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Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
6/25/21 8:35 a.m.

Sounds a whole lot better than mine!  I'll send you a PM.

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
8/1/21 5:50 p.m.

The new trans from Jon is in, and so far, so good. I started it up, and no noise with the clutch in or out. I even put it in gear (the rear is still up on jackstands) for a few seconds to get the axles turning, and it was fine.

I have about an hour of re-assembly before I can take it for a test drive. I'm considering offering a ritual sacrifice to the Porsche gods before doing so.

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter)
Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
8/2/21 7:51 a.m.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

The new trans from Jon is in, and so far, so good. I started it up, and no noise with the clutch in or out. I even put it in gear (the rear is still up on jackstands) for a few seconds to get the axles turning, and it was fine.

I have about an hour of re-assembly before I can take it for a test drive. I'm considering offering a ritual sacrifice to the Porsche gods before doing so.

Wanna use my Boxster as a fire offering too them?

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
8/3/21 9:33 a.m.

OK, finished assembly last night and took it for a test drive. Results are mixed. First the good, no weird noises from the engine or the trans. Clutch works perfectly. Car runs great and sounds REALLY good with the intake snorkel removed. 

But... it's crunching going into a couple of gears, and it doesn't like to come out of third gear at all. I'm hoping (praying) that it's not bad syncros, but of course that's a possibility.  But first I'm going to triple-check the shifter cables. They're pretty straightforward, but I'm going to check them all the same.

But regardless of whether or not that fixes it, I'm going to start driving it some. If nothing else, it'll help me narrow down the trans issues, if there are any. I can always skip third.

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter)
Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
8/3/21 3:45 p.m.

Sad face.  

AAZCD (Forum Supporter)
AAZCD (Forum Supporter) Dork
8/3/21 10:35 p.m.

It was good the last time I used it, but it has sat for a long time. Did you put fresh unicorn blood in it?

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
8/4/21 7:55 a.m.
AAZCD (Forum Supporter) said:

It was good the last time I used it, but it has sat for a long time. Did you put fresh unicorn blood in it?

Yep. And I'm still not convinced that it's bad. I checked the cables last night and they looked fine at the trans end. But, sitting in the car with it not running, it goes into first, third, and fifth with no problem, but when I shift into second, fourth, or sixth, there's a noticeable "clank" and just slightly more effort. The shift levers don't look like they are hitting anything, but the longer one gets awfully close.

I know worn trans and/or engine mounts can cause shifting issues, too. Now, again, no shifting issues with the old trans, but maybe the tolerances are slightly different with this one? 

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
8/8/21 1:14 p.m.

Today I took the car for another test drive, and it shifted perfectly fine. The only thing I did was spray some lube on the cables where they meet the trans. Maybe that was it? I'm still going to do the shifter adjustment, the tool is on the way, but for now, I'm counting this is as win!

I did a few other things, too. I had previously mentioned that I wanted to swap out the stereo for one with Android Auto. So I ordered one, with the full install kit, from Crutchfield in early May. It arrived last week. Chip shortage, I'm sure. The install was somewhat involved. A couple of the wires weren't accounted for in the instructions, and I had to do some modification to the frame with a hacksaw:

But it went in nice, with the cubby that I got from Jon, I'm all set now:

I also had an appearance issue where the paint on my "S" badge on the rear decklid had all the paint flake off:

Rather than try to match the existing silver or repaint the whole thing, I decided to go for some contrast. So I removed it with a heat gun and some fishing line, scuffed it, painted it red, and put it back on:

Pretty happy with how that turned out.

I was going through my boxes of stuff and discovered that I had ordered a cabin air filter that I forgot to install, so I took care of that:

Man, I wish every cabin air filter was this easy!

So, at this point, Imma start driving it! Still going to do the shifter adjustment, and I have some new floor mats coming from Suncoast because my drivers side on is trashed, but other than that, I think it's good to go. 

Today is a good day. cool

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter)
Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
8/8/21 1:40 p.m.

Very jelly. Awesome for you. 

docwyte
docwyte PowerDork
8/8/21 2:41 p.m.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

Congrats!  I did an Apple Car play in my 996 Turbo using the Metra kit.  Way better than stock!  The PCCM+ wasn't out when I did my swap and I'm not sure I'd want to spend the $1300 on it...

