Mark St Martin

I've scoured the net looking for this answer and it was here all along =b thanks Loren ... Now to pick your brains a little further, I've had the 1299 Gateway code from the get go when I bought this 06 Cayenne. The only things not working where the rear wiper & A/C (a couple years now) Recently a mess of 18 codes popped up after sitting a couple weeks (really nice top down days in the Boxster =] After mulling through with the Foxwell & Durametric, I narrowed down to 1299, 968, & 538 codes ... I've had the carpets up, dry as a bone, and no splices ... Had a look at the Gateway board, nothing apparent, checked all grounding terminals I could find/see. I can do without the R-wiper and A/C, but now not having the blower motor running, I have to sort things before the weather changes. So I've ordered another multiplexer gateway.... Would you have any other thoughts/suggestions to add? Thanks in advance!!

Well JE17, that's what I thought ... after one day I knew it wasn't for me. Visually, the one really nice thing it had was a set of 19" black rims with the chrome inserts. The not so nice one thing was an additional wing (non Porsche) with brake light. In fact that would have been the first thing to go!! Taking it out for a ride it was extremely loud and quite frankly, I'd much rather drive my 97' Tiptronic!!! The exhaust was modified, the muffler was removed with two straight pipes exiting the rear, and I thought mine was loud 😖 After pulling out my Bentley book I discovered much about his as well as mine. Yes he's been driving what he thought is an "S" without all extras an S should have had such as a 6 speed stick. Amongst a myriad of other issues, an 01' for $7900us with over 124,000 miles, too much for me. But the good thing, the chirping is gone =p

My gosh, I feel like an expert now 😜 a 2001 black Boxster S has come available to me. The owner pulled up in front of my shop with a worry of a pulley or such letting go. Sure enough the chirping sound was there, no different from my '97 2.5 Confident I put her up on my hoist and there it was plugs 1 & 2 where loose. Now I have the weekend to enjoy this 5spd stnd 3.2, then decide if it's worth buying ... It doesn't quite present as nice as my older Tiptronic but it is a stick 😊

Just want to say thank you to this forum, once again helped with a mystery. I would have never believed this if I didn't see it for myself, a loose plug!! And to add to this topic, let's also describe it as a "chirping" sound. I've heard of engines blowing out a loose plug (threads and all) ... has this ever happened to a Boxster or any flat 6? Thanks again!! it had me worried =]

Loren receiving the codes (and quite quickly too I may add ... ) make the annual membership more than a bargain!! And what a great sound system Porsche has included in these amazing cars. Thank you once again Sir! Can't wait to get it on the road (any day now), doubt I'll be listening to the radio much for the first little while : ) Cheers

After completing most of the repairs to the '97 Boxster, now for the radio : ) CDR-210 type 2896 Ser# 5009452 Thank you in advance!!

Thanks Ahsai, useful data. Having an idea of the weights will help in this calculations. Sadly I have an overhead crane most shop would envy but not being able to use it for this pull ... This car is now pulling me to put a two post lift in the shop... BTW, that's a nice clean engine you have there!! ... just received my IMS Solution today!

Hello all, I am in the process of dropping the Engine and tiptronic transmission assembly. A thought came to mind for a mooring device than will fasten to assembly to my floor jack along with safety straps. My question is, where would the optimum balance point be in relation to the safety strap mounting bracket on the engine. Thanks, Mark

Not to mention adding to the resale value ... I will have to agree and consider it money well spent. The thought of major engine failure 100s of miles from home, no brain'r.

First off, if you are the original owner and if you changed the oil every 5-6K miles (less intervals than what Porsche recommends @ 15k) and you have been using top synthetic oil, I suspect you may never have an IMS bearing issue ... Stats are great, but as most cars will go through multiple owners, one will rarely know the history of who & how the car was driven as well as how faithful they where at oil changes. This '97 Boxster M96 2.5 I recently purchased ran fine with no irregular sounds, no signs that would warrant concern. Probably the best advice on the net for these cars is have the oil pan removed and inspected for peace of mind. If there is a possibility IMS or other related failure, chances are there will be debris in the bottom of the oil pan. As well on my car, the debris had also collected on the screen of the oil pickup spout. Further inspection of the oil filter one could easily see the finer particles within the folds of the filter. Yes I could run'r till she drops but at varying cost of replacement engines from 3 to 10K for a used assembly, I'd rather do the bearing along with any other warn parts now, rather than take a chance later on someone else's used engine with surprises. In fact this Body & chassis is so nice, I should price out a crate engine from Porsche but I can just imagine what that may cost!!! As a do it your'selfer, I am quite enjoying taking this thing apart, but there again I have a warm shop with all the tools, only thing missing is a hoist! Attached picture is the debris in the bottom of my oil pan. Cheers, Mark

Thank you for the clarification! That's some handy resources you have there Loren ... I considered doing the Porsche Authenticity report, but you quickly learn working on these cars they're not made in China ; ) Fact is I'm owner number 9. I suspect many things have been changed on this car and it's more likely seen it's fair share of services centers. The Tiptronic trany is oily whereas the engine is quite clean : / This Boxster is at the point in it's life that it will either be a money pit or a great car for a enthusiast!! Hopefully the latter ... having done the majority of my own auto repairs from engine rebuilding to body work (ugh), this car has found a good home!! Mark

1997 Boxster original California car with 118,000 miles on the odometer. Last digits of the VIN# S625521 the engine Ser# M96/2065V15144 Are the last few numbers suppose to match? If yes and they are different, any way of finding out more details about this engine? The engine sounds good at idle with good balanced exhaust flow & no blow-by from the crank case. Thanks to this community I have decided that it should be pulled before seeing another life of pleasure. Debris in the bottom of the pan shows eminent IMS failure as well as pieces of plastic from a chain guide or tensioner. Although an electric motor expert, I feel quite comfortable with this project. In fact I am very impressed with the engineering gone into these cars! ( Albeit the IMS thing : ) Jacking this car one sees just how well balanced they are, simply amazing. This particular car has absolutely no rust, for me this will be a pleasure to work on! Cheers, Mark

My summer ride for the last 30 years has been a '63 Pontiac Parisienne convertible with 99,875 original miles. Long overdue for work, it will be taking a rest ... In it's place will be a '97 Boxster Tiptronic with 117000 miles on it. I can say I'm truly looking forward to road trips with this car!!