Vibrations....good...or bad?

[timbo]

Hi all,

I've had my Boxster nearly 3 months now and I'm gradually settling down into every day ownership mode, driving to and from work each day, loving the sound @ around 5K rpm onwards and the fantastic cornering. I'm coming to terms with my paranoia which is refreshed on a weekly bassis when I read of other peoples misfortune of a catastrophic low mileage engine failure, and the lack of support from Porsche.

Mine is about to turn 50K so am I out of the woods yet? (2000 2.7 tip)

Any way my querry is that on start up particularly in the morning there is a vibration for about 2- 3 seconds, sometimes its worse than others, sometimes hardly noticeable. Oil light out straight away, engine runs as smooth as silk. No noise when cornering, and engine feels secure when I grabbed hold of it and gave it a good shake the other day. I'm thinking engine mounts but not sure why the vibration isn't there all the time and no other symptoms. Would appreciate any ones thoughts.

ps. do IMS failures occur more in manuals or tips?

[Baconaire]

Relax and enjoy it! In my humble opinion at 50k you are in good shape but there are no guarantees. The vibration is most likely the car starting cold and finding idle. It has a special idle control valve which control cold starts until it warms up. It should settle quickly to an idle around 8-900 RPM and be relatively stable. I'm assuming the vibration is not intense.

At 50k cleaning the intake,MAF,Idle valve, and throttle body are nice to do, pretty easy, and cost only about $20 for an air filter,throttle body cleaner and MAF cleaner. It's a question of whether you want to keep intimate with your baby or let a pro do all your work. Both have advantages. If you have metric tools, security torx bits, and time. This is a nice way to get familiar with the car in an afternoon.

What most have found is the majority of issues are not catastrophic, but all of the sub- systems that make a car work. This goes for Porsches and Hondas. All cars. Care for it well. Don't expect a trouble free lifetime but don't drive yourself nuts. Don't forget most people come here with problems. Noone I know of comes here and says, 'today I was driving and I had no problems'.

Just watch for fluids on the floor (besides water). And maintain her well. If you have no check engine lights and it runs well, drive it and enjoy! At 50k any initial issues have probably been addressed.

[JeTexas]

Don't worry too much about engine failure. You've got to remember, the reason people post here is because they're looking for help, so the site membership and postings are skewed towards those with car problems. Even so, I've noticed there's several members with Boxters sporting over 100k miles that are still going strong.

All you can do is stay on top of your regular maintenance and treat your car right.

[juniinc]

the engine should be broken in properly with 50K.

Yes I would feel much safer than driving a low mile 986. My suggestion is keep her in the garage! will avoid many well known issues - door,window,alarm,latch,,,

[timbo]

Thanks guys, I've already done the air filter, interestingly I got 0.1 extra MPG, not a lot I know but shows that the filter needed changing. Ready to do MAF when we get some decent weather over here. Your point about the skewed posts is a valid one, perhaps more of us ought to write in with our positive experiences.