Tool Pants

One of the 30 should be a match if you have the original locking bolts. Too bad you did not have your car there to try and match it that way. Take a look at your option sticker and see if the code is written there. When a new car is prepped some mechanics write the code on the sticker so when it is later service and a wheel needs to be removed they can get it from the master set. The key originally came in a plastic bag with the code on a sticker. Good luck trying to find it on an 8 year old car. Can't get the code from the VIN. Maybe have it welded back together?

You might also check to see if the emergency release cable is routed to the correct location. In this picture it is not....

3 years after this thread started I got a chance to sample the Audi pink G 012 flavor. The second picture is the list of chemicals for the Audi pink. The third is the Porsche pink. The fourth is the Porsche yellow. Same chemicals used in all 3, but if Jim is correct this may not mean much. I did notice the Audi stuff seemed to taste a bit better....

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...mp;#entry115624 Over the years I have replaced clutches on cars on my driveway. The Boxster did not look like fun, and I'm too old to be on my back under a car all day. For $825, parts and labor, I let Marvin do it. As I said in the link Marvin also resealed the back of the engine, which cost more. Your 1997 is going to have the old style intermediate shaft flange and first generation rear oil seal unless they hav been replaced over the years. Mine was original. Since Marvin was in there I had those replaced wih the updated parts and the "blue bolts" that have a sealant on them. I also had the oil separator replaced. This is a known problem area. 1997 had the old style separator. The first picture shows seepage from the bellows for my separator. Marvin could have just replaced the bellows but this did not make sense. Second picture is my 1997 separator on the right and the new style on the left. It is easy to replace the separator when the transmission is out. If you go to a dealership this will cost $$$ and it is hard to spend all that money on a 1997. That is why you might try an independent shop. The other problem area on the early cars is the oill filler tube. Of course I had the original design. Marvin was suprised it had lasted 11 years. I saw no evidence of seepage so that was left alone. Again if yours does not look good it is easy to replace when the transmission is out for the clutch replacement. If your coolant tank needs to be replaced now is the time to do it when the transmission is out. I had already replace the tank 2 years ago so it was not an issue for me. I also had the fuel filter replaced because my car was on the lift. I have replaced a Boxster filer before at a guy's house when it was on stands. Lot easier when it is on the lift. Also have the motor mount inspected, another problem area and Porsche changed the design. Off topic, but as these cars hit 60,000 miles you see water and fuel pump failures. Find an independent mechanic that knows these cars. Marvin worked at 2 local dealerships before opening his own shop so he knew his stuff. I asked Marvin to call me once the transmission was out. Then we went under the car with a flashlight and I told him what I wanted replaced and what I wanted left alone.

The funny thing about "Yoseif's Hack" is that it did not work on his own 2001 2.7 until I got Peter Smith involved. http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...0&hl=Yoseif http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...7&hl=Yoseif Then he sold wiring harnesses for the switch and the crimps sometimes fell apart - and I needed to fixed a few. The OBC retrofits works on all 986/996 models. except for a 2001 Boxster 2.7....

For historical value I took the next 2 pictures 6 years ago when the 996 flavor GT2 first came out. Such a deal. A few more than 169 units were built - or so we were told back then. Last 2 pictures where taken today of a cutaway PDK transmission. I think it will leak oil....

Adjusting the hardtop is a fussy project. We filmed the install and adjustment for 1 of the 3 DVDs. It is 18 minutes. If someone has that DVD I would not mind seeing the hardtop section on youtube or something like that.

I call this clutch judder. I had this on my 1997 with 67,000 miles on the original clutch, but it had started long before 67,000 miles. When the car was cold and I took off in 1st there was a vibration like there were bad mounts. Once the car was hot this did not happen. My clutch was worn out - down to the rivets. Had a new clutch put in and the judder is gone. If you have 60,000 miles on the original clutch that is where I would start. Another sign of a worn out clutch is it takes a lot of effort to push down on the pedal. Compare your clutch pedal with a new Boxster.

Porsche uses shoelaces to hold the car together....

This is what it looks like with the bumper cover removed. The rubber gromet for the 2 wires goes into a hole in the radiator shroud. If the shroud was removed for body work and all you see is the hole, then the sensor is hiding behind the shroud.

Also had a 2008 GT2. Guess this is the one with launch control. Should have paid more attention to it - but the $78,900 dealer markup distracted me.....

Sandy came up with this years ago. http://wa4ekg.home.att.net/996mods/sidemarkermod.html This worked on the Boxsters and the early 996s. The headlights for the 996s changed in 2002, and I do not remember if you did the same thing or not. I think Kirby did this on his 2003 996.

Old news, but my local dealer has 2 of what I guess are the launch cars, with the PDK transmission.

On a North American car they are side markers, not tun signals. But there is a hack you can do to make them blink.

