Jameslovesporsches

Thanks to everyone who tried to help my car's vibration problem. I took the Boxster to Discount Tire yesterday, which does have a Hunter GSP9700 balancing machine and one of their technicians looked over my car for nearly an hour. Now, I may have omitted a very important detail from this board. The 98 Boxster's tires are from the very beginning- they're original. Despite the mileage of the car only being 5K, the Discount Tire guy strongly recommended new tires. Apparently, their policy is to recommend a new set of tires every 5 years, and my car is pushing past 7 years. Based on the wear of the tires, he didn't think I needed an alignment and also didn't recommend spending the 60+ dollars for balancing because he said my vibration at high speeds problem is from the tires themselves. Furthermore, the technician said that vibrating sometimes and sometimes not at 80 mph is a very bad sign that the tires are near end of life. I guess it's time for me to start reading up here on Renntech to see what set of tires to get. Do you guys think the 5 year tire life estimate is accurate? Thanks for everyone's help. James

Tom, Thanks for your reply. At 40-45 MPH, I feel some vibration, but nothing that raises red flags. So, I believe at the lower speed the steering feel to be pretty normal. On the freeway, the car just doesn't feel "planted." Thank you for recommending the Hunter 9700 everyone. I'll look for a shop that has it and call around for pricing. James

Porsches are supposed to feel stable at even 80 mph right? However, my steering wheel gets quite jumpy in the 80 mph range though not always at the same velocity. Could it just be the wind or might having the hardtop on play a role aerodynamically? I definitely feel my 98 Boxster has some highway stability issues. Tire pressures are right (33 front/ 36 rear) and NTB has recommended balancing the tires for 10 dollars a tire. So, do you guys think balancing will solve the problem here? Or could alignment play a role? Traveling between cities at 90-100 the car will sometimes seem like it's vibrating... though not always that's why I sometimes thought it was just the wind. But this doesn't even happen so severly in the minivan. And, where do you take your car to get this fixed? Thanks for any help. James

Hey Bavarian, I have a 98 Boxster with the optional hardtop, and though I'm not sure, the mechanism for attachment should kinda be the same. In my Boxster, you line up the front two hooks first above the windshield. The trick I use to get the rear spinlocks to line up is when the two hooks are in their windshield sockets, I shove the hardtop from the rear both left and right to "better seat" the hooks in the windshield sockets. Then, the rear spinlocks line up perfectly! When I just have the two hooks seated in there, I couldn't get the spinlocks to line up in the back either! Try this out, it should work. By the way, for my car at least, you're supposed to lock down the rear first and then attach the latch at the front. Make sure your key is not in the igniton when you do anything hardtop related. You don't want any broken pieces. Good luck. James

Hey Everyone, 1998 Boxster whose driver side window sometimes goes down at about the halfway point when I try to close the window. Definitely a result of the "anti-jamming" safety feature in the power window. Going down all the way, it works fine. However, when I push the window closed, you can hear the motor working, but then it slows, and the power windows detect a "jam" so they go back down. However, I can force it to go back up on the second try. I thought something might have been caught in the window slot by the controls for the side mirrors, but it's all clear. Is this a symptom of imminent power window failure? Anybody had this happen before? It's kinda puzzling. Almost like the power window motor struggles a little at the halfway point of motion. Thanks for any suggestions. James

Tool Pants, I have the 5 speed manual transmission. James

Haha, it's used too! I enjoy driving it soo much. I think the previous owner simply preferred his more sedan like cars. In Houston, which independent garages can you recommend? Thanks. I don't think brake fluid is low, but I'll check soon. By the way, the squealing is only audible at low speeds (slowing to a complete stop, for example). Any other suggestions? James

Hi everyone, I was wondering what are some possible reasons for intermittent brake squealing. In my 98 Boxster with only around 4000 miles, the brake pads all look like new, but one of my rear brakes sometimes squeaks whenever I apply the brake. Is there something that could be loose? Or need to be lubricated? I'm pretty sure it's coming from the driver's side rear, but it only happens when I apply the brake. And for some reason, only at some times and not others. The sound is definitely noticeable, so please help! James

My 98 Boxster infrequently has an issue with the ignition switch. Reading through these posts, I do not know if my car's problem requires replacement of the ignition switch. Over the past few months, this has only happened twice, so I am not too worried. However, sometimes, I can not turn the key once it is in the ignition. Like, it will not budge for a few seconds, and then I can wiggle it a little and then start the car. What is going on? Please help... it's strange. Thanks. James

I have a factory hardtop that fits my boxster just fine. However, my curiosity is getting the better of me. What adjustments are/can be made to the hardtop and how it attaches? My hardtop was very difficult to put on at first, so I believe it wasn't properly adjusted. Nonetheless, it's not leaking, so I have not been worried. If anyone knows information on hardtop adjustment though, pass on some info! James

