Andrew Howell

CPS is on the passenger side of the car near the oil to air separator. It can be accessed fairly easily with some extensions through the rear passenger wheel well. It has a single bolt securing it to the bell housing of the transmission.

Yes, that is the procedure I have done maybe 4-5 times now and yes, I do see how everything connects back to the brake fluid reservoir. Everything will feel great immediately after the bleeding process but by the time I try to drive the car (maybe 10-20 minutes later), the pedal will feel spongy and it won't go into gear. If I jack the car up again and do the same process I get the same results, at least that's how its been for 4-5 bleed cycles now. I've read that other people have struggled to get air out when replacing the master cylinder but I have a hard time believing there's still an air pocket somewhere with the pressure bleeder and all the fluid I've bled through it. Plus I was having similar symptoms before I replaced the MC and i cut open the old MC to inspect the seals and everything seemed fine, I don't think there was ever a problem with the MC. The more I'm thinking about it, the more I'm suspecting a small/pin hole leak in that coiled hard line that connects to the slave cylinder but I'd like to have a bit more evidence before I order a replacement line. It really seems like air is being introduced to the system somewhere. I have replaced both the master and slave cylinders so I have been going over all the connection points but nothing appears/feels loose and I don't see any fluid leaks anywhere. Why don't I see any leaks? Maybe the new slave cylinder failed after the autox? I was worried that I might have striped the bleed screw or the input line to the SC but again, I don't see any fluid leaking out even with 20 PSI on the power bleeder. I apologize for the long posts but I'm paranoid that I made a mistake with all the work I've done recently and I wanted to get some of my concerns written down incase someone else sees a red flag. I really appreciate your input, Loren!

Hi Loren, thanks for the response. I removed the boost spring a few weeks ago to inspect it and take it out of the equation. The spring and housing both seem fine so I don't think it is spring assist. I've left it out of the car for now. The pedal appears to be functioning correctly but I can't be 100% sure. Between replacing the master cylinder and removing the spring-assist, I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Is there another point of failure that I should be looking for in the pedal mechanism? Yes, I'm using a pressure bleeder and keeping it between 15-20 PSI. I've put at least 3 quarts through the system now after 4-5 bleeding attempts. I had a friend stop by to activate the clutch pedal by hand while I was adjusting the bleed screw just to be extra thorough but I keep having the same issue. The last time I even started the car while it was still on jack stands and everything seemed to work fine immediately after bleeding. I could shift through the gears and let the clutch in and out without any issues and it felt fine. But then 15 minutes later, after cleaning up and getting the car back on the ground, the clutch pedal felt spongy and it wouldn't shift into gear again. If I pump the pedal i can get it into gear but then the car starts moving before I lift my foot off the clutch, especially if i rev the engine. It really feels like air in the system but don't see any signs of fluid leaking anywhere. Any other thoughts? Does replacing that line seem like a good, logical next step?

Hello, I have a 2001 Boxster S with the 6-speed transmission and I've been having issues with the clutch for a while now. I first had an issue about a year ago where the clutch pedal would stick to the floor but only after a few laps at the track or if it was really hot outside. Not long after that happened a few times, I heard a loud snap/ping noise that came from the back of the car when I pushed the clutch pedal in and the clutch pedal became much easier to depress, but the car still shifted and everything seemed to work. I suspected that the pressure plate had cracked and when the clutch pedal began to stick again a few months later, I just assumed it was all related to the failing pressure plate. About 2 months ago, I pulled the trigger and dropped the transmission to find a big crack in the pressure plate. I ended up replacing a bunch of stuff while I was in there, including clutch, pressure plate, slave cylinder, IMS, timing chain tensioners, and a lot more smaller stuff. After getting the car back together, it drove great and I put over 500 street miles on the new clutch without any issues. A few weeks ago I took the car to an autox with the PCA and the car performed great throughout the day and gave me absolutely zero issues. Then, maybe a day or two later, the clutch pedal started sticking again, but this time the pedal was sticking about half way through its return travel instead of sticking near or at the floor. After driving it a few more days, I had an experience where the car didn't want to go into gear with the clutch fully depressed and it took a few tries to get the car into gear. The pedal also felt spongy like it had air in the system again. I checked the bleed screw and all connection points but I never saw any signs of a leak. Since I had already replaced the slave cylinder, I decided to go ahead and replace the master cylinder as well so I did that about a week ago. I have a power bleeder so I bled the system thoroughly and the pedal felt good while the car was on jack stands so I cleaned up and dropped the car for a test drive. When i started the car and went to back out, the car didn't want to go into reverse, or any other gear. The pedal was spongy and it again felt like there was air in the system. So i put the car back on jack stands, hooked up the power bleeder again, and pushed another quart or two of fluid through it. Again, it felt good while the car was in the air, but when I dropped the car and went to take it for a drive, the pedal was spongy and it wouldn't shift into gear. I have heard about the metal coil in the clutch line developing leaks, and I have inspected this part very closely but I do not see any fluid leaks near the coil or anywhere else along the clutch line that I can see. If there is a leak in the line somewhere, why can't i see any fluid leaking out? Could there be a pinhole leak that is so small, it only lets air in but not fluid out? Is that even possible? I'm considering replacing that section of line anyway but if I'd prefer and not spend $300 on a small hose if I can avoid it. I've spent enough on this car in the last few months! Some other symptoms I noticed this weekend are, the clutch is making a loud squeak from inside the bellhousing when I push the clutch in and out. Also, with the clutch pedal fully released, I can sometimes hear a noise that sounds like flywheel rubbing up against the clutch disc. Is this simply because air in the line isn't allowing the clutch to fully release? Or is there any possibility that something is wrong with the clutch assembly? I'm fearing that I might have to drop the transmission again if the flywheel is backing out or if there's an issue with the TOB or something else. Any ideas or thoughts would be much appreciated!

