Oh no, another...

[RedTele58]

I'm jealous!

How did I miss this for sale - looks like a Spec Car candidate to me.

[78F350]

Originally Posted by RedTele58

I'm jealous!

How did I miss this for sale - looks like a Spec Car candidate to me.

Yes, it is a good Spec Car candidate. Still jealous?

I've got a slight change of mission now and a lot of work to do. ...more on that later.

The top and clamshell are off now to make it a lot easier to work on. I like the clean topless look.


Almost done with lunch and getting back to it. I got the AC going early enough today that with the overcast, the garage shouldn't max out above 90 F.

Feel free to comment more if you want Rick, but I'll probably detail the progress late this evening.

[RedTele58]

Originally Posted by 78F350

Yes, it is a good Spec Car candidate. Still jealous?

I've got a slight change of mission now and a lot of work to do. ...more on that later.

Feel free to comment more if you want Rick, but I'll probably detail the progress late this evening.

You have the aircraft - go ahead with the update and progress report...

[78F350]

I replaced the vacuum tubing today. I made a couple short videos that I'll put together and post here later.
Really it's not that complicated, but it can be difficult to access on these cars.
First, let me explain, there are a few separate systems that use vacuum from the intake. The most common one to fail is the secondary air injection system. That is the one I replaced. The other vacuum users are the brake booster and the fuel pressure regulator. Both of these looked good, so I left them alone. ***Tiptronics have a vacuum line that goes to a valve on the transmission. 2.7L and 3.2L engines have a vacuum line that goes to an actuator for the flapper valve on the front cross tube.***


SAI vacuum system:
-Remove the throttle body and cross tube for access to the rear part of the system.
-Remove the alternator for access to the front part of the system.
-Pull out all the old tubing.
-I replaced all the tubing, but reused the check valve and Y.
-Put it back in connecting to: 1) Electric change-over valve. 2) Vacuum source at cross-tube. 3) Vacuum resevoir. (2.5L 5 speed models have the simplest system)
***recommended: Also replace the small tube that connects the electric change-over valve to the vacuum powered change-over valve.
-Reassemble everything else that was taken out.
Old:

New:


During the process I saw that there was some ugly oil in the intake. I had expected this from the over-filled oil level and I'm 90% sure that it's from a ruptured membrane in the AOS. I had actually expected it to be a bit worse. I'll probably replace the AOS on tomorrow if I have one. I need to dig through some boxes in storage. The job itself really isn't that bad.


Lots of other stuff was done today too... It started with a conversation with RedTele58. He is ready to get started on a Spec Car and somehow out of the dozen or so Boxsters in his secret Porsche warehouse, none of them are quite right for the project. This one however is a great platform to start from. I'm still a bit aimless here, and not anywhere near ready to start on a Spec build of my own. He has gathered parts and wants the car. (Bad.) The end result is that he is getting the car for a great price and I am going to strip all the stuff that he doesn't need. (Don't tell him, but I'm tracking my hours and I'm going to add it to his final bill.) Some of the parts are going to be swapped on to my other cars, some will be listed here or on eBay later.


I completely removed the top today to make my work easier. Also removed the radio and started to strip the interior. This is actually what I do for fun in my spare time.
I have removed tops before, so I went without instructions, but the first time I used Mike Fockes directions: Starting on page 11 of this: https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/BOXSTERConvtopconversionPARTIformatt.pdf?
I disconnected the battery before taking the alternator out and couldn't find the CDR-220 radio code marked anywhere in the car, so I added the serial number and info to the thread where Heiko looks up radio codes. Great to have him take care of that for free for so many of us!

I'm not done with this car yet, and RedTele58 (Rick) hasn't even started. I'm sure there will be plenty more to read.


Oh, ...one last thing. I found a (the?) coolant leak. I pulled off the coolant cap to get a picture and as I was putting it on, I noticed a drip. The coolant expansion tank seems to have a crack that only leaks when there is pressure, or when the cap is off. Maybe just slap a little JB weld on there and hope Rick doesn't notice.

[78F350]

Here's the video I made showing the replacement of the vacuum lines for the secondary air injection system. ***This is for U.S. cars, the SAI was not used in R.O.W.***
The SAI is an emissions system that pumps fresh air into the exhaust for the first minute or two after a cold start. Common DTC codes when there is a vacuum leak in the system are p0410 and p1411. A failure of the SAI system will not damage your car, but a vacuum leak may cause the engine to run lean and lead to other problems.

The video:
https://youtu.be/A731OcZVGTI

[78F350]

First, a note to anyone who reads this and gets the idea that if you find a cheap Porsche with a bad engine, you can just bolt on a few cheap parts and drive it away: No. No. No. With this one I got lucky so far, and it ain't done. Another Boxster that I bought, thinking that it would be easy and cheap to repair ended up needing an engine, a few months of work, and thousands more dollars in parts. I am not skilled, but I am persistent and enjoy learning.

Today I replaced the AOS and drove the car out of the garage. The AOS on the 97-02 models has a clamp on the bottom rubber boot that can be difficult to put back in place. For me, the rest of the job is a simple matter of laying on the floor with my head under the right catalytic converter, working by feel to get everything in place. Easy, and once that clamp magically tightens down with the boot in place, there's no sense in reliving memory of all the times it didn't quite go on right.


First run after I replaced the AOS was smokey at first, but it quickly cleared up. I ran the car until it got up to temperature and the check engine light came on. It needed a little throttle to hold idle. This time it was just two codes p0341 and p1397 – Camshft position sensors. I checked the wires, then sprayed the connectors with contact cleaner. Restarting the engine, everything looked much better.


The video:
https://youtu.be/WknBv2WUHVM

The next important issue with the car is the leak in the coolant tank. I am not going to worry much about that other than my curiosity of exactly where it is coming from. Rick is planning to put a new tank in. Since the soft-top has been removed and the car is going to be out of the garage more often, I set a hardtop on to keep it covered. Looking pretty good.