My 02 Boxster made it!

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Congrats!!

I've always followed your posts and Porsche ownership updates with interest.

I'm curious - how often do you change the oil in the Boxster, and do you regularly rev it upwards of the redline?

I ask because it's not uncommon to see Boxster engine longevity related to frequent oil changes and higher revs.

I coulda sworn I saw Chris in NH (he had well over 150k miles on his Boxster I think), say that he only changed his oil at the 15k mile intervals. I also think Marc said that for much of his miles driven, he also went with the factory recommendations until recently when he started changing the oil more often (he can verify whether I remembered correctly or not). Honestly, I don't think the interval matters as much as if you're just unlucky enough to have bought one that will have the IMS fail regardless of the oil change interval you choose to adhere to. I change mine at the factory recommended 12-15k interval, and have not had a problem. Some people have had theirs fail even though they religiously changed their oil at low intervals. That's why I don't subscribe to any of this. If it's gonna go, then it's just my bad luck, but I ain't gonna install an engine failure warning light. I'm gonna live on the edge and just enjoy the heck outta my car.

Btw, Good for you Marc!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2012 03:50PM by boxtaboy. (view changes)

the owners manual and its15K mile oil/ and 30K mile filter change schedule but on a whim I had an oil analysis done at around 4K miles.

The oil analysis found a higher than normal water presence. Prompted by the analysis findings I started looking into this more and found these engines -- based on observing my engine -- take a long time to warm up and given where I was living at the time: in Oak Grove Mo about 30 miles east of KC Mo; and climate conditions: driving in the dead of winter; the engine just wasn't getting hot enough to boil the water from the oil.

If one can't boil the water away the only other way to remove the water from the engine is to drain the oil and replace it with fresh oil.

So I elected to follow a 5K mile oil/filter service.

As for how I drive the car I am a pretty conservative driver, most of the time. But the engine once fully warm can see redline, just not often. Generally I limit the engine's rpm to 6K or less simply because the car's so quick that redline in any but the lowest gears will have the car traveling at illegal speeds. Also, at higher rpms the gas mileage suffers some, and given how many miles I drive getting just a few mpg more from the car makes a difference.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

I'm pretty sure the engine doesn't have to be at water boiling temperature for the moisture in the oil to be removed during combustion (as fed in via the AOS).

lower the pressure of the air in the crankcase which of course lowers the boiling point of water (and unburned) gas in the oil.

But there's a limit to how much lower the air pressure in the crankcase gets compared to atmosphere and for how long it remains at this lower pressure.

I can only guess based on what the oil analysis report contained and what I observed afterwards monitoring the coolant temp (but not the crankcase pressure) is the oil temp even taking into account the lower pressure in the crankcase was not enough to keep up with moisture accumulation.

It is possible, though I think unlikely, that the AOS might have been subpar long before it finally failed (at around 78K miles) with (at least to the Porsche techs) clear signs of its failure. But sub-par at just 4K miles, or even earlier?

If the AOS was under performing very early in the car's service life the AOS was not depressurizing the crankcase as much as it was supposed to and water build up was the result.

As I said above, unlikely, but who knows?

I've never had the oil analyzed again so I do not know under similar circumstances and a new AOS what the water build up is. It could be much less or the same. But with 5K mile oil/filter services and the engine's longevity whatever it is it is not apparently affecting the engine and I take it on faith the water build up is not nearly as severe since then.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

you didn't take that picture in your driveway.

Here's to the next 1/4 million miles.

Congrats. That's 10 times around the equator. You should have pulled a Pedro, though, and hit the trip computer to 000 at 249,750 miles, and then waited until 2:50 p.m., and since the car can't go 250 mph, taken the shot going 25 mph. In case i lost you, that's a lot of 25s and 0s in the shot.

was taking the pic at 75 mph. I assume that you also posted to Pedro's while driving. Think of what folks can do with PDK?

Nice going!

It really makes one wonder - what the f*&^ is it that makes some engines (IMSs) fail while some last 150K, 250K, and now even more? No one knows, but It really is bizarre.

