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[blueline]

Hello everyone I am a new member. Recently retired physician and just moved to a more rural area about 2 hours from Nashville. I have a 2000 boxster with 128k miles. It runs well except has recently developed a sound like something is caught on the undercarriage and is dragging. It is not related to any drivetrain function. It is only present when the car is moving and doesn’t change if i let it coast with the engine idling. Unfortunately it is over an hour to the nearest reliable mechanic. I looked underneath and nothing is obvious. Thought maybe wheel bearing or brake/rotor issues. Any ideas or suggestions welcome. Thanks

First of all, welcome to Carpokes!

I'm in the Nashville area (Old Hickory) and can steer you to several great places beginning with our local Porsche dealer - Porsche of Nashville who I pretty much use exclusively. They can definitely sort your problem but there are others in the area that are very good too. (Let me know if you choose PoN - I can help.)

Unfortunately, the dealer and any others I might recommend will still probably be in the 2-hours-away range depending on what rural area you moved to. (There are a lot of rural areas in TN which is outstanding in my opinion. I love 'em all.)

I'm no mechanic, but it sounds like it might be simple. Then again...

A dragging caliper/brake pad (bad caliper piston? They do need rebuilding at some point) or maybe or something caught between the rotor and the pads (edit - as Bill said, between the caliper and the wheel) could make the noise as you described. (Keeping it optimistic here.)

Let me know if I can help.

[Bill in Bama]

Welcome! A little bit of a hint as to where in rural Tennessee would help in steering you to an indy garage that might help. Another possibility is something caught between the caliper and the wheel. From what you describe it could very easily be something simple (and cheap), but might be a bit more involved too. I would not let it continue without getting it fixed. At 128k miles several things might be in need of reconditioning.

[Kelly]

Hello RAFFANSP
Welcome.. my guess is that the sound you hear is possibly related to your wheel liner.. check front corners.. now when you look it might not look like any thing is loose but with the wind blowing under the car it’ll surprise you the flex in a poorly attached wheel liner.. especially the lead edge where it takes the abuse of parking blocks.. nothing will look obvious- pull on all the layers.. check the connections to bumper covers.. a rubbing wheel liner makes a huge amount of noise when the car rolls along in the wind - shows little or nothing related standing still… it’s a disappearing mystery noise I’ll dealt with - . just a hunch. Can’t hurt to check might have to put it up on a ramp or jack stands.. hope that’s all it is - easy fix - plastic parts get brittle and break - zip ties until the new parts arrive.
Be well.

[Tom]

Hello everyone I am a new member. Recently retired physician and just moved to a more rural area about 2 hours from Nashville. I have a 2000 boxster with 128k miles. It runs well except has recently developed a sound like something is caught on the undercarriage and is dragging. It is not related to any drivetrain function. It is only present when the car is moving and doesn’t change if i let it coast with the engine idling. Unfortunately it is over an hour to the nearest reliable mechanic. I looked underneath and nothing is obvious. Thought maybe wheel bearing or brake/rotor issues. Any ideas or suggestions welcome. Thanks

Welcome to Carpokes! Looks like you are already getting some good ideas on the noise. I'd want to get it up in the air and take a long look under the car (and in wheel wells) for clues. I'd do that, and also have someone stand nearby as you drive by, in case that helps narrow it down. To just find where it's coming from, I'm not sure you need a dealer or even a great mechanic (famous last words, I know....).

[356 Pete]

Hello everyone I am a new member. Recently retired physician and just moved to a more rural area about 2 hours from Nashville. I have a 2000 boxster with 128k miles. It runs well except has recently developed a sound like something is caught on the undercarriage and is dragging. It is not related to any drivetrain function. It is only present when the car is moving and doesn’t change if i let it coast with the engine idling. Unfortunately it is over an hour to the nearest reliable mechanic. I looked underneath and nothing is obvious. Thought maybe wheel bearing or brake/rotor issues. Any ideas or suggestions welcome. Thanks

