a comment....

I had some repairs and maintenance done this week, and the car feels new again so I thought I'd share. I think it's mostly due to the tires and alignment, and because I found an indy shop in my small town that I liked quite a bit. Here's what I had done at just over 90,000 miles on my base 03 car.

* replaced all four tires with sumitomo HTR ZIII (got them through tirerack, via PB link of course)

* alignment (rear okay, some adjustments to front)

* changed water pump because its seal had begun to leak (this is what got me off my ass)

* replaced serpentine belt in case it had been contaminated by coolant (stashed old one with the spare tire as a backup).

* replaced transaxle fluid (gear oil) as a matter of preventative maintenance

* checked brake/clutch fluid for replacement need, but less than 2% moisture content inspired mechanic not to change it, and I agreed.

* reinvestigated a 40k-mile old frustrating rattle in the suspension. told it was due to 1 somewhat worn sway bar link. did not replace since it isn't urgent and is an easy DIY. will replace next month.

* original motor mounts inspected, but all were fine.

My new-to-me indy was impressed by the car's condition at 90k miles, and I left feeling glad that all my previous DIY projects had done more good than harm. Here's to the next 90,000!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/2011 09:52PM by Steve (Berlin & LA). (view changes)

i remember getting that feeling whenever i did work on my boxster. even after an oil change, the car just felt better. obviously from an empirical measurement that's impossible but from an emotional one it is.

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

Agreed, it is amazing what a bit of service/maintenance does for these cars. I was stunned what a set of Contis DWS and a proper alignment did for the car(MY01 base). The car drives better now, then when it was new. Porsche's improvements, or upgrades on some of the parts has made a big difference. The 997 shifter, motor and trans mounts made a huge improvement to the car. It was a bit of work, but the injector seals, new style AOS, cleaning out the TB, and tune up improved the metering to where it is very crisp at the throttle. I can see where these cars would be absolutely fine up to, and past 200k. Changing out the gearbox oil has made an improvement on the car as well, I have done it twice in 60k.

Nice work on the cooling system! Reading your post reminds me I have a fresh coolant tank sitting on the bench needing to be installed.
regards

" checked brake/clutch fluid for replacement need, but less than 2% moisture content inspired mechanic not to change it, and I agreed "

How do you check for water content ?

The mechanic said he had a tool for measuring that, and I didn't ask him about it.

Well- - I just stopped by for a semi-yearly greeting. Still getting permagrin just don't have time to spend on the forum!
My work involves managing networks and computers - the last thing I want to do in my down time is look at a screen or touch a laptop.
`
I have a list too - 91k miles hoping to get finished by Jan 15 -
Occasional CEL - regarding secondary air pump - appears to be the check valve that gets burned out
Serpentine belt - replaced at 60k
Rattle in exhaust -sounds like a loose baffle though
uh - should check plugs etc.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas/Happy New Year/Happy Hanukkah. If you're an atheist? Thanks for putting up with our yearly observances and you too can enjoy Christmas - no traffic.