mikefocke

Porsche also sold a special frame measuring jig to body shops I was told and it might be used instead of the Laser measurement system JFP mentions. I totaled a '99 9 years ago with 27k on it. The car was perfect...and then it wasn't. My first thought was "OMG, I pranged a Porsche!". Front end. I looked at it and said to myself "no worse than my son's Honda and that was $3k so maybe $5-7,000". I thought fenders, hood and a little radiator and bumper and it would be fine. It drove fine, the front trunk looked unaffected and the airbags didn't even deploy. I'd repaired worse in other cars. The body shop (really top notch shop in a major metro are) stopped counting when they did the insurance company-authorized detailed assessment at $26k. Since the car was worth less, I got a check from the insurance company, they got the car. Once they started talking frame, I didn't want the car for safety reasons. IMHO, the car should be totaled. The cost to repair approaches or exceeds the absolute max value of the car before it was wrecked and that is before any hidden issues are uncovered via the frame measurements. Also if the airbags deployed, the interior is a mess and many insurance companies will scrap the car on that basis alone. So for economic and safety reasons, the car should go to a wrecker who will part out the car and extract the value of the parts which can exceed the value of the car but which require time and labor cost to extract and then time and labor to market. I feel her pain.

Sometimes I'd be so eager to get out I'd put a electric space heater in the car for a half hour to warm up that plastic window so I could safely lower it. I drove mine except on the days where the road temperature was less than 40 degrees. One time I didn't. It was totaled. Pay attention to the road temperature and get at least all-seasons if you are going to drive it when there is even a chance of the road surface being so cold that the tire "rubber" won't grip with summer tires.

Once you have lost the key-socket, consider if you really have wheels special enough to warrant the locks. I figured they were so subject to being lost (or stolen) during a service that I'd just buy some studs and use them. But I had stock wheels, nothing valuable. The dealer parts guy allowed me to use their complete set to remove the locks after he sold me the studs.

For every wreck, there are axles available. http://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/listsofsourceswould give you a list or wreckers specializing in Porsches. You need to have the axle from your same transmission, not one from a 6 speed or Tip.

Was the structure that supports the rear bumper also damaged? Someone ran into mine and it was not only the cover but the bar behind it and the shocks and a bunch of bolts that had to be replaced. See the PET. You don't want just a cosmetic repair, you want the bumper to protect the sheet metal of the body the next time. Sheet metal gets really expensive.

Why has the LN web site been pruned? Why no returns? Might both be that the stress and cost of dealing with people not qualified to do the job or who are attempting to return parts they have used and botched up has driven them nuts? I recall a person attempting to force the bearing in, failing (oops, forgot the freezer bit), then selling the bearing on fleabay as new unused and that secondary buyer raising the question in the forum as to why it was scored. Deal too many times with that kind of stuff and you get defensive as heck with your sales strategy and your policies. I used to sell a very expensive computer with some terminals. The terminals were nothing special, we bought them from a major supplier but we also serviced them. When a major government customer started to have failures on the same part number but of a slightly different era and asked us to honor "our" warranty we eventually caught on that they weren't one we had sold but had migrated from other systems, In our case the cost was a new terminal and delivery cost to replace anywhere in the US. In LN's case it would be parts cost plus handholding time from someone who would really rather be developing the next product. Too much of that kind of stuff and you go out of business. Our solution (and I see LN practicing some of it too) was serial number recording both on initial purchase and, in our case, on warranty renewal. I really get the feeling that LN would like to have only qualified installers buying as it protects the product's reputation.

Kon5t, go back and reread my posting that you seem concerned about. Notice I said the experience wasn't mine. Note also the understated language I used compared to the original and the comment at the end about the sample size. Threads were on pedro's and 986forum. I stripped out the sensationalism and product loyalty. Judge for yourself the meanings of that mechanic's experience. (When I see a posting that is of interest and/or is contrary to the PR, I bring it to the attention of folks so it may be examined. I don't make up things, nor do I ever intentionally post BS. If personal attacks cause us to learn less about experiences that contradict our opinions, we have all lost.)

