The car is a 2002 so it is or will be come Jan 19, 2016 14 years old...

especially the interior.

My Boxster has been "talking" to me, beeping once in a while when lock the car. I checked the trunk lid and the center console lid but they were always secure and upon a second lock there was no beep.

But with the rain we have had -- nothing to write home about -- I was worried about water in the cabin. I had checked the drains a while back and found some leaves but removed them and the drains were ok. This AM after some running around when I locked the car it beeped again and this time not being on the way to work or just coming home from work late I decided to check for water under the seat. The area under the seat was dry -- thank goodness -- but the passenger side door bottom under the speaker was quite wet. Ok the door membrane has failed. I thought for a bit and dug out my Boxster reference on removing the door trim and it didn't read like too bad of a job.

Never satisfied with just one reference though, I searched online and found a much better DIY guide at the Pelican site.

Printed out the instructions and the pics and ran by the auto parts store and picked a nice set of plastic pry tools, blades, etc.

Disconnected the battery.

Immediately ran into a problem plucking the badge out of the air bag cover. I won't bore you with the long version but I managed to lift a corner with a small metal blade enough to get one of the plastic ones under the thing and out it came.

The other fasteners were ok but the one inside the door storage bin was a bit of a problem. It got better when I removed the door grip rail which gave me a straighter shot at the screw. But I turned and turned the thing and it never came out unlike all the other screws.

Finally I grabbed a pair of pliers and pulled it right out. It was loose just being held in by the material through which it fits.

The door clips were not a problem but I forgot the screw under the door handle. After that I had the door panel off.

Sure enough the panel was quite wet at the bottom. 'course, I knew this before I had removed the thing. Thankfully, no signs of water elsewhere in the door, which is kind of a puzzle.

The door membrane looks ok but I do not know what one really should look like.

There was no water anywhere else, though. I removed the rubber plugs on the bottom of the door and there was just a few drops in one. No water I could feel with a finger reaching the holes.

Since the air bag has to come out to remove the membrane -- which I want to replace just to be sure -- I gathered up all the hardware and reconnected the battery and reset the window limits and will take the car over the dealer Monday to have a new membrane ordered and installed when the new membrane comes in. At the same time I'll let the tech know where the water was and ask if this is "normal" or a sign of a leak that hopefully the new membrane will address.

Removing the door panel wasn't too bad, but I sure don't like messing with these things. And another problem is -- and I should have reminded myself of this before I started -- is I have no place to work on the car so even if I wanted to do the membrane replacement myself I have to leave the car sitting -- outside -- until the parts come in -- then hope for a good day next weekend and the energy to want to tackle the car again.

Thankfully the passenger window works as does the door lock -- the inside handle is disconnected though -- and the car doesn't beep at me when I lock it and all the interior lights go out. So the car is secure and I can drive it the mile and a bit to the dealer Monday AM and leave it. Probably since it is supposed to rain again tomorrow and maybe Monday I will park it under the carport out the rain and leave my other car outside. Needs a wash anyhow.

and I think it is related to the water in the door. I will have the source of the water in the door (well, at least at the carpet) determined and addressed. A new membrane I think will be called for even though I do not think the old membrane was bad. I sort of think the problem is the window seal those that seal the window where it comes up between the door panels is bad.

...which is why i'm actually building a 3rd garage bay that will be a full 12' wide, and putting a mid-rise lift in it.

With my car up on blocks 18" (going on 6 weeks now!, grrrrr USPS), its amazing how many jobs i decided to tackle "because 60% of the work is already done".

That's right, getting the car, up, stable, and some covers off is usually most of the work -- and the boring part too.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

so one can get the car in the air and secure and stable.

While I had a floor jack when I first bought my Boxster I didn't use it as there was no way to lift the car at the proper lift point and support the car by its lift points.

For my work -- oil/filter services -- I resorted to using the Rhino Ramps.

