HELP - 2000 Boxster 2.7 Tip - Alternator mount point BROKE - how to replace?... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Greetings esteemed Boxster Lovers... I've got a 2000 Boxster 2.7 w Tiptronic - my BABY... purchased used in summer 2010 after a 10 year love affair with my first porsche resto project - a 1968 Porsche 912 4-speed manual that I raced in SCCA and PCA here in Chicagoland... After I took my 2000 Boxster out of storage last month, I noticed the alternator struggling to keep the lights on at night, and suspected the serpentine/drive belt needed to be replaced. This forum & some great Youtube videos (thanks Graham White!) convinced me this was not only do-able... it was EASY. a 10 mm socket wrench and a 24 mm socket on a breaker bar, and I was ready to rock & roll... Everything went smoothly at first: - the seats stayed in (NO need to take out passenger seat as many do)... - the soft top unsnapped and slid forward in under 2 minutes... - the oddments tray came off with 2 twists of a wrist... - the top cover (actually unnecessary) came with 6 twists of a wrist... - the 4 carpet hold-downs came off by hand (2 with just a little coaxing)... - the 8 10 mm access panel bolts came off with a full wrenchturn + wrist... Then I gently pryed open the access panel (watch those edges are SHARP)... ... and saw a complete serpentine belt ! :-O A closer inspection revealed 2 things: 1. The serpentine belt WAS indeed complete, but 2 of the 6 (or so) "grooves" had actually SHREDDED COMPLETELY OFF, and were snarled all around the engine bay in what looked like black spaghetti; and 2. The entire alternator and its wheel were NOT ALIGNED with the rest of the 6 or so drive wheels !!! Still closer inspection revealed that the lower alternator mounting flange - basically a bolt hole on what looks like a cast aluminum plate which bolted onto the front of the engine, provided a mounting point for the alternator AND some sort of fluid entry nipple for some flud circuit in the engine - was completely BROKEN OFF... THERE'S STUFF I DON'T KNOW: 1. WHAT do I CALL this part? 2. WHAT is the fluid system behind this plate (coolant or oil or trans)? 3. CAN I simply replace this single plate (approx 2" x 6" with 6 approx 8mm bolts running through it, a 3/4" OD nipple on the left hand side as you look from the front, and just above that the mounting hole for the alternator mount bolt) ? 4. WHERE do I go for a decent used part (I've always only gone to German Auto Dismantlers, but now I hear they've been sold, and I don't know what the new owners are like)? 5. DO I have to drain whatever fluid is INSIDE this plate? 6. WHAT is a FAIR price for a used whatever-this-is part? Thanks to all for a prompt reply. Cheers, -Mark

If you go to the parts catalogue http://www.porsche.com/usa/accessoriesandservices/porscheservice/originalparts/originalpartscatalogue/ Under engine on page one it looks like your part 99610102100 & gasket 99610102101. Not sure what liquid is behind but I would definutely guess coolant due to the size of the hose

if any of the 7 bolts are reusable. And the torque values. Don't think I've ever seen that failure mentioned online before. There are wrecking yards listed here . Another source might be flat6innovations as they deal in rebuilding engines and may have an odd part lying around.

Greetings Brian ! Thanks - that DEFINITELY looks like THE part ! Hard to believe all the calls it is a "lid"... :-| Now I have a name - "lid" and part numbers - "99610102100 & gasket 99610102101", but does anyone know if this is the SAME part for a 2000 Porsche ? The catalog cleary says "2004", so I worry about compatability. Thoughts anyone? Thanks for the stellar instant feedback thus far - I really appreciate it ! -Mark =======================

same exact thing happened to me. http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/24050-stuck-in-an-alternator-swap/page__p__125621__hl__stateofidleness__fromsearch__ 1#entry125621 I thought I had posted on here for help when it happened, but I think it might have been before my 986forum days. my Indy ended up fixing it for me, but it appears I didn't seat the bottom right bolt in the "channel" properly. It allowed it to "shift" and swivel just enough to let the belt come off a bit and start grinding into the plastic cable cover just above it. unfortunately it's a show stopper type repair... sucks too cuz you lose some coolant in the process... fwiw, it cost me about $800 (not counting the new alternator) from my Indy.

Same thing happened to me. I did the repair myself for around $250, which included a rebuilt alternator. It is a coolant passage cover, and you do make a bit of a mess changing it out if you don't drain the coolant down far enough, but a pretty easy job.