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A few minor additions to K's helpful Post:
The two machine screws that retain the motor are T-20.
If you want to clean the air filter there are 3 push clips to remove. I used a hook tool to gently lift the ears over the plastic pin head .Harbor Freight Pittsburgh - item#66836 pick hook set. To re-install these clips, I used an 8mm nut driver to push them in to position.
There are two foam filters inside .They were very dusty and the foam is quite brittle so be careful when knocking out the dust.
I used silicone grease on the bearings .The bearings are both marked "Made in England NMB 608S " You can find them by googling '608-2RS'. The bearings measure 8x22x7mm. A pair should be less than $20.I found some for $1 each on Flea Bay! The problem in replacing them would be the crimp on the motor case.
If when you try to reassemble the plastic case, the 5 spring steel clips may not fit .I just removed a non-essential 2mm circular lip at the center of the case.
Last edited by Schnell Gelb; 04-30-2015 at 01:29 PM.
Any tips for getting removing the motor from the plastic housing? I didn't want to yank too hard given that it's 15 yo plastic.
For the time being, seems like greasing the shaft end took care of the problem.
I couldn't remove mine either. Just too tight to risk breaking something. I did lube the shaft end and the high pitched whine went away. Thanks to the OP and contributors for this nice DIY write-up.
I'm getting SAI fault codes on my car every couple weeks. The SAI pump sounds kind of "sick" sometimes when it runs, and it does not seem to run on every cold start. It actually sounds like maybe the fan discs are contacting the housing, because it makes a metallic ringing sound, like discs are occasionally rubbing the housing and then ringing down. I'm thinking maybe the bearings are so shot that it's able to orbit a little and touch the housing, or perhaps the discs are loose and shifting relative to one another? Or perhaps the motor itself is spinning but the fan discs are loose on the shaft and not spinning much?
In any event, those of you that have done this, do you think mine sounds serviceable, and/or that such behavior could cause poor enough airflow that it would trip the fault code? Guess there's no way to know without taking it apart. It seems there's not much harm in trying though, before I start ordering new parts. Any major caveats to be aware of other than keeping the parts in order?
I'm getting SAI fault codes on my car every couple weeks. The SAI pump sounds kind of "sick" sometimes when it runs, and it does not seem to run on every cold start. It actually sounds like maybe the fan discs are contacting the housing, because it makes a metallic ringing sound, like discs are occasionally rubbing the housing and then ringing down. I'm thinking maybe the bearings are so shot that it's able to orbit a little and touch the housing, or perhaps the discs are loose and shifting relative to one another? Or perhaps the motor itself is spinning but the fan discs are loose on the shaft and not spinning much?
In any event, those of you that have done this, do you think mine sounds serviceable, and/or that such behavior could cause poor enough airflow that it would trip the fault code? Guess there's no way to know without taking it apart. It seems there's not much harm in trying though, before I start ordering new parts. Any major caveats to be aware of other than keeping the parts in order?
What year is your car? You should be able to tell once you put it on the bench and test it with some 12v power (jump starter). If you have Durametric, it can trigger the pump.
A new pump is like $1k+ but there are cheaper alternatives from Bosch.
KrazyK and others have submitted DIY instructions with photos of the SAI pump overhaul. There are some problems if you go deeper than KrazyK did.The spinning plate can scrape and be noisy. Even if you fix the pump perfectly, there are many other problematic parts to the system. Most of those parts are very time consuming and tedious to reach. The diagnostics ar equally fraught. I have done all of this several times because I was curious but it was a ridiculous amount of time. The SAI system only operates for around 90 seconds at cold start an rarely during normal operation and it's practicality is debated. The total carbon footprint of replacing &/or repairing the system plus the aggravation of failing Smog Tests and performing vague Drive Cycles makes the entire repair of dubious merit. That is why some people just do the ROW flash or use the test device offered by Particlewave. Neither are ideal solutions but they are practical expedients until you have time to fix/upgrade the entire SAI system.The green-police wince at this but they have yet to offer a practical alternative that has earned the acclaim of other enthusiasts.
