sequel95

Hi folks, I am looking at a 2000 Boxster S in great condition. I am wondering if the front bumper is adjustable, as it looks like the bumper cover up front was removed and repainted, and it looks like it is not quite in the right place. Does anyone know if there is a little wiggle room in the adjustment of the bumper cover, or will this not be able to be resolved by loosening all the fasteners and re-setting the bumper in place?

Thanks much. One other thing. I drove the car on a rainy day a week ago, and it had a strong smell in the cabin. Could have been the cabin filter or drains. I asked the sales person to have his Porsche techs (at sister Porsche dealer) check the drains. I did not detect any water on floorboards. The smell was something like urine. Perhaps it was just caused by the car sitting on a lot and/or a shampoo they used to clean the carpets.

-Sequel95 in Milwaukee

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...1309/overview/

Macster

There is not much adjustment from what I recall when I removed my 2002 Boxster front bumper cover to clean the radiators.

There are a lot of fasteners and a lot of under body plastic panels that are tricky to get right. One can't rely upon memory but must (or should at any rate) take notes, draw a diagram, take pics, etc. so he has a record of how things fit before and where all the fasteners go.

The techs tell me they can always tells when someone not experienced with these cars has been at the front bumper. Fasteners are in the wrong holes, some are missing, and the interleaving of the underbody plastic panels and wheel well liners
with the bumper cover is wrong.

What makes you believe the bumper cover is not quite right? From the pics it looks like the front trunk lid is open is all I can see.

If *all* body water drains were free of any trash build up and the cabin carpets were dry and this includes the door bottom carpets my WAG is the smell is coming from either the cabin air filter. This can develop a foul odor after being in service too long that is most noticable when the A/C is switched on.

Or possibly the A/C system can be the source of the odor. The evaporator can develop a growth of mold/mildew if the A/C is not shut off a few minutes prior to parking the car and just the cabin vent fan is run to remove condensation from the air vents and help dry the evaporator.

Or there can be a drip catch tray under the evaporator that can get full of trash and smell.

Or possibly trash build up in the radiator ducts.

If you decide to buy the car you can replace the cabin air filter easy enough and see if that eliminates the odor.

And it is easy enough -- should be part of your used car check out anyhow -- to check the radiator ducts for any trash build up. Again if you buy the car these need to be cleaned out and at the same time the front bumper cover re-installed to ensure it is installed correctly.

If the odor continues then this might be due to the evaporator. This can be a bit of work to address. Some have had luck spraying some kind of cleaner on the thing and rinsing it off. Or dealing with a dirty water catch tray or a blocked water drain.

sequel95

Thanks Macster! Appreciate the info. I did see some leaves near the two front radiators. I will definitely remove bumper and clean those if I buy the car. You said the smell could show up when AC turned on... I had turned on the AC to check the temp, so you are right on that topic.

I am confident I can realign the bumper to make it tighter and closer to the car. It is not quite in the right place.

Another small issue is oil on the oil filter housing. And it is fresh. My guess is the tech tightened it too much or messed up the rubber gasket. I asked the sales person to get that cleaned up and checked.

Will keep you all posted on the progress of this purchase. Thanks.

Macster

Bear in mind the front bumper cover's trailing edge -- the one that is just ahead of the front trunk lid -- is supposed to be above front trunk lid by a (roughly) quarter of a inch. If you attempt to make this flush while you can get it closer to flush you will end up with wind noise.

There are two screws -- one on each side -- in the vicinity of the front bumper cover side marker lights that are often overlooked when the cover is reinstalled. If these are missing the cover can not fit well in that area.

Even after 300K+ miles and a number of oil/filter services (every 5K miles) the oil filter housing of my Boxster is still oil tight. A new o-ring is used every time. When I changed the oil I'd put in a new filter element and fill the housing with fresh oil. I'd also smear some fresh oil on the o-ring and on the threads of the housing. (I'd clean the housing before installing it using aerosol carb cleaner to remove all oil and what have you from outside and inside the housing.)

Also, one needs to pay attention when installing the new o-ring to avoid possibly cutting it on the housing threads and to be sure the o-ring ends up in the o-ring groove.

When installing the filter housing I'd be careful to ensure the o-ring didn't catch on the metal of the block. One wants to get the o-ring inside the round bore so the o-ring can do its job once the filter housing is fully screwed into the block and torqued down.

I've never over tighened the housing -- I used a torque wrench -- so I have no experience in this regard.

sequel95

Macster, I have attached a couple photos that show fitment on side near side markers. Also the pic with the red circles shows an area near the headlight washer mechanism. The bumper cover has a cutout to accommodate the washer mechanism, and the cutout is showing, so I am confident I should be able to loosen all fasteners and push the bumper cover forward, after I clean all the radiators and condenser. Going back up on Sat March 4th to drive the car again. I drove it first in the rain, which is not a good representation of the car.

Macster

The 3rd pic could possibly have the gap made smaller -- between the side marker lamp and the fender -- by loosening the screw under the side marker lamp and moving the bumper cover around then tightening the screw.

I can't remember if the screw goes in at a right angle to the side of the car of if screws up into a metal ledge. Been too long since I have the bumper cover off my car.

Wait I may have a pic...

Yes. 'course, there can be differences between model years.

Anyhow you can see the screws (one each "corner") thread up to hold the upper corner of the cover in place.

sequel95

Macster, thank you for your photo. I believe the car sold. I talked with sales person earlier in week, and after I asked for: wiper blades, check drains, check cabin filter, remove oil filter for inspection, DME check for overrevs, he told me the sales manager was not going to do any of the above. Although this dealership also has a Porsche store about 15 mins from this used car location, they said "What we own the car for and what is would cost us to send it to the Porsche dealership isn't cost effective." Very odd, oh well. I probably should have just removed the filter housing myself and checked. I had a shop chosen for a PPI, but the shop said they won't remove filter housing or the sump pan, so the value would have only been a DME report. I am learning that I need to move quicker. These nice 986S's move within a few weeks- especially those with nice options. Thanks again Macster. Talk soon.

Macster

Well, too bad, maybe, but there is always another car.

Keep following the car if you can. Sometimes sales fall through.

The dealer was just being a dealer in that it didn't want to do anything that impacted its profit.

The little things like wipers and such you just have to take these into account when you come up with your offer.

What you want to be sure of is the car is basically sound with no engine troubles, no drivetrain troubles (other than a slipping clutch maybe) or worn brakes or worn tires, the top works, and the car is dry free of any water damage from body or top or door leaks.

Then based on your check out during which you (for example) id'd worn tires, or worn brakes, maybe (maybe) a leaking water pump, something like that, you make an offer that takes into account what your research has indicated it will cost to put things right.

IOWs, you want to avoid buying a car that is not worth owning at any price, but if the car is deemed basically sound and worth owning at some price you also want to avoid paying good to near excellent money for a car that is not in good to near excellent condition, then afterwards spending more money to bring the car to the condition your purchase price (incorrectly) reflected.