Boxer boy

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Bow out until saved up enough for a 987.2 with the 9A1 engine .

Stop loss ( breaking - e bay ) what you have and put towards ^ .

Bled the brakes .Was 30 months previously done and 8 K miles ago .

Slightly  dark came out ( did all 8 nipples ) .I did test it and it’s was according to my electronic % water meter under 1 % , but thought what the heck .I didn’t want the nips to cease up by leaving it .Flushed through 1 -1 1/2 L used a eze bled pressure bleeder . I think the system needs .7 of L ? 
Didn’t bother with the gadget to pulse the ABS ( I have one could not be arsed ) as it’s not got PASM .It’s a boggo 2.9 987.2 
 

Anyhow despite the under alleged 1%  water in the fluid the brakes after immediately felt harder and firmer .It’s only a tenner / L .

My other pork the Macan is still under the dealer as still in warranty and it gets a flush every 2 yrs , sometimes annually.

while the wheels were off re wax oiled up bits .Esp the front water pipe connectors …..to extend life and prevent corrosion in the joints .I think the wax melts when the pipes hot up and the oil runs in the crevice where water / salt would lurk .

cleaned up and very sparingly waxed the brake retaining apparatus.

Its off to Switzerland and Italy  via the Hull Rotterdam ferry very soon .

They are easy cars to attend to , Porsche designed them thus . 981 but the principal boxster maintenance ease is there for 987s and others .

Great enthusiasts car if can access the underneath.I have a pit on one garage so all my cars get a good going over .Suspension cleaned up , sub frames like wise and waxed .Take the rear anti roll bar it’s paint peels off ( heat cycles ) so I gave scrubbed it and repainted , re protected it .

Your main dealer or Indy just leaves it to rust .Sure the MOT guy will be all over the bushes like a rash hunting for a quickie job 😀.
Same with coil springs , struts and mounts …..cleaned up and re painted now rust free . Callipers too .Mine arn’t”  white  blooming “ like many others I see . A simple gentle green kitchen scrubber  to clean , decrease and G tech paint restorer abs hey presto they are factory black again .

I was @ the local OPC yesterday and stuff on the for court had “ white blooms “ spotty  callipers  ….Sure full PSH “ used approved “ FWIW ? As well ( recent rain etc ) rusty disks ! I mean the stuff standing a few weeks / months outside.

Take a brake bleed .The outer callipers nipples just moved as expected in car pro ported to have had a fluid change 2 yrs ago seen on a invoice at a “ specialist “ .The inners we’re ceased solid .Fortunately in the garage I could leave it on 4 Jack stands for 3 days .Yep 4 x day for 3 days I carefully dropped penetration fluid in the tiny cup surrounding each inner nipple  .

On day 4 got a wrench on them and they moved albeit stiff at first .

Coffee coloured brake fluid came out of the inners , compared to dark p*ss coloured from the outers .

Basically the inners had never been cracked open for yrs ……despite a FSH showing regular fluid changes .Brakes never felt better and ZERO inner disk corrosion as they , the pistons work equally as the visible outer set .

I don’t buy into all this talk of inner disk corrosion due to a bit of water washing .That’s cr*p other washed cars don’t suffer left standing.It’s gradually ceasing / ineffective inner pistons due to neglect at bleeding time .

 I would advise anyone recently into boxsters to do a gear box oil change.

Book might say 10 or is it 12 yrs ? But it makes a huge difference.

Mine wasn’t dirty when I dropped it just stank of aged fluid .The change is now superb .With my  308 Ferrari I do it every 4 yrs .You can feel the improvement.

On 4/2/2024 at 4:48 PM, Geordie40 said:

Fitted new discs & pads all round, discs were very badly corroded on the inside which you cant see till you take them off!!

But the bloody handbrake shoes, whos stupid idea was it to use the springs & clips from hell, I have decided i will happily pay someone to change the handbrake shoes in future, took me 1/2 a day.

Im awaiting my Carnewal GT exhaust and an Aliexpress headunit so a busy couple of weekends if the sun ever comes out

Do you know if when refreshing the brake fluid the tech ( or you ? ) are cracking open and bleeding the inner calipers?
 

Those inner pistons are very ineffective that leads to that amount of corrosion.Don’t worry the outer pad and disk general massive  area plenty covers braking n normal use . 

8 hours ago, bally4563 said:

I agree the worry comes when that same advisory is still there the following year 

Last April 23 , mine had an advisory something along the lines of “ brake pipe covered in substance covering possible corrosion.” It was the OSF under the caliper .

I did then a few days  before get it over my pit and give it gen ckean up and wax up .You know wire brush and waxoil everything .

