shipard

Hi All,

I noticed today my car Boxster 2000 S, suddenly developed a werring noise, and it seems to be coming from the drive train, not the motor

The motor seems fine as when i have it standing still and rev it no noise

Driving along it seems to appear when i load the drive train under acceleration it appears.....disappears if i put the clutch in or if gently use the accelerator. coasting down hills at speed no noise. So i am thinking its not a wheel bearing.

But could it be the throw bearing or a drive shaft as it only appears underload ?

thanks in advance for you advice and input.

insite

some questions:

does the pitch of the whir seem to change with RPM or vehicle speed?

when the car is under load at 2500RPM in 2nd gear, does it sound the same under load at 2500RPM in 3rd?

in 2nd gear, does the pitch of the whir get higher as you move up through the RPM range?

accelerate in a way that would normally create the sound. simultaneously, keep the clutch pedal pressed mayble 1/2" (not enough do disengage the clutch; just enough to load the springs a bit). does the sound go away?

can you record the sound?

extanker

it does not sound like a throw out bearing,get a mechanics ear on it. does it make the noise in just one gear ?if this was an old buick i would say it is a noisy ring and pinion

shipard

Hi,

The noise happens in every gear, strangely at 110k the noise goes away.

I will look at it tomorrow, thought it might be the throw bearing or might be a draft shaft.

So once i jack the car up and poke around i might discover more. and be able to answer some questions

landrovered

If the noise increases with speed of the vehicle and is louder when accelerating or decelerating but quiets when in the middle of the power band (or when coasting) then look at CV joints.

ltusler

Other possibilities are the wheel bearings and the pinion bearing.

shipard

just checked the situation out its the outer cv joints, i think dont think its just a replace the boots, i will need to replace the whole joint. so i will need to replace them asap, I will do both sides at the same time.

Does anyone know if i can or where i can buy these outer cv joints or do i just buy the complete drive shafts and be done with it

shipard

ok so another question......and please excuse my ignorance. what are the differences in the drive shafts ?

And i am really asking about a 6 speed manual compared to a 5 speed manual, in the following years
1997 - 2002 seem to be all compatible
are 2003 - 2004 drive shafts (as above) compatible with 1997 - 2002 manuals or was/is there a difference in these later model drive shafts so they are not compatible ?

Macster

Pretty sure dealers do not sell just the CV joints. They sell the shaft. When I have my Boxster in for new CV boots I looked into just replacing both shafts with new ones. The tech talked me out of it as the new shafts are quite expensive. IIRC $900/each. The old shafts and their bearings were just fine once cleaned up and inspected. Now they were not making any noise. I just had the car in to address a cracked boot.

You might find just the CV joints at Pelican Parts or some other business. Some owners who have done work on these items have reported some 3rd party company offering suitable axle shafts at competitive prices.

Yes, a web search ("Boxster axle shaft") turned up some interesting hits for replacement shafts, possibly just parts. (I didn't follow these links.)

One hit:

http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-p...=98633202406#a

suggests that the same axle shaft works for '97 through '04 Boxsters, but get confirmation before you order.

landrovered

Pelican has only inner CVs for sale the outer comes only as the whole assembly.

shipard

yeah i saw pelicans' available options, i discovered the 6 speed drive shafts are slightly longer than the 5 speed so need to buy the 6 speed ones which suit 1997 - 2002 986 bosxters.

Also found this one ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/331163241...84.m1438.l2649

i am curious to know if this is just the wheel joint part or includes the outer cv joint as well...I have asked the seller waiting to hear back.

insite

how did you determine it was the CV joint & not the wheel bearing?

shipard

Hi Insite,

I got the car up on jack stands and had good look the cv boot is gone and the axle is really sloppy. felt it with my hand and it clicked a little bit. Noise only comes on when car is in gear, I am assuming loading the cv joints and bearings, but when i ran it up to about 130km and take it out of gear, and roll it down to about 60km and try to load the bearings going around corner etc, no noise only when i put it back in gear does the noise come back.

I think the first step is to replace the drive shaft and take it from there.