Questions about my 2000 S

[WhipE350]

I'm now a proud owner of a 2000 Porsche Boxster S manual. Any help on the following questions would be great....thank you!

- There is a raspy flute sound especially at low or steady throttle. Say 50mph in 5th gear at 2000 rpm...I hear the sound other times but that is when it is most obvious. With the top up it sounds like it is coming from the air intake or engine, with the top down sort of sounds like it comes from the right front but there are a lot of other wind sounds with top down so hard to say. It doesn't sound like a bad sound, just a singing sound.

- Not that I really care but is the blinker suppose to make a sound?

- Are bump stops required when putting in brand new Bilsteins, Bilstein says they are built in...though looking at their website I didn't see in the construction pictures.

- Are the rear shocks really as much of a pain to change as the DIY articles imply? The front are easy.

- Is it worth power bleeding the clutch...I did the brakes in less then an hour, so simple. I've heard that sometimes it is hard to get the clutch to come back up.

Anyway, thanks for any feedback! Hal.

[Gforrest2]

I'm a new owner too, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I've heard you don't want to lug these engines and maybe a 6 speed is different than my 5 speed, but I don't think you want to be in 5th gear at 2000 rpms.

I get that whistling sound too, seems to be coming from the passenger side front fender at around 30 -35 mph. Might be there at faster speeds but by then, the wind noise would drown it out. I've heard its the vent for the fuel filler cap. Do a search and there's a bunch of suggestings on how to make it go away.

Blinker not making any sound (or very quiet sound) bugs me too.

Other ? I don't know except I heard it's hard to get at the bleeder valve on the clutch.

[WhipE350]

Originally Posted by Gforrest2

I'm a new owner too, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I've heard you don't want to lug these engines and maybe a 6 speed is different than my 5 speed, but I don't think you want to be in 5th gear at 2000 rpms.

I get that whistling sound too, seems to be coming from the passenger side front fender at around 30 -35 mph. Might be there at faster speeds but by then, the wind noise would drown it out. I've heard its the vent for the fuel filler cap. Do a search and there's a bunch of suggestings on how to make it go away.

Blinker not making any sound (or very quiet sound) bugs me too.

Other ? I don't know except I heard it's hard to get at the bleeder valve on the clutch.

Thanks for the response!! Darn I think I thought of that the other day and totally forgot to mention it...it probably is from the fuel filler cap...that would explain why it was so loud from there with the top down. I'll do the search!
Actually I was replacing some dash lights tonight and well guess what, the blinker is making a sound...just very quiet.
Ya i don't give it enough gas to lug it, I only drive at that speed and rpm without working engine.
I'll post back what I find.

[SeanZ4]

Welcome, I also have a '00S. I did my clutch when I did my brakes about a year ago. It is an absolute nightmare to get to the bleeder valve on the slave cylinder, but I did it. I used a one-man clutch bleeder that makes life a lot easier. I did notice quite a difference in the clutch feel after I did it. I was trying to track down a squeaking problem at the time so I was there anyway.

My blinkers are quiet or make no noise too!

I've heard of the whistling noise from the passenger side. If you do a search you'll find others that have had the same issue.

I'm not sure on shocks as I'm still on the originals. My Box only has 39-40k mi. now.

I usually shift at around 4 grand or so once warmed up. You don't want to lug these cars around.

sean

[Dale_K]

I'm also a new owner of a 2000 S but mine's an automatic (not by preference). It's funny you mention the odd musical sound from the right front at moderate speeds because I thought it was just my car. My car spends a lot of time at lower rpms since automatic trans is handling the gears. I thought it was a tire resonance really don't know for sure. I was kind of worried when I drove it with the top down for the first time. I was wearing a wool hat and earmuffs but somehow the noise came through loudly and I thought something was wrong with the motor. Then the next time I drove it with the top down it was warmer and I sensed the noise was not mechanical.

[r9i8c7k]

"Is it worth power bleeding the clutch...I did the brakes in less then an hour, so simple. I've heard that sometimes it is hard to get the clutch to come back up."

It is worth it and it's not as hard, IMHO, to do as reported.

[SeanZ4]

Ok I'll revise my post a little on the clutch bleed. I was trying to stop a squeaking sound by removing the slave and greasing the end of the little plunger thing. I believe I got the idea from Steve Tinker, who had the same problem at the time on another forum. Anyway, I guess turning the little bleeder nipple wasn't so bad. I did leak fluid a bit here and there. You probably want to be careful not to get any on your cv joints or any other rubber parts. Back to that slave cylinder though... man! what a pain it was to get the one bolt that holds it in to line up. I guess I was just thinking of the project as a whole as being a pain. I did remove the driver side rear wheel but did not remove some cover thing that may have made it easier.

good luck
sean

[Mark_T]

The brakes and clutch share a common reservoir, so it kinda defeats the purpose of changing the fluid if you don't completely bleed the entire system. I have the Motive Black Label power bleeder - worth every penny and then some.

I didn't find the clutch slave difficult to get at with the car up on jack stands, but I was just bleeding it, not changing it. Put some clear vinyl tubing on it before you crack it open so you don't make a mess.

[WhipE350]

Ok I never expected this much help! Beats the MB forums.

- Ok so I have the Motive bleeder that is what I used (it is awesome), I switched from Green to Super Blue since I'm color blind and would have never been able to tell the new stuff was coming through. Now I'll go ahead and do the clutch, but do I have to completely start over now or just hook it back up, keep the clutch depressed, then bleed only the clutch? I assume the old clutch fluid has not mixed that much with the new stuff, these systems are pretty static right?

- As for the sound, I'll try the new cap trick, taping any holes tricks, and if that all fails I'll see if that west coast porsche dismantler can send me a used "Valve Housing" (99620123101)...don't really want to pay $400.00 for a small plastic part new, or maybe I'll just take it appart and see what's wrong with it. I would love to be gone with the annoying flute!

- I'll drive harder too! Sure don't want an RMS issue

[Mark_T]

Good question. I think that if you only did the brakes a day or two ago and you have enough left over brake fluid then I would just do the clutch, but if it's been a couple of weeks and you've done a lot of driving then I would probably do it over.

If you're going to have to buy another tin of fluid, you can't store it for long once the tin has been opened, so you might as well re-bleed the lot.

Was that vague enough?

[WhipE350]

Nope that was pretty clear . The Boxster uses so little of the whole tin that it went straight from the Motive back to the can and into my cool dry basement (yes a dry basement lol). Don't think I've driven enough and I think the left over Super Blue is fine, I'll just do the clutch now if it doesn't friggin snow! What happened to Charlotte 70 degree Decembers!

[j.fro]

Just to add to the "noise" confusion, the seam at the front of the hood can cause a whistling noise at highway speeds if it is not adjusted properly. The test is to tape the seam closed and go for a drive...if the noise is gone, you've found your problem. The solution is to adjust the rubber bumpers at the hood's corners so that the hood sits just a hair below the lip of the front bumper cover.

[JTP]

Originally Posted by SeanZ4

My blinkers are quiet or make no noise too!

That's very odd, mine sounds normal. Not as loud as American cars but not any quieter than my VW.