JFP in PA

Possibly the coolant level sensor, which is located in the bottom of the coolant surge tank in the rear boot. Fortunately, the level sensor is not actually in contact with the coolant, so it can be changed without having to drain the system. I'd also check the plug connections on the sensor as they tend to get corroded (yellow arrow in photo).

Porsche does retail their gear oils in liter containers, but not all dealers seem to carry it. For someone doing a DIY change out, that would be the way to go. Shops usually buy theirs in either drums (due to cost) or 5 gallon pails, the latter of which I understand have been discontinued due to lack of sales.

The reasons not to disconnect the battery are fairly well documented; Excellence magazine recently did a detailed article on some of the issues it can lead to, particularly with 911 variants. My personal favorite was the cars that lost fuel level calibration, resulting in having to drain the fuel tank, refill it with a precise amount of fuel, and then reset the dash gauge using a PST II/PIWIS unit. Not exactly easy or fun...............

Five speed is lighter when you factor in all the other parts that are required for the six speed (rear hub carriers, etc.); have also noted that the five speeds often have the advantage in auto cross and DE events, possibly due to weight and ratios.

+1 on Loren's comments; we have encountered exactly the same thing. Clients that have tried everything imaginable, from Red Line, Royal Purple, Amsoil, to Mobil 1 products have all ended up both disappointed with the shifting and noisy gearbox complaints, and ended up switching back to the OEM juice. We did see one product that seemed to work well, particularly in the cold, but it is not sold in North America, so while an interesting footnote, it is not a viable solution...............

Mike has a point, for general maintenance purposes (oil changes, etc.) nothing really fancy is needed in the tool department. Once you get into things like the RMS or cam timing tooling and the like, and the tool bill starts to mount pretty quickly. On the other hand, M3's are no gems in that respect either and some model years have had their share of engine problems as well. I would, however, be willing to speculate, just from you comments alone, that your wrench probably has more BMW tools than Porsche in his/her shop............

Not to sound overly critical, but wouldn’t have been both easier, and less "agricultural", to just buy a decent maintainer?

Well, here is where the LED conversion gets interesting; replacing the OEM bulb with an LED and a resistor will effectively end up at the same wattage power consumption; you will have saved nothing energy wise, and the lights will be marginally brighter, but you will have added both complexity and a small amount of weight to the car. That is why I don't understand the interest in converting...... the view just isn't worth the climb.........

The OEM style batteries have a gas vent line that runs out beneath the car, so covering the car is not an issue..................

If you went from an incandescent bulb to an LED, the circuit no longer has the resistance the DME is looking for and assumes the bulb has burnt out. Adding a resistor will end this issue. While the PIWIS can switch the car over to the DTRL configuration, I do not believe the PIWIS can do anything about it thinking the bulb is burnt out without a resistor in the circuit, which is in the DME software configuration.............. I've never understood the fascination with switching cars that were not designed for LED's over to using them and then having to rewire half the car to accommodate them..............

I stand corrected.............

The elliptical opening was for a microphone component of the OEM phone system, rarely seen on these cars. The blanking insert is a favorite location for a small push button installed post delivery to operate a garage door opener, usually hidden under the dash. I’d start there……………

That flasher is the wrong style for your car, plus it "solves" a the problem by adding resistance ("load" in the posting) to the circuits; you can do this your self by simply adding appropriately sized (and much cheaper) resistors you can get a the local electronics hobby shop in the light wiring..............

I'm not sure how this chart is useful. First of all, the fuses are not responsible for the parasitic draw on the battery, the components on the circuit are. Secondly, you don't need a clamp probe to measure parasitic draw (current, measured in mA) which can easily be detected accurately by a $20 multi meter.....................

It is definitely not normal, I'd start by checking the other mounts to see if they look beat, I'd also connect a scanner with real time PID capture capabilities and run the car through the problem "zone" a couple of times to see what the sensors are saying........

TSB's are available to contributing members here, or you can try contacting your dealer. The CD would be a dealer item.

