Boxstercol

On 8/23/2021 at 11:00 PM, edc said:

Or just use one of those sockets already linked earlier

Yep, use one of these & they still mark the bolt faces slightly. I think it’s inevitable that there will be some damage with the contact points when torquing the bolts up.

I paint my nuts every couple of years… 😂

Even with hammerite they mark a little tightening them back up, so I used a small paint brush & just touched up the damaged edges of the bolt after fitting.

However, I learnt something recently, line the socket with a piece of thin plastic - decent carrier bag material is ideal - this actually works & significantly reduces the damage that can be inflicted on painted wheel nuts.

17 hours ago, moneypit said:

I just had mine done ( crossover pipes ) on Friday. If we're all talking about the same thing, I paid £490 all in including a wheel alignment afterwards ( subframe off ), and from the discussion about it on here beforehand, that wasn't expensive.

Would love to know where you got that done at that price!

Most quotes are double that price & usual price for wheel alignment in circa £100 on its own.

My 987 gets an annual oil change in between services, regardless of mileage. When I bought it, the fact that the previous owners had also been meticulous when it came to servicing with oil changes between services was a major attraction.

2 yearly servicing is just a way for the manufacturer to lower quoted ownership costs, any issues that come from extended service issues are rarely the responsibility of the manufacturer.

Best preventative maintenance you can do in my opinion.

I think a set of these will be the next purchase for me. What are the Aliexpress ones like in terms of quality?

Also, I tend not to buy from abroad, any hidden costs?

Cheers

2 hours ago, red rocket said:

Yes, did mine in Atlas Grey.

Pics please?

Horn issue is common, apparently the horn push is fitted to a metal frame & separated by rubber ‘bushes’. The rubber deteriorates & then the horn makes contact from weight of the airbag, resulting in random activation of the horn, usually when braking etc.

New frame will sort it, some just put 4 rubber washers / o rings under each corner which stops it happening but also enables the horn to be activated when you need to.

A lot of the cost is labour, with some Indy’s dropping the front subframe completely, which then requires an alignment after & some just lowering the subframe on the bolts which by all accounts doesn’t need a wheel alignment.

Quotes I’ve seen vary from £800 to £1200, depending on what’s changed.

Sounds like the handbrake shoes have delaminated & are damaging the ‘drum’ of the rear discs.

If so will be new rear discs / pads & handbrake shoes. Plus all the anti rattle shims etc.

On 6/11/2021 at 7:15 AM, red rocket said:

I know the feeling, but it's not actually very difficult - warm them up with a hairdryer or heat gun beforehand. There are videos on Youtube - search 987 vent.

Cheers 👍

How easy is it to remove the vents, mine seem stuck firm.

Almost looks like they’ll break before releasing!

What water pump did you use when you changed it?

Not uncommon for cheap ones to fail prematurely. 

I ran a Mk1 S-Spec Jap import MX5 for about 5 years before I got a 986, when has since been replaced by a 987.

You have to be really committed to getting into a Boxster, as even the simplest things can cost considerably more than the equivalent MX5 repair / maintenance.

MX5’s can be run on a shoestring, plus most of the spannering can be done fairly easily on a DIY basis. Not saying that you can’t do this on a Boxster but they are more complex & access can be an issue if you don’t have a ramp etc.

But, Boxster’s are excellent cars & feel more of an event when you drive them. However the limits are much higher, so I guess you have more fun in a MX5 at lower speeds.

My 986 was written off after I got hit by a flatbed transit van, luckily the 986 had a strong shell. If I had been in my MX5, I wouldn’t have been so fortunate...

As mentioned above, general consensus is to budget £2k pa to keep them in fine fettle, but if you buy right to start with then you can lower running costs considerably.

Good luck getting the cement dust out of the carpet, horrible stuff!

My exhaust studs / nuts, or what’s left of them, look the same but thankfully no signs of any blowing from the join.

If extracting using a hammer / punch, be prepared to change the lambda probe as I’ve read numerous posts about these failing after the exhaust has been tackled. Apparently they don’t like the shock of the repeated hammering...

Depending how bad they are, rub down & paint with hammerite. Should get a few more years out of them.

25 minutes ago, Sp1boyo said:

New water pump, lower temp thermostat, lower pipe work and new correct coolant replaced... these cars do like money being thrown at them fair play ... 🙈🤣

DIY or Indy?

41 minutes ago, Macus said:

I did condensers and drier today. 
Found coolant leak from the front crossover coolant pipes having already been warned about them by ‘JAZ Porsche’ so that’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks. 

