How to Increase the Lifespan of Your Porsche Boxster

You can increase the Lifespan of Your Porsche Boxster by following the steps below. These steps are directed to the new Boxster drivers asking what should they be doing for their Boxsters to increase the lifespan of their vehicle.

What you can do to Increase the Lifespan of your Porsche Boxster?

1.0 Change Your Porsche Boxster Oil Regularly

Make sure you use an oil that meets the ACEA A3 standard and is a Porsche A40 rated Engine Oil. Porsche uses and recommends Mobil 1 0W40. Mobil 1 is the initial oil used from the Porsche factory.

However, Porsche recommends many other brands of oil and releases an updated TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) on approved Porsche engine oils each year.

1.1 How often should you change your Oil?

Changing your oil yearly or every 5K miles (whatever comes first) is a general consensus, which is 3 times as often as Porsche recommends.

1.2 What Brand of Oil Does Porsche Recommend?

2.0 Clean Your Radiators!

Clean your radiator cavities yearly. Use a shop vac and a crevice tool to remove all road debris from each corner of your bumper intakes.

This will save your radiators and ac condensers from early corrosion damage and make your cooling system more efficient. Many expensive radiator repairs can be avoided.

Boxstertips

Cleaning your Boxster Radiators is the single most missed yearly maintenance on your Porsche Boxster. I first heard about this issue attending PCA Tech Tactics East in Easton, PA.

3.0 Water Pump

The Porsche Boxster water pump uses a plastic impeller blade and is known to be a high failure rate part as plastic ages and becomes brittle. The impeller itself does not fail, but the bearings of the water pump fail and cause a level of play in the water pump. This causes the water pump to wobble and allows the impeller to come in contact with the engine block.

It isn’t a bad idea for older Boxsters to just replace the water pump every 4-5 years.

Whatever you do, don’t replace a water pump with a metal impeller. If that rubs against the housing because the bearing fails, you have a multi-thousand dollar block replacement bill.

It is advised that you change the Thermostat when you change your water pump. This is Project 34 in the 101 Projects for Your Porsche Boxster (Motorbooks Workshop) .

4.0 Air Filters

Every 2 oil changes or once a year (whatever comes first) you need to inspect the engine air filter and replace it if dirty.  Accessing the engine compartment is required learning.

Vacuum out and clean the entire adjacent area around the air filter, while the air filter is out.  

Series	Model	Engine Air Filter
986	ALL	Mann Filter C 2558/5 Air Filter
987	ALL	Mann Filter C 31 002 Air Filter

It is not recommended to use a K&N filter or any other oiled-media filter. 

4.1 Cabin Filters

When you change your engine air filter take the time to also change your cabin air filter. It is the easiest filter to replace in all the maintenance on your Porsche Boxster that you will ever see. 

Do it yourself.  We strongly recommend the upgrade to the charcoal-activated cabin air filter.

Series	Model	Mann Cabin Filter – Pollen Filter with Activated Carbon
986	ALL	Mann-Filter CUK 3360 Cabin Filter With Activated Charcoal
987	ALL	Mann-Filter CUK 3360 Cabin Filter With Activated Charcoal
718	ALL	Mann-Filter CUK 25 006 Cabin Filter With Carbon Activated
981	ALL	Mann-Filter CUK 25 006 Cabin Filter With Carbon Activated
982	ALL	Mann-Filter CUK 25 006 Cabin Filter With Carbon Activated

5.0 Windshield

Fix any crack or pit in your windshield immediately, do not give it any time to grow and spread.

6.0 Weatherstripping

It is strongly recommended that you treat all weather stripping on your Porsche Boxster every year. Make sure to use a conditioning compound on all exposed rubber and plastic items on the exterior of your Porsche.

This includes the weather stripping on your convertible top and clamshell.

Porsche enthusiasts swear by the German made Gummi Pflege Stift !

For rubber seals in car doors, windows, and boots, Gummi Pflege offers long-lasting freezing protection. It also offers true, deep-down safety conditions, helping to extend the life of rubber seals, gaskets, and trims, offering protection from the sun’s cold, heat, and UV radiation.