Now had I a place to work on my cars I'd have at least a portable hydraulic lift setup that would raise the car either by its tires/wheels or by pads at the body lift points.

I'm seriously thinking of when I retire buying a house -- though I haven't decided where yet -- with at least a one car garage. But whether I resume working on my cars then I haven't decided. But if I do I will get the portable lift.

Most of the "aluminum racing jacks" - which cost more, have one virtue only - they are light and therefore more portable.

But they are flimsy.

I have two 2.5-3.5 ton steel floor jacks, one from Cosco and one from the local hardware store - both solid as heck.

You need to lubricate the mechanisms with grease every few years, and maybe bleed them every decade or so, but they are solid.

BTW, sounds crazy, but sometimes, depending on where you are and what you want, its better and cheaper to have a condo/apartment where you want it, and an industrial garage space somewhere nearby.

I thought about it. didnt do it, but thought about it.

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Never had one of the racing jacks. In MO I bought a "professional" grade floor jack like the kind one would find, still does find, in auto repair shops and such. It was heavy and expensive but would last a lifetime, two lifetimes, with some care. It also was low enough to get under the Boxster (and the VW Golf I had at the time). When I moved back to CA I didn't want to pack it since it was unlikely I would end up with an apartment with a garage and room for the thing and I didn't want to pay to store it so I gave it to an ex-coworker who had a farm and could use it on the farm with his farm equipment.

Hi Grant,

I'd love to see pics of your car on blocks.

In 2011, I made the plunge and bought a MaxJax midrise lift... was fairly easy to install, I had a bit of help with the concrete work. It's great. I sit on a rolling stool and can wheel around underneath the vehicle. I can get the bottom of the car (where the lift points are about 48-54" in the air, depending on which lift pads I use).

I got it on sale at Costco. I think it's a regular item for them now.

Pics of Boxster on Maxjax...

mine, for many practical reasons, will be a little more limited. Probably about a 30" scissor style lift that fits in the space (width, height) that i have available. I am paying for the 30" lift rather than smaller units 17-18", and for 3 ton load rather than 2 ton (safety, durability, stability).

I'll try to scare up pics of the car on blocks - i do have them.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

outside in the rain. Early on when it wasn't raining that hard just to be safe I didn't end up with a flooded car I checked and there was no sign of any water coming into the door. Later it was raining pretty hard and still no water sign. My sister was handy so I asked her to follow me over to the dealer and I dropped the car off under the covered driveway just in case I missed the leak sign. Will talk over options with SM come Monday AM. I really need the other car in for an oil/filter service and new coils and it could use new tires all around too, damn it. With the Boxster back on the road though I could let the other car sit when it rains and manage to get by until spring.

no reason for the water but it is suspected the membrane was not sealed properly. I noted when I was removing the panel the membrane in some areas was stuck fast to the door but in other places loose.

The SM said it was a puzzle as to why with the door panel removed and the membrane not sealed and the car out in the rain why there was no water in car/door. I suspect the membrane is there just in case. With the glass up the seals at the base of the glass should prevent water from getting into the door. Thankfully these seals appear to be just fine. (They are expensive. The Pelican site DIY gives a $200 price for these.)

A clip didn't survive the operation. I do not know if I broke this clip or the tech did -- or the clip was broken the last time the door was apart to replace the window regulator -- but a new clip is due in tomorrow. Had I the foresight I would have just ordered new clips but the problem is there are two kinds: black and white; and I didn't know what clip color my car should have. As it turns out it has white clips.

Anyhow, the car should be finished Tuesday but I have some personal business to take care of before work so while I can stop in and talk things over with the tech I can't wait for the car to be finished.

So Wednesday I will pick up the car.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2015 09:17PM by MarcW. (view changes)

I've seen old door membrane glue let go after ten or more years.

I was a bit stumped,but that's a realistic answer.