So, I was reading at edmunds.com, and I found a review of the 2000 boxster. Turns out that my tranny may not have a problem at all! In their review they state: "Finding the Boxster stupid simple to heel-and-toe in preparation for entering a corner, our staff downgraded the transmission in a couple of other areas. First, one editor complained about contact between his knee and the steering wheel when operating the clutch. Several of us noted long throws between gears and a "loosey-goosey" (yes, that is the technical term) shifter. Gates were deemed notchy, and the clutch required more effort than the others to operate smoothly. Yet, nobody groused much about the end result, which is that when driven hard, as a Porsche is designed to be, shifting became nearly transparent." Sounds similar to my transmission. Not very smooth about town, but in the twisties, great. Thanks for the suggestions. James

Hey everyone, I have noticed this too in my 1998 Boxster. The vibrations and sound occur when I am parking or leaving a parking spot at a very slow rate of speed. I actually don't think it's the car. I'm not a very experienced stick shift driver, and I think it's the engine shaking as if it's about to stall out since I'm at such a slow rate of speed with maybe too much clutch out. I'm pretty sure we're all experiencing the same thing. But at least for me, I think my rough stick driving abilities are to blame. I certainly hope it isn't a mechanical issue. No one likes added expense. James

I'm sorry to hear about your top. But, I was in a similar situation with the top stuck up, and with the help of Renntech people, I was eventually able to fix my top with minimal expense. Please follow the link to an earlier posting of mine. Manually Lowering the Boxster Top I hope this helps. James

Has anybody had experience with this issue? While shifting my 98 low mileage (4000 miles) 5 speed Boxster, I notice that the smoothness of the shifting varies. All gears work, but the engagement of some gears is not as smooth as with others. For example, the 1-2 shift is not smooth, rather, I have to shift slowly and deliberately, but it engages just fine. Also, the 3-4 shift seems kinda notchy when entering the gate of fourth gear. These are minor quibbles now as the car still drives great... just somewhat annoying. There are not any noises and I am hesitant to suspect the transmission. Sometimes, depending on the day, the tranny is smoother than another day. I'm confused. Rather than inspecting the transmission itself, could the culprit be a loose or cracked shift bushing or linkage or some other part that isn't working well in the housing for the shifter itself within the center console? Any advice on what the problem could be or how to get into the shifter mechanism area for a visual inspection would be great, thanks. James

Have you thought about a black exterior? To some it may look outright gaudy... however, it can give a real "pimp" look to it. This would also give you as rare a color combo as they come. Post some pictures when the repainting is done!

So, this board has allowed me to cruise to my heart's content again! Thanks to Toolpants especially for enabling my roof to be back in business! Now for more minor quibbles... lubrication. Where does one lubricate the convertible top? Mine squeaks in various places. What does one use to lubricate? WD-40? On the rails that the clamshell's arms slide upon, the OEM lubrication is something gummy, like a sticky jelly, what is it? Thanks to anyone who can help me out. James.

So, I finally discovered that the driver's side of the car's clamshell/top not moving to at least partially housing that has expanded from heat pushing the square end of the cable out from the top motor. When I looked on the inside, there was this greyish gunk, like a gel, but not on the working passenger side cable. Who knows? Clearly, the cable must be replaced, I'll do both for my 98 boxster, but Tool Pants, I have another question that has left me very confused. While trying to manually open my top from its roof up position... I disconnected all the ball joints but noticed the driver's side transmission refused to twist while the passenger's side swiveled with minimal force! I discovered this upon trying to swivel the levers out of the way of the top mechanism. To my knowledge the passenger's side of my top should works fine, only the driver's side has problems. Does a cable problem explain this? Or is there something stuck in that driver's side top transmission/worm gear/cable connection that prevents swiveling? Thanks. James.

