Jinster

JFP, you are still around the forum after all these years? Ike84, no dice with the lubrication I am afraid. I did find a second key after rummaging through the whole house. I haven't touched that key for 15 years. I was able to get in via the passenger side door. I opened up the door panel on the driver side and unmounted the door lock mechanism. But whatever is connecting it to the key tumbler isn't releasing so I am stuck at that step for the moment....

Hey guys... I have a situation pretty much as described in the title. The car is a MY97 which I have had for close to 20 years. There is no central remote locking. I've been using the tumbler the whole time. Today, I parked the car, locked it, and the key wouldn't return to the 12 o'clock "upright position". It's stuck at a 45 angle (2 o'clock as I am RHD, equivalent to 10 o'clock position for a LHD car). It can still go horizontal, but just not back to upright... so the result is I can't remove it from the door. I don't have a second key anymore (moved house too many times.... must have lost them along the way).... and the top is closed.... Any suggestions on how to get in the car? Or better yet, any suggestions on how to remove the key? WD40?

Hmm... doesn't look like too many people here has had both cars.... Strange you should mention the 918. My local dealer probably has the only one in existence in Australia. It has no price tag. Hahaha.... He's also got a Daytona, an SLR Gullwing, a Sena, and an XJ220 in stock. Quite the eye candy.... but obviously way out of my league here. lol The McLaren's styling don't actually appeal to me much.... the original MP4-12C is probably the best to my eyes... I am just weary that in terms of styling, the McLarens might end up looking like the Lotuses in retrospect - good at the time because its really just "odd", and in time, this oddness becomes seriously dated... Another concern is the expense of repair - apparently McLarens don't offer transmission repair kits/parts. Major transmission repair = a complete swap over for $40k..... My Boxster has seen 5 transmission rebuilds and it's a common ZF unit..... so I am a bit traumatised by transmissions.... lol Anyway, I have been doing a bit of reading. It seems that most ppl who have had both the Gallardo and F430 says the Gallardo is much faster but the F430 feels more exciting - although most would then admit the 4WD of the G is more planted, and therefore feels less exciting. Most ppl seem to prefer the interior of F430 too - being more "special" to most, while others describe it as just "chaotic", while the G is more ordered and logical, like an Audi. Unsurprisingly I haven't found anyone who has compared a Boxster to a G as the two don't sit in the same market segment.... I just have a feeling I would end up missing the nimbleness and easy maintenance of the Boxster rather than the stress of having a G...

Guys, I haven't been on this forum for a few years now.... perhaps largely because the 986 has been quite reliable.... fingers crossed... But I have had my 1997 Boxster for 16 years now.... Itching to swap it for something new... I currently also have a 2007 Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT, which I will probably keep. The Boxster has been very reliable the last 5 years. It's resale value is quite low now so insurance has been cheap and I don't worry too much about where to park it. Nor do I give much thought about taking it to whatever destination I need to go - open top even gives it amazing luggage space as long as you don't mind furniture or whatever you are buying sticks up and out from the passenger seat.... Two years ago I also upgraded the suspension to ROW030 and it has been really quite a good ride... but... after 16 years, I am itching to "upgrade"... or perhaps rather, wanting to experience something different.... Maybe I can open up the discussion to what you would buy instead of a 1st gen Boxster? Strangely, I find the best compromise to be an LP560-4 Gallardo Spyder.... Being Audi based, it should be relative cheap to maintain/repair (vs Ferrari or McLaren), and it's a convertible, which I consider a must-have as a second car to complement my QP which is a 4 door sedan... and it is different enough to other Porsche models, in terms of the design language and interior layout.... An Audi R8 or BMW i8 spyder are also within consideration... Other contenders include 458 Italia spyder, McLaren MP4-12c/650/570/540 spyders or Huracan spyder but those are far more expensive to buy and maintain.... Any thoughts? Is there anyone here who has both a Boxster and one of the others that I have mentioned above with good insights? Mods, feel free to move this to a different forum if inappropriate...

Hi guys. I haven't posted here for a long while. I still have my 1997 Boxster (tiptronic, RHD) and it has been surprisingly reliable the last few years (hence my absence on the forum I guess). Many years ago, I remember someone either here or from Europe was able to source and sell brand new factory sports suspension replacements (M030, RoW) for the MY97 Boxster. Does anyone know who this was from? Or if that's you? I am probably due for some new struts, hence the ask. Thanks.

