Tool Pants

You can check the gap on that plug. It is .8 mm or .032". You should use a wire type gapper, rather than the flat blade type.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...668&hl=tube It changed in 2003 and that is why you do not have tubes like the prior years. I still do not understand how the tubes were eliminated, other than a design change to the head. Maybe a question for RFM.

For Heyjae. What state are you in? What year do you have? How many readiness codes are set? For Cosorio. I have never failed a test. I have a PST2 so I can check to see if the car is ready for smog. I knew, or thought I knew, I would not pass with just 3 or 4 of the monitors set. So I did not bother to try the test just to fail, otherwise I would have even a bigger headache. This is the smog **** California. For test #5 my registration notice said I had to go to a test only place. Since my 1997 is so old I can no longer go to a test and repair. My local Porsche dealership was test and repair, and that is who had done most of the prior inspections. I can no longer go to a Porsche dealership for a smog inspection as I had done in the years past. From now on I can only go to a corner test only place, where the inspector does not even know where my engine is. If I fail at a test only place then I have to go to a test and repair place to have the problem fixed. Then I have to go back to a test only place for a retest. I can't even go to my local dealership for anything. They no longer have a smog machine as the dealership had just been sold, and none of the Porsche mechaincs are smog certified. When my local dealership was recently sold Audi was split off from Porsche, and they are now at separate locations. The smog certified guy was an Audi mechanic, but he was not permitted to work on Porsches. Fortunately, there is a test only smog place a few miles from my office that I have used in the past. There is also a test and repair place accross the street from my office that I have used in the past but I can no longer go there, as I am now a test only for both vehicles. He now does the smogs on my old truck since it is a test only. After I got the ticket I brought the truck in for an inspection, and told him about the ticket and problems with the Boxster in getting the 5 readiness codes set. He was the one who told me I only needed 3. As I said, at first I did not believe him because the mechanics always told me 5. But when I went on the smogcheck site I was able to confirm the EPA forced California to reduce it to 4 and then to 3. So I brought him the Boxster. Outside the shop I checked my car with the PST2 and only 4 were set. Then he hooked the Boxster up to his machine and it too said I only had 4 set. This is a picture of his smog machine. So I told him to do the test. I was a little concerned when he asked me to remove the engine lid. When I asked him why, it was because he needed to see the emission sticker. No problem, it is under the rear trunk lid. My next smog test #6 is due in 10 months. My last smog test was done 5 months ago. But this time I may have something under my sleeve....

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=14548

There are many messages on Rennlist and other boards about this. Putting the standard 997/987 shift in a 996/986. People claimed the 997/987 standard shift has shorter throws. I did not believe it because I saw both side-by-side and only saw a cosmetic difference - could be my eyes. I asked them to measure the before and after throws to rule out subjective options or "feelings." They did and reported about a 10% reduction. When the 987 came out Porsche said it had a shorter throw. I thought it was due to a change to the transmission, not the shift lever. So maybe it is the shift lever after all. This throw reduction, if true, is less than all the aftermarket short throw shift kits on the market. If there is a local owner who wants to try it then let me know. I will measure the before and after throws.

I did not think about that. Just about every time I am at the dealer there is someone there with a bad remote. One of the mechanics I know has a draw of bad remotes. He gave me one to play around with. Hope you are good at soldering small things to a circuit board.

