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Tool Pants

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Everything posted by Tool Pants

  1. Tool Pants
    Here is another picture my Porsche mechanic friend sent. You can see the wires to the switches and they look more than long enough to swap to the other side. Keff
  2. Tool Pants
    Us cheap Boxster owners send our fluids to Texas to be recycled. :D In San Jose we recycle and have carts for paper, metal, and so on. We get plastic jugs for used oil that we leave on the curb for garbage day, but not for coolant or brake fluid, but there are places you can take that stuff to. In San Jose the sewage treatment plant does not like chemicals in your drain water. Speaking of coolant, when it comes time to replace my 1997 Boxster lifetime coolant this is what I will use. Babblers This is a picture I took at my local Porsche/Audi dealership.
  3. Tool Pants
    Common complaint. Each time I stop by my local dealer there is at least one car having the 0-rings replaced due to oil seepage. Very easy to fix. In fact there was a TSB issued in 1998 for this problem. There is a black plastic tube from the valve cover to the head. Your spark plug goes inside this tube and is screwed into the head. If this tube was not there then oil would run out of the valve cover. The tube has an o-ring on each end to keep the oil in, a large o-ring on one end and a smaller one on the other end. Porsche changed the material the larger o-ring is made of. Remove the plug and stick your finger inside the tube and you can just pull it out since it is only the friction of the o-ring that holds the tube in. Tubes on one side removed. Valve cover with the coils, spark plugs, and tubes removed. Saw a guy on ebay selling a box of used spark plug tubes - I bet some nut bought them. Jeff
  4. Tool Pants
    Pete took out more suff then you need to. You do need to remove the batwing so you can tilt the console to get it out of the car. The batwing just pulls out with your fingers but you need to grab it from behind. 2 ways to get your fingers behind it. Remove the 2 side panels like in my first picture and you can get your fingers on each side of the batwing and pull it off. That is how we did it on Colm's car for the video. On Chad's car for the video we did it the other way. Remove the cd holder/storage bins above the batwing then you can get your fingers behind the top of the batwing. You can see in this pic that the side panels are still on. If you have DSP or the a/c display above the batwing then you have to do it the first way.
  5. Tool Pants
    We do not remove or replace the metal drive cable since they have always turned out to be fine. We just replace the plastic housing. The drive cable is a very tight press fit in the worm gear but you can get it out. Clamp a vise-grip on the square part of the cable then use side cutters against the vise-grip to lever off the worm drive.
  6. Tool Pants
    4 Pete. You must be the Audi guy when Peter Smith posted on that board. He told me some tales.
  7. Tool Pants
    It is so easy Aileen can do it blindfolded. We shot 4 videos of the console removal when we did B&M shift installs. Aileen removed the console in 3 of the installs, 2 of which were on 996s. The only trick is that 2 of the 7 screws for the console are hidden. One is under the plastic floor plate in the storage box and the other under the coin holder. Jeff
  8. Tool Pants
    For others, you can buy the connector and terminals for the switchs. Very good for hacks, and thanks to Sandy for giving me the part numbers. And I have a 2.5 so the connectors are all yellow. On 2000 up they are different colors.
  9. Tool Pants
    The dash is one big piece. The 3 trim pieces are held in by about a dozen screws. The 'proper' way is to remove the dash, then the screws. Some guy took a drill and drilled the heck out of the plastic trim and was able to get it out from the front of the dash. On Rennlist they say if you can pull on the trim then the screws will pull through the dash or pull out of the back of the trim, or something like that. In this picture of a dash the trim has been removed. You can see the holes for the screws. Jeff
  10. Tool Pants
    The trim on a 2003 Boxster is also one piece. It was easy to remove. Just work your way around it. I started at one corner and worked my way around. When we did a B&M install on Colm's car with heated seats we removed the batwing and then the connectors to the heater switches. The wires were long. You may have to remove some tape as the wires will be bundled with other wires. For the defroster switch see what I posted in the Boxster section about relocating the top switch. I do not know what will happen if you disconnect a CDR-23 radio. We have disconnected the battery on 2 2003s and the radio worked fine when we hooked up the battery. If you are concerned then pull the radio and put a towel around it and leave it connected - then you will have room to see if the wires are long enough to reroute them. Jeff
  11. Tool Pants
    I have not removed the shift pattern plate on that type of shift, but I did it on 2 standard shifts. It was held on with very thin double faced tape. I got a thin blade behind it and broke the glue bond. See if you can get your shift pattern out and reglue it. Jeff
  12. Tool Pants
    There are 5 wires to each of the 3 switches, and 3 wires to the lighter. My yellow pen is pointing to the 5 wires to the top switch. All the wires are bundled together and taped. Remove the tape and separate out the 5 wires to the top switch then retape the wire bundle. The wires on my car look long enough to move over to the other side - I assume that is where you want to relocate the switch to. Jeff
  13. Tool Pants
    I spoke to Peter today about the tech tip on the PCA site. He said that he has seen cars in the shop with the new style top transmissions that had problems. Apparently the first cars with the new style transmissions also had unreinforced plastic housings which 'grew' like the original housing on the old style transmissions. The bottom line, check to see if you have 3/4" of the square drive cable sticking out. First picture is the old transmission I took apart, and the second is the new style taken by Ethan.
