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Old 09-21-2006, 11:12 AM   #17
MNBoxster
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Posts: 3,308
Quote:
Originally Posted by z12358
Jim, I really appreciate the education you provided in this thread. From what I read, there are a lot of bits and pieces that fit together to make the engine. The items in the break-in procedure do not list separately the seals and parts they help protect specifically. So maybe, just maybe, the RM Seal may be one of the parts that ALSO benefits from the break-in recommendations, just like every other seal and part of the engine.

We all agree that one should follow the break-in procedure. That procedure (for the 987) suggests avoiding short drives. Doesn't really say what part or seal specifficaly benefits from that, it just suggests it's better for the engine. Now if the engine benefits, then logic suggests that SOME or even maybe ALL parts may benefit in some way from it. There are some people here religiously convinced that the RM Seal does in no way benefit from it. And as I said before, that's fine with me, I'm just not one of those people.

I apologize for tiring denverpete and for saddening brucelee, but still think many members would find the entirety of this thread useful in the end. I, for one, did.

Z.
Hi,

You gotta let it go... woulda, coulda, shoulda. No maybe, just maybe about it, this is what Deverpete is referring to.

I'm not making this stuff up, this is how a shaft seal works, period. Not because I say so, but because it simply is. If you learn nothing else from this thread, take this away with you.

The only, and I mean the ONLY possible benefit to the shaft seal is that frequent short trips will increase the number of starts that the Seal must endure (a car on a 1,000 mi. trip is started 3 times given the Range of the Boxster. But, a car on five 200 mile trips is started 5 times), but this number of starts involved in the first 1,000-2,000 miles pales in comparison to the total number of starts in the car's lifespan and so the effect is at best negligible, so much so, that it cannot possibly contribute to the Seal failing. And, we don't typically see these Seals failing in 1k-2k mi., they seem to fail randomly anywhere between 500 mi. and 20k mi.

As I mentioned, a Cranshaft Seal is, by it's very nature, a sacrificial part. That is, it wears out over time. Every single revolution of the Crankshaft against the Seal contributes to this wear, albeit in a minute way. But, we're talking about a Seal which fails in Old-age simply because it's worn out, but only after literally tens of millions of Crankshaft revolutions, not a Seal which fails prematurely. This is the result of a fault in production of the Block, nothing more. And, there's nothing a Driver can do to overcome this fault or prevent it if their car is one of, what I think we can safely, or reasonably, say affects at least 1 out of every 5 Boxsters produced...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99
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