2 years before when inspection #4 was due I did the same thing. I paid the registration fees on time while I was waiting for my car to be ready for a smog inspection. Loren knows this because he was reading my readiness status codes. Then months went by. I got pulled over by a rookie CHP for not having a sticker. Local cops don't care because the money goes to Arnold. CHP wanted to know why I did not have the current sticker. Told him I was having problems with getting a smog inspection and showed him the DMV notice that stated I had paid my fees, but DMV was waiting for the smog before sending me the sticker. CHP did not know what to do, because I had paid my registration fees. Let me go and told me I had within 90 days after the registration fees were due to have the smog done. I was long past 90 days. The DMV notice does not state this. But the DMV notice does state that if payment has been made the vehicle is subject to impoundment or citation if the registration expires while you are trying to complete the registration by having the smog inspection. That is why, technically, you are supposed to get a temporary operating permit while you are waiting for the smog if your registration expires in the meantime. Last year when inspection #5 was due, same thing. I was pulled over by a motorcycle CHP officer this time. But this time CHP officer said I had 6 months to do the smog, and I was 2 months past that. I showed him the DMV notice and asked him why this was not on the DMV notice and he did not know. This guy wanted to cite me for something. I saw him on the radio and looking at the DMV book. Took him 30 minutes to figure out what ticket to write me up for, and it was for not displaying the sticker. I did not have the sticker because the car was not ready for smog, and you have to drive the car to get it ready for smog. I have a cronic problem with an oxygen sensor that had been replaced 4 times. I was also having problems with my battery. Had to disconnect it several times. Finally replaced the battery. Sometimes I had zero rediness codes set. My commute from home to to work is just 7 miles. I was in a catch-22 situation. You need drive cycles to see if the monitors will set. On my little drive cycles I was getting fault codes for an oxygen sensor, but that sensor had been replaced 4 times over the years. Sometimes I would get a check engine light. If I erased the fault codes and turned off the light then you have to start the drive cycles all over again. With the check engine light on you will fail the visual test. I do not know if you can pass with fault codes that have not triggered the check engine light. Plus I was playing around with the battery, which meant I had to start the drive cycles all over again. Plus I was clearing fault codes. He should have also cited me for no front plate.....but was so hung up on no sticker from a person who paid the registration fees and had insurance. This officer wrote down on the ticket "persistent neglect," and checked off the box on the ticket that it was not a fix-it ticket. He said if he caught me again he would impound the Boxster. Should have asked him why his motorcycle and CHP vehicles are exempt from registration and smog inspection laws. The courtesy notice from traffic court treated it as a fix it ticket. $10 dollars if I provided proof of correction, and $124.50 if I did not. Not worth my time to fight the ticket. That is about what it cost when I got a ticket for no front plate years earlier. I finally had the inspection done, got the sticker in the mail about a week or so later, and had a local police officer acquaintance sign off on the back of the ticket. Paid traffic court the $10 since I had proof of correction. 4 of the 5 codes were set at the time of the inspection. The smog inspection guy was correct when he told me prior to the test that I needed only 3 of the 5, and I confirmed that on the smogcheck website. For years the mechanics at the dealership told me I need to have all 5 set. All these years I paid my registration fees on time without the smog inspection because all 5 were not set, just to find out California phased out the requirement that 5 needed to be set. Funny thing is, this took so long that by the time I paid the $10 in 2008 I had received registration renewal notice for 2008. At least this time I did not need a smog inspection.... The amount of fines vary from county to county in California. As an example, my no front plate in Santa Cara County was $10 with proof of correction. Back then I think San Francisco County was charging $100 with proof of correction.

You need to find a local owner who has done this before to help you. The Porsche way is not on the DVD, as it did not exist when it was filmed.

The air injection/smog pump makes a sound like that. But a running engine makes lots of sounds. I was hearing a whine from my Boxster. I wanted to rule out the electric pump, so I removed the electrical connector. No clue where it is on a 996.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...428&hl=smog I am the California "expert" on this subject. My 1997 has had 5 inspections. First when it was sold in 1999 and every two years after. Loren helped me with one of the inspections. My 1997 Box has 5 readiness monitors, some cars have more, like 11. When the car is ready for testing you see 5 smiles on the PST2. But. The ****/Skylar CARB (California Air Resources Board) required that at least 5 be set. The Boxster only has 5. If they are not set then you do not fail, you are just not ready for the inspection. The EPA forced CARB to reduce it to 4, then 3, because too many cars were not ready for inspection. At least for my year, but this may also be true for any other ODB II car. I needed at least 3 of the 5, and it can be any 3 or the 5. Last year I was due for inspection #5, when you pay your registration fees to Arnold. If you do not pay on time you get a penalty fee added. The registration notice states that you must pay your registration fees on time to avoid the penalty, even if you do not have a smog inspection or insurance. Or, pay Arnold the tax money on your car, but you cannot drive it legally until you have insurance and smog. When you pay your registration fees on time but do not have a smog inspection you get a notice from the DMV that your registration is incomplete, and that once Arnold has your smog inspection you get the sticker mailed to you within 30 days to put on your plate. But until then you have to apply to the DMV for a temporary operating permit. Last year I got a ticket from CHP because I did not have the current sticker, because my car was not ready for smog, because all the readiness codes were not set. I had paid my registration fees on time and of course I had insurance, so he could not give me a ticket for not having an unregistered car or not having insurance. He gave me a ticket for not having the sticker. Long story, and I will avoid the rest of the details. Do not disconnect the battery or clear codes prior to an inspection as it will it will reinitiate the readiness monitor sequence and you have to start all over again with drive cycles in order to set the readiness codes. For California people here is the site. http://smogcheck.ca.gov/

I have replaced clutches on several cars over the years, on my driveway, but not yet on a Boxster. I know what you are saying, and I do not envy you doing this with the car on stands and you on your back. Either the transmission went in first time, or I played around for hours geting the input shaft to line up with the splines, or jacked up or down the engine and or transmission to get them on the same plane. I take it you used an alignment tool for the disc. Count the splines on the old and new disc to make sure. Maybe turn the input shaft just a hair. The transmission on any car is going to slide right in if the Karma is right. The worse clutch I replaced was on my Triumph GT6. You removed the transmission from the inside of the car. You had to take the seats and some interior parts out of the car. First time I forgot to put in the release bearing. Found out when I started the car and pushed down on the clutch - no clutch. Start all over again. Could not use a transmission jack on that car. Then a friend with a Sprite replaced his clutch, and it would not release. He put the disc in backwards.

