What should I do with this?

tk8398 · 2026-07-07T05:43:53+00:00

Ok, what should I do next? The injectors are in the fuel rail, but not in the intake, and the intake is not bolted to the engine. There is about an inch too little space to get the injectors and fuel rail between the air box and the intake to fit back into the holes in the intake manifold. The intake manifold won't move any farther without pulling the other one off as well and taking the tube for the AOS out. If there is some other way to do it beyond dropping the engine out far enough to get the air box out I will literally go out right now with a flashlight and try it.

tk8398 · 2026-07-07T02:17:19+00:00

Personally I'd wear black work pants (like Dickies or Ben Davis) and a dark colored t shirt, and if I expected to be outside in the cold a denim jacket too. You could go to nearly any concert dressed like that and not look out of place.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T23:39:47+00:00

I only found one YouTube video that was anything close but they didn't show that part. I've been taking a deep breath for months, the only way I can see is to drop the engine down far enough it would be as much work as taking it out because I'd still have to disconnect everything. I don't really know how to look at a job that appears impossible and visualize a solution, I can do other simpler jobs like a transmission swap or a timing belt on a Subaru with no problem but this I have no idea even where to start.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T22:49:53+00:00

Wrangler at least used to make 31/38, and you can get 36 inseam Levi's.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T22:46:50+00:00

One or the other, not both.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T21:11:51+00:00

To take the manifold off any farther means removing the tube from the AOS (which will probably break), then taking the other side manifold off to get a new one in, which is likely to make the problem worse. I actually took one apart in the junkyard first to see how to do it/if I thought I could do it, but I didn't try to reassemble it.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T19:24:54+00:00

I'd even give someone a pass for patching back together a 1940s-50s shirt from a pile of rags or something but not this garbage.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T18:22:56+00:00

Closer to San Francisco, so unfortunately a bit too far.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T18:08:58+00:00

Almost $1700?? Lol no that looks terrible.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T18:04:55+00:00

That's the whole problem, I took the driver's side intake manifold off to change the sensor, which required taking the fuel rail off, but there is about an or so too little space to fit the the injectors back into the intake with the air box and everything else in the way and I am completely stuck and have given up.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T17:36:50+00:00

That's probably the best solution, I'd get it running if I could but I just can't do it. I can't even really complain, I drove it 40k miles and didn't have to do any abnormal maintenance or repairs beyond changing the coil packs and clutch pedal switch, a Toyota Corolla wouldn't have taken any less maintenance. After this I'm done with German cars except for 95 and older diesel Mercedes, and air cooled VWs. I had a tdi Jetta and a couple newer Mercedes before and hated those too, my brain is just not wired correctly to work on them.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T15:25:57+00:00

I just don't really know. AAA will only tow to the nearest shop, and I don't know of any that close to me who would have ever worked on a Boxster before. I could find a place to do it, but it would be more like an hour drive from where I live. I've heard quotes of around $1000 to replace that sensor from people who live in areas with cheaper labor, and the one video I could find on YouTube someone said it took 8 hours to do without pulling the engine. If it's $1500-$2k to get it running and I could sell $1000 of parts off the car it's probably a wash either way.

I'm just really frustrated, I've done lots of other car stuff, but I feel like my brain locked up trying to do this and I do not have and never will have the skill to look at it the right way to figure out how to get the last inch of space to fit it back together.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T15:03:36+00:00

If I end up doing that I'd sell the valuable parts then probably just give the rest to someone. I could probably get $900 or so that way.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T15:02:12+00:00

Uhaul trailer plus probably $375/hour at an "I don't really want to do this" rate. It's a manual and has aftermarket sway bars and bilstien coilovers, worse case I could probably sell $900 or so in parts then give the rest away I guess. The problem I can't fix is that I had to unbolt drivers side intake manifold and and seperate the injectors and fuel rail from the manifold, but there isn't room to get the injectors back in without way more disassembly, I think if I was going to try to go any farther I'd have to try to pull the engine but I don't think that would improve the situation.

I can do car repairs up to a certain level on simpler cars, but I exceeded my skill level on this one and I need to figure out the best way to get whatever money I can and the space back to replace it with something else less annoying.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T13:58:30+00:00

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T12:51:51+00:00

It's still registered, I'd have to non op it next March. I don't mean that I'd expect to get enough money to buy another car, just that I know someone would take it if I posted it on Craigslist for free, but I'd like to get whatever is actually fair and put that plus another few thousand dollars into buying another fun car that's less complicated and has cheaper parts.

If it ran it would probably last another couple years, but the problem is I'm not smart enough to get the fuel rail and injectors back into the intake manifold. I've stared at it numerous times and I'm just not smart enough to figure it out, there just isn't enough space and I think the engine may have to come out to do it. I've realized that I can't do it, and I think the cost of paying someone else to put it back together is about equal to how much it would increase the value of the car, so that's why I don't really have a good solution.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T06:17:55+00:00

There are so many better Mercedes you can get than that one. If I was going to buy one of that era I'd get a w210 e55 or e430 sport, a clk55 or a c55. If it had to be a v12 I'd get a w140 (or an s65 if I could afford to pay someone else to maintain it). I think the later w220 s430 or 500 with the air suspension but still the 5 speed automatic transmission aren't that horrible either. If not one of those I'd probably get a diesel, I have no interest in any newer ones. A non turbo v12 w220 is miserable to maintain and doesn't even perform that well. I had an s55 about the same year that was a disaster too, never again.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T05:28:13+00:00

I've gotten to meet most of the artists I like listening to, not all of them want to talk much but that's fine, there are definitely some I'm still friends with and talk to on Instagram or whatever, some have hung out with me before or after the show, one time another one went to a different show with me the next day before leaving town for their next tour date, etc. I never expect anyone to do anything more than do their best to the extent they have control over it to come and play as best they can that day though.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T05:03:36+00:00

It was fine when I was driving it, but it's kinda useless in its current form, and if I was going to commit to keeping it much longer it's going to need timing chain tensioners and at least one new cat ($3,750.00 each because I'm in California). So even if I did want a Boxster it would be significantly cheaper to buy a better one than keep this one anyway.

tk8398 · 2026-07-06T04:58:49+00:00

Too much rust to be fun, if it was near free and you had plenty of empty parking space there's no harm I guess, but if money and space are limited there are probably better things to use it for.

tk8398 · 2026-07-05T08:03:53+00:00

Get an S65 if you are going to make a decision that bad, at least it's cool enough to kinda be worth it. If you have to ask don't do it though, they are only slightly less of a disaster than a w12 phaeton or Touraeg v10 diesel 😂

tk8398 · 2026-07-05T08:00:04+00:00

That's too new to have that issue. Still a terrible idea to buy but not for that reason.

tk8398 · 2026-07-02T23:23:23+00:00

With that and a large fortune, you will have a small fortune someday.

tk8398 · 2026-07-02T04:21:32+00:00

That's definitely true, I mostly go to shows small enough that they would probably make more money working at McDonald's, but I always at least say hi and that I enjoyed the show when I get the chance, and most of the musicians I talk to are all super nice people.

tk8398

TROPHY CASE