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

However, the glue -- it was more like a sealer like some kind of silicon seal that that stuck to not only the door metal but to the rubber like membrane material -- I think is younger as that door received a new window regulator not too many years back. 'course, maybe the tech "reused" the existing sealer and didn't replace this? The tech that diid the regulator replacement is no longer with the dealer so I can't ask him.

Not that i haven't re-used adhesive.

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

He could see no reason for the water in the door -- at least enough to wet the carpet -- other than the membrane was not fully secure/sealed/glued to the door metal.

He told me he used an adhesive in an aerosol can which allowed him to glue a much larger area of the membrane to the door so the membrane with some places being secured the door metal by a strip of membrane material an inch or more wide. The is contrast to the single thin approx. 1/8" bead of whatever sealant/adhesive was used before.

The car is done. I pick it up tonight after work. Looks like I broke some catches/clips on the piece of plastic that is just ahead of the door handle. I ordered a new one and the tech said he would pop off the old one and install the new one when the new one came in and I could bring the car around.

The *damage* ($$$) was not too bad. $333 and change IIRC. It would have been over $60 less had I not broken that plastic trim and ordered a new one. But with the age of the car I am just glad the trim was still available.

Ready for El Nino! Bring it.

Rained last night, but not much: around 1/8th of an inch. (Supposed to be "big" storm, but it fizzled out, which is typical for what usually (always in my experience) turns out to be a dry winter/rainy season which flies in the face of the mother of all El Ninos which is supposed to deliver torrents of rain and save us from drought.)

Anyhow, the passenger side door carpet is dry. I checked the driver's side though and it is now wet. Not as wet as the passenger side was the other day, but wet enough I will take the car in and have the driver's side door membrane resealed. It was the resealing of the passenger side door membrane that apparently fixed the water at the bottom of the door carpet.

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

door bottom is wet again -- not as bad as it was but it is wet -- while the driver's side door bottom is sopping wet.

I checked and there is no signs of wetness in the cabin beyond the door bottoms. The car is scheduled to go in to the dealer this AM for the driver side door membrane reseal but I will talk to the SA and the tech and ask what would be required to get both doors water tight again.

All I can think of is the seals at where the glass fits through the door are shot. We'll see.

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

is a membrane and drains I guess. Oh, and the seals at the top of the door where the glass comes through the door.

I'm just a bit taken back by the fact the carpet is wet, very wet at the bottom of the door. This seems wrong to me. But I do not know how the doors are intended to handle water and if a bit of water there, well, a bit of dampness at any rate, is normal.

I do not recall ever coming across the door carpets being wet before, but it is not something I check for but once in a blue moon if that often.

the driver door bottom is wet. The passenger door bottom not very wet, but wet enough to bother me. The driver side door bottom is very wet, sopping wet. I stopped at the Shell station this AM and vacuum the door carpets dry then dropped the car off at the dealer.

The SA will have the tech take a look at the window seals when he re-glues the driver side door membrane. I'm sure like I found the passenger door membrane this has over the years come unglued from the door.

The other day when I removed the passenger door liner because of my concern how wet the door bottom was I was expecting to find the door full of water. It was dry. I even removed the rubber stoppers at the bottom of the door expecting water to gush out and there was no water.

Anyhow, the Boxster is back in the shop. The SA said the car would probably not be done today but hopefully tomorrow unless parts are needed.

In the meantime I'm driving a brand new loaner Cayenne Diesel w/Tip. The SA gave me this loaner so I wouldn't have to drive my Turbo in the rain. That Cayenne: What a nice vehicle...

button before I had closed the rear trunk lid. I unlocked the car using the button then locked it again and the car was quiet.

BTW, my fear the doors or door was full of water to the point it was causing the beep appears to be -- make that is -- unfounded, without any evidence. While the door carpet is wet there just doesn't seem to be any water accumulation in the doors. With the door panel off the other day I didn't see any signs of water running down and getting on anything in the door either.