Hi guys and girls.

I finally got some sort of vacation time and I wanted to do some maintenance on my 2005 Boxster S with almost 100,000 miles on it

I have a good number of questions on fluids. Please if you can help, pitch in on any question you know off the top of your head. No need to get them all. Also, if you feel like chipping in on a maintenance topic not mentioned in my questions, you're more than welcome to hijack my thread. It's all good stuff I like to read.

Please keep in mind it's a high mileage daily driver and I have no intention of buying super expensive products for it.


Q1: Coolant fluid: what kind should I be using for my car? anything special? My coolant fluid is low now.

Q2: Engine Oil: I have the IMS tool kit so from what I read I don't need to change the oil every like 3K miles but any recommendations on when to do it?

Q3: checking engine oil level: from what I learned, some Boxsters have an oil dip stick and some don't. If my car doesn't how do I check oil level and quality?

Q3: Leather treatment: What kind of leather treatment do most of you use? My leather seats are getting very dry and need treatment ASAP.

Q4: Fuel Injection Cleaner Additives: My friend is insisting that I should add fuel additives to clean up the engine and what not. Is this recommended for Porsche? or should I stay very clear of it? (on a LOL side note: he heard the weird Boxer Engine rasp and thought my fuel injection system was clogged).

Q5: Waxing the paint: What kind of wax would you recommend? My paint has seen better days with the sun hitting it constantly in Texas. My friend recommended Turtle Wax Super Hard shell and said it would kind of restore the color.

Q6: Soft top maintenance: I was told on this forum to go for RaggTopp. However there are two parts: cleaner and protectant. For now I don't see the point for the cleaner and I only want to go for the protectant alone. Any personal experience on this?


Again, please answer whatever you can, no need to get them all, and thanks a whole lot in advance.


P.S. Yes I did search the forum, some posts were as old as 2006 so this maintenance topic should be updated

 

What I do-

Use porsche coolant and mix 50-50. If just topping up you can get a 1L bottle from dealer.

I change oil and filter every 6 months. works out to about 3 to 4k miles. I occasionally track the car too. IMS tool kit? do you mean you have the upgraded bearing installed? Yours is an early 05 with the M96 engine?

Oil level checking will be in the owners manual. The electronic measurement is through the on board computer using the stalk. My 986 boxster has both a stick and the electronic gauge which you use with the engine off. My 987 is checked with the engine warm and idling. Not sure what yours has so best to check the manual.

I use Meguiers leather cleaner conditioner and it works ok.

Never used FI cleaner

Have been using Adams Polishes products and like them. I would do a good wash with 2 bucket method, then claybar, then polish, then wax. Search for threads on that, should be lots. The finish has a clear coat so doubt anything will affect the color much.

Have used the raggtop products and works well. Why not use the cleaner?

Don't forget the brake fluid. If it's more than 2 years old should be flushed.

I like the 101 projects for your Boxster book for maintenance and DIY. A lot of the articles are available over on pelican site.

Hope that helps. Best of luck

 

What about:

water pump?
themostat?
Serpt. Belt?
Trans/gear oil?
Spark plugs?

These may need addressing. Especially water pump if not already replaced within the last 3-4 years.

 

My 02 Boxster has had nothing but Porsche approved engine oil, anti-freeze, brake/clutch fluid, transmission/diff fluids, spark plugs, and filters and has just over 281K miles with no internal engine or transmission problems in that time, except a VarioCam solenoid that went bad (electrical) which took out the actuator.

Also, I have to point out you just bought a car with 100K miles. I assume the car passed your inspection and that of a PPI with flying colors. Thus the car must have received some reasonably appropriate servicing. Why then do anything different? Keep doing what the original owner did as it seems to have gotten the car to 100K miles without any issues.

IOWs, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Anyhow, there is a caution against mixing anti-freezes so you should use what's in the car now. If the coolant level is low there's a leak. The most common leak is the cap. After you get the new cap installed and the cooling system topped up drive the car around until it is fully up to temperature. Be sure the A/C is off. Back home raise RPMs to 1500 and hold until the radiator fans come on. Shut off the engine. Wait. If there is a leak you'll spot the signs. Common places (after the cap) are the tank (the seam underneath weakens and opens under pressure), the water pump ( this is best viewed with the car in the air but you have to remember you are under a hot car with hot coolant that you do not want to drip down your neck...), where the hoses connect to anything, the radiators.

