Anything else-Update
 

So my my father in law just gave my wife an old 986 , unfortunately it’s an automatic. Now he hasn’t really driven it in 5 years and miraculously it started and was delivered to us here in VA from Phoenix last weekend.

I’ve done some searching around on the forum here and now have a plan. I’ve ordered a bunch of parts form Suncoast (?) -bit on the higher price side but this way I’m getting exactly what I need I think, will try pelican when I’ve got a handle on things better.

Friend put a code reader on car and is misfiring on 4 out of 6 ( 1,6, 5 and 4 ) no other codes at all surprisingly , ordered spark plugs, coils and the tubes in there, new gas cap, oil filter, new drain plug plus washer, both air filters ( haven’t been touched in 5 years clearly), also set of ramps, torque spanner and the Bentley car manual for this Porsche.

My plan is to get those things done then get it to someone that knows these cars a lot better to give it a once over, by someone that knows what they are doing. I’ve already had to find and do the hand brake bypass in order to get top down-found on here-in order to get at engine to clean it up and check it over for obvious leaks or bust hoses etc.

Coolant seems fine as does the brake fluid, both of which I’ll get changed when it goes in for check over. Actually the oil looks surprisingly clean as well but am doing that once parts get here.

So my question is should I be doing anything else?

Lucky couple! Congrats and welcome to the forum! If you're changing the coolant, I recommend changing the water pump and t-stat as well. But I wouldn't do either until get that misfire sorted.

Year?
Miles?
Pics?

Does the car start and run like it’s got a misfire? You really have no idea how old those codes may be. If the car seems to run fairly smooth, I’d clear the codes and drive the car to see if anything reappears. I would also go ahead and do your oil and filter service as quickly as possible.

WELCOME! and COngrats.

dghii and Piper gave you some excellent advice. Combined with yur own plan, I think you've got a good handle on this.
I would be sure to flush the brakes. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and will go bad very quickly when just sitting.

Again: Welcome!

When it arrived it kept cutting out after a few moments with a fair amount of blue grey smoke then it even out into a rough going sound eventually. It’s an ‘03 with 66k miles on it-thought that would show up when I registered.

Runs fairly rough, so am going ahead with spark plugs etc. , as to brake fluid change that’s fairly high on my list to do as is coolant. As will be brakes and callipers checked and maybes redone- brake system is one of those take no prisoners type things for me.

We are planning on driving it around this summer , I mean why not, then maybes getting rid of it next spring unless it’s to much fun. Already have an old ‘04 Range Rover with the bmw M62 engine, and I work on the farm so don’t really need a third vehicle to run around in.

Sounds like I’m going the right way, wanted to makes sure I wasn’t missing something obvious to a Porsche that other makes don’t need checking on.

Next thing I need to search here is the fact the top dosent go all the way down , the clam shell bit dosent seat totally down, that’s for this afternoon to search for.

I assume you're aware of the AOS and the IMS? These are two "Achilles heels" of the M96 motor.
If you're NOT aware..... start with a search, and then we'll all start the arguing all over again. hehehe.

My bet is that you'll keep it for a while. :D Yes,it's that much fun. :cheers:

The IMS I’m aware of , as well as the rear main seal but not the AOS-I’m assuming is the oil and water separator ? Yes know those hence the pro’s will give it a once over and give me an opinion, seen all the horror YouTube videos on the different subjects.

The ims I can lessen the odds by changing the oil every 5k I hope. I have no maintenance records apart from one little stamp in the little Porsche owners thingy at 6k , then nothing. Hence I’m going to replace everything slowly over time working down the list of importance ( or while the ‘we’re here we might as well replace this’ )

Father in law bought from a dealer as a certified (which don’t mean much in my book ) from his local Porsche dealer, back in 2014 or 15.

Put less than 1k on it , then it just sat ( in a garage thankfully) best as I can tell by air filters conditions and the fact there is only paperwork to ‘15 and a 2015 decal sticker for his license plate that never made it from the envelope to the plate. So am assuming it just sat there for whatever reason.

03 and later Boxsters do not have replaceable spark plug tubes like 02 and earlier Boxsters. Yes they can be replaced, but you would have to tear down the engine to do so.

Hello Aynsley, first of all congratulations to your wife for getting a free Boxter and I wanted to share my personal comments.. BTW how is the condition of the body and interior..?

Since the car was free, (and if the car is in good shape) I would Not drive it yet until you address the IMS issue, as these fail mostly on vehicles that are in storage or seldom driven and your car fits on the models that fail the most (single row bearing..)

Again, if the car is clean IMHO, you should remove the gearbox and replace the IMS and then enjoy the car for many years to come, otherwise you may start driving a car that "could fail" and most likely send the car to the scrape yard :-(

Please don't take me wrong but it seems that you already invested on spare parts and will start the process of bringing the car back on the road.

