentially what you have is a non-ticking timebomb with a chocolate milkshake in the sump.

You have a relatively high mileage 2.5 car which has, or is soon to have, issues with the top (rear window, motor cables, etc.), motor mounts, CV boots, not to mention interior, electrical, or bodywork issues.

Assuming you do sort it out, at the end, you're gonna pour more into it than it's worth and still end up with a car no one will want.

Sell it now to a prospective spec racer for whatever you can get and apply that to a car better sorted.

I don't want to be Mr. Negative...I'd like to paint a rosier picture, but based on your reports, I just can't.

Cheers!

[dti]

is the engine the same from a 2005 Porsche Boxster? I found a great priced engine with 30,000 miles but off a 2005

[Paul]

Not even close, would need about the same list as a 3.anything.

[Paul]

Could you post several pictures of the car?