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My Worst Idea To Date - (confession time)


999 WRC

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This is embarrassing but I just wanted to share my worst idea to date (in the hope it makes me feel better!).

As some of you will know from my other posts my Boxster S is having a bit of a refresh in my local indie but that has run away with me a bit in that its now had:

New suspension all round

Calipers refurbed all round 

New rear discs

pads all round

IMS bearing

RMS

Clutch and flywheel

I thought that was going to be the end of it (bearing in mind this all started because the RMS was weeping!) but then I made a really dumb decision which was to get the gearbox checked while it was out of the car.  There was nothing majorly wrong with it but you had to be careful of 1st to 2nd when it was cold.  When warm it was fine but I thought I would get it checked out as it might need 2nd gear synchro at worst.  BAD IDEA.

Report from the gearbox company (very reputable and recommended) is - new 1st and 2nd gear cluster, new bearings throughout, new this, and new that.  Total cost £2200 plus VAT 😞

So what was a small issue to start with has just snowballed into spending as much on the refresh as I spent on the car to start with!

Yes I could not get the work done but the gearbox is now in bits and looking around a used manual box is just shy of £2k - and of course that might be just as bad.

Moral of this story is done your homework first and then once you've done it - do it again!!

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15 minutes ago, 999 WRC said:

This is embarrassing but I just wanted to share my worst idea to date (in the hope it makes me feel better!).

As some of you will know from my other posts my Boxster S is having a bit of a refresh in my local indie but that has run away with me a bit in that its now had:

New suspension all round

Calipers refurbed all round 

New rear discs

pads all round

IMS bearing

RMS

Clutch and flywheel

I thought that was going to be the end of it (bearing in mind this all started because the RMS was weeping!) but then I made a really dumb decision which was to get the gearbox checked while it was out of the car.  There was nothing majorly wrong with it but you had to be careful of 1st to 2nd when it was cold.  When warm it was fine but I thought I would get it checked out as it might need 2nd gear synchro at worst.  BAD IDEA.

Report from the gearbox company (very reputable and recommended) is - new 1st and 2nd gear cluster, new bearings throughout, new this, and new that.  Total cost £2200 plus VAT 😞

So what was a small issue to start with has just snowballed into spending as much on the refresh as I spent on the car to start with!

Yes I could not get the work done but the gearbox is now in bits and looking around a used manual box is just shy of £2k - and of course that might be just as bad.

Moral of this story is done your homework first and then once you've done it - do it again!!

Ouch, good luck getting sorted. These cars do get into our DNA and our wallets.

 

 

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If it ain't (fully broke), don't fix it.

My 1-2 change when cold can be occasionally greeted with a crunch. I make sure i fully depress the clutch all the way to the carpet, as opposed to the most of the way speed shift, and select second in a manly and quite frankly rather virile way and this method doesn't result in any crunch.

These 6 speed boxes are known for the first to second synchro wear but my 986 is on a good day at best worth <6k and a 3k repair is not something I'm going to do as 95% of the time I have no issue.

At least you know your car will be mechanically on top form when you get it done, even if it stands you at the value of a later model.

 

Live and learn

Edited by Shazbot
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3 hours ago, Shazbot said:

If it ain't (fully broke), don't fix it.

My 1-2 change when cold can be occasionally greeted with a crunch. I make sure i fully depress the clutch all the way to the carpet, as opposed to the most of the way speed shift, and select second in a manly and quite frankly rather virile way and this method doesn't result in any crunch.

These 6 speed boxes are known for the first to second synchro wear but my 986 is on a good day at best worth <6k and a 3k repair is not something I'm going to do as 95% of the time I have no issue.

At least you know your car will be mechanically on top form when you get it done, even if it stands you at the value of a later model.

 

Live and learn

^^ This.  1st to 2nd when cold can be very baulky, but once warmed up never a problem.  Do I have some synchro wear and wear on the gear clusters after 21 years and 100k miles?  Most likely yes.  Would new bearings throughout make it better?  Probably.  Most people find a gearbox oil change (it has most likely never been done) does improve things and it is at most 10% of the rebuild price you've been given.

Frame it this way - You've done the IMS (what age is the car and did you confirm it has the more suspect single row IMS bearing used from mid 2001 model year onwards?) but are you now going to drop the engine, do all the big end shells and small ends bearings and piston ring as well as they will be a little worn?

