JFP in PA

Which is why I suggested using one of the several makes that has the feature, like the Ctek 7002. In a pinch, there is a $10 "dongle" with a cig lighter end on one side and the two snaps for a 9 V battery on the other that works as well.

It cannot be connected to the battery posts as the charge would stay with the battery, not the car; it either has to be connected via the cigarette lighter plug (preferred method), or on the cable ends.

Several maintainers, and particularly those from Ctek, have a specific setting to do this. but while conducting the swap, you need to remember that the cable leads are still hot when disconnected and do not short or ground them.

On the 997/987 cars, Porsche changed the design of the relay banks, apparently for space reasons. The one in the rear boot on a 987/Cayman now flips somewhat and slides out on arms unlike the early ones that are bolted to the firewall under the trunk carpeting on a 986, and the one up under the dash appears to be a similar design, although I have never tried to move it as it is in a very confined space so something has to move out of the way to make room for it (when you look up under the dash, you are looking at the bottom cover of the relay bank, so you need a small telescoping mirror to extend above it to see what you need to do). While it may represent progress, it is a bit peculiar. In any case, relay changes are not a daily occurrence, and remain possible if a bit arduous.

Not without going to some lengths; you would need to pull the headlight assembly, remove the bulbs and then try to get it out, and in the end it would not make much (if any) difference in how the light performs.

I would try to do it without pulling the gear box, that is a lot of work for one fastener, unless the car is going to see severe duty (e. g.: lots of track time), I would not be overly concerned about it not being there. What I would do, however, is find another shop; people that leave fasteners out when putting these cars back together get up my nose and should not be allowed near them. I would also double check that all the other bolts are torqued properly.

Being double jointed definitely helps; we have never tried to pull one down, preferring to work upside down with my head under the dash using a small mirror and light. Not comfortable, but it is quick. The front relay panel may be mounted on a similar set of arms that the rear one is.

This photo of the engine with the transmission removed shows location and type of the fasteners that attach the transmission. The location and orientation of the hardware can be very confusing and it's not well documented in the Porsche factory diagrams, so I've provided a legend with part numbers for all Boxsters 1997-08 here: A- M10x40mm triplesquare (999-073-118-09) B- M12x1.5x100mm (999-072-010-09) C- M12x1.5x100mm (999-072-010-09) with 15x28x3.5 washer (N-905-028-02) D/G- M12x1.5x70mm (999-072-008-09) E/F- M12x1.5x90mm (999-072-009-09) H- M10 hex nut (900-377-011-09) attached to M10x30mm stud in transmission case (999-218-088-09)

Sorry, I gave some incorrect info, it is not in the front of the trunk, but on the drivers side (behind a removable panel) on your car. :huh: 1. Open luggage−compartment lid, turn the two fixing clips at the side by 90° and fold down the luggage compartment cover.2. Pull relay carrier forward on the two supports.

Facing into the trunk from the rear of the car, pull down the inside trim liner at the front of the trunk area.

Not to rain on your parade, but you are looking at relay panel #1, and the DME relay is not in that panel, it is in panel #2 in the rear boot. :eek:

RFM is on the money with this one, this sounds like a Crank Position Sensor which turns off the fuel pump when it acts up because the DME cannot see the engine turning over. Not uncommon, easily fixed.

Again, the severe curvature and thickness of the material can make the lens appear somewhat "milky" or clouded when views off axis in certain lighting conditions; completely normal.

Five or six speed? The five speed would have a total of seven fasteners from the factory, the six speed would have eight. Any of the fasteners can be replaced without removing the gearbox.

They put it up in the air and remove the drain plugs, I have never heard of a dealer using an extraction system for the reasons mentioned above......

That would work as well.............although the DE instructor might frown on being asked to sit on the floor :eek:

One of the cheapest, least time consuming, as well as most fun ways for the average driver to lower their lap times in one of these cars is some DE lessons.

