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I used some silicone grease, mainly 'cos it was the closest thing. And it's thick and slippery and pretty good for the purpose.

The difficulty is getting it down the sides of the gear stick itself where it fits into the yoke, so I blew some down there with a bit of compressed air. A liquid that becomes thicker sounds like it would be good for that job. 

44 minutes ago, phazed said:

just saw a Motorsport one on the web, 911 I believe. £1,500!!!!

£1500 for a 911? I'm not sure I'd want to pay that much for one .... 

7 hours ago, TROOPER88 said:

The fact that you had a jubilee clip on the rubber bellow indicates that it has been changed before if the same as an 86.

From factory, it would have a spring clip which is the main reason access is needed under the vehicle and the most awkward part of the job.

 

The pipes that come from 3 and 4 are vacuum lines and become brittle with age and split on the corrugated sections. 

 

I can not comment any more as I do not really work on that many 87's tbh. 

 

Paul 

Thanks (other) Paul. By '86' and '87' I presume you mean '986' and '987', non? 

I was pleasantly surprised to see a jubilee clip on the outlet pipe downwards as it made the job a lot easier. Whether that indicates that it has been changed before (quite possible, given the age) or not I don't know. 

8 hours ago, Paul P said:

I think the AOS is a "version" of a PCV valve - this explanation seems to cover the why's and how's - I know the AOS has a diaphram so I assume this kind of applies.

 

https://www.gatestechzone.com/en/news/2021-06-positive-crankcase-ventilation

 

 

Thanks Paul - that's a very interesting article. Although I don't quite understand the failure mode; if the diaphragm breaks then it seems that the air intake can bring in air directly from atmosphere and not from the crankcase, although I don't understand the consequences of this. As the article says, lambda will compensate for incorrect AFM (or AMM) readings so the engine should run OK. 

WD40 isn't a lubricant ... you'll need something and WD40 ain't it. 

Any light oil would do well. It's not a demanding application so a Castrol Everyman would be ideal, but there are numerous others which would do just as well. 

Hi eob, 

The symptoms were that strong oily/petroly smell and the fact that the oil filler cap was hard to pull off when the engine was idling, which also caused the revs to drop when it was removed. Plus there was nothing in the car's history (120,000 miles) to say it had been changed, although that's not always definitive. 

(If you DO have a go yourself then don't be put off by some of the descriptions online. Removing it was a matter of undoing a couple of M6 bolts from above, plus unclipping the pipes on Ports 3 and 4 (which needs to be done carefully but is not hard.) There was a jubilee clip on the pipe on Port 2 and then the whole thing lifted out, and the new part dropped in. All done from above, although some on-line instructions talk about doing it from below. It can't have taken more than 20 minutes to do, although that would perhaps be 40 minutes if you include removing the engine cover, drinking some tea, reassembly and clearing up afterwards.) 

Chaps, 

I've just changed the AOS on my 987.1c (which was a very easy job, keeping me amused for no more than 20 minutes. All done from above with no need to go under the car, despite what I've read on t'interweb about it). And I am curious about what it does and how it works. Here's a photo of the old one, with the four ports numbered: 

I understand that these are: 

1 - Intake of oily air from crank case

2 - Return of oil to crankcase

3 & 4 - Return of air to inlet manifold (but I am not entirely sure that this is correct)

My question is how the separation of oil and air happens and what happens when the part fails? I understand that it leaks oil into the air intake system, and my intake pipes were thickly coated with a layer of oily gluck which I assume is down to failure of this part. However the car also smelled really strongly of hot oil/petrol before the part was changed and this smell is diminishing now. 

I also noticed that one pipe from the AOS to the nether regions of the left hand side of the engine (I didn't investigate to see where it connects to) had cracked and was falling apart. I think that this was the pipe on Port 3 in the picture. What does this pipe do? I didn't like the design of it at all and it was very brittle where it went over the engine so I replaced part of it with some robust wide-bore rubber fuel hose, which I hope will last longer. Given that this pipe would have allowed a lot of whatever it was carrying out (or possibly a lot of air in) then what effect would this have on the engine? 

All answers to my rambling questions welcomed .... thanks!

Update: I took the shifter out of the car yesterday afternoon and looked at it in detail. In short: I did pretty much exactly as Phazed described, finding that there was enough play between the side pin and the white plastic block pictured to fit in a sliver cut from a drinks can. I also put quite a lot of grease on all the moving parts. 

Has it made much difference? I don't think so. I've yet to drive it but moving the shifter while stationary hasn't made me think that there is a dramatic change. I did notice that there was quite a lot of play in the pivot where the white plastic block moves but it's not possible to remove the block from the shifter without removing the two main bearings, which seemed a bit tricky (they clip in and I couldn't make either of them unclip). Were this possible then I'd think about sleeving the white plastic block but without removing the block this can't be done. 