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
8/16/21 6:19 p.m.

I've now put about 50 miles on it and have even flogged it a bit. The more I drive it, the better the shifting seems to get. Maybe the linkages were just sticky/clunky from not being used in a long time? I'm now convinced that the trans is 100% good. I'm still going to do the shifter adjustment (tool should arrive tomorrow) to see if it fixes some of the notchiness I'm feeling, but overall, I think it's good.

And now that I've been able to drive it some, man this thing has some tall gearing, doesn't it?

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter)
Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
8/16/21 7:18 p.m.

Awesome news. 

AAZCD (Forum Supporter)
AAZCD (Forum Supporter) Dork
8/17/21 9:03 p.m.

Great that it's driving well and you still have a little bit of summer left. Autumn back road drives have always been my favorite time for the Boxsters.

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
8/22/21 4:15 p.m.

Bit of work on the car today. I tried adjusting my shifter. Got the special tool in place:

 

Popped the ends off the cables. They honestly didn't move very much:

Put it back together, and it feels about the same. So, a bit notchy, but OK overall. Going to just live with it.

A bigger concern is that my CEL came back when Adrian and I were on our way to Woodward. I checked the code and got this:

Googling "P1325 porsche" brings up a bunch of different stuff, but one of them is worn Variocam pads. Which would go along with the debris I found in the oil filter. Guess I need to get my mitts on a Durametric. The car runs perfectly, by the way.

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
9/20/21 4:01 p.m.

Did some cone dodging with the old girl yesterday. It was a Michigan Sports Car Club event, pretty low turnout, only 53 cars, but a beautiful day and a nice fun course. I've done exactly one autocross in the past 10 years, so to say I was rusty would be an understatement. Fortunately we got six runs, because I got lost on my first two, even after walking the course twice and working the same corner for the first shift.

But the car did great. First off, nothing broke, so that's always a win. The only issue was a "brake fluid" light, and I think I got that because my reservoir was a bit overfilled from when I was bleeding the clutch. It handled well, all things considered. It wanted to understeer on corner entry, but there were a couple of sweepers where I could steer with the throttle a bit and get the car to rotate a little.  All in all, lots of fun, even though I finished DFL in my class, I was close to midpack on overall PAX, so I'll take it for how sloppy my driving was.

Got lots of compliments on the color, too. She does clean up well:

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
7/28/22 10:34 p.m.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

Googling "P1325 porsche" brings up a bunch of different stuff, but one of them is worn Variocam pads. Which would go along with the debris I found in the oil filter. Guess I need to get my mitts on a Durametric. The car runs perfectly, by the way.

Well, better late than never. I've been driving the car without issue all summer, but that CEL was always there to light my way. Finally sprung for a Foxwell and ran the codes again:

So, the same P1325 I got on my cheap phone Bluetooth reader, plus P0455 for an apparent leak somewhere in the fuel system. The easy button for that is a new fuel cap, and since they are only $16, I ordered one. So, then I cleared the codes, took it for a good drive where I got it up to temp and flogged it a decent amount, and checked my deviation. Here's what I got:

Interestingly, the side that's throwing the code (bank 2) is closer to spec than bank 1. My understanding is that the spec is +- 6 degrees, so I think I'm OK? There is obviously some wear, but it's not far enough out to justify pulling the engine and going through all that work, it seems to me.

So, I guess we'll see. The car runs great. The CEL is off for now, but I'm sure it will be back.

AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter)
AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) SuperDork
7/29/22 8:06 a.m.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said: ...

So, I guess we'll see. The car runs great. The CEL is off for now, but I'm sure it will be back.

Running great is the scariest thing with a German car. Anything could happen. I'll give you $2,000 cash for it right now.

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter)
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
7/29/22 8:59 a.m.
AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) said:
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said: ...

So, I guess we'll see. The car runs great. The CEL is off for now, but I'm sure it will be back.

Running great is the scariest thing with a German car. Anything could happen.

ROFL. I need this engraved on a plaque to put above my garage. angel

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