My 3.6 project is hopefully coming to an end. I have spent most of my spare time since January on a “big engine” project. There is nothing wrong with my 3.2 engine. It has gone about 70 K miles and is still running strong. But as they say; “There is no replacement for displacement.”
Knowing that the M96 engine is not the simplest of task to take on, but being a good “googler” and generally interested mechanical things I decided to give it my best try. And I figured that as the new engine will be pumping more air than the old, I should try to upgrade both intake and exhaust. I was tempted to stroke the engine at the same time so I would end with 3.8 as I figured I might want to get new and stronger rods anyway, so I might as well have them made in the correct length for bigger crank, but found out that it was not worth the extra cost, which is at least $ 4.000+ if you are lucky to find a good cheap crankshaft from a 3.6. So I ended with OM rods but new ARP rod bolts.
With the help from ByProdriver I got a second hand 3.2 engine that went to LN Engineering for 3.6 bore and sleeves before it was shipped overseas to me with some LN goods (thanks again Pro). I then gathered together other necessary things for the project, mostly from Pelican but some from eBay. I spent a lot of time, studying the task at hand, searching the net for info on M96 assembling, head porting, component balancing, M96 tool building and more. Found lots of information in the Boxster Workshop Manual which my quest on the net led me to.
I did things like cooking the lifters in Jo Gibbs oil in my kitchen for several hours until my eyes hurt, I think my downstairs neighbors have jet to forgive me as the whole building smelled for days. (Yes Jake, I probably had the oil to warm). I spent days weighing and balancing components, used weeks or months on studying and performing head porting. I tried to do it all “by the book”, although the book does not exist jet. I thought about taking pictures and documenting the whole process, but there is already a thread on Rennlist which does that very well.
And few weeks ago after months of head scratching, rereading, reopening and redoing things, the engine was ready to go into the car, which is a 01 S. I followed Wayne Dempsey’s advice on engine removal and installation (He is right; it is 20+ hours for only the removal, first time around). I even managed to get my hand on “Jo Gibbs run in oil” for the startup, the only jars that were to be found in my country. It has been an interesting and enlightening journey which I have enjoyed a lot. And if it all still goes wrong I have my old, double row, 70 mile engine to fall back on.
Specifications of the build:
LN 3.2 to 3.6 sleeves and JE pistons
LN triple row ceramic IMS bearing, called „The IMS upgrade“
LN 0.5 Quarts deep sump kit
LN chromoly oil pump drive
LN spin on oil filter adapter
LN billet chain tensioner paddle
ARP rod bolts
ARP crank carrier bolts
160 deg. thermostat
997 intake manifold
83 mm Porsche 996 GT3 throttle body
987 Cayman air box
997 plenum, ported to take 83 mm throttle body
Heads flow optimized
Aftermarket headers
In the near future I plan to:
Install Cayman 3.5” MAF housing and remap the ECU with Euro 996 tune which is compatible with the 3.5” MAF housing and does away with the two downstream O2 sensors that keep throwing CEL after header installation.
Old and new engine side by side, the old one proved to be double row
against all odds as it was listed as single row after the IMS settlement.
Next task was to move most of the externals over……
3.6 engine in the car, dropped about ½ an inch to make space for the 997 manifold
Engine with custom painted 997 manifolds behind a homemade, clear engine cover, made
from double layer of Lexan, bent with heat gun. I want everyone to see my 3.6