Engine lights, cats etc 987... Thoughts please.
Discussion
Hello gang, just after some thoughts...
A few weeks back I had my Boxster (05 2.7 987) in for some work on the RMS, they checked the IMS, replaced the clutch etc and they advised that the good old coil packs were starting to crack, but otherwise the car all seemed ok, so having spent enough money on it I asked them to put the car back together for me to pick up. A few days and only two short runs to work later, the check engine light came on, so I took the car back and they checked it all over, said it might be the cats, didn't seem to be the MAF sensor and recommended replacing the coil packs (and sparks) in case they'd caused a misfire that had tripped the lights.
A few hundred quid lighter, I was surprised again this morning that after only another few runs to work the bloody check engine light is back. ARGH!
Car seems to be running fine, idles smooth, no lumps or flat spots. So I have a few things rumbling around in my head:
1) how long do cats last on average? Car's only done 51k miles, but I have been doing shortish runs for the last couple of years totalling about 4-5k a year, presumably that can clog them up a bit. Anything I can do to clear them out or am I looking at yet another hefty bill?
2) my gut feeling is that it's the O2 sensors or something, but that might be wishful thinking and I really don't want to spend another couple of hundred quid to find out afterwards that it was the bloody cats after all...
3) am I being unreasonable thinking that the garage - a well-known Indy in the South East - should have been able to diagnose the issue better? Surely the fault code should have been specific enough...
4) I'd really like to keep the car standard, but if I'm going to have to do the cats anyway, should I just hand over my credit card for a hammering and get high-flow cats fitted instead? (And eat beans on teast for the next few months.)
I'll go and get the car seen to, but at the moment, I appreciate you reading this far and would love to hear some opinions.
Thanks,
Nick
A few weeks back I had my Boxster (05 2.7 987) in for some work on the RMS, they checked the IMS, replaced the clutch etc and they advised that the good old coil packs were starting to crack, but otherwise the car all seemed ok, so having spent enough money on it I asked them to put the car back together for me to pick up. A few days and only two short runs to work later, the check engine light came on, so I took the car back and they checked it all over, said it might be the cats, didn't seem to be the MAF sensor and recommended replacing the coil packs (and sparks) in case they'd caused a misfire that had tripped the lights.
A few hundred quid lighter, I was surprised again this morning that after only another few runs to work the bloody check engine light is back. ARGH!
Car seems to be running fine, idles smooth, no lumps or flat spots. So I have a few things rumbling around in my head:
1) how long do cats last on average? Car's only done 51k miles, but I have been doing shortish runs for the last couple of years totalling about 4-5k a year, presumably that can clog them up a bit. Anything I can do to clear them out or am I looking at yet another hefty bill?
2) my gut feeling is that it's the O2 sensors or something, but that might be wishful thinking and I really don't want to spend another couple of hundred quid to find out afterwards that it was the bloody cats after all...
3) am I being unreasonable thinking that the garage - a well-known Indy in the South East - should have been able to diagnose the issue better? Surely the fault code should have been specific enough...
4) I'd really like to keep the car standard, but if I'm going to have to do the cats anyway, should I just hand over my credit card for a hammering and get high-flow cats fitted instead? (And eat beans on teast for the next few months.)
I'll go and get the car seen to, but at the moment, I appreciate you reading this far and would love to hear some opinions.
Thanks,
Nick
Edited by Nickworld on Tuesday 15th October 10:51
Had a similar problem with my 06 Cayman S recently. Unfortunately the fault code doesn't make it easy to diagnose.
My car was back and forth to Porsche who reset the fault code, tested all of the sensors and every other possibility before finally diagnosing that the cats were faulty. They then removed them and inspected them - no obvious reason why they had failed, but they had. I argued that 70k miles was premature and the OPC agreed, so thankfully they managed to get the Porsche warranty to agree to covering the bill. But, up to that point, I had the same thoughts as you - if they wouldn't cover it I'd fit some performance cats instead as it would be cheaper than paying for Porsche replacements - I was quoted £1800 fitted by RPM Technik.