Originally Posted by dkraige
I'm getting SAI fault codes on my car every couple weeks. The SAI pump sounds kind of "sick" sometimes when it runs, and it does not seem to run on every cold start. It actually sounds like maybe the fan discs are contacting the housing, because it makes a metallic ringing sound, like discs are occasionally rubbing the housing and then ringing down. I'm thinking maybe the bearings are so shot that it's able to orbit a little and touch the housing, or perhaps the discs are loose and shifting relative to one another? Or perhaps the motor itself is spinning but the fan discs are loose on the shaft and not spinning much?
In any event, those of you that have done this, do you think mine sounds serviceable, and/or that such behavior could cause poor enough airflow that it would trip the fault code? Guess there's no way to know without taking it apart. It seems there's not much harm in trying though, before I start ordering new parts. Any major caveats to be aware of other than keeping the parts in order?
What year is your car? You should be able to tell once you put it on the bench and test it with some 12v power (jump starter). If you have Durametric, it can trigger the pump.
A new pump is like $1k+ but there are cheaper alternatives from Bosch.
2001, I can trigger it with Durametric and it runs, just sounds nasty. Not sure if that alone is likely to be causing my codes or if there are likely to be other issues with switchover valves, etc.
2001, I can trigger it with Durametric and it runs, just sounds nasty. Not sure if that alone is likely to be causing my codes or if there are likely to be other issues with switchover valves, etc.
My guess is you have both P0491 and P0492? There's a recent thread here for more info https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...0492-help.html
Assuming you have codes for both banks, it's likely you have a problem with the vacuum, electrical changeover valve, or the two mechanical valves. You can just disconnect the SAI pump hose from the pump, activate the pump and feel if you have air, a lot of air.
Re the pump, best is to work on it on the bench. If it's just the bearing, adding some grease like in this DIy thread will help for sure. If you want to replace the pump, you have a few (practical) options:
1) Get a low mileage one from qualityporscheparts on eBay (search for 99660510400). This one is $150 https://www.ebay.com/itm/01-Boxster-...wAAOSweW5VSrsl
2) Look up "0580000023" and "0580000022" on ebay and get a used or new one https://www.ebay.com/itm/0580000023-...IAAOSwbWZaYbSb The cheaper new ones are probably from China but that doesn't mean they are not good (no experience here though)
1) Tested SAI pump in car via Durametric activation and on bench via 12V supply. Runs reliably every time, but does make an occasional pinging/scraping noise like the pump vanes are scraping the housing every now and then, causing them to ring like a bell. Blows air hard.
2) Disassembled SAI pump to inspect internals. Everything looks flawlessly clean and feels tight. Actually looks like it is brand new even though it has a 2000 production date. I don't see any evidence of any bearing looseness or scrape marks, so I can't explain the intermittent noise I'm hearing from it. I feel like it's functioning fine.
3) Tested changeover valve via Durametric activation. Can hear it clicking about once per second while activated, like it is opening and closing. Not sure if this is the standard "activation" protocol. I get identical behavior from the intake resonance flap changeover valve if I activate it via Durametric, so I kind of think this is the standard "activation" protocol, that it just cycles it open/close once per second or so. This was done with the engine not running so I can hear it click.
4) Pulled off a vacuum hose from resonance flap changeover valve just because it's easily accessible. Feels like good solid vacuum with engine running (will suck onto my finger and not let go). Very non-scientific.
So to me the remaining possibilities are:
1) The combination valve behind the alternator (haven't gotten to this to test/inspect it since I'd have to remove alternator)
2) A vacuum leak in the SAI system somewhere (seems unlikely, all my vacuum hoses are surprisingly nice-looking and supple, no signs of drying out and cracking)
3) Mechanical failure of the changeover valve (just because Durametric makes it click doesn't necessarily mean it's opening and closing properly)
4) Clogging of a vacuum line
5) Clogging of the SAI pipes or ports on the engine.
Agree with your assessment so far. Do the codes point to both banks? You can run more test based on this thread.
You can see if air is actually pumped into the exhaust streams based on the O2 sensor readings during cold start.
Yes, codes point to both banks, P0410 and P1411. Secondary Air Injection system signal implausible for each bank. I clear the code and it comes back a couple weeks later. Has happened 3 times now. I can try logging at startup to see what the O2 sensor readings look like.
04-28-2015, 10:00 PM