Here is a picture of the horns. My finger is on the second horn and if I remember correctly it is the low pitch. The other horn that is in front is the one that usually go out. My theory is because it is not protected from water like the rear horn is. If you look under your bumper cover there is an opening through which you can see and touch the front horn. Have someone beep them with your fingers on the horn and see if it is that one.

I have "push started" my 1997 while it was rolling. Meaning I was coasting, put in the clutch, turned off the engine, then turned the ignition on, and then let out the clutch. Engine came back to life like any other car. I also tried in a parking lot pushing by myself but could got get the car moving fast enough, plus it has a high compression engine. The Box is a heavy car to push by yourself.

This is being made way to complicated for the LED disply bulbs. Part number is 999 631 303 90 and they are 1.5 watts. There are 3 bulbs for each LED, and I have 3 yellow lines going to them. They are on the back of the cluster and the cluster does not need to be opened up to replace them. There is a row of 1.2 watt bulbs in black holders on the outside of the cluster, but they are for the idiot lights. There are also bulbs inside the cluster, but they have nothing to do with the LEDs.

1997-2000 used bulbs. 2001-2004 used leds. You service guy may not be up on the old cars. Hitting the top of the instrument cluster sometimes makes it work if the bulbi is not burned out. You can clean the contacts for the bulb, but since you have to remove the cluster to do this you might as well replace them at he same time. The replacement bulbs come in the plastic holder and the holder is tan.

Each of th 3 LCDs has its own bulb.

And speaking of fuel filters.... As I said a few years ago it is large. Largest fuel filter I have ever replace on any vehicle. My 1997 Boxster filter with 67,000 miles on it was finally replaced only because the Box was on a lift for a clutch replacement. I cut the Box filter open and there was no junk inside it. Then I cut open the tiny white plastic filter at the bottom which came from my 1988 Toyota pickup with 151,000 miles on the filter. Nothing in it either. I know someone who owns a modern gas station. The underground tank has a filter. The pump has a filter. So the fuel has to go through 2 filters before it ever gets inside your fuel tank.

I can't see how you drive the car having anythng to do with the failure of the intermediate shaft bearing. It is a rotational beaing that permits the shaft to spin. The shaft need to spin in order to operate the camshafts and oil pump. This claim is internet talk, and the same thing is said on the internet about the RMS. I have been told by Peter Smith and another mechanic that Porsche went from a double to a single ball bearing in 2001. That is the same year Porsche changed the intermediate shaft. That is the year Porsche went from a roller type chain to a tooth type chain. I started Boxstering in 1999 and do not remember intermediate shaft faiures. That happened later. Next time someone reports a confirmed intermediate shaft failure then make note of the model year and if it is the original engine. I am not claiming that pre-2001 is immune from an intermediated shaft failure. The other factor in my lay understanding is that the bearing is sealed. If you look at my first picture you can see the black seal. That bearing is exposed to engine oil so I do not know why a sealed bearing is used. This has been noted by Baz Hartech. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.a...Shaft%20Warning Hartech also notes that this type of sealed bearing is typically used in a transmission. I have a Toyota truck and I am on some technical boards. Toyota uses sealed/shielded bearings in some transmissions. This bearing is exposed to gear oil, so why is it sealed? People who rebuild their Toyota transmission and replace a sealed bearing are warned not to remove the seal/shield, or the bearing will not last as long. Hartech on the other hand implies the seals should be removed for a Porsche M96 motor to improve lubrication. This is an example of a sealed bearing from my truck. This the pilot bearing for the transmission. It is inside the flywheel. It is not exposed to any type of oil, but relies upon grease inside the seals for lubrication of the bearing for the life of the bearing.

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Never seen the face plate taken apart. I remember when the Becker 220 came out. It had a problem with peeling buttons and sticky knobs. From the plastic. Dealerships replaced a lot of radios under warranty back then. Now you have second and third owners of these cars and they wonder why the radio code card does not work - because the car does not have the original radio. Becker sold/sells replacement buttons and knobs. I do not see them listed on their site anymore, but it might be worth a call. http://www.beckerautosound.com/

There is a ball bearing on the back of the engine case. The bearing fails and the shaft is no longer supported. First pic is a 1999 996 C2 with an intact bearing and no problem, and the second is a 2003 Boxster 2.7 with a failed bearing. The balls were literally falling out of the bearing. This is why the first place to look is in the oil filter - to see if metal silver bits from a failed bearing have been trapped by the filter

I was at a Porsche event today and one of the Boxsters still had this elusive plastic window. So I took pictures for prosperity. What is strange is that when you look in PET on the 986 side it does not show up. You have to look on the 996 side of PET to find it. Retail is $3.27. Porsche calls it a "cowel panel cover." Still do not know why they sometimes go missing since it takes some effort to remove it. Too big to fall into the water drains. Must disappear in a black hole. I removed it for the second picture so you could see the part number.