Just over 249K miles and a new error code appeared...

The CEL came on the other day, and since it is cold I suspected my old friend P0430 had appeared.

Read the code and sure enough P0430 was there. As is my habit though I checked for pending codes and P1115 -- Oxygen sensor heating ahead of TWC, bank 1 -- came up.

Guess I've worn out another O2 sensor on my 02 Boxster. I'll replace both sensors shortly.

In the meantime I cleared both codes and in over 30 miles of driving the CEL has stayed off.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Hi Marc,

Just a curious question and looking for some rumination on high mileage.

I now have 185K on my 2000s chassis with about 140K on this "new" engine. It looks like I am starting to wear out my second set of front end suspension parts as I am getting a bit of vibration at high speeds with both my summer and winter wheels.... replaced engine mount, ignition coils and water pump a few months ago.....replaced a heater coil this summer...... the car runs really well. Same, original clutch. Interior looks great with no ripped or cracked leather although the driver seat is starting to sag a bit but still feels good - I was thinking about installing a new used seat...... just a thought.

Overall I am pretty happy with this car. How does power feel at that mileage? Ever done a leak down test?

Quote
Bruce In Philly (175K+)
Hi Marc,

Just a curious question and looking for some rumination on high mileage.

I now have 185K on my 2000s chassis with about 140K on this "new" engine. It looks like I am starting to wear out my second set of front end suspension parts as I am getting a bit of vibration at high speeds with both my summer and winter wheels.... replaced engine mount, ignition coils and water pump a few months ago.....replaced a heater coil this summer...... the car runs really well. Same, original clutch. Interior looks great with no ripped or cracked leather although the driver seat is starting to sag a bit but still feels good - I was thinking about installing a new used seat...... just a thought.

Overall I am pretty happy with this car. How does power feel at that mileage? Ever done a leak down test?

A 'test' of the front suspension -- standing in the front trunk and moving my body up and down to get the front of the car moving up and down -- indicates the shocks don't dampen as well as they used to.

Also, my car has developed a bit of vibration at (ahem) speed. The vibration was rather bad and it came on all the sudden so I took the car in and the front wheels were rebalanced. The dealer did this at no cost to me. The tech reported some weights were missing. The tires upon rebalance required less weight that before too. (This I think arises from as the tires wear the areas of imbalance wear away and the tire's balance thus changes. I think this because the techs have told me this is what they've noticed. The Cayenne tires are especially bad about this.)

However, while the original vibration complaint was addressed at (ahem ahem) higher speeds some vibration appears. It is not severe and not a real problem given the speeds at which it appears so instead of taking the car in for a rebalance of the rear tires -- which are almost worn to the point of needing replacement (as are the front tires) -- I decided to see how the car feels with new tires all around. If the car still exhibits some vibration or other signs of suspension/steering distress then I'll see what I can do, will be willing to do. At the time the tires are installed and the alignment checked (tire wear is very even though) I'll have the tech inspect the steering and suspension. The techs have done this in the past and reported (at least then) all looked ok.

Anyhow my car's interior looks ok, though the driver's side floor mat has a big hole worn in it and for some reason I'm too cheap to replace the thing.

The seats look ok but the driver's seat bottom is starting to feel a bit saggy. Due to a painful foot/ankle that makes it harder for me to get into the car I've taken to letting myself drop into the seat. I'm sure that treatment of the seat can account for some of the saggy state of the seat.

As for power, the engine feels ok if sometimes a bit soft. However, often I have been driving the Turbo with its more powerful engine and of course the 2.7l engine is just going to feel a bit down on power after that.

But after a day or so of driving the Boxster I get reacquainted with its performance and when I take up to near redline the engine pulls quite strong from off idle to redline, or as close to redline as I get: Approx. 6K rpms now though once in a while I take the engine up closer to 7K...what the heck.

Might add that while I have had the plugs replaced -- a couple of times now -- the coils are original, as are the injectors. It could be the engine would perk up some if I replaced the coils and injectors but I pretty much adhere to the philosophy if it ain't broke don't fix it and as long as misfires stay away as long as symptoms of bad injectors stay away I'm going to let the original ones stay in service.

As for your question about putting the car on a dyno I have toyed with the idea of at 250K miles having the car put on a chassis dyno and seeing what the numbers are. I might just do that. In fact, next time I'm at the dealer I'll ask the techs if they can recommend a place.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Original clutch at 185k miles? That's amazing. Dealer told me I had to replace mine at 75k miles, and I think I drive mostly gently.

I've had auto upholstery shops repack the seats and/or replace the seat springs on a few of my old cars.

Marc, a guy ought to buy a new Boxster every 250,000 miles whether he needs one or not!

Keep on chugging.

All the best,

Andy from Newport