2004 Porsche Boxster
Discussion
After a lot of time and effort in sorting out a Mk5 Golf GTI, as soon as it was complete I found myself back on the classifieds looking for something else.
Ideally:
- 2 seater or coupe
- Not a 4 pot (had plenty of those)
- Manual
I quickly realised that almost nothing was either local to me or in budget. The next day, literally 1 mile from my work appeared a 2004 Boxster 2.7 advertised privately at the roadside within budget. I stopped quickly to check it was a manual and called the seller to discuss.
It had been his wife’s car for 4 years, and he had a few receipts but not much. The book is stamped up but missing a service in 2015. Its had a new clutch, water pump, discs pads and tyres all round within the last year.
I didn’t pay a lot for it so was expecting a few expensive issues that need sorting but I have been underneath and checked it over, I can’t see much wrong with it.
For peace of mind I have carried out a full service using genuine Porsche classic oil and replaced all filters and the aux belt (again genuine).
The car was absolutely filthy, inside and out. Lots of cleaning, wet vac on the interior carpets and a full paint correction eventually got it up to a reasonable standard.
Other jobs included cleaning out the blocked water drains; this is a common issue that allows water to overflow into the car and cause expensive damage to an ecu under the passenger seat. 2 drains were blocked but no water in the cabin luckily.
Another common issue is front radiators leaking/rotting out. Mine looked pretty clean after my massive cleaning session but I took the bumper off to split the rads and sure enough they were definitely in need of cleaning in between. Thankfully, no leaks or corrosion to the radiators.
It’s getting there now, but I will need to sort the front bumper at some point. It’s been damaged and repainted previously but not to a great standard. The wheels are OK but a refurb would tidy it up no end. Spark plugs and coil packs will be replaced ASAP.
Other than that, I’ve had a few trips out and really enjoyed the handling and the noise. The sound of the NA flat 6 is pretty addictive, even in this lower 2.7 form.
Anyway, some photos:
After lots of polishing:
Dodgy rear bumper:
Belt replacement:
Radiator/condenser cleaning:
Number plates from local OPC:
And the GTI it replaces:
Ideally:
- 2 seater or coupe
- Not a 4 pot (had plenty of those)
- Manual
I quickly realised that almost nothing was either local to me or in budget. The next day, literally 1 mile from my work appeared a 2004 Boxster 2.7 advertised privately at the roadside within budget. I stopped quickly to check it was a manual and called the seller to discuss.
It had been his wife’s car for 4 years, and he had a few receipts but not much. The book is stamped up but missing a service in 2015. Its had a new clutch, water pump, discs pads and tyres all round within the last year.
I didn’t pay a lot for it so was expecting a few expensive issues that need sorting but I have been underneath and checked it over, I can’t see much wrong with it.
For peace of mind I have carried out a full service using genuine Porsche classic oil and replaced all filters and the aux belt (again genuine).
The car was absolutely filthy, inside and out. Lots of cleaning, wet vac on the interior carpets and a full paint correction eventually got it up to a reasonable standard.
Other jobs included cleaning out the blocked water drains; this is a common issue that allows water to overflow into the car and cause expensive damage to an ecu under the passenger seat. 2 drains were blocked but no water in the cabin luckily.
Another common issue is front radiators leaking/rotting out. Mine looked pretty clean after my massive cleaning session but I took the bumper off to split the rads and sure enough they were definitely in need of cleaning in between. Thankfully, no leaks or corrosion to the radiators.
It’s getting there now, but I will need to sort the front bumper at some point. It’s been damaged and repainted previously but not to a great standard. The wheels are OK but a refurb would tidy it up no end. Spark plugs and coil packs will be replaced ASAP.
Other than that, I’ve had a few trips out and really enjoyed the handling and the noise. The sound of the NA flat 6 is pretty addictive, even in this lower 2.7 form.
Anyway, some photos:
After lots of polishing:
Dodgy rear bumper:
Belt replacement:
Radiator/condenser cleaning:
Number plates from local OPC:
And the GTI it replaces:
Little update:
I've done 300 miles in the car now and its been great, I can understand why some of these older Porsches do big mileages as they are so useable
day to day.
The steering has never been dead on centre when driving straight - a small thing but really annoying. So got this sorted out last week and had the wheels balanced whilst I was there:
Couple of photos from a recent meet:
|https://thumbsnap.com/DMzNxAxx[/url]
Since these photos, the tatty hubs have been painted black, wheel nut covers fitted and the rear bumper and door handle removed for paint.
I've done 300 miles in the car now and its been great, I can understand why some of these older Porsches do big mileages as they are so useable
day to day.
The steering has never been dead on centre when driving straight - a small thing but really annoying. So got this sorted out last week and had the wheels balanced whilst I was there:
Couple of photos from a recent meet:
|https://thumbsnap.com/DMzNxAxx[/url]Since these photos, the tatty hubs have been painted black, wheel nut covers fitted and the rear bumper and door handle removed for paint.
Little update:
The engine bay is reassuringly dusty. I took this as a good sign in that there’s been no major issues with it recently.
I also cleaned the MAF sensor (which is good practice annually according to the internet) while I was there.