  14. Tool Pants
    It is the same thing for my 5 speed Boxster, which has an Audi/VW transmission. There are only a limited number of external parts you can buy from Porsche. My dealer is Audi/Porsche and I have see the Audi transmission apart which is the same as mine with some modifications. I will have to ask the parts department if I can buy Boxster transmission parts from Audi since I cannot get them from Porsche. If that does not work I will try VW. With Porsche you have to buy the entire unit which is a rip if you only need 2 bearings. In my younger days I rebuilt transmissions and did not have the money to buy bearings from a dealer. We have a large local place that sells nothing but bearings for anything that needs bearings. I was always able to take my bearing down and they could match it. There should be a manufacturer name and number on the bearing, is that what you have been using, and who told you they had been pre-purchased by Porsche. Jeff
  15. Tool Pants
    I would have to see your car and trying to figure out electrical problems is hard enough in person and next to impossible over the internet. There are 2 top control units/relays, MY97-99 and MY00 up. Find a Boxster buddy and swap the relays to rule out that part. The usual problem for the light not to go out is that you have not held down the switch long enough for it to go out. You can latch the top but the cycle is not complete since you removed your finger too soon. Just because you can latch the top does not mean the cycle is finished and if it is not finished then the light will stay on. Press the switch until the light goes out, then latch. Report back. Jeff
  16. Tool Pants
    The books on the left and the middle are the same factory books published in 1996, but the one on the left has a red cover and crest. The book on the left you can only get from the museum. The book in the middle you could buy from you dealer but it has been out of print for many years. The ISBN is 3-7688-0966-8. The red book I bought from a guy in Germany as he had an English version. Once in a while I will see the middle book on ebay. The book on the right is for the S and was printed in 2000. When I found out the was such a book I bought it from a dealer immediately as I knew there was a limited number of copies. That one is 3-7688-1158-1. I bought it 3 years ago and doubt if any dealer has any left. I did see one on German ebay. Jeff
  17. Tool Pants
    The miles are stored in the instrument cluster, not the DME. For example, I bought a used 996 cluster off ebay for my Boxster so I could have the 2 additional gauges. When I plugged it into my car it displayed 990 miles but my car has over 45k miles. But 990 miles would not be consistent with the number of engine operating hours in in my DME. Bob said the average speed of a car was something low, like 30 mph but I have heard other numbers. So if you take an average assumed mph and divide it into the operating hours you can compare it to the miles displayed. Plus the VIN is stored in the cluster. The other thing with the cluster is that with the PST2 you can roll the miles forward if the cluster has less than 62 miles - once it is over then it cannot be changed with the PST2. So if a dealer replaces a cluster they enter the miles and VIN in the new cluster. There are companies who say the can set the miles to any number you want. Jeff
  18. Tool Pants
    I hate to say this, but I am the tool guy. Never bothered to waste my money on this piece of coat hanger with a piece of clear plastic tubing. But, you can buy it from any dealer....