Hello RAFF,
As others have said, it could be something relatively simple and easy, but even then maybe not cheap on a Porsche. Even if it turned out to be something that I couldn't fix myself, I would do a little detective work before going to a dealer or mechanic. So if i were you, I would raise the car in the air, have a look underneath at each corner, and spin each wheel with the engine off and see if you hear the sound. If you hear it, then explore in a little more detail by looking at the backside of the wheel that the sound is coming from to see if something is caught and/or rubbing. I'd remove the wheel also so that you can see things like rotor and caliper up close. Whatever you do, put the car on jack stands and under no circumstances get under the car unless it is solidly and securely supported on stands! Not familiar with Boasters but all Porsches are unibody cars so there are particular places to put your jack and your jack stands to avoid damage. You can find info on how to do this on any Porsche tech forum or your owners manual. Pelican Parts is a good source. Good luck, and let us know what you find.

Pete

[Tom]

Hello everyone I am a new member. Recently retired physician and just moved to a more rural area about 2 hours from Nashville. I have a 2000 boxster with 128k miles. It runs well except has recently developed a sound like something is caught on the undercarriage and is dragging. It is not related to any drivetrain function. It is only present when the car is moving and doesn’t change if i let it coast with the engine idling. Unfortunately it is over an hour to the nearest reliable mechanic. I looked underneath and nothing is obvious. Thought maybe wheel bearing or brake/rotor issues. Any ideas or suggestions welcome. Thanks

Hello RAFF,
As others have said, it could be something relatively simple and easy, but even then maybe not cheap on a Porsche. Even if it turned out to be something that I couldn't fix myself, I would do a little detective work before going to a dealer or mechanic. So if i were you, I would raise the car in the air, have a look underneath at each corner, and spin each wheel with the engine off and see if you hear the sound. If you hear it, then explore in a little more detail by looking at the backside of the wheel that the sound is coming from to see if something is caught and/or rubbing. I'd remove the wheel also so that you can see things like rotor and caliper up close. Whatever you do, put the car on jack stands and under no circumstances get under the car unless it is solidly and securely supported on stands! Not familiar with Boasters but all Porsches are unibody cars so there are particular places to put your jack and your jack stands to avoid damage. You can find info on how to do this on any Porsche tech forum or your owners manual. Pelican Parts is a good source. Good luck, and let us know what you find.

Pete

Agree with all of that. Also... Pelican is a good forum, but any/all tech content is highly encouraged here on Carpokes!!! If there is not already a thread here on jacking up the Boxster, let's get one going.

[356 Pete]

Hello everyone I am a new member. Recently retired physician and just moved to a more rural area about 2 hours from Nashville. I have a 2000 boxster with 128k miles. It runs well except has recently developed a sound like something is caught on the undercarriage and is dragging. It is not related to any drivetrain function. It is only present when the car is moving and doesn’t change if i let it coast with the engine idling. Unfortunately it is over an hour to the nearest reliable mechanic. I looked underneath and nothing is obvious. Thought maybe wheel bearing or brake/rotor issues. Any ideas or suggestions welcome. Thanks

Hello RAFF,
As others have said, it could be something relatively simple and easy, but even then maybe not cheap on a Porsche. Even if it turned out to be something that I couldn't fix myself, I would do a little detective work before going to a dealer or mechanic. So if i were you, I would raise the car in the air, have a look underneath at each corner, and spin each wheel with the engine off and see if you hear the sound. If you hear it, then explore in a little more detail by looking at the backside of the wheel that the sound is coming from to see if something is caught and/or rubbing. I'd remove the wheel also so that you can see things like rotor and caliper up close. Whatever you do, put the car on jack stands and under no circumstances get under the car unless it is solidly and securely supported on stands! Not familiar with Boasters but all Porsches are unibody cars so there are particular places to put your jack and your jack stands to avoid damage. You can find info on how to do this on any Porsche tech forum or your owners manual. Pelican Parts is a good source. Good luck, and let us know what you find.

Pete

Agree with all of that. Also... Pelican is a good forum, but any/all tech content is highly encouraged here on Carpokes!!! If there is not already a thread here on jacking up the Boxster, let's get one going.