I like to have the coolant system drained and refilled with fresh mix of Porsche antifreeze and water every 4 to 5 years. Porsche says the coolant is lifetime but it loses its anti-corrosion resistance over time and a bit of coolant is way cheaper than replacing radiators, heater cores, oil/water heat exchanges, water pumps, and head gaskets that can go bad sooner from bad coolant.

For engine oil I've run Mobil 1 0w-40 for years and as I mentioned above the engine has over 281K miles on it. I change the oil/filter every 5K miles which means I can change the oil 3 or sometimes 4 times a year. (I've changed the oil twice in as many weeks as I can leave town with fresh oil and a week later be home again with 5K miles (or more) on the car.)

'course, if you do not want to run 0w-40 where you live and drive you can run an approved 5w-40 oil even an approved 5w-50 oil (not a typo for 15w-50!). I recently switched the Boxster over to Mobil 5w-50 as where I live and drive doesn't get that cold even in winter but it gets plenty hot in the summer. However, I've driven in 116F heat in the Boxster (and hotter in the Turbo) with Mobil 1 0w-40 oil with no ill effects.

If you elect to run a non-approved oil then you can pick any oil based on any selection criteria you like, from the pretty colors on the bottle to the lowest price to enough zinc to protect a battleship against rust.

The owners manual covers how to check the engine oil. Briefly, you want to check the oil on level ground and either after the engine has been off a long time -- overnight -- and before it was shut off was fully up to temperature -- or when hot after the engine has been up to temperature and been olff long enough that the count down timer starts at 5 or 6 seconds. For checking the oil hot I do this after I fill up the gas tank. The drive of the gas station is usually quite level and the if the engine was hot when I pulled in to fill up by the time I finish filling the tank and turn on the key the count down timer starts at 5 seconds.

Do not wait until the oil level is at the low line to add oil.

If you have to add oil do not overfill.

For cleaning the interior I use Handiwipes or a clean rag damp with just plain water.

I do not bother to treat the top of my Boxster with anything. I do keep the canvas top spotless removing any bird mess with water ASAP. I avoid hard detergents and thoroughly rinse the top and the rest of the car with spotless rinse water at the local DIY car wash. Avoid parking under trees.

For fuel system cleaning Techron is the best. You should not need to use this very often but if you want to use some to start out with the fuel system clean then use one or two bottles according to directions. I like to change the oil/filter after running the last tank of fuel with Techron added down to say 1/4 full.

If you buy a top tier premium grade of gasoline and from a busy station to get the freshest gasoline and drive the car something more than 3 or 4 miles at a time the gasoline will work to keep the fuel system clean.

Check with the local Porsche dealer and its detailer to see what wax is preferred. My recollection is a soft wax is preferred but I do not know what brand.

Be sure to keep the body water drains free of any trash build up. If these get plugged water can collect and back up and overflow into the cabin which can cause all sorts of problems with the car's security system.

Keep the radiator ducts free of trash. The radiator fans suck up/in a lot of trash and dirt which collects at the bottom of the radiator duct and between the A/C condenser and radiator and which can lead to corrosion and a leak in either the condenser or radiator.

 

Thanks, that does help.

And yup, mine is an early M96 and I upgraded the bearing.

 

Thanks, I got the car checked and those things seem to be OK. Also, I do recall checking the service history of the car and regular major maintenance did show up so I think I'm good on those major items.

 

Thanks Macster. Detailed replies as always with a lot of very useful information. I got that Techron you recommended.

Another question about water coolant. It turned out my car isn't low on coolant at all. The water level is perfect. My friend thought the water coolant was low because the fan always starts on its own after shutting down the car to cool the engine. This only happens in hot summer. Is it normal for the fan to run like this after the engine has been turned off?