  19. Tool Pants
    There is some info in the shop manual, but not much. There is no instruction book on how to use the PST2 or the many things you can do with. The mechanics are taught at the training center on how to use it. This was taken last year at another tech session. Most range 1 and 2 over-revs I have seen. Jeff
  20. Tool Pants
    I'm the mechanical guy, not the electrical guy. There is good info on Rennlist from a guy who worked on the MOST system. You cannot just add components anymore. Someone raise your hand and take over the electrical stuff on this board. I think I will appoint Raman. For Zin. The door speakers are powered by the amp. If you do not have the amp option then you do not get door speakers. The rear speaker kit is discontinued. Some dealers still have them sitting on the shelf. Any dealer can search the parts inventory of all the dealers, locate a kit on the shelf of another dealer, and have it sent to your dealer. There were only 20 kits last time I asked a month or so ago. There is a guy on ebay selling a kit he made with factory and aftermarket parts and it looks good to me. Raman and I work on car together since we live in the same town. He has a 2003 w/o Bose. He bought the Porsche rear speaker kit PNA986KIT. When he pluged it into the back of the radio head there was no sound from the rear speakers. Then he hooked up the 4 wires from the rear speakers directly to the amp it worked. But, as I said, he cannot fade as the speakers are running directly off the amp. When Raman gets back in town I will ask him to explain how he did it. This pic is Raman's amp. I wish now I had taken a picture of the rear speaker wires to the amp. Jeff
  21. Tool Pants
    I do not know if they changed the GPS antenna for PCM II. The part number for the antenna used on PCM I and Traffic Pro is 996 647 107 01, about $90. Your local parts department can tell you if the antenna changed for 2003. My parts list only goes to 2002. Have no idea if it will work with Garmin, but it would be neat if it did. You could ask Horst on the Becker board but I doubt if he would know as Garmin is not a Becker product. Let us know if you find the answer. Jeff
  22. Tool Pants
    If you have not taken the brake system apart then just bleed away. I asked Peter why this was was in the workshop manual some time ago and it is if you have replaced the ABS unit. PCA Tech This is how I do it when you want to go twice as fast. Jeff
  23. Tool Pants
    I would not replace anything until you have determined whether or not your have 3/4" sticking out. With a 1999 the plastic has grown/stretched all it will. If you have 3/4" then leave it alone. But I bet you will not have 3/4". There are some issues with parts coming loose, but you can inspect for that. The thing that does break are the red plastic joints. Some say the plastic becomes brittle from the heat and breaks. There is a guy that makes the joints out of metal. Last year Porsche changed the plastic and now it is white, not red. But you cannot just buy the joint, but have to buy the push arm joint as a unit which is about $48 each.
  24. Tool Pants
    I said more than I should have and that is why it is not clear. I wanted people to know that you cannot use the plastic cable housing for the 2000-2003 on a 1997-1999 as it is longer. For a 1997-1999 you have 3 choices. Replace the original smooth cables with the reinforced cables that just came out for 1997-1999 using the 2 part numbers I listed, but you have to remove the transmissions to do this. You cannot even buy the smooth cables anymore even if you wanted them for some reason. Second, if you do not want to spend any money or do not want to take out the transmissions, then shorten the plastic housing of your original smooth cables a bit so that 3/4" of the square inner drive sticks out past the metal ferrule that goes into the top motor. Remove the brass clip that holds the cable to the motor, pull the cable out, and see if the square end is sticking out 3/4". Repeat on the other side. Do not operate the top while you are doing this. If not enough is not sticking out then remove the silver metal ferrule, cut a bit off the end of the plastic housing so that when you put the ferrule back on 3/4" sticks out. Put the cable and clip back into the motor. You can see why a dealer does not want to do this. They want to replace everything with new parts. Third, use the cables for the new style transmission but you will have to replace the plastic housing and metal drive cable.
  25. Tool Pants
    There was a period of time when you could not buy the reinforced cables for the old style top transmissions. You could shorten the plastic housing on the original cables, but dealers do not work that way. Instead they would replace your old transmissions and cables with the post 2000 style, which is expensive, and why you hear about $2,000 top repairs. I would check to see if you already have the reinforced cable housing, look for the diamond texture on the housing. This will not be a true test if you bought a used car, as you may have the new style transmissions which also have the same texture. So look for the part number on the housing. Left is 986 561 717 01, and right is 986 561 718 01. The cables are about $30 each or less if you shop around, and since they are so cheap our local guys just replace them instead of making the plastic housing shorter. You have to remove the transmissions to replace the cables. This is Calvin when we worked on his car. Both transmissions are out, ready to install the new cables. Jeff
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