It is a 90 degree angle bracket, made out of sheet metal, with a bunch of holes. I used it for my garage door opener so I had a piece left over. Any home improvement store will have it. I forget the guage wire I used. It was 16 or the next larger size. The instruction may have it.

Go to the top of the message board and click on downloads, then all downloads. The official maintenance checklists from Porsche are there. For 2005-2007 it is 20,000 miles or 2 years. For 2008 it is 24,000 miles or 2 years. Take what a salseperson tells you with a grain of salt.

One of my switches was not working all the time. It is soldered to the circuit board, and one of the solder joints had broken. I was able to solder it. That was 9 years ago and it still works. I have also seen the switch break off the circuit board. Check to see if you have a bad solder joint, and that is why the switch is not working. If the switch itself has gone bad then I know of no replacement. Time for a new remote unless someone can find a source for just the switches. Porsche does not sell them, just the entire remote.

I have posted info on putting in air horns on a base 986 Boxster. Somehow I erased all my favorites so I can's give you a link. You will have to search. On the 986 base there is plenty room under the bumper cover for the compressor and the trumpets. I mounted them on bracket I have left over from a garage door motor install. Then bolted the bracket to the car. I still have the electric horns hooked up, plus the air horns. Sandy came up with a schematic so I could install a switch, and switch back and forth between the electric and air horns. Never go around to putting a switch in. In reality I would not have time to play around with a switch if another truk decides to back up into me, which is the reason I put air horns in.

Only once have a tried to remove a tube, on a Boxster. The engine was warm and I removed the spark plug. I stuck my finger inside the tube and pulled it out with my finger. Nothing fancy. Maybe that was my lucky day. Porsche has a fancy tool for removing the tube. I have never seen it at my local dealership. They just pry on the end with a small pry bar.

There is a engine lid emergency release cable under the left rear tail light. Can't you open the engine lide and there is positive and negative terminals in the engine compartment to hook up a booster battery or a charger? I'm a Boxster owner, so I don't know the 996. http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...amp;hl=knitting

Went on the Autozone site and they have coils for $57.99 under the Duralast house brand. Never seen it so I don't know if it is a repackaged Beru coil or an aftermarket. Why they sometimes crack is interesting. I thought it was due to the heat from the engine. Peter Smith thinks it is due from the heat generated from the coil itself.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...amp;hl=actuator

I do not know what to tell you. If the car runs on all 6 cylinders then I guess you leave it alone. I have no clue how you would change the electrical wires to the coils or why you would need to do so, as they are part of the engine wiring harness. Cracked coils are not an uncommon complaint. More common complaint on the UK message boards for some reason - guess it is the damp weather. If you need to replace then replace just what you need. The coils are made by Beru. You can find them from parts places other than Porsche. Pics from Tim on boxa.net

Each coil has an electrical connector. At my local dealer they do not disconnect the connector from the coil. They remove the 2 allen screws and pull the coil away from from the engine, and the coil hangs from the connector, while the spark plug is removed. Why? Time is money and it takes less time to replace the spark plugs this way. As a DIYer your time is to save money. While the coil is still bolted to the engine I pull the rubber boot up, up enough so that I can see the connector and the wires to the connector. I disconnect the connector, remove the coil, and inspect the coil and the extension piece. I replace the 3 plugs on one side of the engine. I then start the car to make sure there are no misfires because the connectors to the 3 coils are not seated. When that is good I do the other side, and start the car again. If you then have a misfire then you need to check only the connectors to 3 coils, rather than 6.

I replaced it on a local owners car. It was several years ago, and I forget the details. I do remember the pipes in the way. There was a support bracket for the pipes and I removed the bolts for the bracket. I have a picture of that bracket. I was then able to get my hands in there and push down on the plastic connectors to the filter lines. The filter was then free but I could not pull it out because the pipes were still in the way. I removed the rear plastic cover. There was another support for the pipes where the engine is. I disconnected the support. With both supports disconnected I was able to pull the pipes down and get the filter out. There was also a clamp/strap for the filter itself, but you must have seen that. One of these days I will take pictures of a mechanic doing it with the car on a lift. I was on my back on a garage floor. Hard to take pictures that way.

You should give it a try just with your hands. However most times the plastic cannister is on so tight you need a tool. If all else fails, try a normal strap oil filter wrench.

Sometimes fuses look good, but are actually bad. Don't just look. Use an ohm meter or swap in a good fuse. There is also a fuse on the back of the radio. 10 amp red fuse. Also remove the face pate and clean the contacts.

This kind of stuff has been going on for a long time. Canadian dealers were not honoring the factory warranty on imported vehicles. Then Porsche forced them to. So now they are still giving owners a hard time by this inspection thing. The Canadian dealers want you to buy from them. A North American warrany is a North American warranty. I think Canada is still part of North America....