I am posting this for a good buddy of mine. He has a 2005 Boxster S, with about 12,000 miles on it.

Over the weekend, he put his car up on two ramps to clean and wax the underbody. He did the front end first, then backed the rear up on the ramps to do that half. It was on an angle, parked on the ramps, for about four hours, total.

Well, when he went to start it, it started but made a LOT of strange engine noises, and hesitated to even move. He says his dash warning lights lit up, too. Obviously, it did not like sitting on an angle for so long.

When he spoke with his dealer mechanic, they said that putting it up on the ramps interrupted the fluid (fuel?) flow and they suggested just letting it sit for a few days, to see if it will work itself out.

If it still is not running right, he thinks they are going to have to drop the engine. Uggh.

Any advice for my friend?

Thanks!


-Dave
______________________

1996 993 Carrera Coupe
Guards Red/Black

 

I'd be more worried about what he cleaned than the ramps, I put mine on ramps all the time and if you think about it you drive up and down slopes that steep all the time

did he pressure wash the underside?

 

telling the dealer he did something may be bad. I would have stated " I parked on a very steep angle for some time"

 

Actually, when he called the dealer, and described the problem, the very first thing that they asked (without prompting) was whether or not he recently had it up on ramps.

Other than this recent issue, his Boxster has been in pristine, perfect condition, with no issues at all.

Thanks.


-Dave
______________________

1996 993 Carrera Coupe
Guards Red/Black

 

OK just guessing but one possible scenario is that he had minimal fuel in the tank. So much so that when he tried to start it he cavitated the pump and got air into the pump and lines. He may get away with just cranking until it clears or may need to purge. There should be a fuel access port on the fuel rail that he can open, attach a small fitting and tube, then apply a light pressure to the fuel tank. That of course means another adapter and fitting for the tank. And if to much pressure is applied, pop goes the seams. So I think he should just try and get the car level, fill the tank and cycle the ignition a number of times then crank for 15 or 20 seconds at a time resting between cycles until she continues to run. My guess on all the light was the computer not seeing correct fuel pressure. Good luck.

 

Would oil also be an issue? Could it have flowed away from the sump pick up points so that when it first tried to crank there was no oil pressure?

 

Interesting concept. I will have to look at the oil pick up. I think it swivels but I might be thinking of another set up. Does sound possible. When it got zero oil pressure the engine tried to shut down / not start. Humm......

 

So if that is correct, what do people who live in, lets say San Fran, do when they park their cars on steep inclines for a whole night?

 

Ron, not sure. Still doing some research. The new 911 engine has 4 pick ups, one at each corner of the pan. I would love to put something like that on the shelf for a replacement. They are not real pans in the true sense of what most people consider pan as they only hold a small portion of the oil. The shop manual for my 01 S show a single fixed pick up toward the rear of the pan. I would see what fault codes he generated. Interesting so please post up dates.

 

I still find this very hard to believe that a car at say, 15 degrees, could have a problem like this, I still think it has something to do with the cleaning, water getting somewhere it shouldn't be is always bad

 

certainly nothing arising from a drop or loss of oil pressure. 'course, I'm always sure the engines of my cars are filled with the right kind and right amount of oil. If say an engine that holds 5 quarts of oil is low a couple of quarts....

And I've driven in quite hilly terrain and up and down and around sharp corners with nary a problem. In fact, at some places where I do business the driveways are very steep or have a very severe dip that I must navigate to get out of the driveway. More than once I've had to wait for traffic to pass and engine idling all the time with the nose down at a pretty steep angle. As steep as if not steeper than it experiences on the ramps.

As long as engine oil level proper to begin with (and assuming the oil scavenge pumps one under each camshaft cover) are working propely there is nothing one should be able to do short of rolling car on its side or upside down that sees oil pressure affected.

To the original poster: My guess and I think I'm not the first to put this forward is that during the washing something got wet that shouldn't have. Igntion coils can have cracks and if so any water from washing is sure to make the engine run rough, if it even runs at all.

And if the gas tank level was real low the fuel pump could have ingested air or worse -- some water or "bad" fuel (ethanol combines with water in fuel tank and results in some nasty stuff).

If water in one or more coils (cracked or not) or somewhere else letting car sit for a while with a fan directed at it should dry the engine. If gas tank level real low adding 5 gallons of good gas with perhaps some gas treatment product would help.

However, none of the above should be done if oil level real low. This must be taken care of first.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

push it off the ramps and check the oil and fuel level

 

Any resolution to this problem as yet?