Also got round to painting the hubs black and got the drivers door handle and dodgy rear bumper resprayed to tidy it up a bit.
While the bumper was off I removed the exhaust trim and cleaned that up too.
Well chuffed with the results:
Nice little cameo for a random Peugeot that crept into shot.
The calipers will require attention at some point. I might wait until winter and replace the discs and pads, and get the callipers professionally painted and wheels refurbed.
Cheap eBay wheel nut covers were fitted to mask the corroded wheel bolts for now.
The engine bay is reassuringly dusty. I took this as a good sign in that there’s been no major issues with it recently.
I also cleaned the MAF sensor (which is good practice annually according to the internet) while I was there.
Also got round to painting the hubs black and got the drivers door handle and dodgy rear bumper resprayed to tidy it up a bit.
While the bumper was off I removed the exhaust trim and cleaned that up too.
Well chuffed with the results:
Nice little cameo for a random Peugeot that crept into shot.
The calipers will require attention at some point. I might wait until winter and replace the discs and pads, and get the callipers professionally painted and wheels refurbed.
Cheap eBay wheel nut covers were fitted to mask the corroded wheel bolts for now.
Edited by Ella Jean on Wednesday 4th August 22:37
Cracked coil packs seem to be another common issue on 986’s.
Decided to replace mine and the spark plugs with some I got from Design911 at a very reasonable price.
Two of the coil pack bolts pulled the threads out so had to sort that out too.
Another little job sorted for peace of mind if nothing else.
I also noticed my low speed radiator fan wasn’t working, so replaced the resistor pack. Genuine item was £140 but RS Components sell the equivalent for less than £15!
Like most things seem to be on this car it was easy to change and didn’t take long.
Needless to say, I’m really enjoying 986 ownership and have covered over 1k miles already. Not bad considering this isn’t my daily.
Decided to replace mine and the spark plugs with some I got from Design911 at a very reasonable price.
Two of the coil pack bolts pulled the threads out so had to sort that out too.
Another little job sorted for peace of mind if nothing else.
I also noticed my low speed radiator fan wasn’t working, so replaced the resistor pack. Genuine item was £140 but RS Components sell the equivalent for less than £15!
Like most things seem to be on this car it was easy to change and didn’t take long.
Needless to say, I’m really enjoying 986 ownership and have covered over 1k miles already. Not bad considering this isn’t my daily.
shalmaneser said:
What plugs did you fit? Mine was pretty unhappy with beru plugs but much happier with ngk. Surprised by the difference.
I went for ‘Denso IRIDIUM POWER IK20’. I was really surprised how much smoother the engine is. As soon as it started I could tell something was different. No way of knowing whether it was the plugs or the coils but I would have thought faulty coils would bring up an EML warning, The old plugs showed a clean burn on all cylinders but no doubt overdue.
CoolHands said:
Looks lovely you’ve done a great job. How much are coil packs? The number plates really help too, what sort of price are they (I imagining not too cheap from an OPC)
CheersNumber plates were £21 for the set.
The coils and plugs were £221 all together, £125 of which were the coils.
I changed the outside temp sensor the other week, the part from OPC was only £18. I’ve been really impressed with Colchester OPC; really helpful guys.
Ella Jean said:
CoolHands said:
Looks lovely you’ve done a great job. How much are coil packs? The number plates really help too, what sort of price are they (I imagining not too cheap from an OPC)
CheersNumber plates were £21 for the set.
The coils and plugs were £221 all together, £125 of which were the coils.
I changed the outside temp sensor the other week, the part from OPC was only £18. I’ve been really impressed with Colchester OPC; really helpful guys.
On keeping costs down, I would highly recommend always checking prices with OPC before buying elsewhere (if it is something genuine you need/want). I've ordered about 40-50 parts for my Porsche from seals to trim to coolant hoses and my local OPC was cheaper than design 911 on all but 1! On the coolant hoses I was about £50 less for them all than the OPC, so never assume they are more expensive. They also seem to be up for discounts if you are nice to the parts guys.
PaulD86 said:
Cracking looking car OP. These old Boxsters are fantastic.
On keeping costs down, I would highly recommend always checking prices with OPC before buying elsewhere (if it is something genuine you need/want). I've ordered about 40-50 parts for my Porsche from seals to trim to coolant hoses and my local OPC was cheaper than design 911 on all but 1! On the coolant hoses I was about £50 less for them all than the OPC, so never assume they are more expensive. They also seem to be up for discounts if you are nice to the parts guys.
Thanks. Good advice too. The genuine Porsche classic oil was cheaper than Design911, quite a lot of other things have been too. Plus it’s a great excuse to go an OPC and have a wander about (I bet the sales execs hate me).On keeping costs down, I would highly recommend always checking prices with OPC before buying elsewhere (if it is something genuine you need/want). I've ordered about 40-50 parts for my Porsche from seals to trim to coolant hoses and my local OPC was cheaper than design 911 on all but 1! On the coolant hoses I was about £50 less for them all than the OPC, so never assume they are more expensive. They also seem to be up for discounts if you are nice to the parts guys.
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