New owner. Newly acquired problems
 

Hello folks,
Just purchased a 00 Boxster S. First Porsche ever and very excited. Bought the car with some known issues - PO said pads and rotors need changing, oxygen sensors need changing. Brake wear light is on and engine check light comes on sometimes.

Rotors are pretty grooved. Will be measuring them soon but I can tell they are a goner. Planning to do the pads and rotors myself along with emergency brake pads, brake bleed, oil change etc. as a first set of need to do. Checked out Pelican, Suncoast etc. But Ebay seems to have some pretty good prices on the rotors (drilled) and ceramic pads. Anyone have experience with those. Love to same some money but don't want to be asking for problems at the same time.

There are also some good prices on oxygen sensors on Ebay. Don't want to buy an used one as I'd never know if that was the check light issue.

Please advice.

PO had done a lot of body mods (wide kit?). Very Fugly for my taste. Will be changing it to stock or close to. More posts with questions to come. Great forum BTW.

Thanks.

Bala - Welcome. I assume you wrench and if have done it all before, if so this will all be easy. If you are trying to save money go with the the Balo rotors (zinc coated if you want), I got them and the quality is great (made in Germany). You can get Mintex break pads for about $35 a pair, they are made by TMD and work great, just very dusty (most TMD ones are). I took my front off and put Akebono (ceramic) on, greatly reduced dust. On the O2 sensors just look closely they are the correct ones and you'll be OK.

Take your time and research parts before buying them, especially anything that is motor or motor management (O2 sensors) related. If it's not OEM make sure others have purchased that product with positive results.

Don't run out and buy any O2 sensors until you know exactly what the problems are. The OBDII codes can often show the symptoms but not the cause. A lot of O2 codes can be caused by the MAF, vacuum leaks, etc. I was getting a bunch of CEL lights for O2 issues that were caused by the MAF going bad. A shop with a Durametric or PS2 system can confirm the status of the O2 sensors. Haven't had a CEL for two years, ever since I changed the MAF. Driving an 2000 S also, enjoy yours, there is no better feeling than the Porsche perma-grin.

1. Get a code reader at the minimum, Durametric S/W even better. That way you can self diagnose CEL problems with the help of the online community.
2. Become aware of on-line guides to things like O2 sensors. There are sites with tables of equivalent part numbers that are no-risk cheaper substitutes made by the guys who sell em to Porsche.
3. The Boxster is just a car. Don't be afraid to do the external things as a way of keeping maintenance costs down.

Do a Tune up, clean the throttle body with alcohol until all of the black dirt and gunk is gone. Remove MAF sensor using T20 torx screw you can buy from Home Depot and spray the contacts with an electric parts cleaner, which you can also use to clean the throttle body instead of alcohol. Put everything back together and see how it runs. CEL light might go away. Car will definitely run better.

Welcome and congrats!

I have experience with eBay rotors (drilled and standard) made by Cquence. They work great and are fairly cheap but you're going to find that all of the S-model rotors are more expensive than expected as compared to the base model units.

Brake wear light illuminated means replacement of at least one brake wear sensors. Cheap replacements are fine, no reason to pay OEM price.

Good advice above from Spinnaker and mikefocke regarding 02 sensors.

Spoke to Pelicanparts. I'll have to measure the rotors to determine what the status is. There is a big lip when I feel them. Looks like they were not replaced for a very long time.

Do have all the items mentioned in the responses on to-do list. Going to be a fun time.

Was thinking about getting a code reader. Are there ones that work on different makes or are they made specific for each manufacturer. Durametric was what I had shortlisted. Seems to have what I need.

Will take the advice on the O2 sensors.

Thanks for the support guys. Appreciate it.
:)

Welcome :Bala,

Definitely go with the Durametric as your reader.

Let us know how you make out

Bala, I am on Long Island too. The guys and gals here can vouch for me. If you need local help let me know. I'd be happy to check it out and do what I can.

J:cheers:

Jaay,
Glad to see a local. Will do. Just ordered the Durametric.

I have bought from irotors on ebay, drilled and slotted zinc coated w/ceramic pads for my s2000, they look good and perform very well and will be ordering from them for the boxster. Price was good also.
feelyx

Smart move going with the Durametric. I also recommend you to get the 101 project book from pelican or read the technical documents on their website. You will find a lot of valuable information there. Try cleaning the sensor before replacing it.

Enjoy your car and post some pics when you get a chance.

Buy the way, anyone in the Ft. Lauderdale area?

Measured the rotors. They are 23mm in the back and 26mm in the front. Couldnt get a an accurate read but it a tad more than these values. The minimum is 18 in the back and 22.6 in the front as per PP? Sounds too low for me but Pp says it is when i spoke to them. Replacing the pads and sensors so will get a good look when in there. Maybe due for a change next time around.

Will try that route. Suddenly the check engine light is off. But the light with the rear trunk lid light is on now.

Those min figures could be for a base boxster... looked like the thickness of my stock base rotors when I swapped them out..

I think the S rotors are 4mm thicker or so... 28mm (F) and 24mm (R) if I remember right. So I highly doubt the min would be that low.

So, the thickness on my rotors are ok (for now)?

https://wiki.bentleypublishers.com/d...=1307043182573

Found the rotor minimum tolerance. Mine are good for now.