You lucky bastard :)

I would flush and replace the brake fluid. You might be surprised at what comes out.
In any case, its an easy and low cost DIY

If you do the water pump, you will need to replace the coolant as well

I'd also get a bottle or 2 of TECHRON. Put a bottle in a full tank and run the tank almost dry and repeat. Your injectors may be a little clogged too

Lots of great input! Nobody is wrong but here's what my order would be.
1. Get the motor running smooth. You haven't mentioned (or I missed it) how old the fuel is. If fuel has been in as long as the car has been sitting, it may very well be the majority of the rough running you are experiencing. Clear codes and run the car!
2. AFTER motor is running smoothly, change oil and filter. check other fluid levels.
3. After you've gained some confidence you have a good car (you do!). Tackle brakes, starting with fluid flush. Depending on your wheels, you can use your camera phone and seek how brake pads look. Rotor can be visually examined for a lip.
4. I respectfully disagree with changing the IMS/RMS at this point. Even thought the car came to you at no cost, it doesn't mean its worth trowing thousands into this repair. After the car is sorted AND if you decide to keep it, then consider their replacement.

I know there's lots of other stuff to think about doing, but until the car runs smoothly enough to think about keeping, what's the point?

BTW, I was at a local indy today, who also also occasionally sell cars (not main business at all).
He had a 2001 base and 2003 S sitting outside with no plates. The 2001 was being detailed. Cosmetically, both cars looked fine and would run and drive.
Indy acquired the cars from local P-car dealer for $500 each. Mentioned that the dealer basically no longer offered any 'trade in $' for the cars unless they were pristine, documented cars. I was very surprised to hear that as both cars could certainly be parted for thousands.
Indy said he expected to put 3-4K in each to make them into something he would sell.

Congrats! Great advice. Like you, I purchased a low mileage Boxster S with a Tiptronic. Love the car, love the Tiptronic. Regarding the IMS issue, due to the cost of doing the replacement in a Tiptronic car, I opted to do the 5K mile filter change and inspection. The cartridge type filter is very easy to change. So far, I've put 20K miles on it in two years of ownership with no issues. It's my daily driver. I try to get the RPMs up past 4K at some point every drive to get the oil circulated. At the first sign of debris in the oil filter, I'll address the IMS.

If you are in Northern VA, a tiptronic isn't all bad.

I bought my Boxster from a seller who lived in Columbia, MD and used it to commute to Tyson's Corner - at least initially. The car was 7-years old when I purchased it, and had only 30,000 miles on it. He told me he was using it on weekends. My theory is that he got tired of shifting all the time while commuting.

The downside for me was that I had to replace the clutch at 80,000 miles. He probably put 100,000 miles of wear on the clutch during his 30,000 miles of ownership.

Agree, for NOVA my 2 TIP Boxsters were great, and I had driven many stick cars but that was before the traffic got bad in NOVA, when my house in Oakton to Westpark Drive in Tysons was an 8 minute no lights dash down 66 to the beltway. When I left it was 50 minutes and still growing and that was 15 years and another half million people ago and I using back roads. I know from visits it is many times worse now. Why I moved away. And taxes, house prices, etc. I still read the Post and can hardly believe the Nationals...I go back to the Senators, street cars and Griffith Stadium futility.

Dghii,-You pretty much covered my general plan , get stuff done to make it drivable then get it into someone a lot more knowledgeable about these and go from there. Have a good recommendation for someone to look at it.

Also need to get my wife to see if her father can provide any history on it, was a certified car at some dealer out in Phoenix so maybes they have something(?)-big if I know but worth tracking down

Changing all the other fluids ( maybes drain the fuel as well ) and slowly get bits replaced before they go.

Thank you everyone else for thoughts, parts arrive next week and will update later on progress with pictures.

Mike,

I grew up in Silver Spring and also remember the Senators, street cars and Griffith Stadium. I was at the stadium when Frank Howard hit the longest HR ever hit there. Hondo also lived around the corner from me. He was a gentle giant and always had time for the neighborhood kids

Update
 

So all spark plugs and ignition coils changed -one spark plug came out in two pieces , just top bit thankfully so nothing in cylinder. Air filters done, oil plus filter today.

Runs a lot smoother, cleared codes haven’t come back in a week. Got my VA inspection sticker, now just going to get it into a Porsche specialist type-Coho in Manassas I’ve been told are the closest reputable place to go. Will do a pre purchase type thing there.

Then brakes bled, coolant changed etc.

But have a question , this car had been sitting mostly for 5 years , I drained fuel put fresh in, the tires have the flat spotting thing going on , was horrible feeling for a few miles but is getting better.

How long will it take to get rid of that? I’m planning on a wheel alignment as well to make sure but weather here not warm enough yet or been checked over enough to,take for a longer drive to get the tires warm enough to get much done for the problem.

Is there a point where tires have sat for too long and keep the memory of the flat spot that can’t be fixed or not, no obvious signs of dry rot or anything of that nature, tires look reasonably healthy?

Great progress!
Your tires have expired. Look at the sidewall and find the date code on them.

Time to buy her some new shoes.

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