BOXSTER HAUS

February 2026 (selection)

1999 Porsche 996.1 Cabriolet Engine 3.4
6-Speed. Owner Greg Little

Brief: Repair RHR 1/4 glass. The regulator failed whilst the Cabriolet soft-top was in use.

A difficult task due to the condition of the regulator gears and wire. Ultimately replaced with new components and rebuilt.

2017 Porsche Cayenne Engine 3.0 Diesel
Tiptronic. Owner Steven. 105,000k

Brief: Fit Water pump, replace front disc rotors (Brembo) & pads (Textar), full Liqui Moly Service, including engine flush

Steven is back with his lovely Cayenne. Nice to see the SUV Porsches visit us, quite a run at the moment. Such a wonderful Porsche to drive, having owned a 958 Cayenne for 6 years. Sold at 265,000k to a Porsche enthusiast (Master Mechanic), Paddy would be close to 300k now. Steve’s is a low-k model, well-maintained and much loved!

2006 Porsche Cayman S 987 Engine 3.4
6-Speed. Owner Keith H. 91,000k.

Brief: Find & Fix a parasitic draw on the battery!

Keith, a seasoned Porsche owner, has owned some iconic Porsche models from new, such as the 930 Turbo, 964, and 993 Turbos, over the last three or four decades. We thoroughly enjoyed looking at the pictures and listening to the back-stories.

The parasitic drain was over seven days. Keith, who is 80+, only drives the Cayman once a week. After seven days, the battery was flat. Generally, Caymans, Boxsters, and 911s of this vintage have batteries that are flat (or almost flat) after 14 days. 7 days is not acceptable.

Initially, we conducted basic tests and checked for known historical issues, such as the positive cable from the battery to the firewall connector. We discovered some corrosion, corrected it, but did not resolve the problem. We then set up an oscilloscope to monitor the amperage (AMPS) that Keth’s Cayman drew over a 24-hour period. Our target was an acceptable level of 0.025-0.050. We simply wanted the Cayman to stay asleep longer. As delivered to us, it was asleep for 20 seconds, awake for 40 seconds of every minute, resulting in the battery losing enough charge and would not start after 7 days.

Long story short, the team (Julian, Brandt, and I) eventually discovered the issue: a hidden, unknown, and obscure third-party alarm, most likely installed at the origin (UK). After years of being dormant, it was draining the battery. We disconnected, removed, and capped the wires attached to the fusebox, then ran the oscilloscope again. After 15 minutes of recalibration, we found a steady 0.039 amp draw when the system was asleep. Job done.

2009 Porsche Cayenne V6 Engine 3.6
Tiptronic. Owner Col B.

Brief: Service & Inspection

This particular OG Cayenne is a beauty. Col (Vietnam Vet) has owned his Porsche for around 18 months, encouraged to buy it by his mate, who owns a 2008 Cayenne Turbo. The early series Cayennes are now becoming highly sought after, featuring many small but noticeable details that have disappeared in the later series from 2011 onwards. We have massive respect for these models.

2000 Porsche 911 Cabriolet (996) C4 Engine 3.4 Tiptronic
Owner: Peter H. 73,000k. Geniune Gemballa bodied, including exhaust and wheels.

Brief: Repair and paint imperfections & dent on front & rear bumper bars & full engine flush and service.

We subcontract all our paint & panel work to Joshua at Bowioes Pro Finish. Josh is a one-man show, but does a perfect job for our Porsche friends (Customers) at reasonable pricing!

The pastel yellow is a lovely colour and suits the Gemballa. Early C4 996.1 are quite special and not so common in Australia.

Pete, the owner, likes us to check the oil filter thoroughly, which we do as a mandatory task, especially on 911/Boxster/Cayman models up until 2008 (IMS issues). We check for plastic, alloy, and steel.

Fortunately, inspection showed all clear, other than minor alloy dust specs. something that arguably quite common in flat-six engines, nature of the beast, nothing of concern. The engine in Pet’s Porsche is very strong, idling beautifully, with a crisp note.

The C4 has an interesting history; it originally came from Hong Kong, hence the low k’s. Been there, not a lot of places to drive there!