Porsche + paranoia = empty wallet

Edited by ½cwt
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10 hours ago, ½cwt said:

^^ This.  1st to 2nd when cold can be very baulky, but once warmed up never a problem.  Do I have some synchro wear and wear on the gear clusters after 21 years and 100k miles?  Most likely yes.  Would new bearings throughout make it better?  Probably.  Most people find a gearbox oil change (it has most likely never been done) does improve things and it is at most 10% of the rebuild price you've been given.

Frame it this way - You've done the IMS (what age is the car and did you confirm it has the more suspect single row IMS bearing used from mid 2001 model year onwards?) but are you now going to drop the engine, do all the big end shells and small ends bearings and piston ring as well as they will be a little worn?

Porsche + paranoia = empty wallet

Hi ½cwt.  I agree fully.  'Stupid is as stupid does' on my part springs to mind!

To answer your question mine is a 2002 (although a 2003 model according to my OPC) so is an early facelift with glovebox, glass rear screen etc.  Its only done 59,000 miles with full history (part OPC and part Porsche specialist) so I thought I was buying a good one (looked for over a year before finding this 'bargain'!)

I'm happy with the rest of my decisions so far but am still contemplating banging my head against the wall over the gearbox decision.  Why oh why did I send it off to be checked without asking about the consequences of that decision is what I keep asking myself.

For the IMS I have bought the 'eternal fix' kit.  Interestingly when enquiring about the bearing from my local OPC they said 'you cant just buy the bearing as it comes with the intermediate shaft'.  I'm not sure that's right but as per the start of this reply - what do I know?  Obviously nothing springs to mind!!

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having not long had my 986, i assumed the reluctance between 1st and 2nd is just the character of having a 20 year old gearbox. but it definitely improves when its warm.

during my next service i think i'll get the gearbox oil changed since its a pretty cheap addition to a service cost, and i've no idea when it was last changed, if at all.

and as for IMS and all that jazz - well, i figure if the engine has made it to 20 years old and its still working, whatever is in there is probably fine. but i'll keep to my maintenance schedule and change the engine oil every year (likely 2000 miles a year tops) and every time i go out the car gets a good workout so... hopefully it'll stay that way.

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7 hours ago, 999 WRC said:

Hi ½cwt.  I agree fully.  'Stupid is as stupid does' on my part springs to mind!

To answer your question mine is a 2002 (although a 2003 model according to my OPC) so is an early facelift with glovebox, glass rear screen etc.  Its only done 59,000 miles with full history (part OPC and part Porsche specialist) so I thought I was buying a good one (looked for over a year before finding this 'bargain'!)

I'm happy with the rest of my decisions so far but am still contemplating banging my head against the wall over the gearbox decision.  Why oh why did I send it off to be checked without asking about the consequences of that decision is what I keep asking myself.

For the IMS I have bought the 'eternal fix' kit.  Interestingly when enquiring about the bearing from my local OPC they said 'you cant just buy the bearing as it comes with the intermediate shaft'.  I'm not sure that's right but as per the start of this reply - what do I know?  Obviously nothing springs to mind!!

Porsche do not sell the bearing only for any of the IMS options.  The bearing for the older dual row has been identified as has the smaller single row like yours, at least by dimensions and the single r ow is only about £7 and quite common but fitting it accurately is the challenge.

Almost all the jobs in you list ahve now been done on mine except IMS in the last 20k miles/5 years of its life by either me or the previous owner.  They get old and wear out as do all cars.  But the 'box. I'd do the oil and monitor the condition when using it.  £2.2k +VAT (£2640) for what could just be what the 'box normally feels like seems a lot given hat you've spent already.  At least you know a used box is under £2k.

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8 hours ago, brillomaster said:

having not long had my 986, i assumed the reluctance between 1st and 2nd is just the character of having a 20 year old gearbox. but it definitely improves when its warm.

during my next service i think i'll get the gearbox oil changed since its a pretty cheap addition to a service cost, and i've no idea when it was last changed, if at all.

and as for IMS and all that jazz - well, i figure if the engine has made it to 20 years old and its still working, whatever is in there is probably fine. but i'll keep to my maintenance schedule and change the engine oil every year (likely 2000 miles a year tops) and every time i go out the car gets a good workout so... hopefully it'll stay that way.

This ^ I think they’re all notchy between 1st & 2nd in cold weather but once warm normally alright. I changed my gearbox oil and it’s definitely smoother both cold and warm. Tbh I didn’t notice it last winter. 

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