Anything that needs doing... I've so far haven't had to deal with a clutch with my Boxster...

Howdy,

planning on replacing my clutch shortly. Drove a 2004 and was amazed at the difference. Apparently my clutch has been toast since
I bought the car 4 years ago - who knew?

Anyway, going to go with the Superkit from Pelican Parts. Will inspect RMS and IMS and decide what to do when I see their condition.
I'm likely to do the RMS and maybe the coolant tank just because..

Also plan to change out the clutch slave cylinder and fluids. As well as replace manual transmission fluid (with stock Porsche stuff).

Other than potentially not doing the IMS, am I overlooking anything? I know that in a perfect world I should do the IMS but at roughly
$700 that's a pretty steep addition to the $2500-2700 I'm already dropping on this.

Though if the flywheel looks good, I will see if Pelican would take it back and send me the LN kit for the IMS. Basically same net
price to me.

Suggestions welcome. Has anyone used the superkit and how has it worked out?

While I'm a good wrench, I'm also enlisting the help of a friend who is a professional Lexus mechanic with 25 years experience.
And we have the 101 Projects book as our guide.

cheers,
Stefan

but a general rule of thumb is when this job gets done, in fact anytime one is up close and personal with an engine or even the car as you will be during the clutch job, eyes must be peeled for signs of trouble. This can includes everything but specifically it should include or cover oil, coolant, tranny, power steering, brake fluid leaks.

Other things are say the exhaust system, heat shields, etc. While you are there it is easy to replace/renew degraded exhaust hangers,fasteners, and so on. In fact you may be forced to because often an exhaust system fastener will snap due to corrosion.

The half shaft CV boots come in for some eyeballing.

If plugs are due on miles/time this might be a good time to do them. To do the coils too at the same time? Up to you.

Check the water pump for any play or signs of a fluid leak. Check the hoses. Chances are the hoses are still quite good but give them a grip/squeese up close to where they connect and try to push your fingertips through the hose. The hose will probably feel quiet dry but it should not be soft which is a sign the hose is rotting. Most often they rot at the bottom (and from in the inside out).

Could be time to drain the coolant and replace it with new antifreeze and distilled water. I lean towards renewing vital fluids at this time because it is a convenient time to do so.

And so on.

To repeat this in a slightly different way: You use this opportunity to look for, find, and repair/replace whatever shows signs of needing repairing/replacing.

Now what other items to replace just because you are there vs. those that clearly need replacing is up to you and your bank roll.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I've actually worked on the car quite a bit over the last few years.

So I recently did sparkplugs and sparkplug tubes, replaced the rear wheel bearings, and put in new axles (and boots). That, of course, required removing the
exhausts a couple of times, and yes, I did snap a bolt (that I was able to replace easily enough).

Good point on the hoses and water pump - I'll look at those and be prepared to do something there. I'm booking a friend's hoist and should have it for two
successive weekends - I hope enough time to get any parts that need to be replaced that I didn't anticipate. Will also look at the AOS for replacement as well.

cheers, /s

Quote
JiminAZ
Replacing the IMS bearing will give you an immense peace of mind as it did for me!
n/t

Los Angeles has posed a major problem as to finding a good Porsche shop. I asked a half dozen times on ppbb (back in the day) since the time I bought my brand-spanking new 2004 500 Spyder LE. NO ONE could recommend anyone. So I tried everywhere.

All the dealers were lame for one reason or another. Downtown Porsche was the worst, Beverly Hills has a crappy shop (cramped, hard to get to, dingy) with high prices (the work was OK, not great) and Rusnak in Pasadena was fine but $240 for an oil change? C'mon!

ALL of these places could never fix either the occasional balky 2nd gear (always a NPF) or a heater which worked well for the first year and only half the time after the coolant tank was replaced. Now at 8 years and 98,00mi it still has those two problems. Or maybe it doesn't because those shops kept telling me there was no problem.

So I started going to independents only to get ripped off by people trying to fix problems and can't and then they come up with some other diagnosis and charge you again.

Finally, a friend of mine said he knew a great Porsche mechanic who worked out of his garage. Right. And I'm a Mars Rover repairman. But my friend kept bugging me to try him out so after I developed a hesitation every time I hit the gas, I figgered, "what the hell."

So I brought him the car and well, you can guess the rest of the story. He told me what the problem was before he took the top off. When he did (in less than 5 minutes while talking to me the whole time) he hooked up his vacuum gauge and drew 0 inches of vacuum. Then he shoved an inspection mirror down in there and said "yep, the bottom's cracked off, just like they all do."

It turns out the guy was was taught by his dad (a factory trained Porsche mechanic) when he was a lad and then became a dealer mechanic for 10 years. He got sick of the arguments he was having with his bosses about packing on unnecessary jobs so he walked away. He replaced a vacuum canister and a bunch of hoses and ducts because "they usually start cracking about the time the canister does." Total bill was $300. Plus I gave him $50 extra so in an emergency, I'd get moved to the front of the line.

So a couple months ago, he replaced: clutch and all associated parts, flywheel, upper strut towers, all fluids, front hood shocks, four bulbs, the charcoal canister, and found a fault that kept my brake wear light on. He felt bad he had to charge me $3,000.00. I danced around. Literally.

Why am I telling you all this? Because he called me in the middle of the week it took him and with his tail between his legs explained that although my intermediate shaft bearing was still OK, he really wanted to change it while he was in there. A new one would be $700 for the part, but the bearings in his favorite aftermarket version were ceramic and would last virtually forever. He felt that if I didn't replace it, I might go years without a problem but the problem when the imsb fails is pretty much a complete destruction of the engine. So I'm the type that says, "yeah, do it." It is included in the price I mentioned. So if I'm doing my math correctly, It cost about $1,800 to do the clutch, including labor. And it literally feels better than new. He knew some tricks to make it smoother than factory.

So like JiminAZ said, you really have to think long and hard about if you DON'T want to do the IMS bearing. You won't have to wonder if the next time you hit the gas will be your last.

I think you're lying.

I don't think you've ever worked on a Mars Rover.

Welcome to PB

Grant

Grant

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

[farm3.static.flickr.com]

Which will upset you most ....spending the extra $700 (plus acquiring the tools) ... or having a possible later failure and thinking if only I would have replaced the IMS while I was there?

Only you can answer that question as you have a unique set of financial circumstances and a unique tolerance for risk. My answer for me is not liable to be the right answer for you.

I'd definitely do the RMS seal with the new one just to protect the new clutch. I'd do the IMS if I had access to someone who had done one successfully before to advise. It isn't like it can't be done but there have been people who have seriously screwed up their engines doing it.

inspect it? Unless you remove it, which requires some time and special tools, you can't tell much. Its immediately behind the flywheel. The RMS is another story - just put in the new $20 part and move along.

I cannot imaging NOT doing the LN IMS once the hole thing is apart, assuming you plan to keep the car for several (many) more years.

OTOH if you plan to sell it next year, that' different.

Obviously you will do the throw-out bearing.

I'm a little mystified at how a clutch can be bad for 4 years, yet continue to move.
When mine went, the car ceased to progress (isn't that what Roll's calls a break-down?)
Can you say more?

Grant

Grant

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

he made the comment that the IMS scare was so prevalent that, in the Northwest, dealers wouldn't even take a Boxster in trade unless it had had the IMS done because they couldn't sell it.

So there may be some economic value in doing it even if you don't keep the car a long time.

not saying dealer might not have said on the 'qt' but likely as justification for not having to insult a person trying to trade in a well used 10+ year old car w a very low trade in value. Easy way to deflect having to not bear bad news.