What has been happening when you turn the key? (Sights and sounds? Does it sound like the starter engages?) Color of smoke/fumes? Smell of fumes? How long does it last? What does the inside of the tailpipe look like? How does the coolant tank level/color look? Oil dipstick level/color?

See if you can find the Bosch part number equivalent. It isn't like Porsche made the all the parts or even had them made in a special design back in that era. They were mostly using off the shelf parts. (I've seen parts that still had the Bosch part number stamped into them. Don't know if this is true on a ICV.) So I googled "Boxster idle control valve bosch" and seems you can reduce the price by ~50%,

LN advises that the DOF should not be used with their bearings. The DOF also requires a special bearing in dual row engines per a recent posting by Pedro. It requires a shaved bearing whose race is of a different size and lacks the outer seal of the original. Failure to remove the seal seemed to create problems when using a DOF per a recent post on 286forum by a mechanic who was trying to figure out why a car had valve train issues. Problems went away when the DOF was removed with no other changes. Problems also were not present when another manufacturer's IMS was installed and the DOF was not used. No research as to why, just problem in car fixed. As frequently, sample size of one.

Timbo...any idea of the history of the car before it had the LN installed? Was the pan pulled? Any debris found there before the LN was installed? What kind? Frequency of oil changes thereafter? How long had the LN been installed in years and miles/clicks? What was the bearing type...single, dual etc? Without lots of details, it is hard to point to the bearing itself as the cause as there is environment, history and installation at play too. There are LNs out there now which are getting to their recommended replacement point. Yes, in the UK, the approach has been to just remove the seal. Pick your approach, roll them dice.

What I did here ...might give you some thoughts.

Or ferrous as in containing iron? Do they lift with a magnet?

Some O2 codes are very specific. Depends on what year your car is as to if it has 2 or 4 sensors. Know the exact code before throwing parts money after it. Yes, Bosch makes the parts for Porsche. More including a picture of the exhaust system, part numbers, etc here

Curiously these same 2 codes can mean (in the 7.2 world) either too lean or too rich. Basically something is sending a signal that the ECU uses to compute the air/fuel adaptation and the computation puts the result outside the proper range. If lean: – Incorrect signal from MAF sensor – Intake air system leaking – Fuel pressure too low – Volume supply of fuel pump too low – Fuel injectors fouled – Exhaust system leaking If rich: – Incorrect signal from MAF sensor – Fuel pressure too high – Fuel injector leaking – EVAP canister purge valve open

Doesn't the Bose have a different impedance which requires it be matched to a different amp? So the amp and all the speakers were different? There used to be some speakers that fit into the compartments that fit on top of box that sat on the rear engine cover behind the seats. Those you could use with the right speakers and the standard radio or amp..

The Boxster alignment specs give a range where the settings can be either handling oriented or tire mileage oriented and still be in spec. I had mine done by a guy who set up Porsches as racecars and he gave me exactly what I said I wanted in terms of results. He also road tested it after it was done to get his seal of the pants feedback on if it was done right. Makes a difference the experience of who does it.

May I suggest you send your comments re the LN instructions and your experiences to Jake and/or Charles and maybe they could influence the next rev of the instructions for the better.

Ben, you might want to specify the model year as some seats were such that they fit under the roll bar when back far. Maybe other model years it was different as you describe. Or have there been mods to your seat mountings?

Thanks for the feedback.

I was thinking of covering the IMS shaft with a bit of plastic and tape wile waiting. Good luck. Your research tells me you'll do well.

My dumb questions. Can't you just take the darn thing out and see? Can you stand the down time while the verified part gets shipped?

Good auto upholstery shops can rebuild the seats.

Should you go on and change it? Depends on what you'll do with the car in the years ahead and how do you know that for sure. I've invested $$ only to have to total the car 4 months later. Or put new Michelins on only to sell the car with maybe 3-400 miles on the tires. OTOH, you are half way there.... Got access to the tools? Or is that a cost too?

SAI ???