Sanity check - Page 2 - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

rteichman · 01-12-2006, 07:45 AM

Thanks to everyone. I am now sitting on pins and needles waiting for the Porsche service guy to call me and give me the results of the PPI. Wish me luck, I soooo want to pick the car up this Saturday when I get back home!!!

By the way, here is the dealer's link with pictures of the car
http://e-imports-4-less.ebizautos.com/shared/viewer.aspx?iid=844347&src=eBizAutos

ohioboxster · 01-12-2006, 12:18 PM

Thats a nice car!

rteichman · 01-12-2006, 01:22 PM

Well now I am MAJOR bummed

I got the call from the Porsche dealer. $2,300 or repairs needed!!!! Booo Hoooo The deal is off. Work needed:
1) Spark plug tubes leaking $350
2) 30k tuneup (assumed since tubes are full of oil) $825
3) Cam cover leak $75
4) Brake fluid needs to be flushed $100
5) Air filter holder latch brocken $100
6) Front Brakes at 5/32 $700
7) A/C & Fuel line covers broken, left & right front deflector $135
8) Wipers
9) Visor mirror cover broken $14

I want to cry. I liked the car soooooo much, and the dealer is not willing to put the money into it.

01-12-2006, 02:51 PM

rteichman:

Offer the dealer one of three options:

1) Pay $20k for the car minus the $2,300 for repairs ($17.7k)

if he says "NO" then offer

2) Pay $20K for the car, offer to pay "cost" for the parts, and have the dealer throw in labor.

If still "NO" offer

3) Pay $20K for the car, offer to pay "cost" for the parts, and pay "actual" labor time for the work

Sorry for your dissapointment. Hope it all works out.

Brucelee · 01-12-2006, 03:13 PM

Walk away very quickly from the car and consider the PPi fee the best money you ever spent!

Perfectlap · 01-12-2006, 03:28 PM

Never get attached to a Boxster. There are so many to choose from! in every color and year!

well unless its a Silver and red 3.2 with only 10K miles, Bose, sold with a 6 month powertrain warranty and free interest for 6 months! Then love at first sight is ok.

deliriousga · 01-12-2006, 05:01 PM

Definitely walk away, but for future reference if you're interested in Boxster DIY at all:

1) Spark plug tubes leaking $350 $25 DIY
2) 30k tuneup (assumed since tubes are full of oil) $825 $150 DIY
3) Cam cover leak $75 Don't know
4) Brake fluid needs to be flushed $100 $12 DIY
5) Air filter holder latch brocken $100 Don't know
6) Front Brakes at 5/32 $700 $250 DIY w/ Rotors
7) A/C & Fuel line covers broken, left & right front deflector $135 Same DIY
8) Wipers $30 Bosch DIY
9) Visor mirror cover broken $14 Same DIY

ohioboxster · 01-12-2006, 05:50 PM

Spark plug tubes leaking? WTF does that mean?

deliriousga · 01-12-2006, 05:53 PM

Spark plug O-rings. There are two size O-rings that go in the tube. I'll try to remember to post some pics of them when I replace ours in a few weeks. It seems to be a common thing after several miles (we're at 72K miles and a little oil shows around the tubes).

MNBoxster · 01-12-2006, 10:23 PM

Hi,

To expand a little on John's (deliriousga) post about the Sparkplug Wells, traditionally, most engines had a single row of Valves, covered by the Valve Cover and the tapped hole for the Sparkplugs was offset. But with many Dual Overhead Cam Engines, a Camshaft runs on either side of the Sparkplug Hole. Rather than produce two separate Valve Covers, several manufacturers incorporate the use of a single Valve Cover covering the entire Head, now referred to as the Head Cover.

This being the case, some provision must be made to allow the Sparkplugs to screw into the Head. Simply punching holes in the Valve (Head) Cover wouldn't contain the Oil runnning through the Head. So, a Tube (or Well in Porsche Parlance) is inserted into the Head Cover, and the Plugs are installed through these. These Tubes (or Wells), usually made from Hi-Temp Nylon or sometimes Delrin, have an 'O' ring on either end to Seal them from the Oil in the Head. Over time, these 'O' rings fail and so must be replaced.

The procedure is quite simple: Remove the Coil and Electrical Harness connection, pull the Sparkplugs, using an Expandable Pliers (or in the case of a truly stuck Tube, an Internal Puller) you remove the Tubes (or Wells). Remove the old 'O' Rings, clean-up the Tubes and install new 'O' rings. Add a light coating of Oil to lube the 'O' Rings and then reinsert the Tube by hand until it seats on the Head. Reinstall Plugs (torque to spec), then replace the Coil and Electrical Connector.

The 'O' Rings are cheap and I would recommend changing them with a Plug Change (you're 90% there anyway). This way, they're not likely to fail which can result in Oil Leaks and/or misfires due to the Oil shorting out the Plug or worse. Frying the $$$$ ECU (DME in Porsche Parlance). You could simply inspect the old Plugs for signs of Oil as an indication, but even if they are OK when you change the Plugs, they could easily fail within the Service Life of the new Plugs and, as Luck usually has it, leave you stranded on the Roadside, late at night and in the Rain.

I haven't done this repair to my Boxster yet, but the 3.2L V6 DOC Engine on my Honda Passport uses the exact same arrangement and I have changed these 'O' rings a couple times - as I said, Cheap, Easy. I first became aware of them when one cylinder leaked OIL badly, shorting out the Plug resulting in VERY poor running. The Dealer wanted $350 to change them, so I did it myself for $12 in Parts and about 2 Hrs. of my time. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

rteichman · 01-13-2006, 07:37 AM

Well this on-again off-again deal is on again. I spoke to the previous owner again who is a member of this forum, and he told me he had the 30K work done (albeit a bit late). Based on that I am confident that the spark plug tubes is not a "red flag". The dealer has agreed to have Porsche replace the tubes, fix the cam cover leak, and fix the broken air filter holder. The original owner told me that he never had brake work done, so the 5/32 is pretty good wear. Based on the amount I drive I won't need new brakes for at least a year, and considering the tires are brand new, I figure its a fair tradeoff for a car with 43k miles.

The other items are fairly minor and I am willing to handle myself if need be. Add to that the knowledge of this being an OK car, made me decide to go for it. The previous owner told me he had no problems with it throughoout the entire time he owned the car. He has no vested interest in it since I am buying the car from the dealer he traded it into. Thus I have a good feeling about the car.