Over the summer 23 it did worry me .Twice I removed said wheel and very closely inspected the caliper pipe and the longer one that disappears between the wheels near the coolant pipes .

cleaned checked but couldn’t find anything.So de greased this pipe , painted Matt black . I would have replaced it but read about snapped nuts and aside I had just refreshed the brake fluid with a pressure bleeder managing to undo both nipples at each corner …..so didn’t fancy a spongy peddle and hassle chasing air out of the new pipe ….unless I had to ? 
 

This year it passed no advisory.

So my 2023 advisory has just evaporated.Nowts been changed just cleaned up .

Passed its MOT on 95K up from 92 K last yr .No advisory’s .

I did a lub change moved up to 5W 40 , A40 Porsche approved .

Filter and o ring + crush washer from the OPC using the “ classic “ 10% - discount  . Noticed the OEM is the same Mahle cartridge I bought last yr from Eurocarparts.Just a different package. 

Aluminium flakes from the M96/97 engine  casting . Not one of Porsches best designs and castings .

Perfectly normal for the genre .Forget about it .

Pistons rattle  start to wobble at BDC of just before and scape .You can’t see it with a spark plug borescope because like most bore scoring of the M96/97 it’s below the rings at BDC under the piston out of sight .

Porsche club North American have a library of vids on this .

Worth pointing out the gen 2 2.9 is a completely different engine design ( 9A1 ) to the early 986 based 2.7 and 3.2 used in the “S” - incarnations.

As mentioned the latter suffers from IMS + bore scoring risk .Those failure points were designed out in the 9A1 gen 2 2.9 .

Mezgler had a hand this time in the design of the 9A1 , bringing a whole host of race endurance tech to the party .Closed deck block castings used in the GT 2/3 s and Turbos .Better oil cooling , piston squirting , improved water cooling + a whole host of improvements+++ . Better cylinder surfacing etc etc .

Arguably the 1996 to early 2009 yrs , are the worst flat 6 s Porsches ever produced. 

A collaboration with Toyota in the nineties to reduce manufacturing costs and parts they erroneously adopted a open deck block to save parts number costs . 

Theres a lot out there and lot of owners on here putting a brave face on every time they drive them …….but seeing as you are in a position to choose  do yourself ( wallet potentially? ) a huge favour and skip any flat 6 Porsche between these  years *. Go for a mid 09 yr upwards , which brings in the gen 2 - 2.9 .

Sleep easy at night without any worries.

*except GT 2/3 and turbo. They are closed deck Mezglers 

Worth pointing out the gen 2 2.9 is a completely different engine design ( 9A1 ) to the early 986 based 2.7 and 3.2 used in the “S” - incarnations.

As mentioned the latter suffers from IMS + bore scoring risk .Those failure points were designed out in the 9A1 gen 2 2.9 .

Mezgler had a hand this time in the design of the 9A1 , bringing a whole host of race endurance tech to the party .

Arguably the 1996 to early 2009 yrs , are the worst flat 6 s Porsches ever produced.

Theres a lot out there and lot of owners on here …….but seeing as you are in a position to choose  do yourself ( wallet potentially? ) a huge favour and skip any flat 6 Porsche between these  years . Go for a mid 09 yr upwards , which brings in the gen 2 - 2.9 .

Sleep easy at night without any worries.

My 2.9 is one of 4 cars .Daily a Macan SD ( tow bar to move trial bikes about @ WE s  ) , a Healey sprite ….taste of A series open air motoring , and Ferrari Dino GT 4 .All restored and kept in dehumidified garages btw . All personal plated btw to hide dates .

I have had 3 Ferraris a Testarossa and 360 M F1 .Plus several other Porsches inc 911 s abs even a new back in the day 968CS .Renault sport spyder as well .

So I like to think I know what I like and have zero fwd aspirations having effectively ( trying not to sound flippant ) had it all .

I an aged 61 still trial biking , snow boarding / sking / boating .

Its a few things .

—— firstly it’s sharing the seat time with the other three so I can’t say I am ever board or feeling for a change .

It mid engined handling .When you had a few mid engined cars there’s no going back .

The flat 6 thingy ……sorry guys not wanting to re ignite the eternal 718 - 4 banger debate .

The practicality = two boots and a very good hood mechanism over a tin top piece of pork .

The raw ness of the 987,2 over an electric PAS car .I like the firmer ride ( aka jiggly ) over a electrotwackery- shock set up .

Steel disks over a GT 4 et al .No TPMS , 

A certain inverse snobbery, sort of reverse wealth statement in the sense it’s bought + paid for .No silly monthly s here or 73 platers with 6 pence down a zillion a month and a trillion ballon at the end .I like the fact no one knows what’s  behind it wealth wise .

