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I've now officially put 3000 miles on the car (purchased it in late February). Lifetime (since I've owned it) fuel mileage is averaging out to 22.97.
Not bad considering there were two days of autocross in there, and a number of spirited drives in the mountains.
Great car, can't get over it.
The battery is performing its job without flaws. it's a little bit slower than usual to crank the car when it is below 40 degrees, but only marginally, and has never given any indication that it won't do the job. I couldn't be happier with how unremarkably this little battery has performed.
Pulled the door speakers today, as they weren't receiving any signal anymore with my small amplifier. Removed another 8 pounds 6 ounces total, which was nice. These speakers are much heavier than I expected them to be.
The unfortunate reason behind opening up the door panels wasn't simply in the search for weight loss, just a fortunate byproduct. The 986 build quality is finally rearing its ugly head and biting back.
1. I've lost complete function to the driver's side door window. Won't go up, won't go down, won't jog down 1" when the door handle is pulled, nothing.
2. I did some troubleshooting, and it isn't the switch or the motor at fault.
3. When hooked up to the driver's side harness, the motor won't turn at all, but when it's hooked up to the passenger's side harness, it works perfectly, completing all functions without flaw.
4. Passenger's side does everything it is supposed to.
5. Top will still go down without any issues (I open the driver's side door to avoid any contact between the window and the top, as breaking the window or the top is the last thing I need right now.)
Any suggestions? If it's not the switch, its not the motor, and its not the regulator, what else could it be? Bad connection somewhere?
The door lock is definitely faulty, but it's been that way since I got the car... That's a separate issue that I'll have to investigate further later (or never, as I don't lock the car).
I think the door windows are both run off of the same fuse, but it's an easy check to see if anything is blown. I'll pop the cover off and check that out today at lunch.
I've heard of one or two others having issues with the hinge wires. I think that might be the solution. I really hate wiring and electricity.
I don't think it would, but have not personally test fitted something that wide in the front.
My gut says that if you can fit a 9" width in the front, you would probably have to go with a narrower tire with "stretched" sidewalls.
That said, I'm a man of science, and would encourage you to do your own measurements and see if it would work for your needs. Perhaps all you would need is to roll the inner lips of the fenders and it would work out well for you. You learn by doing...
Step 1 - Carefully remove. I used one of those plastic woven straps that is wrapped around really heavy boxes as a flexible saw blade to cut the adhesive holding the sill covers on.
Step 2 - Spend several hours with a plastic scraper and some goo-gone trying to remove the petrified double-sided sticky tape that held these covers on.
Step 3 - Admire your work.
Thing #3 - I'm driving 4+ hours on the highway this evening, and I'd really like to enjoy it with the top down. The problem is that the car was optioned with the wind deflector between the two rollover hoops. Unfortunately, it was lost somewhere along the way.
Problem - New wind deflectors sell for $299 or more online.
Solution - Build your own for $13
Step 1 - A piece of .220 inch steel rod for $3 fits PERFECTLY in the snap in retainers on either rollover hoop.
Step 2 - Measure twice, cut once.
Step 3 - Velcro strap it in, enjoy the spoils of your labor.
It isn't perfect, but it works great for thirteen bucks. With the windows up and the wind deflector in place, it is noticeably quieter and calmer in the cabin. I think I might actually be able to hold conversations around 80 MPH.
Last edited by Turb-OH Brad; 07-17-2014 at 02:14 PM.
That pulley is supposed to be on the shaft of that waterpump... I was 340 miles from home at the Monterey Motorsport Reunion when this happened. I was forced to kludge it together to get home.
Last Sunday morning in Monterey I found myself in the parking lot of a tire shop removing the water pump from the car with a 10mm ratcheting wrench (it was all I had). Then I had to slam the pulley back onto the shaft with a rubber mallet, and slather JB Weld all over it. Needless to say, I was praying to all the gods of internal combustion on the way back home.
I did make it home safely last Sunday night, and the Boxster was not on the bed of a tow truck. My quasi roadside-repair held up until I got home.
I babied the car home by never going above 2500 RPM until I was at highway speeds, and even then I stayed at 2800 and cruised at 68 mph the whole way home. It took me 7 hours instead of my usual 5, but all's well that ends well. I tried to keep gear shifts below 2000 RPM, and I didn't do any sharp acceleration. I tried to keep strain on the pulley to a minimum, and it seemed to work.
Looking back on it now, I hope I never have to do that again. I got home at just after midnight smelling like coolant and sweat, I was covered from head to toe in grime, I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts covered in dirt, both of my thumbs are smashed, every knuckle is busted, and all of my muscles ache. You know what that feels like? It feels like EFFIN' VICTORY!
When I was ordering my new water pump, I decided to order a few other things to take care of some deferred maintenance.
One. Water pump and gasket Two. 10 liters of Mobil 1 0W-40, a fresh Mann filter, and a new oil drain plug with a super powerful magnet in it. Three. A set of Hawk HPS pads and two liters of ATE Typ200 fluid.
While it takes almost 6 hours to change a water pump in a tire shop parking lot with only a 10mm wrench, it only took about two hours in the comfort of my garage with a full bevvy of tools and four jackstands.
The oil change took maybe 20 minutes.
Fill 'er up! 9 liters of fresh synthetic coming right up!
I didn't really feel like doing the brakes just yet, so I'll save that for another day.
I did finally fit those GT3 brake ducts I ordered a few months back, though.
05-26-2014, 02:17 PM