Hi Dave I would love to see a pic of how well the 26mm to 17mm adapter fits and a link for where to get it from. Some googling suggests that one pair of wires is for a single stage airbag system while two pairs is for a two-stage system. This guy here seem to have successfully worked out how to adapt them for his Z3, hope this helps: http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1392266-2-stage-airbag-wiring-advice-needed

I haven't been visiting the forum for a while now. We are talking EEPROM reader/writers now? That's some serious tweaking in my mind. Well done.

Here are the prices on eBay for anyone interested. They seem quite cheap. Anyway, I was happy enough with the old mirror and don't really want to have to get used to something too different. Auto dimming mirror is an entirely different beast, right? I mean, much more expensive and requires new wires to be sent via the door harness.... that would be an upgrade though... I did my rear view mirror a few years ago with an Audi auto-dimming part. Works very well.

Hi guys I came home yesterday and found the passenger side mirror smashed on the garage floor. It must have unstuck itself from the backing plate. The car is 18 years old, so probably about time. Anyway, I have found a couple of mirror options from eBay - there are convex or flat types. My 986 Boxster is 1997, Australian, RHD. It is passenger side (left side on a RHD) or far side mirror. Does anyone know whether a RHD 986 has a convex or flat (or wide-angle) passenger side mirror from factory? Thanks

The part number needed for the male of the connection is 999 652 571 22 You can find replacements from electronic hobby stores. Search for 2.5mm OD crimp pins or similar terms.

Just as a PSA, I think TP made a mistake with the part numbers. I keep receiving sockets (female) from the dealer when I order what is supposed to be the pin (male). Looking at the service bulletin again, the correct male part of that wiring connection is 999 652 571 22. Both part numbers TP listed were female, perhaps with different length to the sockets. It took me multiple phone calls and lots of head scratching at the dealer to figure this one out.

Hi Paul. I am guessing the last guy broke the metal on the frame because he used a metal joiner rather than the plastic OEM unit - which are known for breaking. And so some people have created the metal ones to prevent it from happening. The thing is, the plastic is designed to be a deliberate weak point in case there is something wrong with the top mechanism - usually dyssynchronised operation (left vs right). This can happen if any of the clips on the clamshell comes lose and things don't move about in the way they are designed to. I imagine if the plastic joiners don't let go, the metal on the frame does, as did in your car with the previous owner. Anyway. There should be no danger of causing the same if you use those plastic joiners. Also, if you "over press", the top transmission should just run out of teeth - again a safety mechanism. The gears inside the top transmission is a half circle rather than a full circle. So over press results in the transmission disabling itself. It's a pain in the arse to resynchronise as you will need two people - one to press the top switch while the other pulls on both top transmissions to get the gears to engage at the same time. I think the light is staying on because the clamshell is bent out of shape over time - you can try "flattening" the clamshell so that when it closes, it pushes down the contact switch earlier. Or you can just use a piece of foam under the clamshell to push on the switch earlier, like kbrandsma suggested. I personally have a piece of foam stuck there and it's been functional for the last 7 years.

Digging up this thread. Loren, do you know what size those male pins are? I have a broken one from corrosion. I have tried the Molex connectors from a 4-pin computer lead but those are too small.

Yep, sure enough, a broken connector at the bottom of that cluster of connectors going to the door, due to corrosion from long term weathering. Thanks to the OP of that thread. I compared the connector (the male part is broken) to a computer 4-pin Molex connector. The car's connector is bigger. Does anyone know what specification the connector is? I know the poster in that thread said it's the same as his remote control toys connector but that doesn't exactly help as to what I should buy. Thanks.

I may have spoken too soon. I got a replacement motor. Plugged it in - nothing - the window doesn't go up or down. I put a multimeter on it. One of the pins is getting 12V. So there is power. I have changed the switches - the switch isn't the culprit. The way I understand it, the up and down are two separate circuits. It's weird that neither is working even though there is 12V at the motor. I am at loss for ideas at the moment. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to approach this? Edit: found this thread http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/16876-driver-side-window-not-working-tried-almost-every-solution/page-4 Will try this first