Thanks to Everyone's Input! Particularly Tool Pants! I was finally able to get my top open manually thanks to the help I received from the Renntech boards. If only I could turn to such good advice for dealing with my girlfriend! I would like to include a recap for anyone else's future reference on how to manually get one's top down when it fails. By the way, this only chronicles the beginnings of my ongoing cable replacement saga. This information may be particularly useful for those who want to use their hardtops when the top fails. Getting into the Service Position when Top is Stuck Up 1) Reach rather blindly between the roll hoops of your boxster (take out the windstops there and between the roll hoops if you need to) and unclip the long black plastic connection holding the rear of the dust cover. 2) Continuing to reach rather blindly, unhook the two small ball joints connected to cables. 3) Go into your car, key in ignition, handbrake up, unlatch top, and slowly open the clamshell (just a crack- 4 inches up max otherwise you'll accidentally bend your clamshell slightly like I did). Of course, if you can somehow free your clamshell by releasing the black metal ball joints connected to the v lever bolted to your transmission, that is definitely preferred: no potential bending of clamshell. 4) We're trying to get the rear of the top into the service position, so this is tricky: carefully jostle free the released rear portion of the top from the clamshell and flip it towards your "b pillar": you are now in the service position. Unhinging the Black Ball Joints and Then the Red Ball Joints *Note*: Both ball joints take a lot of force to remove, especially the metal black joints! However be patient, careful (use towels, etc), and at peace as you know those service techs would be doing similar operation with less care. 1) My ball joints were on really tight, so I went around looking to purchase the tool that Mark and Toolpants used in another post as an alternative to the Porsche toolkit's lever tool which didn't work well for me. It looks like a big flathead screwdriver with a V opening at the end. I went to Sears and Lowes without any luck. Go to your local Pep Boys and ask not for a ball joint removal tool but for a door panel removal tool as Toolpants and Mark state. The tool is produced by Lisle Corporation/ part #35400/ named "Door Upholstery Remover." It did the trick for me! 2) On each side, patiently and carefully pry off the black ball joints first. They're immediately visible with the top in the service position even when the top is stuck up. 3) With the black ball joints freed, grasp the clamshell in the middle and lift up and towards the rear until the clamshell is completely secure. 4) Trickier to locate are the red plastic ball joints. Here's how to find 'em. Following the v lever that the black ball joints were attached to, follow the metal rod, and at the end, near the pillar behind the passenger compartment is the red ball joint. In the top closed position, it may appear difficult to pry them up, but use the Porsche tool, NOT the pep boys tool to carefully pry it out from the ball joint... you do not want to snap that red plastic piece, be wary! 5) You've freed the rest of the top! You're Almost There! 1) Get the help of a relatively mechanically inclined friend, and carefully lower the top with the clamshell fully open. 2) Push the rear part of the roof back down, like back in the closed position. 3) Grasp the top and KEEPING AN EYE OUT FOR BOTH THE BLACK AND RED BALL JOINTS SO THAT THEY DON"T GET CAUGHT in the mechanism, lower the top towards the rear. Watch out ESPECIALLY FOR THE RED BALL JOINT, as that gave me the most headache. So much so that I had to loosen the nut holding one of my red ball joints and slip it out and reattach it for fear of damaging anything. 4) Make sure to place towels between the layers of the top... my Porsche dealer warned that this is very important. 5) Finally, close the clamshell carefully, watching for the freely moving black ball joint shock/arms. Good Luck! This is how far I've gotten in the past two days or so, I hope this quickens the pace for others who have sufferred from unexpected top failure. Now, with the clamshell out, the experts say you can inspect the cables attached to the motor, and indeed, one of mine has gotten far too short. This somewhat troublesome process will familiarize you with your top's mechanism and help you begin inspecting for cable/transmission repairs as covered on the board.

Hi, so, I've been studying this board for the past few days as my dealer wanted to charge 700 bucks to replace the two cables in my 98 boxster. I was reading one of Toolpants' posts stating that "the plastic would stretch in unreinforced housing of the 97-99 cables" and so I began to wonder. (1) When the cables break on our boxsters, do they actually snap somewhere in the middle so that if you pulled on one side, only half the length of the cable would come out? I wonder this because Toolpants seems to be saying that if the cable is not physically broken in the middle or something, than one could just "remove the metal ferule, cut off some of the heat sensitive black plastic tubing, reattach the ferule once 3/4" of cable is exposed, and be in business! (2) No new parts needed, right?! (3) On the attachment of the cables in the older boxsters... to the motor it's just connected by a brass clip... but what about the transmission end of the cable? Do I just remove the transmission with my wrench set and make sure not to take the transmission apart (as Mark said not to mess with the gears at ALL). (4) With a 98, I probably have the older style transmissions, and I can just leave that worm gear inside alone, right guys? (5) I mean, for cable replacement and connecting to the transmission, do I just pull the cable out and slide in the new one? Or is it more complex? The dealer said this cable job should take a little under 4 hours. Also, for all of us 98 broken cable boxsters, I've called around, and my local dealership wanted nearly 300 for the parts to replace two cables! We gotta come together and create a full DIY. Thanks everyone in advance. James.

So I did what Mark did to release the rear portion of the top from the clamshell section. Now, where do I find the black and red ball joints with the remainder of my top in its unlatched but still up position? I can see some black ones attached to the "V joint" others have talked of. But is that the right one? Nonetheless, no sight of the red one no matter where I look! Please help!

Hey, it sure looks similar! Except the driver's side is completely flush with the trunk, and unwilling to budge. The roof is in the up position, but is unlatched! Sadly, this position is what is making it harder to manipulate as the instructions only cover what to do when the top is completely down. Thanks for posting the picture.

I have been following this board since my 98 boxster suffered a snapped cable mishap as diagnosed by my service manager over the phone. The clamshell only goes up on one side while the other is firmly down... Sound familiar? Anyhow, my main concern now is to get my top out of the up position and in its "open air" position. From what I can tell, fellow boxster lovers are releasing the two ball joints holding the rear of the roof under the window as well as its other fasteners (all from inside the car) so that they can release the clamshell from its closed position. That first step reminds me of accessing the engine compartment when the top is actually working... right? Only then do they proceed to use the big screwdriver tool to pop off (from outside the car) the black ball joints first on each side and then the red ball joints second before manually opening the top. If the problem is indeed a broken cable, my dealer says it'll cost me $700. Yet everyone here seems to be fixing it for much less!! First things first though... I need suggestions from those who have been in this predicament. Help me open my roof! Thanks.