Its a lesson worth learning stepping off the newer is better bandwagons.

Park it anywhere as well no need to look back either . 
 

I was 25 when I got my first 911 , had to wait to grow old to 25 for insurance. They didn’t do mid engined back in the 80 s .

Hobby craft sell black button hole elastic that’s indistinguishable from OEM  .£2 / M 

They are both AC pipes .Ones high pressure the other low .

Because you ( or PO s ? ) have never replaced the dryer located by the battery at the front  a £25 part + regass , excess water condensation overflows from said dryer and ultimately settles in the  lowest point in the system .

The water corrodes from the inside the alloy pipe peeling off the plastic weather proof coat .Pin hole leaks start where it’s thinnest + pressure .So after a regass any weakness becomes apparent.

Not helping the water corrode the thing from the inside is the possibility of additional flexing by techs NOT using Porsche Jack pads on lifts .A boggo industry std 120 mm pad will press on the larger pipe . A young pipe thats  dry inside can stand this abuse .An wet internally pipe corroded can’t ….it’s pops a leak .

Pipes are iirc £150 each , a dyer £25 , o rings another tenner from the OPC s and a fast fit regas £60 .You might as well replace the condensers about £150 a pair .

Do it in a spot you can fully open the passenger  door or an area with width the L of the pipes and you need the lateral space to wiggle the new in place .You need to remove the fuel filler evaporate apparatus ….it’s all pretty easy nut and bolt job .

Whip the front wheels off .Remove the liners ( easy ) and closely inspect the cross over pipe connections.

Report back on state of dryness or dampness .

Until you have a handle of those joints further speculation is futile .

I wouldn’t knock WBAC s computer algorithm.If it takes ages to shift ( cabs in winter ) then tying ££ up in cabs which could be used in something that shifts in 14 days is madness .

They are auction results less admin/ transport / storage fees .

Add in some changes in public buying habits ie belt tightening for 2nd / 3rd cars in the sub £30 K sector and big bill worry in the sub £10 K sector and you have a dearth of buyers so it’s risky to punt £ s into them .

Mean while at the bottom end the “ station car “ the ULEZ compliant , the cheapo insurance grp business is booming .You know Polo 1,2 s etc 

I have a 0.2 2.9 - Manual .

Hunted it down , wanted to avoid the IMS , + bore score thingy .The 9A1 block is arguably what Porsche should have done way back in 96 . Worth seeking out in the used market .

I think there’s a slight tech advantage going Fwds in the port injection as opposed to DI …..in that you aren’t going to get fouled up inlet valves ….you know potentially paying for cleaning up job . DI imho was a backward step , apart from emissions lowering the carbon from a Greta Thungberg pov .etc etc .

The brakes on the 0.2 are from the then 911 range , identical to the 997 back in the day ( 09-11 ) so better than the 0.1 s The 0.1 s are smaller .
 

It’s a sweet motor and nice raw experience.Reminds me very much of my earlier  air-cooled 911 3.2 Carrara which had 234 Hp back in the day . Linear pull right to red line .It does howl above 4 K rpm .

254 Hp in more / less the same weight but with that crucial handling advantage of mid engine = bliss .

The rides hard by modern stds you know you are in a sports car . Fat rubber doesn’t help .That was ultimately its down fall and the major difference between the successor 981 .But as a 2/3 rd  Sunday car that  extra firmness is exactly what I want .Folks pay a lot in other marques ( Bimmer M2 s ) for firmer suspension…….comes std with 987.2 

Plenty fast enough in todays roads . 
Steering too another thing is sublime.Greta s lot buggered up that exact tactile feel  ( the driving forced emissions again ) with the electric PAS in successor modals .

My 0.2 s worth 🤗

Can’t see any recouping of £ .Like any extra on a second hand car the values evaporate.More so with age and millage .

I had flappy paddles on my Ferrari 360 M ( was all the rage back in the day and Ferrari / Alfa brought the technology to road cars ) 

Regretted it in the end preferred the involvement of of stick like my Testarossa. current favourite F car is a old fashioned 70 s carburettor GT 4 …..that’s another tech step back wards fuel injection .You can’t beat a  barrel of a Webber dropping fuel directly into each cylinder .

Current Macan has flappy paddles as did my X6 , wife’s Q3 ….never touched  em .The PDK (or Bimmer eq ) did all the work .

I honestly just can’t see how a PDK , flappy paddle box despite all the “ kings new suite “ mouthing off one hears brings anything to the involvement party .Sure in the cam shaft arms sipping your pint your car beats on paper the next guys at the lights .

With a Tip which is a slush box I wouldn’t bother .

Again never ( hardly ) used paddles in my Bentley GT ….slush box had a 6.0 W 12 though.