Just got the car started! I didn't realize that jumping the fuel pump relay bypasses the immobilizer. That makes a lot of sense now and got me thinking about what else could be cutting power to the fuel pump. Not much else in that equation so I went back over the basics again. I first checked for voltage at the fuel pump relay and confirmed that I did not see any voltage when cranking the car. Next down the line would be the fuse box so I looked at the fuse box again and went to pull the fuel pump fuse, a 25 amp fuse in position C4. I was shocked when I looked and it was completely missing! DOH! I did pull all the fuses about a week ago in a fit of desperation so perhaps I walked away with it to check for continuity or something and put it down somewhere? I have no idea where it went as its nowhere to be found in the car (apparently cannabis can effect the memory.) And that doesn't explain why it wasn't starting before I pulled the fuses. Perhaps the original CPS was bad as well? I tested the old fuel pump and it seems fine so my money is on that CPS. I guess I could put it back in the car to see if goes back to crank no start but at this point I'm very glad to have the car running. I have a car friend arriving tomorrow for a visit from across the country and the weather is perfect for some mountain and costal road carving with the top down. I was really worried that he was going to miss the opportunity to experience this amazing car that I've really been enjoying for the past few years. Thank you very much for the prompt responses, JFP. I couldn't have done it without your added info and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

Thanks for the quick reply, JFP. I have examined the immobilizer closely and there is no visible damage and both the fuses appear to be in tact. I still have the seat unbolted so I can check again but I even cleaned the connections with sand paper and alcohol just to be sure. I strongly suspect that the fuel pump is not getting power but I have not been able to confirm this. I have tried to jump the relay but I never hear any noise from the fuel tank when i turn the ignition to the on position. I tested the original pump that I removed from the car and confirmed it runs fine when I hook it directly to a battery. Perhaps there is another sensor that is keeping the immobilizer from sending power to the fuel pump? I have read about bad cam position sensors but I'm unsure if they will cause these symptoms. I'm thinking of looking there next maybe? Thanks again for the suggestions!

Hello, I have a 2001 Boxster S 6-speed that left me stranded a few times and now refuses to start. There were two incidents where the car refused to start after running for a while so I first thought it was crank position sensor but then it refused to start at all so I thought maybe fuel pump. I have now replaced both the fuel pump and cps in the past two weeks but the car still refuses to start, just cranks. When i took out the old crank position sensor, it had a good amount of fine metal filings stuck to the end. Any thoughts where those came from? I'm quite sure the pressure plate has a crack in it but the clutch hasn't started slipping yet. When I installed the new crank position sensor, the car seemed to want to start and sort of puffed a few times but then just went back to cranking. When I turn the key to the on position I do see the tach raise up to about the 100 rpm marker and sit there while the car cranks, so I assume that is the "tach bounce" I've read about. I do have a durametric cable but I'm not seeing any obvious codes. I did see a message at one time while cranking saying the immobilizer was not in a ready state but I havn't been able to reproduce that message again. Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated. I'm feeling a bit defeated by this issue. Thank you in advance!

Hello! I just purchased a 2001 Boxster S and the battery was replaced right before I picked it up. The fuse was blown and now the radio is locked. I will paste the model and serial number below. I really appreciate that this thread exists as there are no dealerships near me. Thank you in advance! Becker CDR-220 Serial: 15085856