Considering a Boxster purchase -Engine recall questions.....

[bxtech]

Hello all,

I have been a Porsche "nut" for years now. I am currently considering my first Boxster and I don't know much about them. I have a few questions to run past you Boxster experts! I am currently looking at a 1999, but I hear that 1999 may be one of the worse years??

- I am mainly concerned about the engine recall that Porsche had for these cars. Is 1999 included in the problem years?

-What other year models of Boxster had the notorious engine problems? What is the common failure?

-I've also noticed that the early years had a lot of problems with the convertible top drive. What exactly goes bad? The mechanical drive/transmission part? or the electrical? Approximately how much to repair?

Any advice/info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks very much in advance!

[Aron in Toronto]

There was no motor recall for Boxsters although there were/are a few problems that caused failures early on and were replaced during the original new car warrantee period, and some after the warrantee expired.

Some of the early Boxsters suffered from poor engine block castings resulting in leaks on oil/coolant intermix problems. Mostly MY97, IIRC.

Some of the MY98 & 99 suffered from “Slipped Sleeves”. Others will hopefully correct me on the exact manufacturing dates that were affected.

Leaking Rear Main Seals (RMS) due to out of round crankshaft ends. This problem although seems more common than the two above, typically did not result in engine failures, but rather to an oil leak that often could not be fixed and the motors were replaced if under warrantee, if after several attempts to fix were not successful. The RMS seal and installation methods have been updated many times in attempt to solve this issue. My understanding is that the latest is better but not 100% yet.

Leaking Intermediate Shaft seal (IMS) located above the RMS and often the seal & bolts are replaced while the RMS is being replaced.

IMS bearing failure seems to be the black cloud of the day with these motors and often results in engine failure, although there are rare reports of this being caught before the engine suffers catastrophic damage. The IMS bearing went through several evolutions over the years the last being on MY06 if I’m not mistaken, and finally eliminated in the latest version.

Flat 6 Innovations in conjunction with LN Engineering has come up with several modifications to repair and rebuild these motors that had previously simply been replaced by Porsche or the owners, due to the cost of and lack of parts/knowledge to support rebuilds. Porsche is now encouraging dealers to rebuild rather than replace these motors.
http://www.flat6innovations.com/
http://www.lnengineering.com/


Here is a good Boxsters buyer’s guide that covers many of the issues to look for.

http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/mikesporscheboxsterwebpages

As with most Porsche models there is a large owners group that is very DIY savvy and most common service and repair needs are covered online and our host will be releasing a 101 Boxster repair book in the near future.

Good luck with your search.

[Aron in Toronto]

On the early top the main issue is the drive cable shroud expanding or stretching and one of the two (one per side) inner cables disconnecting from the drive motor. When this happens force to open or close the top is applied to only one side and the top's frame and the "clamshell" body cladding will distort, bend and some of the push rods may be damaged, if not caught in time during raising or lowering of the top. There are also plastic ball socket joints in the top mechanism that can break causing similar results. Porsche has improved both of these parts in the in the post MY99 tops and it is recommended to use these parts to update the early tops.

The plastic rear window also needs care to keep it clear and scratch free. The top shouldn't be raised or lowered in cool/cold temps or there is a risk of cracking the window. If cared for the tops seem to last quite a while, my 97's top is fine, but the rear window will not last forever. Sun and cold seem to cause the most damage.

A new plastic window can be sewn into the top as long as the rest of the top is in good condition.

The plastic rear window was replaced with glass on MY03 and aftermarket tops with glass are available for the early tops as well.

[mikefocke]

about the negatives is out there. Don't be. What you are witnessing is a group of people who are passionate and knowledgeable about their cars sharing a level of detailed information that is just not available for other brands. So you'll be able to access the whole truth about the Boxster, not so for other marques.

Every car has design and manufacturing issues, Porsche should not be expected to produce the perfect car as it has never been done. But witness the number of owners who have had or have multiple Porsches (on my 3rd) and the passion with which they are involved with their cars and you'll see that this is truly an exceptional marque.

I owned a '99 for 5 months till I totaled it. Never had a single issue. Most '99s have gotten beyond the stage where they had to have engines replaced by now. But also understand you are buying a 10 year old car and they do break and when they do labor and parts are more expensive than for a Chevy.

As has been said, there is also a wealth of Do-It-Yourself info out on the web for the Boxster so you can reduce routine maintenance costs.

[bxtech]

Thanks for all the great info and for the links. This really helps me out a lot! I've been reading quite a bit on the forums and online as well. I've learned quite a bit in the past few days!

As for Porsche owners being passionate............I know the feeling. I have owned (and currently own) a number of Porsches and this Boxster will not be my first Porsche. However, It will be my first BOXSTER. I don't expect it to be a perfect car, but I am just trying to find out about the most notorious problems on these and what people have experienced.

Thanks again to everyone and this forum. It's the people here that make it great and so helpful!

[cvhs18472]

I have had a 98 base Tip for 3 years now and have had no troubles. Yes, all those problems exist but in reality what %. You never hear about the cars running well for a long time because people have a grin on their face and happy people don't *****. The real % of bad stuff is low. Get a PPI and enjoy the ride. Ed