986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post

ALarracuente · 08-30-2010, 06:28 PM

Hello Guys:
Avid reader, newbie poster. Here's my story. A little long but I assure you, worth reading, specially for those of you with a blown engine in your Boxster.

A poor man’s dream…
I bought my 99 Boxster back in 2006, 1 day before turning 40 (talk ‘bout midlife crisis). The odo read 8148k miles, hard top, all original, for only $23K. Not bad, considering that cars are normally 40% more expensive here in Puerto Rico than in the states. One owner (a nice mid-aged lady), all maintenance records, driven 3-5 miles a day... Nevertheless, the low mileage should have raised a big ol' flag in my mind but, I was so impressed with the condition of the car that went ahead with the purchase. I drove the card HARD for the next 18K miles and enjoyed the heck out of it. The best car I’ve ever driven.

The nightmare begins…
October 2009 and 26K+ on the odometer: I stopped for lunch for about an hour after a 2 hour traffic jam in 90+ degree weather. The car did not overheat or nothing. As I was starting the engine, it turned for what it seemed a turn or two and then heard a muffled clunk from behind seat. After that, the engine would not turn anymore. Suspecting battery/starter issues, tried to push-start but the car would come to a halt as soon as I left the clutch out, ouch.... Having blown plenty of VW engines before, had a feeling of de-ja-vu. Towed the car back home and started looking for the culprit…
Checked battery and starter, took off serpentine belt, tried to turn engine by hand and was not able to go past 1/4 turn either way, checked for bent valves with a probe, all good. Damn, looking more and more like internal damage. Not looking good for Porsche’s reputation. It was Friday and I knew how I would spend the rest of my weekends to come.

Light at the end of the tunnel…
Saturday: Got the engine out in less than 3 hours with help from my brother (an experienced tool-dye tech later found to be of great use making special Porsche tools

) and started tearing down. Took off the heads, split the crankcase halves and there it was. Cylinder #1 sleeve had slipped. Good news though, since the failure happened while cranking the engine, it did not exploded like a grenade. Neither the rod, crank or case appeared had sustained major damage and seemed ‘rebuildable. I guess I was lucky after reading other stories on the Internet.
I did the proper research to see the way to go with it. I even considered parting the car out in Ebay and other forums after getting the dealers quote of (12K for a reconditioned engine or 20K new one) but, love for the car and my wife’s confidence in my mechanical abilities kept me from it. Finally, chose to send the block to Charles Navarro from LN Engineering and put brand new Nickies and JE pistons on it. Charles suggested going all the way to 2.9L with the addition of a 996 crank, around $1K more for a good core but well worth it. He also offered me a discount on IMS and thermostat upgrade which seemed appropriate and well worth the price. All in all, the process of sending the block to Charles, and getting it back took 3 months. The total cost for LN’s work was $5443.03 +SH. This included 89mm Nickies with JE pistons (12:1), upgraded IMS, billet IMS hub, billet IMS tensioner, 78mm 996 crank, a 160F thermostat and housing and magnetic drain plug. My brother, an experienced machinist and self-made mech engineer, was very impressed with LN’s machine work and quality of parts used like the JE Pistons.
Additional parts like bearings, cylinder head gaskets, bolts, engine gasket set, oil, fluids, etc. the total cost of the rebuild ran up to $6700. The project took me around 12 labor hours of tear-down and 24-30 hours of engine assembly. Troubleshooting chain timing issues took me another 12 hours work. I actually had the cams 180 off. Guys, remember to rotate the engine 180 before switching to the other head, LOL.

Riding to the sunset…
In the end, the engine has over 7K miles on it and running WAY stronger than new. Oil changes (three since the rebuild) look normal with little or no metal particles. MPG are aroud 25-27 highway, not bad for Puerto Rico traffic and weather. I’ve clocked 0-60 time in the low 5’s (2001 ‘S’ territory) and lower-end torque is greatly improved over 2.5 stock. I have a Dyno test scheduled next week (now that the break in period is over) to see how it measures against stock numbers. I bet anything it has to be around 240-250 to the wheels! Sure feels like it.
For those of you considering rebuilding a blown-up Boxster engine, there’s my story. Let it be a example that Boxster engines can be rebuild with basic VW engine rebuild experience, a budget, patience and a supporting wife, a Porsche shop manual, a good set of metric wrenches and, an ingenious T&D tech brother to help you make any special tool you may need.

