JFP in PA

You really do not want to use a metal impeller pump; the gap between the impeller and the alloy engine case wall is quite small, and eventually the pump bearing will wear causing the shaft to wobble, and the metal impeller will start "machining" the alloy case, which will quickly do irreparable damage to the engine case as well as filling the cooling system with finely ground metal. That is why Porsche uses a composite impeller.................

When the bits go missing, extensive back flushing of components is required to try and get it all out. That is why proactive replacements are mandatory.

The purpose of the thermostat is to stop or reduce coolant flow until a set temperature is reached in the engine.

The water pump failure process is fairly well documented, the composite impeller starts to break up over time, reducing the system's efficiency as well as clogging small passages in the cooling system. While this is a pump out of a 30K miles 996, it illustrates what happens over time (and this one is only starting to fail): If you have access to the Excellence magazine, there is an in depth discussion of how this happens starting on page 36 of the May 2014 issue; it is in the "Tech Notes" letters section in a letter titled "Anxious Pump Watcher".

Like many other "modern" Porsche water pumps, the Cayenne uses a composite impeller which will simply wear over time. This fact makes the pump a "maintenance item", meaning it needs to be changed proactively about every 4-6 years, regardless of what the cooling system is doing at the time. While swapping out the pump and thermostats makes excellent sense, I would skip the use of any coolant "additives" as they are short term Band-Aids that often degrade the otherwise excellent life expectancy of the Porsche coolant when it is mixed with distilled water.

OK, let's look at the data. Here is what jumps out: Your idle speed is low, normal range is 790-800 RPM Both TRA values are sitting at their rich threshold values Cam deviation values are excellent Air mass in within normal range One O2 sensor showing no voltage P1531 - Not seeing the triggering VarioCam actuator on bank 1, but the cam is moving to the active position. Usually a wiring short or defective VarioCam actuator. P0130 - O2 sensor ahead of TWC on bank 1 either shorted or limited voltage range. Three possible: the sensor itself is bad, a wiring to the sensor issue, DME problem (rare). P0150 - O2 sensor ahead of TWC on bank 2 either shorted or limited voltage range. Same possible as above. P0130 and 0150, I would look at the harness connections to make sure they are correct and tight (do not use any cleaners on these connections, it typically leads to instant death for the sensor). With both pre TWC sensors "offline", I am not surprised the engine is having a tough time gaining idle control. P1531, again, I would start by looking at the harness connectors for the actuator. You can also use the Durametric system to trigger the actuator, which should cause a cam deviation angle change and throw the idle off; it also make a pronounced clicking sound when the actuator solenoid triggers.

Are you sure you have the Durametric set for your model DME?

Use the anti seize compound. Porsche wrote that warning because some anti seize compounds are electrical insulators, which is not a good thing on plugs. Fortunatley, most anti seize compounds sold in North America are metal paste types, which are fully electrically conductive, and can be used on plugs with no problems. Also put a dab of dielectric grease on the plug ceramic to aid in seal and removal of the coil packs in the future.

I would not touch the case bolts unless they are a problem (show signs of oil seepage). More often than not, fussing with them leads to more problems than it cures, and it is not necessary to loosen or remove them when doing an RMS. Most of the later M96/97 cars already have the longer case bolts in them, so changing them out really does nothing.

RFM is referring to the sleeve the thrust bearing slides on at the front of the gear box. They sometimes get worn and need replacing, but even if they are in good shape, should be lubricated during reassembly. Often over looked.............

The photo is from a Tip equipped car, which many internet resources will continue to tell you do not have IMS failures. No, you cannot see the IMS flange on a manual equipped car without removing the flywheel; there just isn't any room. On a Tip car, you can see the flange through the flex plate, but even then you are only a few bolts away from an unobstructed view. When we do a 2000-2001 car, we pull it apart and then look to see which style is in there. LN stopped allowing exchange returns due to the number of people that ordered the wrong style bearing based upon build dates, VIN numbers, or whatever other methods they found on the internet; all of which proved to be useless. There is simply no other way to do this, except by looking at the flange with the flywheel removed.

CA smog checks typically require a visual inspection of the engine bay for non CARB components.

I really would not be leaving a Boxster and instructions with someone that has never opened the engine bay before, the potential for screwing up everything from your convertible top to the rear body work is just too high. Either take to someone that knows how to do it, or learn how your self and do it for them. Too risky.............. :eek:

You should not be using electrical contact cleaner on the connectors for O2 sensors, that alone can permanently damage the sensor.

A quick question, you said this is a 2000 base Boxster, what scan tool are you using to read the codes you listed?

Anytime, let us know how you make out.

If the battery is below 12.6V, the battery is at least low and needs a recharge, or may need replacing. If the alternator is below 13.6 to 14.5V, the alternator or voltage regulator are bad.

If the system shorted internally, yes, what he describing could occur, but these incidents are rare. But I don't think that is your problem, which is most likely low voltage related. In either case, if you connected a voltmeter directly to the battery terminals (depending upon your model, you may have more than one battery), with the vehicle off you should see 12.6V; with the vehicle running, you should see between 13.6 and 14.5V.

What causes the OEM cables to fail is not the gauge or number of wires, but corrosion build up inside the cable and particularly the cable ends, which causes the internal resistance to go up. The replacement OEM cables designed to address this corrosion issue have something injected into them to retard the corrosion development over time. Welding cable is not treated in this manner and would probably do no better than the original cables.

Just be aware that some IMS fixes are well designed and thoroughly tested, others not so much; and you are betting your $17K engine on the product.

Good luck with this project, it is one that I do not envy. Keep track of what works to get the paper out and what does not, I'm sure someone else will do this again sometime, and you will have literally "written the book" on how to deal with it.

Yes, but you can also do it with a simple hand held volt meter.

It is, but it is also removable and replaceable without getting a new alternator.

Any educated guesstimations? ***** And on the other issue, I'm not having much progress/luck here. From the outset, I mentioned that "I see a lot of people refer to their cars as "2006 MY07". So if a car can have a buld date in 2006 and yet be called a MY07 - then the build year isn't the answer I'm looking for. I think i'm generally pretty good at articulating but maybe the issue is just so simple that people are missing the crux of my question. I just want to know what makes a car an MY07! and "build date" isn't really the answer if you can have both MY07's and MY06's built in Aug 2006. Is "MY07" written somewhere? I thought when "The original paperwork" was mentioned above, that that was the answer to the question and that it would therefore be somewhere in the books - and that therefore was the end of the question. NB: Does "running the VIN" mean via a dealer? I just want to know if there's a simple way you can know for yourself. I'm really not sure what you are attempting to accomplish, but people can say anything they want about their cars; however there is only one correct model year for any given vehicle, which typically listed on the title and registration for the car. If you have the 17 digit VIN for the car in question, you can enter it into Scouser's Porsche VIN Decoder (Documents tab at the top of the page), and it will break down what Porsche thinks the car is, which is pretty much exactly what I would expect the car's title would say. A dealer can also decode the VIN using a different software, but should come to the same results. The only people that have accurate data on the IMS failure rates is Porsche, and they are not talking. We have seen a few, but have no idea if that is representative of the entire population. Any number thrown out is pure speculation.

You need to have the alternator checked for out put, it may be as simple as a bad voltage regulator.