Newbie to DIY'er Journal

[grimesb]

Hi guys,

As many people have made a journal to log and easily follow project process I thought it'd be a good idea for the current issues I'm facing. It might actually help someone too! Plus it won't spam the boards..

About two weeks ago my new 2001 Boxter got its first CEL. It pulled P1128 and P1130. I've had many fantastic answers in previous threads and I narrowed down the issues to a few spark plug tubes leaking and a crack in the AOS bellow. This totally rocks in comparison to the gobs of money the mechanic wanted to reseal my cam covers.

1. MAF is new
2. AOS was replaced by a shop
3. Throttle body is clean

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Over the past two weeks I've purchased the tools to safely work under the car, a new fuel filter, spark plug kit, and the basic tools to complete each job. Yesterday I finished replacing the fuel filter and somehow broke off the female spade connector of the grounding wire. I've purchased more female spade connectors but I'm a little concerned as it looks like the original was welded into the copper wire and made of the same material versus the piece being separate from the wire.

Any suggestions? Could I split the copper cable and tie it into the grounding strap on the filter? Should I leave this to a professional since I'm very new to working on cars?


I'm half way into replacing the spark plugs and wanted to know if an error in torquing is made would it damage any function of the engine? According to the instructions with the torque wrench I've got its set to the correct force and I'm ready to go.

Thank you,

Bennett

[Wayne 962]

Yes, if you over-tighten your spark plugs, you can damage the plugs or the head, but you really have to *REALLY* overtighten them to have this happen. I wouldn't worry about that a bit.

As for the grounding strap, you can just crimp a new connector on and you should be fine. That is what I would do in a similar situation. The factory connector is probably just soldered on.

-Wayne

[grimesb]

Thank you for the help. I completed four spark plugs and the fuel filter / remake ground strap.

The car started! Ha.


Interesting thing though.. Before I had jacked the car up I'd been dealing with an oil leak issue ( looks like sealant around cam covers dripping in the area of the 02 sensors and it'd be noticeable on the passenger side exhaust only. Now, after its back on the ground its only coming from the drivers side under intake.

[grimesb]

Hey guys! CEL fixed and I've learned a ton. I took apart the throttle body, replaced all spark plugs & tubes, changed the fuel filter, and cleaned the MFA.

I'm now on to getting the back two wheel bearings replaced ( possibly by a professional) and also touching up a few specks on my front hood due to road debris. I plan on buying a kit with OEM color from Dr. Color Chip and possibly covering with 3M clear bra.

Thoughts?

Thank you very much.