And i thought it was normal ! - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

lee1710 · 05-18-2015, 09:56 AM

so i bought my boxster 3.2 just over 3 weeks now, bought private ,and thought okay its a sports car, 18in wheels , low profile tyres. i'll get use to the knocks and bangs when i go over bumps and potholes, on a smooth road its great.

so i take it to the garage where i take my other car to, and he took it down the road, and came back afew minutes later, and said you've got issues. it should not sound like that its all over the place and the banging coming from the back end. I said i thought that was normal.

we better get it up on the ramp to investigate, then 15 minutes later, he produced some of the front nearside spring, and said theres the front end problem, suspension spring broken. then said we will have to investigate the backend now. you will have to leave it with us. once we find out what it is i'll be ringing you.

they've had the car now for 3 full days and still no phone call.

I wonder what could be wrong. i am dreading what the bill could end up at. i've only driven the car 5 times having only just bought it.

Timco · 05-18-2015, 10:14 AM

You should buy some books and do some reading. Study the pictures and parts. Get familiar. Don't fall for the "bad Johnson rod" bit by being informed.

Buy a good floor jack. Learn to remove the tires (tyres I guess) and get in there and look around.

Pdwight · 05-18-2015, 10:18 AM

Truth. ...listen to Tim

Run · 05-18-2015, 10:37 AM

First thing I did when I bought mine was get it up on a buddies lift for a inspection by me. I did spend 6 months doing my research before purchase. Just picked up a cayman and its going on the lift in a few days. Get to know these cars or you might end up with a bill that breaks the bank.

CoBeerToad · 05-18-2015, 10:37 AM

My car goes through Johnson rods like crazy. They say it's because I leave the summer air in the tires throughout the winter, but I have my doubts.

Timco · 05-18-2015, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoBeerToad

My car goes through Johnson rods like crazy. They say it's because I leave the summer air in the tires throughout the winter, but I have my doubts.

Maybe it's time for another thread on the great benefits of running nitrogen!

Dlirium · 05-18-2015, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoBeerToad

My car goes through Johnson rods like crazy. They say it's because I leave the summer air in the tires throughout the winter, but I have my doubts.

It's ok to use the same air, but you do need to rotate it...

Bruce Wayne · 05-18-2015, 11:49 AM

Had a broken spring on one of my 928's.. simple enough to repair.. IF you can get your hands between the engine block and the engine bay sidewall. !!

A couple of months ago, due to a leaky steering rack i decided to pull the complete front suspenasion strip it down and rebuild it. The springs are no great issue to do.. just use a good quality spring compressor..

If your garage removes the front shocks, it *will* need to have alignment as this is where the camber for the front wheels are set.

As Timco says.. get yourself a good quality low profile floor jack, axle stands socket and spanners.. and download a copy of the workshop manual and porsche parts catalogue.

Not only will you save a bunch, you'll be more aware of your boxster, what needs maintenance and what doesnt. and work done will be to the standards you desire, not to a price to get it back out the door for the customer.

amagalla · 05-18-2015, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoBeerToad

My car goes through Johnson rods like crazy. They say it's because I leave the summer air in the tires throughout the winter, but I have my doubts.

That normally causes my muffler bearings to go. Hmmm.

landrovered · 05-18-2015, 01:19 PM

My understanding is that metric screwdrivers are also needed to work on Porsches since they are European. SAE screwdrivers are the wrong size and will strip the heads.

Jamesp · 05-18-2015, 02:12 PM

All this talk about Johnson rods and muffler bearings and nobody even mentions the recurring tail light fluid problem...

dbear61 · 05-18-2015, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamesp

All this talk about Johnson rods and muffler bearings and nobody even mentions the recurring tail light fluid problem...

I would say, "Don't get me started," but it's too late. What about the IMS, RMS, PMS, PBS, TBS, CBS, ABC, NBC, PVC, and OMG bearings? Huh? HUH?!?!?!? It's enough to make us all say, "WTF?!?!?" Toss in the AOS and MAF problems, and we get buried in TLAs.

DBear

P.S. In case you aren't in an acronym-heavy industry, TLA = Three Letter Acronyms.

kk2002s · 05-19-2015, 04:07 AM

I only fill my tires with the breath of Unicorns
I change my Johnson Rods with each oil change - Every 15k miles as Porsche recommends.

First thing to look for is cracked/damaged rubber boots on the various suspension ends.

Timco · 05-19-2015, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kk2002s

I only fill my tires with the breath of Unicorns
I change my Johnson Rods with each oil change - Every 15k miles as Porsche recommends.

First thing to look for is cracked/damaged rubber boots on the various suspension ends.

You mean exhaust, right?

Perfectlap · 05-19-2015, 06:46 AM

aren't there independent Porsche specialists in your neck of the woods? Check Rennlist to see if there are Porsche owners in your area that recommend certain Porsche only shops. Those shops live and die on reputation, and in the internet era a foul taste spreads quickly.

thstone · 05-19-2015, 10:44 AM

A broken spring should have been found during the PPI.

I'd go back to the shop that did the pre-purchase inspection and have a discussion about who is going to pay for the problems that they failed to find.

Wait, you did get a PPI, right?

Bruce Wayne · 05-19-2015, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by landrovered

My understanding is that metric screwdrivers are also needed to work on Porsches since they are European. SAE screwdrivers are the wrong size and will strip the heads.

Well sort of... being of EU manufacture you will need a set of left handed metric ones.. oh and a set of reverse thread torx drivers as well.

lee1710 · 05-29-2015, 10:41 PM

hi folks just an update on my original post. thanks to all that commented.

it turned out to be front end 1 broken spring.

backend control arms.

total cost GBP 900

expensive lesson learned only had the car 4 weeks

next time i will get and pay for a motoring organisation to check it over for me.

Retroman1969 · 05-30-2015, 01:43 AM

That's a fairly average repair bill for one of these, so you got out okay. Sometimes they need a laundry list of maintenance and repairs if the previous owner didn't keep up with it. Control arms are a normal wear item so it's no surprise that they were due. Glad you got it taken care of.

Also a good idea to find a reputable Porsche specialist shop if you haven't yet. They know these cars like no one else, and the kind of care they need.