Not sure how many people check this site, but it seems to get a small amount of traffic everyday.  And I enjoy keeping a record of what I have done to my 986.  Unfortunately, during the pandemic I did not have a lot of reasons to leave the house and enjoy my 986, but I still check 986forum almost everyday, and I respond to emails, even if I am not as active as I used to be.

After years of being the guy telling people the 986's that have the majority of issues are the ones that sit around, mine has now accidentally achieved Garage Queen status (at least for the last two years) and I've had a two issues, a bad ignition switch and another small oil leak.

I haven't been driving a lot this year due to the pandemic, and the Boxster hasn't been getting a lot of mileage. I did a standard oil change using the wooden cribs I built to get the car into the air.  No issues, other dropping the oil filter into the oil drain bucket and having to fish it out.

Most of my time was dedicated to two repairs.  Recently, my horn started to trigger under braking which indicates that the rubber buffers that support the airbag and trigger the horn are deteriorating.  After some dirty looks while braking for people in a crosswalk, it became a priority repair.

I don't have as much free time as I did two years ago when I got into detailing, but I decided my 986 needed some love this weekend.  I started by rinsing the entire car, then spraying it with foam to lubricate everything.  I used Optimum car wash with a tiny bit of Dawn added because it makes it foam a lot better.  I then used two buckets, one to clean the wash mitts and one with soap.  I use two mitts one for the upper panels and one for the lower panels.

After scrubbing the car while cleaning the wash mitts frequently, I rinsed the car again and then dried it with microfiber towels.  I normally only do one swipe per side of the towel, so each towel folded into fourths is 8 swipes total.

I then let my soft top dry and cleaned the rear window with Plexus (I'm still amazed by how well Plexus works).  I then heated up the plastic window with a hair dryer and folded it into the closed position with fleece in between the plastic to keep it from scratching itself.  I haven't used the hair dryer trick before, but it worked very well (and quickly) to make the plastic window flexible enough to be folded without worrying about it cracking, which can happen if it is folded below 70° F.

I then cleaned the A-Pillar and clamshell with some quick wax, to prep it for the hardtop.  I reinstalled the hardtop, but had a new issue.  The defroster plug by the driver's seatbelt was missing.  I ended up pulling off the panel that covers the seat belt, which is only held on by one screw and two clips, and reattaching the plug to the trim piece (as it should be) with zip ties.  I reinstalled the trim and plugged in the defroster for the hardtop.

I plan to put a coat of sealant then a coat of wax on tomorrow, and clean and condition the interior/leather.

Over the weekend, I completed my annual/3,500 mile oil change.  No problems, I used the wooden cribs I built a while back, and let the oil drain for 2+ hours before reinstalling a new drain plug and crush washer along with a new Wix oil filter.  It was simple and quick, and overall my 986 is running well, although I need to detail it again.

However, while I was under the car I checked the oil leak I noticed about 5,000 miles ago on the passenger side of the engine.  I had cleaned it up to see if it would return and it is still there. For the first time ever I added about 1/2 quart of oil to my 986 between oil changes, so I have decided this is something that needs to be addressed now.  I am happy to do most of my own maintenance but troubleshooting internal engine issues is not my strong suit so I will be taking my 986 to a mechanic to resolve this.  I am hoping it is not the RMS, I actually think it could be something simple like a cracked spark plug tube, but we will see.

I also have gotten two unrelated Check Engine Light codes, P0410 and P1411, which are secondary air system issues.  I think my overheating issue a few weeks ago might have deteriorated some hoses, although they both happened while I had the purge valve on my coolant tank open so I have cleared them to see if they return.

After an initial issue with the color, I got a 2.5" silver "986" vinyl batwing decal made for my new two-switch batwing, that matches my Arctic Silver lower center console.  This is replacing my old batwing that had a "Porsche" decal.

I also cannot believe that I never realized before now that "986" is the same when flipped over.  However, with the decal font the lower half of the 8 is slightly wider.

If anyone wants one, I have an extra black and silver decal.

After twelve years of owning my 986, I have done a lot of modifications, particularly right at the start. One of my goals has been to eliminate all of the switch blanks on my dash. When I recently installed my radiator fan switch modification I decided to update some of my old wiring. I had never done much with electronics before my first Boxster modification, the OBC hack. Looking back I was eager to eliminate my previous liberal use of electrical tape, which can become a sticky mess after a few years in a hot car.

I have had some cooling issues with my 986 in the past.  They have mostly been resolved since I did a complete coolant flush at 95,000 miles, replaced the water pump and installed a low temp thermostat, 'S' oil cooler, and third radiator.  I believe these issues originated from an independent mechanic I used to go to that may have mixed two types of coolant which can cause them to gel.

While driving with the top down this summer, I was consistently hitting the 210 mark on the coolant temp gauge, when it should max out near the 0 in 180. then while stuck in traffic I passed 210, and had to pull over for my 986 to cool down.  The cooling system worked fine on the freeway when air was getting rammed into the radiators.  After some testing, I determined that my driver's side radiator fan had died.