Technical Service Bulletin...........

Yes.

It does sound like an amp issue..........sorry for the bad pun!

DO NOT USE MOTORMEISTER! Do a quick internet search and you will ample find evidence of those that they have already screwed............. If you really want it done right, contact Jake Raby at Flat Six Innovations.

"CVMan", also known as CV Restorations (Jessup, MD) is one of many small local axle shops that typically start up rebuilding off road or ATV axles and then expand into the general automotive markets. Like alternator or radiator repair shops, they fill a market need for inexpensive local repair/rebuild for area mechanical shops. Like most similar operations, they keep costs down by selective sourcing of components, with a lot of the CV's and shafts coming from the Pacific Rim; usually China or Korea. For the general repair market, the stuff they turn out is acceptable. However, if you were to disassemble their units, and compare the components with some OEM units, specifically the ones built for use in performance vehicles, you start to see some glaring differences, ranging from the materials used, to the actual size of key components. For a Honda Civic, a Toyota Camry, or some other such vehicle, their stuff will probably be fine. Start talking about the axles in an LS6 Corvette, or a Porsche, and now there is no comparison; and the life expectancy of the aftermarket units quickly becomes suspect, a point born out by the number of cheap, aftermarket axles we have pulled with relatively low miles on them because the CV's were coming apart. As a shop owner, I cannot place the reputation of my business on low cost substitutes; my customers expect, and even demand quality. At the end of the day, it is your car and your money; so choose accordingly. The axle angle and abnormal CV boot wear is both a well know and documented issue on 6 speed Porsche's (the 5 speed cars do not suffer this issue). The axle angles under certain suspension conditions literally bind up the boots, as well as severely loading the CV's as well. Yes, it is a design issue. To my knowledge, there is no "specialty boot" available that will remedy this problem; it is mechanical in nature, so any boot material is going to be taxed to the limit, and prone to fail in less miles than you might expect. The issue with the surge tanks in all M96/97 cars was one of wall thickness and composition. Unfortunately, because Porsche is a low volume manufacturer, designs change slowly, and parts remain expensive. As the result, the plastic surge tank in a 2007 Cadillac, which is three to four times the size of the one in a Boxster, retails for less than one third of what the current Porsche unit sells for, and you can actually change it out in about 15 min. without getting particularly dirty in the process. No, my business is not in reselling aftermarket parts. For more than 35 years, we have specialized in the maintenance, repair, restoration, and modification of high performance street and race vehicles, including Porsches. From time to time, I take a moment to try and share some of the insight we have acquired over nearly four decades of "trying to fix them faster than our clients can break them"..................

Oh boy……………and no one on flea bay ever had any reason to deceive anyone, ever. Right................. Did it ever occur to you that someone selling parts for a Porsche anonymously on flea bay, from a non-descript source, at prices way below what the dealers pay for the real thing, has got to involve either serious cutting of corners somewhere or merchandise of a "questionable origin"? Jeez……………….. We have been approached by just about everyone pushing aftermarket driveline parts; every time one of two things happens: We ask them to bring representative sample of the part to the shop for us to see; and if they actually do, we usually have a good laugh and send them on their way. Or they tell us they will get back to us, and we never hear from them again……………. The is no such thing as a free lunch……………….

Low, and dubious........... "Had" two failures, or "only honored the warranty" for two failures? Not to cast aspersions, but I have absolutely no respect for aftermarket warranty firms, as most are renown for not paying out...............

What you can't see on the websites is the differences in quality. Pelican is probably selling OEM units, the rest are most likely Chinese made knock offs. We have had both in the shop at the same time, and there is absolutely no comparison; everything on the OEM unit is solid and well finished; not so much on the knock offs. If complete replacement OEM units are outside your budget, consider buying the OEM parts and rebuilding your original units; you will end up with something you can depend upon……………

3 & 4 are one syncro, 5 & 6 are another. Rather unusual for two different syncros to go bad at once. I'd still bet on the gear oil..............