Quote:
Originally Posted by black_falcon
99 is a great year. Probably the most reliable 986 you can get.
Sure the 2.7 is faster and smoother, but the IMS becomes a genuine worry. The 2.5 is simply put, one of the best sounding motors I've ever heard short of a carb'd Ferrari. The 2.7 still sounds nice but is muted by about 50%. Factor in the shorter gearing makes the original boxster my personal favorite of the series.
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99 is better in some ways, like the fact that it has a dual row bearing, (and some 2000's and 2001's -- but nearly impossible to determine unless the owner had the bearing replaced at least once). But
some 2.5 engines had special issues of its own that needed to be addressed under warranty (porosity requiring sleeving). If you buy a 2000-2004 Boxster and its IMS has not been upgraded, then that should be the first thing you do before you even put the key in, replace the water pump too if its still the original one. The IMS just a known weak spot with a simple fix that doesn't require taking the engine out or taking it apart, just dropping the transmission, extracting the old IMS and putting in a new one. One day at the shop and you don't need to worry (if it passes the clean oil inspection first). The waterpump should just be treated like airline part, it comes out every five years or so just to be safe. if the blades break from being old and get into the engine, you're going to have some unnecessary work to do. And it's just a very critical component to keep the engine living.