 

Macster, another question,

you're saying your 281K Boxster never needed any conditioning for the soft top at all? My car seems to have seen better days. It seems like the sun had its toll on it. The color looks faded. I think these soft tops are some sort of vinyl covered with cloth, right? if so, doesn't it need any sort of conditioning at all? I don't really care about water bidding off all that much. Just not the top drying out and tarring or something like that.

 

Thanks normal. The engine compartment fan is pulling cool air into the engine bay from the passenger side vent.

 

Convertible top protection products should contain UV inhibitors that should help keep the top from fading. Keeping the top clean and UV protected is the best defense to prevent further degradation of the fabric.
If the top is too far gone, you might consider replacing it. Check the forums for the 944S2, 968, 964, 993, 986, 996, 997, 987, etc for threads on convertible top replacements for good info.
If your paint has truly faded, there is not much you can do to restore it without a repaint. If the problem is that the clearcoat has dulled, you often can restore that with multistep applications of compounds and polishes, from heavier grit through fine to get a surprising amount of shine back. Check the car care forum for some tips on this. A good detailer can work wonders if you don't have the tools or time to do this yourself.

 

My experience and info is the radiator fans will never come on after the engine has been turned off. They can come on when the engine is started if the coolant temperature is high enough. (212F is what I have observed is the temperature at which the fans come on low speed, 216F is when they switch to high speed operations and 205F is when they switch off. These numbers may be different for different model years and models.)

If by the fan you are referring to the engine compartment fan then this fan can come on after the engine is shut off if the engine compartment is hot enough or gets hot enough. The precise details vary from MY to MY and model to model. For instance, my 996 Turbo engine compartment fan will come on with the engine off and even if the car is locked. (The engine compartment fan runs all the time when the engine is running, too.)

For my 02 Boxster the engine compartment fan will not come on if I lock the car no matter how hot (I guess) the engine compartment gets.

But more than once in the recent warm weather I've gone back to the car after leaving it parked just a short time and had the engine compartment fan come on immediately after starting the engine.

While I do not suspect any problems with your car based on what you posted you want to be sure the radiator ducts are clean and free of trash build up. My experience is while these can be quite full of trash it has no noticeable effect on the engine's running temperature, but why risk it? And why risk the corrosion that comes from this trash being present?

Also be sure the radiator fans come on when they are supposed to and when on both blow the same amount of air and the air feels about the same temperature. Both of my cars over the years have had radiator fans stop working or in one case while it still ran it didn't blow nearly as much air as the other side.

 

My 02 Boxster's canvas is faded a bit. Nothing unsightly and the patina is not uncomfortable to the eyes.

The canvas is there to protect the rubber sheet underneath. It is the rubber sheet which keeps the water and other unwanted elements out of the cabin.

The canvas protects the rubber from UV rays, the sometimes very corrosive bird mess, tree or plant sap, abrasion (for when the top is folded), from objects -- tree limbs and such -- falling on the top.

While the top beads water quite impressively when new as the top ages this beading goes away and owners think the top is not doing its job.

The canvas still protects the rubber and as long as the rubber sheet is intact it still protects the cabin.

I tried some top treatment but it is a pain to apply, one has to keep it from getting on anything other than the canvas, and its beading action doesn't last.

I do not mind avoiding parking under trees or plants and keeping the top clean of dirt and bird mess but I do not have the time to seemingly constantly treat the top to keep that beading action fresh.

'course, it is up to you what you want to do. If you want to treat the canvas top of your car with some top treatment that one hopes is not damaging to the canvas or the rubber underneath that is your decision.

BTW, a hint that the rubber may be deteriorating is if you see what looks like bubbles under the canvas, that is if the canvas appears to have something less than a perfectly smooth rubber sheet under it. Now I see just some mild bubbling in spots -- perhaps I need to post pics -- under the canvas on my car but they have been there for years and the top doesn't leak and the car sits out in the sun day in and day out. It doesn't sit under trees though and I keep the top clean and rinse it thoroughly at the car wash when I wash the car.

 

top care - 303 is one the very best.
Leather - i like a lot Lexol (cleaner+conditioner).
Wax - look for one with high carnauba content and you'll be fine.