Excuse me Tom. I had thought of just what you suggest but have to confess i haven't spent enough time here to know what or where something might be available.

Pete

[Tom]

Excuse me Tom. I had thought of just what you suggest but have to confess i haven't spent enough time here to know what or where something might be available.

Pete

No worries at all. I'm very happy to have you on Carpokes and helping others! You had me at hello.

[blueline]

Hello everyone I am a new member. Recently retired physician and just moved to a more rural area about 2 hours from Nashville. I have a 2000 boxster with 128k miles. It runs well except has recently developed a sound like something is caught on the undercarriage and is dragging. It is not related to any drivetrain function. It is only present when the car is moving and doesn’t change if i let it coast with the engine idling. Unfortunately it is over an hour to the nearest reliable mechanic. I looked underneath and nothing is obvious. Thought maybe wheel bearing or brake/rotor issues. Any ideas or suggestions welcome. Thanks

Hello RAFF,
As others have said, it could be something relatively simple and easy, but even then maybe not cheap on a Porsche. Even if it turned out to be something that I couldn't fix myself, I would do a little detective work before going to a dealer or mechanic. So if i were you, I would raise the car in the air, have a look underneath at each corner, and spin each wheel with the engine off and see if you hear the sound. If you hear it, then explore in a little more detail by looking at the backside of the wheel that the sound is coming from to see if something is caught and/or rubbing. I'd remove the wheel also so that you can see things like rotor and caliper up close. Whatever you do, put the car on jack stands and under no circumstances get under the car unless it is solidly and securely supported on stands! Not familiar with Boasters but all Porsches are unibody cars so there are particular places to put your jack and your jack stands to avoid damage. You can find info on how to do this on any Porsche tech forum or your owners manual. Pelican Parts is a good source. Good luck, and let us know what you find.

Pete

Agree with all of that. Also... Pelican is a good forum, but any/all tech content is highly encouraged here on Carpokes!!! If there is not already a thread here on jacking up the Boxster, let's get one going.

Putting a Cayman on standard jackstands is a non-starter since the only spot to put one is ...... exactly where the floor jack happens to be. Can't so both at the same time, or can you??? Ha!

There is a marvelous, ingenious device (a set, actually) to do just that. I'm sure others have seen the product. Do we need a new thread for that? (Don't want to further hijack this one.)

[356 Pete]

Hello RAFF,
As others have said, it could be something relatively simple and easy, but even then maybe not cheap on a Porsche. Even if it turned out to be something that I couldn't fix myself, I would do a little detective work before going to a dealer or mechanic. So if i were you, I would raise the car in the air, have a look underneath at each corner, and spin each wheel with the engine off and see if you hear the sound. If you hear it, then explore in a little more detail by looking at the backside of the wheel that the sound is coming from to see if something is caught and/or rubbing. I'd remove the wheel also so that you can see things like rotor and caliper up close. Whatever you do, put the car on jack stands and under no circumstances get under the car unless it is solidly and securely supported on stands! Not familiar with Boasters but all Porsches are unibody cars so there are particular places to put your jack and your jack stands to avoid damage. You can find info on how to do this on any Porsche tech forum or your owners manual. Pelican Parts is a good source. Good luck, and let us know what you find.

Pete

Agree with all of that. Also... Pelican is a good forum, but any/all tech content is highly encouraged here on Carpokes!!! If there is not already a thread here on jacking up the Boxster, let's get one going.

Putting a Cayman on standard jackstands is a non-starter since the only spot to put one is ...... exactly where the floor jack happens to be. Can't so both at the same time, or can you??? Ha!

There is a marvelous, ingenious device (a set, actually) to do just that. I'm sure others have seen the product. Do we need a new thread for that? (Don't want to further hijack this one.)

Not sure about a Cayman but there are strong points other than the specified jacking point on virtually any unibody car. Those are various points on the suspension, not necessarily convenient and maybe require some wood blocking, but can be used. Best to check a Cayman forum someplace.

Pete