So .... not huge progress. 

One closing question, for Phazed: you mentioned pulling the outer parts of the cables tight before clipping them in. What did you mean by this? The outer parts of the cables clip into the rear edge of the shifter but there is no adjustment for them; they will only clip in one position (as far as I can tell). Can you elaborate on this a little? Thanks. 

1 hour ago, Pinewood said:

 

Fixed that for you 😉 

HARSH! 

On 10/31/2022 at 10:31 AM, iborguk said:

 

Oh dear. That's pretty .... special. 

1 hour ago, Nick C said:

Hi, the reading of the posts on here is very interesting but I didn't want it to turn into a boxster vs cayman chat. I was just simply asking a question regards the boxster 987 hardtop. 

Cheers everyone. 

Sorry guv. Guilty as charged here. 

10 hours ago, phazed said:

The power output of both is pretty much identical. If it were 5- 10 BHP, you would never notice it. I believe my RS60 has a slightly different throttle body, (same as the Cayman), and therefore develops the same power.

As for the handling, I track my Boxster and the handling with PASM is superb. I am sure you would never notice the difference on the road and it would take a very experienced driver to notice any difference on the track if at all.

Which is the best looking, subjective, I guess, I like both equally, but they are different as one is a convertible. 
 

I will say that tracking an open top car in good weather is immense fun. You really get the impression of speed with the wind, whistling by.

Interesting. I've driven 987 Boxsters and 987 Caymans and agree that the power difference is not noticeable on the road. 

However I can tell the difference between them in handling quite easily; the Cayman is stiffer and you feel the suspension controlling the body better. The Boxster is a very stiff car but I could feel the difference between it and the stiffer Cayman quite readily. 

Admittedly I've not driven a PASM Boxster but base my observations on non-PASM versions of both. I happen to have PASM on my Cayman and agree that it's good - very good. I'd love to try one of those aftermarket tuning boxes which changes the way that the PASM works but have always baulked at the price!

5 minutes ago, phazed said:

Really. Do expand .

Facetious answer: Cayman owners are far better looking than Boxster ones! 😄

Serious answer: Cayman's are stiffer and handle better, which is noticeable when driving one. They also have more interior space as you can use the space over the engine, and are not susceptible to having the hoods slashed. These are the three reasons why I chose a Cayman over a Boxster; living in London the security was a major point and the greater practicality mattered as it was an only car. 

Other reasons that I've heard are that Cayman's are rarer (may be true) and they are more powerful and hence quicker (they are only a fraction more powerful and I doubt that this can be felt on the road, although the better handling definitely can be.) 

On 10/18/2022 at 4:38 PM, ½cwt said:

The amount of use issue is just a matter of mindset.  One of the bonuses of not having a garage is it is always sitting there as I walk out of the door to remind me to use it.

As for spec, as many specs as people, but I'm usually happy with what the factory options offer.

987.2 S PDK

Chrono (because you can)

PASM (because you can)

PSE

Embossed sports seats. grey full leather interior

Colour is where I always hesitate, do you go Guards Red, Sapphire Blue or even Speed Yellow to stand out or silver or a darker grey to not be too 'in your face'?

Maybe some carbon trimming too on handbrake lever and door handles.

I have a 987.1 Cayman that has most of those; Sports Chrono, PASM, embossed heated sports seats with the extended (red) leather interior, sports steering wheel and Xenon lights. Plus a few other bits I've forgotten about. I bought the car as it seemed to be in decent nick and at a good price and I didn't even realise it had those options! 

1 hour ago, BBB said:

Nearly as good as a Cayman, then a few clips et voila, as good as a Boxster! Best of both worlds

The benefits of a Cayman over a Boxster amount to a whole load more than just a roof! 😄

Phazed, 

Thanks - that's a very helpful write-up and some great photos thanks to iborguk. 

I found this YouTube video which suggests something very similar: 

However he also removed the stick from the yoke it sits in and put some washers as shims down the side, although that seems to be less of an issue than the play between the ball and the nylon side part. 

I've still to remove the mechanism from my car but that nylon side part seems to have quite a lot of play from the bearing where it hinges at the other end to the sliding joint. I wonder if something has broken or come adrift there. 

I'll keep this thread updated. Thanks for the input chaps. 

Guys, 

Thanks for the replies. All very helpful. 

FWIW I've not taken the shifter out of my car yet but I think that there is play in it; I've taken the gearstick gaiter off and by putting my fingers on bits of the mechanism while moving the gearstick around I am pretty sure that I can feel play in different parts. I hope to take it all the way out this week so will know more then. 

Pothole - thanks. I have heard people raving about the Numeric cables but didn't know how they achieved their magic; lighter clips on the ends would be a good move. Is there not a way to re-engineer the existing clips to take some slop out? 