Joy! Well I am grateful for yours & Iogray's responses, have opened my eyes to a few issues and things I really should have looked into in more depth! Lets say I go down the route of selling the FS system and instead purchasing some DesignTek mid-pipes with 200 cell cats along with a DesignTek Muffler, would that be a better option to go for? No idea, I've never even seen a DesignTek system. What I am having a hard time understanding is your seemingly total focus on the exhaust system, while the OEM parts have proven very hard to better without spending a lot of time and money. If you intend to track the car, what have you done about its well documented problem of overheating the power steering system? What steps have you taken to improve the car's engine and oil cooling system capabilities? What modifications have you made to address the IMS issue? All of these issues are vastly more important for a car that is regularly tracked than an overly noisy, and often power robbing exhaust system...............

I have read a lot about headers & bolts - It will be my local garage carrying out the work who I'm on good friendly terms with which helps out with hourly labour charges etc. If I go under the car whilst its on stands will a visual inspection tell me much about the condition of these bolts? Quite a few in the exhaust system are corroded and will need replacing but some are in fairly good condition. Most journeys in the car are 10-30 miles maximum so they're fairly minimum, for the longer ones I have earplugs handy. I'm young and should be able to deal with a bit of drone and having read & listed to videos etc. I do plan to have the ECU remapped at some stage as I am looking to also track my car on the occasion. Not really, when you do the headers on these cars, the studs can be a total crap shoot. Sometimes the nuts come right off, other times you break most, if not all of them off.

Difficult to impossible to do with any degree of reliability. It is also fairly common for the extractor line to get caught on one of the many sharp edged things down in the sump, mandating sump cover plate removal to extract the extractor. All around bad idea.....

Thanks for your response,I knew what I was purchasing from the start, I was just under the impression my car would have pre-cats.With regards to adding pre-cats - Is there anyway to find out before purchase if it would pass emissions? The ones I linked on eBay are possibly what I'd go for but with regards to O2 sensors, would they reach as well?I may look at Mid-pipes with Cats, I assume an exhaust specialist would be able to mate the two pipes together?ThanksEdit: These state they're MOT compatible... So this is the route I'd rather take because then it all fit together! Question is, will O2 sensors reach - If not can they be extended, or do I have any other options? It is impossible to say if the O2 sensors would reach, but the harness could be lengthened if required, as long as it is done correctly. It is equally impossible to say if they have enough capacity to keep the car in MOT spec, but they do say they are 200 cell, so they may be enough. One thing you are not addressing is that if your car has the OEM headers on it, there is also a high probability of broken header studs in your future; quite often the header studs on older cars are far too corroded to be undone, and need to be drilled out and replaced. One option you have not seemed to consider is leaving the car alone. Most after market exhaust systems add only marginal performance at best unless the DME is reflashed, plus they are "drone prone" leading to headache inducing harmonics at normal driving speeds. You would be surprised at how many after market systems get removed because they are just too annoying to enjoy the car.

Sorry, but calcium-calcium batteries do contain lead; the difference is in a standard battery the metal grid is a lead antimony alloy, in a calcium battery it is lead calcium. This changes the battery's characteristics. Lead antimony batteries are far superior in their ability to deep cycle. And while lead calcium units tend to have lower self discharge rates, the grid plates tend to grow over time, causing internal shorts. Calcium batteries also tend to suffer from severe internal electrolyte stratification (when the specific gravity at the top of the cell is totally different than that at the bottom), which requires reconditioning (a special type of charge cycle that causes the electrolyte to remix) which is only found on higher end battery maintainers like the Ctek 7002.

Couple of points: Fab Speeds website clearly shows and states that this is "race only" configuration because of the lack of any catalytic converters. What you have is exactly what is described. Secondly, your car is the then standard ROW or rest of world configuration, meaning only main three way cats, no pre-cats. Third, adding back pre-cats will probably not answer your MOT requirement's, they were never designed to handle the full exhaust flow, but only to heat up quickly and aid on cold starts. And lastly, adding any cats is going to quiet down the system. Probably your best bet is to jump for a set of the 200 cell sport cats, which will add back the emissions capability to get by MOT, which will not be cheap and will quiet down the system:

Couple of possibilities: Some of these cars were equipped with a decoupling front alternator pulley (called an overrunning alternator pulley, acts like a clutch and allows the unit to free wheel under certain RPM circumstances), which may be the source of what you are seeing. Secondly, you could have either a diode bridge or voltage regulator on the way out. Easy enough for an equipped shop to load test the unit and verify what needs to be done.

I think it would be an interesting experiment as the wheel bearings are under different load characteristics than an IMS or pilot bearing would be.