Greetings esteemed Boxster Lovers...
I've got a 2000 Boxster 2.7 w Tiptronic - my BABY... purchased used in summer 2010 after a 10 year love affair with my first porsche resto project - a 1968 Porsche 912 4-speed manual that I raced in SCCA and PCA here in Chicagoland...
After I took my 2000 Boxster out of storage last month, I noticed the alternator struggling to keep the lights on at night, and suspected the serpentine/drive belt needed to be replaced.
This forum & some great Youtube videos (thanks Graham White!) convinced me this was not only do-able... it was EASY. a 10 mm socket wrench and a 24 mm socket on a breaker bar, and I was ready to rock & roll...
Everything went smoothly at first:
- the seats stayed in (NO need to take out passenger seat as many do)...
- the soft top unsnapped and slid forward in under 2 minutes...
- the oddments tray came off with 2 twists of a wrist...
- the top cover (actually unnecessary) came with 6 twists of a wrist...
- the 4 carpet hold-downs came off by hand (2 with just a little coaxing)...
- the 8 10 mm access panel bolts came off with a full wrenchturn + wrist...
Then I gently pryed open the access panel (watch those edges are SHARP)...
... and saw a complete serpentine belt !
:-O
A closer inspection revealed 2 things:
1. The serpentine belt WAS indeed complete, but 2 of the 6 (or so) "grooves" had actually SHREDDED COMPLETELY OFF, and were snarled all around the engine bay in what looked like black spaghetti; and
2. The entire alternator and its wheel were NOT ALIGNED with the rest of the 6 or so drive wheels !!!
Still closer inspection revealed that the lower alternator mounting flange - basically a bolt hole on what looks like a cast aluminum plate which bolted onto the front of the engine, provided a mounting point for the alternator AND some sort of fluid entry nipple for some flud circuit in the engine - was completely BROKEN OFF...
THERE'S STUFF I DON'T KNOW:
1. WHAT do I CALL this part?
2. WHAT is the fluid system behind this plate (coolant or oil or trans)?
3. CAN I simply replace this single plate (approx 2" x 6" with 6 approx 8mm bolts running through it, a 3/4" OD nipple on the left hand side as you look from the front, and just above that the mounting hole for the alternator mount bolt) ?
4. WHERE do I go for a decent used part (I've always only gone to German Auto Dismantlers, but now I hear they've been sold, and I don't know what the new owners are like)?
5. DO I have to drain whatever fluid is INSIDE this plate?
6. WHAT is a FAIR price for a used whatever-this-is part?
Thanks to all for a prompt reply.
Cheers,
-Mark