My car was back and forth to Porsche who reset the fault code, tested all of the sensors and every other possibility before finally diagnosing that the cats were faulty. They then removed them and inspected them - no obvious reason why they had failed, but they had. I argued that 70k miles was premature and the OPC agreed, so thankfully they managed to get the Porsche warranty to agree to covering the bill. But, up to that point, I had the same thoughts as you - if they wouldn't cover it I'd fit some performance cats instead as it would be cheaper than paying for Porsche replacements - I was quoted £1800 fitted by RPM Technik.
Hmmm. Glad yours is sorted and sounds like the OPC were very reasonable. Mine's been out of warranty and dealer circle for a few years now (I'm slap in the middle between OPC Tonbridge and Guildford and can't be arsed to drive over there for servicing etc) so I reckon I'll have to stump up some cash...
Had you been doing short runs in your Cayman for a while or was it written off as " just one of those things"?
Surprisingly hard to find standard OEM cats from a quick search online, only ones I've seen have been aftermarket high flow efforts.
It's all a bit tiresome really.
Had you been doing short runs in your Cayman for a while or was it written off as " just one of those things"?
Surprisingly hard to find standard OEM cats from a quick search online, only ones I've seen have been aftermarket high flow efforts.
It's all a bit tiresome really.
Nickworld said:
Had you been doing short runs in your Cayman for a while?
The opposite actually. The fault first appeared in the middle of a European road trip after several days of long driving (6-8 hours per day). My Cayman gets plenty of use anyway as it is pretty much a daily driver.Good luck with it. Hope you manage to get something sorted without being left too out of pocket.
Thanks both - seems I might just have to dry my tears and crack on.
Jack - I've read your writeups on DriveCult and remember lots of interesting stuff on the suspension, but don't remember anything on the cats. Did you go for standard? With all that tinkering, I imagine you went with something sportier...
Jack - I've read your writeups on DriveCult and remember lots of interesting stuff on the suspension, but don't remember anything on the cats. Did you go for standard? With all that tinkering, I imagine you went with something sportier...
Need the error codes. Too many inconsistencies...
"so I took the car back and they checked it all over, said it might be the cats, didn't seem to be the MAF sensor and recommended replacing the coil packs (and sparks) in case they'd caused a misfire that had tripped the lights. "
If the error codes were misfire related then the plugs and coils are suspect. Coils seem to have a short life span in the UK climate while in other areas of the world they last and last and last.
"so I took the car back and they checked it all over, said it might be the cats, didn't seem to be the MAF sensor and recommended replacing the coil packs (and sparks) in case they'd caused a misfire that had tripped the lights. "
If the error codes were misfire related then the plugs and coils are suspect. Coils seem to have a short life span in the UK climate while in other areas of the world they last and last and last.
I bet they used an air chisel on the bolts to remove exhaust.
Had the same problem after mine had the cv boots done these o2 sensors dont like being vibrated to death!!!
On mine it was the 2 closest to the flange that needed replacing on my 986S
Hope you get this sorted soon!!
Regards
Ashley
Had the same problem after mine had the cv boots done these o2 sensors dont like being vibrated to death!!!
On mine it was the 2 closest to the flange that needed replacing on my 986S
Hope you get this sorted soon!!
Regards
Ashley
Fingers crossed it's something like that...
Tried the old switch it on and off again 'repair' this morning and the light's still on and it seems to be running a bit rich, so that's in no way confirmation that the cats are fine, but to my limited brain power it tallies with O2 sensors sending bad info to the injectors.
Thanks again for all the thoughts, the car's booked back in for Tuesday, so hopefully that'll sort it either way.
Tried the old switch it on and off again 'repair' this morning and the light's still on and it seems to be running a bit rich, so that's in no way confirmation that the cats are fine, but to my limited brain power it tallies with O2 sensors sending bad info to the injectors.
Thanks again for all the thoughts, the car's booked back in for Tuesday, so hopefully that'll sort it either way.
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