There’s an ongoing thread in the technical section about the infamous crossover pipes...

Actually took mine out last night, first time since October, with the COVID stay local rules lifted.

100 + miles, fairly quiet roads, it actually felt like a big occasion - I know that might sound sad! But I’ve only done 900 miles in it since it was serviced in June 2020.

It was just the thing needed after a shyatety week in work, these are great cars! 

10 hours ago, iborguk said:

I have a Sealey one which has an interior and exterior plastic liner (to protect wheel bolts and wheels respectively)

 

This is what I need, don’t suppose you have a link for it please?

On 3/7/2021 at 7:24 PM, BoxsterTOMacan said:

Thanks...Wow... that was an expensive mistake :(... I knew the Perspex in the middle was a wind deflector but thought these would be called something else.

Keep an eye on eBay, they occasionally come up much cheaper than that!

On 3/6/2021 at 6:44 PM, iborguk said:

Refurbed my wheel nuts

 

Got to do mine again when the weather is better.

How have you managed to refit them without marking them?

When I spray mine & refit them, I always end up chipping the edges etc, that’s with using a proper plastic lined socket too.

9 hours ago, BoxsterTOMacan said:

Totally agree I expected it smooth, at least a discussion during the process from them. To be honest it is a small issue for me and annoying I have to drive 20 minutes to go and see the place again. Then if they agree to fix it I will have to book it in and then drop off and collect, it’s all this wasted time that annoys me. A simple call at the time would have been better. Will go and see them tomorrow, so far they have been good at responding at least. Will keep you posted

Good luck with your visit.

Had my wheels done by a local franchise of ‘The Wheel Specialist’, my experience in terms of customer service was shocking...

- Had a week off work, decided to take wheels to them two at a time, so I could keep car to do a deep clean on the arches etc

- Day 1, took 2 wheels to them, picked up at end of day, got home & couldn’t get wheel onto the hub due to the thickness of powder coat in the wheel bore. Furthermore they had powder coated the mounting face. I had specifically asked them to do neither

- Day 2, took same 2 wheels back to them to rectify the problems - attitude from the manager was less than satisfactory, but agreed to sort out. Collected wheels at end of day, finish not great with loads of orange peel.

- Day 3, same wheels went back to be rectified. Job better, but not perfect.

- Day 4, remaining 2 wheels done, ok job but by then I was thoroughly p*ssed off that it had taken a week to get wheels refurbed. Ok, my fault as I wanted to clean the arches, plus to be honest I didn’t fancy leaving the car with them...

- To top it off, they then tried to charge me for returning the first 2 wheels multiple times, even though it was their quality that led to it. Practically had an argument with the manager who basically said I could afford it as ‘I was the one running around in a Porsche!’

Absolutely shocking & I would never use them again. To be honest, I didn’t think name & shame at the time as their attitude was that disgusting that I was worried that someone would come round in the night & vandalise the car!

Next time I will be using someone who takes pride in their work, even if it does cost a few quid more...

1 minute ago, The Caped Crusader said:

I've seen lots of powdercoated wheels on display at various local powdercoaters. I've never been overly impressed with the finish. The thing is, from a distance, and when transformed from being poor condition in the first place, they'll always look good. It's the orange peel that bugs me the most though. 

Yeah, know what you mine. Mine have orange peel...

One thing I’ve noticed with Exel refurbs is that the wheels look super smooth, probably helps in keeping them clean too.

Wonder if I can justify a fresh refurb on the basis they’ll be easier to clean....? 😂

On 3/1/2021 at 4:16 PM, The Caped Crusader said:

Lepsons (this is who Chris at Exel uses too) powdercoat using an automated process that keeps the wheels flat when going through the oven. The result is that you get virtually no orange peel. 

I've visited lots of local wheel refurbishment companies in the past and, without exception, there is always orange peel with their finish. All of them powdercoat. This puts me right off powdercoating. Am I being too fussy?

 

Lepsons is good, of that there is no doubt. The thing is, they powdercoat only the face of silver wheels, the barrel stays primer coloured. This means that when they fire powdercoat through the spokes, you get a 'overspray' in the barrel. They can powdercoat the inside of the wheel too but it costs £50+vat per wheel on top of their standard refurb charge. 

Didn’t realise that Lepsons charge extra for powdercoating the inside of the wheel - how tight is that?!?!

I had mine done by a local franchise of The Wheel Specialist a few years ago. To be honest I’ve always been dissatisfied with the finish of them. Whilst not ‘bad’ they are far from perfect & wish I had paid the extra at the time to have had Exel do them. I’ve never seen a bad review of his wheel refurbs.