Good night and good luck,
Fred Larracuente
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico

08-30-2010, 06:28 PM	#102
ALarracuente Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Guaynabo, Puerto Rico USA Posts: 21	Hello Guys: Avid reader, newbie poster. Here's my story. A little long but I assure you, worth reading, specially for those of you with a blown engine in your Boxster. A poor man’s dream… I bought my 99 Boxster back in 2006, 1 day before turning 40 (talk ‘bout midlife crisis). The odo read 8148k miles, hard top, all original, for only $23K. Not bad, considering that cars are normally 40% more expensive here in Puerto Rico than in the states. One owner (a nice mid-aged lady), all maintenance records, driven 3-5 miles a day... Nevertheless, the low mileage should have raised a big ol' flag in my mind but, I was so impressed with the condition of the car that went ahead with the purchase. I drove the card HARD for the next 18K miles and enjoyed the heck out of it. The best car I’ve ever driven. The nightmare begins… October 2009 and 26K+ on the odometer: I stopped for lunch for about an hour after a 2 hour traffic jam in 90+ degree weather. The car did not overheat or nothing. As I was starting the engine, it turned for what it seemed a turn or two and then heard a muffled clunk from behind seat. After that, the engine would not turn anymore. Suspecting battery/starter issues, tried to push-start but the car would come to a halt as soon as I left the clutch out, ouch.... Having blown plenty of VW engines before, had a feeling of de-ja-vu. Towed the car back home and started looking for the culprit… Checked battery and starter, took off serpentine belt, tried to turn engine by hand and was not able to go past 1/4 turn either way, checked for bent valves with a probe, all good. Damn, looking more and more like internal damage. Not looking good for Porsche’s reputation. It was Friday and I knew how I would spend the rest of my weekends to come. Light at the end of the tunnel… Saturday: Got the engine out in less than 3 hours with help from my brother (an experienced tool-dye tech later found to be of great use making special Porsche tools ) and started tearing down. Took off the heads, split the crankcase halves and there it was. Cylinder #1 sleeve had slipped. Good news though, since the failure happened while cranking the engine, it did not exploded like a grenade. Neither the rod, crank or case appeared had sustained major damage and seemed ‘rebuildable. I guess I was lucky after reading other stories on the Internet. I did the proper research to see the way to go with it. I even considered parting the car out in Ebay and other forums after getting the dealers quote of (12K for a reconditioned engine or 20K new one) but, love for the car and my wife’s confidence in my mechanical abilities kept me from it. Finally, chose to send the block to Charles Navarro from LN Engineering and put brand new Nickies and JE pistons on it. Charles suggested going all the way to 2.9L with the addition of a 996 crank, around $1K more for a good core but well worth it. He also offered me a discount on IMS and thermostat upgrade which seemed appropriate and well worth the price. All in all, the process of sending the block to Charles, and getting it back took 3 months. The total cost for LN’s work was $5443.03 +SH. This included 89mm Nickies with JE pistons (12:1), upgraded IMS, billet IMS hub, billet IMS tensioner, 78mm 996 crank, a 160F thermostat and housing and magnetic drain plug. My brother, an experienced machinist and self-made mech engineer, was very impressed with LN’s machine work and quality of parts used like the JE Pistons. Additional parts like bearings, cylinder head gaskets, bolts, engine gasket set, oil, fluids, etc. the total cost of the rebuild ran up to $6700. The project took me around 12 labor hours of tear-down and 24-30 hours of engine assembly. Troubleshooting chain timing issues took me another 12 hours work. I actually had the cams 180 off. Guys, remember to rotate the engine 180 before switching to the other head, LOL. Riding to the sunset… In the end, the engine has over 7K miles on it and running WAY stronger than new. Oil changes (three since the rebuild) look normal with little or no metal particles. MPG are aroud 25-27 highway, not bad for Puerto Rico traffic and weather. I’ve clocked 0-60 time in the low 5’s (2001 ‘S’ territory) and lower-end torque is greatly improved over 2.5 stock. I have a Dyno test scheduled next week (now that the break in period is over) to see how it measures against stock numbers. I bet anything it has to be around 240-250 to the wheels! Sure feels like it. For those of you considering rebuilding a blown-up Boxster engine, there’s my story. Let it be a example that Boxster engines can be rebuild with basic VW engine rebuild experience, a budget, patience and a supporting wife, a Porsche shop manual, a good set of metric wrenches and, an ingenious T&D tech brother to help you make any special tool you may need. Good night and good luck, Fred Larracuente Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Last edited by ALarracuente; 08-30-2010 at 06:32 PM.