Even with a boxster being a bit lighter and agile a tip is for city driving basically and future buyers will buy a slush box for thst reason .

If they want sporty / involvement then they will seek out a manual hence the false prophecy of somehow recouping £ .

Put the £1500 in a bank @5-6 % and leave it there .In the mean time enjoy the slush box ….in traffic .

The ar*e is dropping out of the used 2 nd / 3rd car mkt esp Porsche…..madness tipping piggy bank contents into pork at the mo .Madness ! 

Check the AC works as the condensers at the front corners corrode and gas leaks out .

Front x over pipes another mine to hit .

It certainly looks fabulous in that colour and the price is ball park .As others have said there’s a risk with 15-20 yr old cars .

As long as it’s had fresh oil regularly then go for it .

Just be prepared at some  time in the first 18  months to tip £2 K into it to rectify the common faults .

They are very easy to diy on btw .

You need to be more specific .What’ definitions are being used by the pair of you for “ Major “ and “ Minor “ ? 

Millage + time intervals + which fluids and filters + any brake components inc B fluid refresh .Evidence of drain cleans is pretty important with these  esp if parked outside. Other stuff like the plugs / coil packs and main belt , air filter , pollen filter , AC gas refresh .

A good sign with Porsche is an annual lubrication change .Additives deteriorate with time not millage  .Also the exact oil , without going down the abyss of a car forum oil thread , Mobile 1 Ow 40 W is the manufacturers choice or very similar high end synthetic maybe a 5w 40 or 50 perhaps done at a Porsche Indy is acceptable.

You need to see the spec of the oil with these imho .

Oil is cheap insurance and its change out frequency pretty good indicator of the owners maintenance attitude . Skimping on this especially with older IMS bearing cars , like his one in question ,says a lot to me sends alarm bells and I start to look for my running shoes .

Evidence  of gear box oil refresh at yr 10 ….again manufacturers spec would be nice …..not a big ask .

Plenty of cars out there for sale carefully and correctly maintained  so take your time .But mixed in are equally plenty run on shoestrings as the boxster seemed back in the day to attract new owners to the marque with shallow pockets more so as they tumbled down the depreciation curves with time .

6 hours ago, skoosh1970 said:

WBAC have offered £8500 ......!!!!!!!!!!

Wait till they see all the mods and personalisations / molestations .

There algorithm works on OEM specs .

£6-7 K to sell .

A lot of young lads coming through there car history  maybe then adding a second fun car at some later stage in life never really get to grips with maintenance.More like prophylactic maintenance….you know removing wheel arch liners cleaning and applying waxoil ( or what ever anti corrosion product ) brushing up brake pipes and ditto etc ….rest of anything metal .

Suppose this idol starts at company cars leased and chucked back , living without proper jacks , stands , socket sets etc , not having space initially to fettle ….then later family time commitments .

Also not having garage spaces to keep them dry and protected from frost …thinking U.K. climate moisture condensation on cold metal .Both inside and obviously outside visible areas .

As far as the cross over pipes when I got my 09 the first thing I did was to remove the wheel arch linners under trays ( have an inspection pit ) and and clean x wax it all up .Even brushed up the joints and 2x have seeped hot waxoi into the joints .Especially after a run when the pipes hold there warmth . The thinking was the heat would drive out moisture and wax would fill the tiny crevices where previously water held .It’s this damp that has a go at the metal clips and there supports = leads to breakdown of the seal as the o ring now distorts somewhat as the corrosion alters the fit .

I have done ( waxed ) all the suspension , the arch lip inner  edges , remove the side grills waxed inside those lips ( removed the felt at the edges = water traps ) + much more underneath.

Cleaned up the callipers more  cosmetic I know but got rid of that faint alloy bloom under black look if you did knack all .

Plenty of elbow grease and cleaner products …came up like new , no need to paint them .

Like many others done all the drains which are regularly mentioned on here .

I am retired run 4 cars 2 Porsches( have a Macan daily)  a 70 s carb Ferrari and a Austin Healey Sprite .So know too well about preventative maintenance and have the time and space as 3 of them are garaged .Dehumidifiers running to boot ! 

I know thus far the posts show there’s no wrong way and what ever floats each owners boat .

However when I see ( in traffic queues etc ) the wrong badging esp crocked poorly aligned 320d or ML 320 in the wrong place then immediately springs in my mind it’s been ar*e ended / accident damaged .

I can’t be the only one ?
 

As for “ naked “ it’s tells me the repairer ( cost cutting in the quote ) could be even bothered to source a replacement.

I know badge deletion is a no cost option too but it does open up in my mind the above .

Sorry to rain on a parade but I others must think this too ?