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New car, searching out the gremlins


Jimmymack

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Hi

This is my second post, the first was in the newbies section, so I think Im ready to swim in the big pool now ?

Well, following on from that theme, Im the proud owner of a 986 Anniversary Boxster Spyder, and I decided the best way (or at least the most fun) to find out what the previous owner didnt tell me before I bought it.

So I booked a bed and breakfast in a pub on the North Yorkshire Moors near Whitby for me and the Mrs, and put the pedal to the metal so to speak.

What have I discovered so far?

There is a slight smell of coolant in the cabin when you turn the heater on - suspect a pipe or the heater core has a leak, but the coolant level doesnt seem to have dropped at all after a 400 mile drive.

The passenger headlamp has risen about 1/2" from its tray, and can be pulled out. Have tried using the tool to cam it down but it just slips round, have tried a 5mm socket but the same, so eiither I get a grip on it and manage to turn it or I buy a whole replacenent tray from Ebay, currently one on there for £20.

The rear passenger mud guard / lip thing in front of the wheel is broken, have bought a replacement again from Ebay for a few £.

I went over a pot hole hard (unfortunatley, no chance to steer away), this car has very hard suspension, the washer fluid level light came on yesterday, stayed on all afternoon, this morning gone!! I like these self repairing faults.?

On a faster stretch, the car didnt feel settled, I think it could be wheel balancing, or suspension, or tyre pressures? Have read all manners of advice on what pressures to run these 18" tyres at. Will try various combinations and see what works. 

One good thing, the car has so much torque that basically you can almost stay in 6th 90℅ of the time, it just pulls so nicely in normal driving from 30 upwards. however, give it a blip and it pulls like a train and pass 4000 rpm and the sound is gorgeous.

I flicked through recent destinations on the satnav and found the Nurburgring twice ?

Talking of the satnav, its OK, (unusual instructions like turn half right, and waiting until you have turned off a roundabout before advising you to do so) but it keeps stopping reading the CD, which is original but a bit scratched, so now Im in a bit of a dilemma whether to buy a new disc or stay with my Garmin.....

After having the top down most of the day, when I put it back up it squeeks quite a lot, so maybe some silicone spray needed?

Anyway, second tank of fuel in this evening ?

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16 minutes ago, Jimmymack said:

I went over a pot hole hard (unfortunatley, no chance to steer away), this car has very hard suspension, the washer fluid level light came on yesterday, stayed on all afternoon, this morning gone!! I like these self repairing faults.?

On a faster stretch, the car didnt feel settled, I think it could be wheel balancing, or suspension, or tyre pressures? Have read all manners of advice on what pressures to run these 18" tyres at. Will try various combinations and see what works. 

One good thing, the car has so much torque that basically you can almost stay in 6th 90℅ of the time, it just pulls so nicely in normal driving from 30 upwards. however, give it a blip and it pulls like a train and pass 4000 rpm and the sound is gorgeous.

Talking of the satnav, its OK, (unusual instructions like turn half right, and waiting until you have turned off a roundabout before advising you to do so) but it keeps stopping reading the CD, which is original but a bit scratched, so now Im in a bit of a dilemma whether to buy a new disc or stay with my Garmin.....

Welcome to 550 ownership - they're actually a very rare car - rarer in fact than some of the RS models whose values recently went through the roof.

I have an intermittent leak of the screenwash system and I'm almost certain its down to the hose to the front-left headlight washer.

Use the tyre pressures in the book.

Don't stay in 6th 90% of the time - the M.96 engine does not like to be laboured like that. Don't use 6th at all below 70mph.

Even the most recent PCM CDs are quite a few years out of date now - I have a Brodit clip for my iPhone and use Waze on that over the PCM sat nav nowadays.

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Hi Spyderman8

Yes, it was the rareity which drew me to the Spyder, I was initially thinking of an early 987 but the cocoa interior etc made me go for this one.

I wasnt aware of the engines preference for higher revs, it just seemed to be happy, but thats what this forum is for, to educate ?

I will take the passenger front wheel arch off wheb I get home to check what went on with the washer bottle though

Cheers ?

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Smell of coolant could well be the heater matrix. Mine sprung a small leak a couple of year back, but it was not enough to lower the level too much over several months. Will need replacing though if it is.

washer fluid leak is probably the headlamp washers. They are notorious for leaking when old and as meno said are not repairable.

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Well, the story so far, driving back to Spalding, have stopped off in York for a little tourism ?

The washer empty light came back on today ?

The roads were a bit damp so took it easy, good job as the local Constabulary are out in force.

Mpg has gone up to 27, light right foot I guess.

I bought a little gadget from Amazon for £14 which connects to bluetooth and transmits over FM to the radio. Plugs into the cigarette lighter, damn is it good! Brilliant hands free phone clarity too plus gives me a usb port to charge the phone too.

 

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23 minutes ago, Jimmymack said:

 

I bought a little gadget from Amazon for £14 which connects to bluetooth and transmits over FM to the radio. Plugs into the cigarette lighter, damn is it good! Brilliant hands free phone clarity too plus gives me a usb port to charge the phone too.

 

Ooooh I like the sound of this nifty gadget! So presumably you can stream music across it too? 

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FM Transmitter, VicTsing® Car MP3 Player FM Transmitter Bluetooth Handsfree Car Kit Wireless Radio Audio Adapter with Dual USB 5V 2.1A USB Charger, 1.44 Inch LCD Display, 3.5mm Audio Port, TF Card Slot, USB Flash Drive Port For iPhone, iPad, iPod, Samsung Galaxy, HTC, MP3, MP4 and Most Devices with 3.5mm Audio Jack
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35 minutes ago, Jimmymack said:

I bought a little gadget from Amazon for £14 which connects to bluetooth and transmits over FM to the radio. Plugs into the cigarette lighter, damn is it good! Brilliant hands free phone clarity too plus gives me a usb port to charge the phone too.

Care to give us the link to it'?

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Hi @Jimmymack

whats the sound quality like? Presumably it's better with the 3.5mm cable than using BT?

I have the pcm2 with bose and there are very limited options for streaming music and making calls via BT. 

The Dension system I was looking at is c.£400 but this could be a much simpler and cheaper option if the sound quality is decent. 

Cheers. 

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Mine arrived today, impressed with the quality for the price. Been after something like this for ages to stream to my CDR223 hopefully it functions as good as it looks. Great spot thanks for the heads up

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For the record, check with Porsche for prices of consumable plastics.  The front and rear spats are quite cheap.  I had to put one on my last car.

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