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

that's quite an accomplishment. congratulations Marc!!!

--
MY 2000 S, Ocean Blue, Metropol Blue, Savanah Beige.
Bought June 2000 - Sold May 2010

...but that is a lot of driving in nine years.

I've read enough of Marc's posts to understand that he takes proper care of his cars. I think driving style is so important, too, and I'll bet that one ride with Marc would speak volumes. I suspect he has his share of enjoyment while not having to wring every ounce out at each opportunity. Allowing proper warm ups without long idles, proper shifting, clutching, etc., and just having a good sense of being "at one with" your car, I am sure, are valuable habits.
Congrats, and I hope the next 250 are as trouble-free.

Maybe I won't trade my rotten old 986 in on a new Mustang

Way to go, Marc. I put 245,000 miles on my 1971 911T Targa, but that took 25 years.

Top speed 128, if I recall correctly.

It didn't have the engine decal. I believe that was the 2.4 engine which came later. It did have the world championship decal on the windshield, though.

[www.cartype.com]

Scroll down a bit.

It says the decal is at the bottom of the rear glass. I had imagined it on a rear quarter glass, but now that I think about it more...

It always reminded me of the Army Corps of Engineers logo:

[en.wikipedia.org]

That would make a heck of an engine layout, and would even out the torque curve somewhat. (Like older F1 engine intake horns that were various lengths.)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2012 08:14PM by Laz. (view changes)

That was the logo on my '70 911T. I do recall seeing some 2.4L with a similar logo but I think they were aftermarket additions.. Loved the 2.2, it was the first 911 I owned (bought used in 1973) and I turned it into a concours winning example. Replaced it in 1980 with a '74 which was I turned into basically a streetable race car that I restored to original in 1998 then sold.

How often/when(mileage) did you replace the clutch?

which finally cracked/split few (<20K?) miles back. Tech removed the half-shafts, cleaned the CV bearings, inspected them and deemed them ok to leave in service so he then repacked the bearings and fitted new CV boots. The CV bearings have been just fine.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Original clutch? How is that possible. What's your secret? I had mine replacted at 70k miles, and I drive like a granny.

low, below idle speed.

When I'm ready to move the car from a stop I give the engine a bit of throttle, maybe raising the rpms from idle to just a bit over 1K. I do not hold the pedal down but release it. This gives a bit of energy to the flywheel.

At the same time I release the clutch, smoothly but quickly balancing the speed at which I release the clutch with the engine's rpms. While the DME will try to prevent the rpms from dropping too low it can't work miracles.

But what happens almost all the time (I kill the engine maybe 2 times a year mainly when I'm really tired or terribly distracted (and often tired at the same time) is as the initial burst of rpms drops back to near idle is the car moves off from the stop smartly and I simply follow through with the release of the clutch pedal. Once the clutch pedal is fully released then of course the engine can get the whip.

You can try this if you want. In a parking lot with room put your right foot flat on the floor and depress the clutch. Shift the transmission into 1st gear. Without any throttle at all -- your right foot should still be flat on the floor -- slowly release the clutch. Slowly. And smoothly. The engine will not stall and as the DME keeps the rpms up the car will move off. I only add a bit of throttle if I'm on a hill just to give me some extra margin and when on a flat road to make the car's take off from a standstill a bit quicker to avoid some impatient so and so from running over my car because it doesn't move off fast enough when the light changes.

I might add that I found I needed to sit further back when driving my Boxster than I have in other cars, manual equipped cars. I found I was much better working the clutch sitting further back. Sitting further back puts my left leg in its sweet spot for being able to feel the clutch engage and to very reliably manipulate the clutch pedal to start the car moving off from a stop.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

That's fantastic Marc! Congratulations.

I've put 20M on my '03 since I got it and now at 68M, change the oil and filter religiously at 5M miles and now hope to be able to enjoy the next 172M miles (LOL) to match you. Quite a feat with any car. Congrats Marc.

Magnificent!
Congratulations and keep it going!

I too have switched to a 5k oil change interval, when you buy the oil at WallyWorld and DIY, it's too cheap not to do it more frequently.