Funtoy

[BIGJake111]

What a good looking car! I'm a sucker for 03 and 04 cars in silver, I think they look very sporty and classy.

[Anker]

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

What a good looking car! I'm a sucker for 03 and 04 cars in silver, I think they look very sporty and classy.

Thank you. We feel blessed to have found it and now to own it!

[grc0456]

You beat me, I took mine out for a nice drive today before the rain started - but no top down! And I live in MA too. Nice car and nice family.


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[Anker]

So today I tackled the front brakes. I got Bosch pads, wear sendors and vibration dampers from Pelican and also read the various brake pad replacement threads thoroughly.

Everything went smoothly except for one issue. On the outer side of the right front caliper the old vibration dampers were thoroughly stuck in the caliper pistons. After prying on them for a while the backing plate broke away and left the dampers still in the pistons. I installed the new pads anyway and am a bit concerned that I will get squeals since there's nothing to pull and hold the pads away from the disk.

The same happened with the bigger damper thingy on the inside of the left caliper. Here I unscrewed the thingy from the new damper set and installed the damper with the pads. I did remember to remove the backing from all newly installed dampers.

So my questions whether I should buy some anti-squeal glue and bond the pads to the pistons? Any other suggestions?

I am going to rebuild or replace the calipers next time I do front brakes. By that time the disks will be down to the minimum thickness.

Thanks/Anker

[Anker]

A couple of things I learned:

You need a really low and long reach shop jack to put the front end on jack stands. The 3.5" clearance jack I just bought doesn't have enough reach to allow me to put the jack under the reinforced pad on the chassis and leave enough room to put the jack stands under the jack points. I was able to, but just barely, fit the jack stands under the reinforced members when I put the shop jack under the jack points. The 19.75" lift height is also at the low end for working under the car on jack stands. To get under the car from the side panels the height of the jack can't be more than 6" at its highest point.

[Anker]

Hmmmmm. I would swear I already posted this. After posting it saw that I did. Myapologies for the double post.

I changed the front brake pads on FunToy. Bosch pads, wear sensors and vibration dampers were ordered last weekend and arrived Friday.

The task went quite smoothly, thanks to all the threads describing how to do it. I did run into one problem. The vibration dampers were stuck on one side on the right front brake and one of the dampers was stuck on the left brake. I was unable to extract them from the holes in the pistons and eventually they broke away from the backing plates. I decided to install the pads anyway. They have a firm foam backing that I hope serves to dampen vibrations, and if that doesn't work I will use high temperature silicon glue to bond the pistons to the pads. Next time I change pads the disks will be worn down and then I'll plan to replace or refurbish the calipers.

Another issue was that the floor jack that I purchased Friday was barely low enough and long enough to put the car on jack stands. I gave up in placing the jack points. Instead I was able to jack the car up by the jack points and place the jack stands under the reinforced chassis member. It was really, really close. The jack is 6.26" high at the highest point and the ground clearance onm the side is only 6". Also, the lift height on 19.5" seemed good but is only just enough to clear the jack stands in their lowest position. So if you are shopping for a floor jack for a Boxster S make sure it is low enough and long enough to allow you to put it on jack stands. The jack points and the reinforced pad are pretty close, so careful placement of the jack is required.

[Anker]

So how did we end up with a Boxster?

I have always ended up purchasing "practical" vehicles, with my better half getting the sportier ones. A Firebird in 1985 and a Buick Reatta (remember those) in the 80's. The latter one was a surprise gift to her, much appreciated.

The Porsche part of the story goes back to my younger brother. He lived in Sweden and worked in Denmark. My family is from Denmark, but he lived in Sweden for tax reasons. One is that in Denmark you buy 3 cars, give two to the government and they graciously let you keep the third. Yes, this really is true. Anyway, he bought a rare 944 Turbo Cabriolet in Germany and put a 6 speed transmission in it. 10 years ago he tragically died in a diving accident and I tried to get the 944 to the US as a memento. Unfortunately the advice I got was that it would cost a fortune to make it comply with US regulations, so that didn't work. But it did put the Porsche bug into my head.

Wind forward 10 years and we saw a sad looking Boxster at our local used car dealership. We test drove it and were hooked. To make a long story short we didn't buy that one (thank God), but purchased Funtoy which has an IMSB retrofit and a service record. We had no idea purchase prices could be so reasonable, otherwise we would have done it years ago.

Every time I take a spin in Funtoy send a thought to my brother, and hope he receives it. All of which makes it the more precious to us.

Back in the 60s and 70s I did all of my car maintenance myself, but once I could afford it I always paid other people for it. With Funtoy I am back to doing maintenance. No pressure, because it is a toy car and not a daily driver, and I can do the work in an attached garage, which is much better than lying under the car in the snow. New brake pads a few days ago and new trailing arms and probably new front disks before she gets unpacked next spring.

Here's a picture of my brother's 944.

[JayG]

Nice looking Boxster

My sister lives in Hardwick and nephew in Stowe, so I know you have some nice twisty roads to drive.
If you like bagels, stop by their restaurant, the Bagel

As far as using anti squeal stuff on the dampers, you don't need it.
An easy way to split them from the pads is to use a small putty knife and slide it between the dampers and the pad backing. Many people don't bother with the dampers as well. YMMV

If your looking for some used parts, try Woody, itsnotanova on this forum. He is about as straight a shooter as you will find

[grc0456]

Here's to your brother, his beautiful 944 cab, and to you keeping Porsche ownership going in the family.


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[Anker]

When I drove FunToy down to my indie for winterization it was right around the freezing point and second gear gave me some issues until the transmission oil warmed up. The problem seemed to be that it didn't properly engage and slipped out of gear as soon as I released the clutch. All other gears were fine. I did a search and most of the comments about this issue indicated that a transmission oil change would cure the problem. I also wonder whether there is a bit of slop in the linkages - she has 104000 miles on the clock, so it wouldn't be a wonder if it was. My biggest fear is that it is something inside the transmission. Crossing my fingers!

[Anker]

Plates came in today!

[Anker]

Traded in the Subaru Forester for a 2009 Mercedes CLK 350 cabriolet as my daily driver. If I had the money it would be another Porsche. But its a convertible and in fantastic shape. It also has 4 seats, so I can take the grand kids around and also friends in a pinch.

Would have preferred a SLK, but there's no way to attach a tow bar to that and now that we don't have a SUV or van I need a trailer to transport my bigger stuff.

It is interested how much more active the 984 community is than the CLK one. Very little DIY and modding going on.



Anker

[Boxtaboy]

I'm on a Benz forum for our ML350, and there's like one post a month. LOL. I'm also on an Audi forum which are REALLY active because people like to ECU tune their Turbos and mod just about everything. On the Benz forum, some sneer at you for wanting to even update the pedal covers to aluminum (that are factory upgrades even)!