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Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHNeed advice on a 2003 S with a couple of issues - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Leading reported evidence
Disconnect clamps blindly within the engine compartment
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
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0
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Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
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Suggestion
It takes time to gain access in the trunk, disconnect all the clamps blindly within the engine compartment and then reinstall.
Need advice on a 2003 S with a couple of issues - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
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Leading evidence: 'Disconnect clamps blindly within the engine compartment' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Disconnect clamps blindly within the engine compartment' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
If the $750 includes the coolant drain and fill I would let the shop do it.
Need advice on a 2003 S with a couple of issues - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Replace expansion tank
Suggestion or failed attempt
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Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
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Suggestion · Original poster
The independent Porsche shop quoted me $750 to replace the expansion tank, but I haven’t found out how much the variocam solenoid could potentially cost.
Need advice on a 2003 S with a couple of issues - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Run ~30 minutes
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Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
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Suggestion · Original poster
Apparently it will start leaking once the car has been running for ~30 minutes, so it needs to be done immediately.
Need advice on a 2003 S with a couple of issues - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Use said it might need a variocam solenoid
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Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
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Suggestion · Original poster
The Porsche shop he uses said it might need a variocam solenoid replaced at some point.
Need advice on a 2003 S with a couple of issues - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Replace expansion tank
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
The independent Porsche shop quoted me $750 to replace the expansion tank, but I haven’t found out how much the variocam solenoid could potentially cost.
Need advice on a 2003 S with a couple of issues - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
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Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
9 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
986Forum: 1 discussions
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Generation: 20261026T161109Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Hi everyone! I’m new here and looking at getting my first Boxster. I found one near me, an 03 S with ~97,000 miles, with a couple of problems. The first and possibly the biggest is that it needs the coolant expansion tank replaced. Apparently it will start leaking once the car has been running for ~30 minutes, so it needs to be done immediately. Also it has thrown a P1328 engine code. The owner said it has come up in the past, but went away. The Porsche shop he uses said it might need a variocam solenoid replaced at some point. The independent Porsche shop quoted me $750 to replace the expansion tank, but I haven’t found out how much the variocam solenoid could potentially cost. With all that in mind, what do you guys think a fair price would be? Other than the above issue it’s in above average to excellent condition, garage kept, with complete service records. Thanks in advance!
If I were in the market I'd take care of both issues myself. The biggest bang for the buck with DIY is with fiddly issues like expansion tank, and AOS replacements.
$750 for a coolant tank replacement isn't outrageous. A OEM tank itself is around $350ish as you don't want the cheap versions. It takes time to gain access in the trunk, disconnect all the clamps blindly within the engine compartment and then reinstall. Then you need to think about a coolant drain and fill. If it has been leaking who knows how much water and what kind of coolant if any has been added. If the $750 includes the coolant drain and fill I would let the shop do it.
I'll let someone more experienced chime in on P1328 as I have no experience with it.
When I first bought my Boxster, I saw the line, "The cheapest Porsche you buy will be the most expensive Porsche you buy" Just thought I would repeat that in case you haven't seen it. +1 on the PPI
The solenoids are @ $200 each and you will need one for each head. For the 03', the solenoid is inserted into the cam cover. No need to take the cam covers off like 02' and earlier which is an expensive job.
The 03-04 job is maybe 15 minutes each side if you have never done it before. I just did mine.
Ditto on PPI. Expansion tank could be a symptom of a much bigger issue.....
I want to say thanks for all the great advice. After reading what everyone wrote I think this one probably isn’t a good first boxster. Thanks again and here’s hoping something else comes along.
The right one will come along, you just have to have patience. A PPI is a must. If you have the ability to travel, widen your search. Welcome to the forum
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