If your rubber seals, or weather stripping, around windows and doors, go untreated they will deteriorate over time. As a result of changing temperatures and high UV sunlight exposure, the rubber of the weather stripping starts to dry out, crack or shrink. When this happens the integrity of the seal will fail and lead to further problems such as squeaks, whistles, draughts, and leaks. The original luster is also lost and the rubber continues to perish.

BOXSTERTIPs – Porsche Boxster Convertible Top Problems – TIP#8

7.0 Tires

Setting and maintaining tire air pressure is vital to the lifespan of your tires. Maintain the air pressure to the correct limit of your tires and inspect your tires monthly for any uneven wear. 

At the first sign of uneven wear, get the Boxsters wheels aligned by someone who really knows Porsches and how best to align them. 

A good wheel alignment is different from one that just brings the numbers into spec. 

Drive only on tires appropriate for the temperature of the road you’ll be traveling.   Do not use summer tires in the winter as they lose an amazing amount of their traction when the road surface is below 40°F or5°C.  

All-season tires are OK for lower temperatures if you can only have one set of tires but snow/ice tires are really what you want if you will encounter those elements frequently.

It is strongly recommended that you never drive when the roads have been salted.

7.1 Recommended Ultra Performance Summer Tires

7.2 Recommended Performance All Season Tires

8.0 Rear Plastic Windows in 1997 to 2002 Boxsters

If you have a rear plastic window on your Porsche Boxster you need to take extra special care of it. You need to clean and polish it yearly to prevent oxidation (or yellowing and pitting.)

A single most important tip to prolong the life of your rear plastic window is to make sure that you always use the “Boxster Chop” and not use your convertible top below 40°F of 5°C.

9.0 All Hinges and Latches

Lube the door, hood, and clam-shell hinges with a high-quality white lithium grease once a year.

Spray the door locks and hood locks with silicone lubricant spray. Spray in the inner area of the lock, in which the catch bar engages.  Lock-Ease Graphite-Based Lock Lubricant, Prevents Lock Freezing, Reduces Friction, Protects Against Rust, No Sticky Residue or Buildup, Reduce Lock Wear & Tear - 3oz Aerosol Spray  is also highly recommended.

10.0 Check Engine Light (CEL)

If you ever encounter a “Blinking” Check Engine Light STOP the CAR ASAP (safely) and have your Porsche Boxster flatbed (or rollback) towed to a Porsche engine expert.

If you encounter a “Solid” Check Engine Light you can continue driving, however you do risk further damage to your engine. It is important that you have access to an OBD II Scanner tool that is made specific for Porsche. This tool will allow you to read the CEL error code and clear it.

In most cases, once you read the CEL error code you may be in a position to fix the error yourself. Otherwise, you know what is wrong and can communicate the issue to your mechanic to have your Boxster repaired.

It is important to know that the OBD II scan tool will need the additional Porsche support to clear specific codes such as your Oil change indicator, Air Bag, etc.

11.0 Maintenance Schedule

Follow the recommended maintenance schedule and do not ignore warning lights or symptoms. Make sure you have an excellent relationship with a good mechanic. Also know that you can make use of other resources, such as online Porsche forums, FB groups, and especially PCA members for advice and recommendation on the care of your Boxster.

12.0 Maintaining your Porsche Boxster Convertible Top

It is critical to know that your Boxster canvas convertible top is not “waterproof”, it is only ware resistant. If you do not regularly treat your Haartz German Sonnenland A5 canvas top it will encounter premature wear and aging. By correctly maintaining your Boxster convertible top, it will an excellent lifespan.

The primary enemy of your convertible top is the collection of dust, dirt and various debris. It is important to thoroughly clean your Boxster convertible top correctly, do a full water resistant treatment and to cover your top when in storage.

Also be sure to check out our “Best Of” Series:

• Best Battery for your Porsche Boxster
• Best Porsche Boxster Car Covers
• Best Radar Detector for Your Porsche Boxster
• Best Porsche Boxster & Cayman Books
• Best Battery Charger for Your Boxster
• Best Porsche Boxster Wiper Blades

Other Articles of Interest

Last update on 2024-04-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API