0.5CWT - that's helpful, I didn't know that there was a factory-fit short shift kit. What's the difference between it and the standard offering? It seems that a google for that part number throws up various different things; some look like new shifters and some look like the gubbins from a shifter. 

Phazed - that's helpful. I wonder if it's worth loosening the existing cables and pulling the outer bits tight and then re-tightening them? Do you happen to remember the YouTube video you watched? 

Thanks for your help chaps. I'll keep this thread updated. 

Guys, 

At 120,000 miles the gearshift in my 987.1C is not the best. There is quite a lot of play in the side-to-side direction, although it is quite good in the fore-and-aft direction. I've taken the boot off and it seems that the play is in the point where the sideways-pointing ball goes into the white nylon bar, and possibly where the white nylon bar connects onto whatever it connects onto. (Get me - that's a cracking technical description, right there! 😀) It seems to have become quite a lot worse quite recently and I'd like to improve things.

The question is what to do about it. 

The number 1 answer is a new gearshift mechanism. Take the old one out and put a new one in. 997 GT3 ones get good reviews, as do Numeric ones. But they are 'spensive and I don't have that much money flapping around in the kitty to try this route yet. 

The number 2 answer is one of the (many) short-shift kits you see on eBay. But they are not meant to be much good (who was the guy who re-aligned one on a lathe and actually made it half-decent?) and I'm not after a shorter shift; I am after some better precision in the existing shift and I am not sure that they offer that. 

Number 3 answer? I suspect that there is mileage in taking the existing shifter out and re-bushing it. That's to say, working out where the wear has occurred and putting in some additional nylon or copper bushings before reassembly. Has anyone gone down this route before and is it possible? Is it worth it? Is it difficult? 

All input welcomed, thanks. 

Oli. 

1 hour ago, skoosh1970 said:

Great news,  regards the clutch,  on my 2.9 I changed the original clutch and flywheel at 151000 miles...!!!! 

Interesting. My 987.1 has 120,000 on the clock and I have no evidence of the clutch ever having been changed. 

Good to know that they can go on for so long!

Interesting to see the DIY option - thanks kevin450. 

I have a friend who made a new red leather cover for the steering wheel in his 928. He took the old cover off and used it as a pattern to cut the new one, then stitched it on. He's a practical and careful type but the end result is every bit as good as any professional job I've ever seen. I don't think that DIY-ing steering wheel covers is as hard as some people think, and it's good to hear your experience. 

I've had good results with the Wynns product on a 944 and use Wynns engine flush on the oil on my 987.1 before changing it. The 944 currently has 230,000 miles on it so I can't think it's doing it any harm. 

Boxob, 

Thanks, but probably not. It had a new battery about 4 months ago, and lives on a CTek conditioner when in the garage (I disconnected the CTek just before I started it on Saturday.) 

On 8/5/2022 at 12:39 PM, Dan888 said:

@Ti Rich I think one of my in dash tweeters is knackered... Do you know if they are an easy replacement? Stock or is it a good idea to upgrade these too?

I have the tweeters I took out of my 987 which worked fine. Happy to post them to you if you can cover the postage and some beer tokens. Send me a message if interested. 

As has been said, choose your upgrade path depending upon what system you have in: base, SPP or Bose. FWIW I had the base system and simply replaced everything - i.e. head unit and speakers (main and tweeters), and put an aftermarket amp in as well. Overkill, but I enjoy this sort of thing and like good sounds in my car. 

An separate amplifier will make a HUGE difference to the sound of the system. As will the sound deadening that Ti Rich mentioned. In order of priority, I'd suggest the following would be a sensible set of things to do if you have the base sound system, from most important to least: 

- New head unit

- Sound deadening

- Amplifier

- Main speakers

- Tweeters

- Speaker cable

Things get more complex with the other sound packages as the Bose had 2ohm speakers (not 4ohm, which is pretty much standard everywhere) and needed a converter thing to enable the head unit to talk to the rest of the system. 

It's worth doing though; the basic sound package on my Cayman sounded unbelievably awful. A cheap radio alarm clock would offer better sound quality with some ease. Now it's pretty good! 

Spyder Performance are popular. And seem to get good reviews. 

I put them on my 987 Cayman and they are fine. They didn't have the standard rubber bushed ones when I bought arms so I went for the polybushed ones instead and have no complaints. Yes, they squeak a tiny bit when cold but I used a lot of silicone grease which probably helps. No noticable harshness difference. When I had the alignment done afterwards the alignment place said that they struggled to align it without loosening and adjusting the front subframe and wondered whether the arm dimensions were correct but I think it's more likely that I managed to move the subframe slightly while fitting the new parts. 

Website here: 

https://www.spyderperformance.co.uk/

I seem to recall that there are some discount codes knocking around somewhere so some googling may prove worthwhile.