Looking for used engine 3.2

[freaky986]

Hi all,
Thought I would stop by this forum and find out if anyone around here knows of a good place to look for boxster 3.2 engines? I am interested in doing an engine swap from my 2.5 . Can anyone help locate a good place to check...other then my local wrecking yard?

[Adam]

There is a brand new 2.7L engine on ebay right now. Better yet there is a used 3.6L engine on ebay as well I believe they both can be bought around 8,000 dollars. I try to find the link.

[Adam]

Here we go. It looks like you get the transmission as well. Must be coming out of a wrecked 03 Carrera. This thing will really make your baby boxster fly!! I didn't bother with the 2.7L engine since it's such a small bump for you. I couldn't find any late gen 3.2 or 3.4L engines.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43977&item=4513420946&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[Brucelee]

Try LA Dismantlers.

Good folks.

[RandallNeighbour]

freaky, don't neglect to do your homework on engine upgrades... there's also a motronic change out as well. Then there's upgraded exhaust, and probably most importantly, larger discs and calipers to handle all those extra horses.

I'm finding that engine swaps are far more involved money-wise than I first thought.

[freaky986]

yeah I have done a lot of homework on this so far. I am primarily looking for the engine to start a slow migration to the 3.2 I plan to bore it to a 3.6. Yes I know there are many other parts involved, but am up for the challenge ...and expense...

[freaky986]

UPDATE:
FYI to you all...I found a web site called www.partrequest.com and put in the search tool what I was looking for. It cost me I think $3 to run the search, but as a result they emailed a bunch of junkyards and other places and I received about 15 emails from different yards and shops telling me they had the engine, wiring harness and ECU that I am looking for. The price range I was given ranged from about $5500-8000 for the same thing from different places. I decided on a place with shipping worked out to $5850. I ordered the 3.2 'S' engine, wiring harness and ECU. The engine has 14500 miles on it. Was told engine is barely broken in except the car was totaled out. The pictures the yard showed me appears that the engine is prestine!
Anyway wanted to let you all know I had a good experience using that website and would recommend others trying it if you are looking for multiple prices.
I will let you all know after the engine shows up in 2 weeks.

[Adam]

I'm just curious about something, since the boxsters and the 996's share the same engine block why don't more people just bore out their existing 2.5L's-3.2L's instead doing an expensive 3.4 or 3.6 engine swap?

[freaky986]

actually I did look into doing that. it turns out the block on the 2.7 is slightly smaller and can only safely be bored out to a 3.0...the 3.2 'S' engine block is larger and can safely be bored to a 3.4 or 3.6
I did want to origionally keep my 2.7 and grow from there but to get the power I am looking for in the long run I cant accomplish safely in the 2.7
...so that is my reason for going to the 3.2 engine...

[Adam]

I see now. Has anyone out there successfully turned there "S" engine into a 3.4L or 3.6? I'd love to know about it.

[Brucelee]

If you locate an S engine and it runs fine, do you really need to bore it to get the peformance you need.

Breathing, exhaust, chip etc. Could save you big $$$$$$$$$$$$

[jfmillr]

hey all...
actually I know of a few that have been done in the last year. I am looking to do an engine upgrade too here this winter...hopefully....engine upgrade and turbo package
I hope...wife says I can do what I want to car now....since I dont want a new one
I think its totally worth it. If you plan on keeping the car 5-10 more years or longer ...do what you want.... My goal is to have a 500 hp 986...but still 6-12 month from that

[Lux]

Freak986,

Can you go into details why you're boring out a 3.2 instead of just getting a 3.4 or 3.6? I mean, the cost of buying the engine, then getting it machined out, then new pistons and whatnot, then new fuel management, etc. it doesn't sound very cost effective. Or is it?

[freaky986]

well...to make a long story short it is actually a little cheaper to use the 3.2 and upgrade it versus buying a 3.4 or 3.6 I priced out new and used and my buddy is a Porsche mechanic with access to equipment to be able to machine the engine. In the end it is a couple thousand less to do it myself. Either way, no matter which engine I end up purchasing it needs to be reinforced to handle the power from the turbo kit or something like that I would rather save a few bucks here and there....

[Adam]

You are going to turbocharge that badboy too? Wow, looks like Miller isn't the only one that will have a 500hp 986 around here.

[jfmillr]

yeah i know of a few being done or in the process of being done. Glad to see other people are taking the same interests...

[clubhead]

Hey freaky986, I'm considering something like that (bore out a 3.2 to a 3.4 or 3.6) too. The actual boring of the cylinders is not really an issue. I'm more concerned about getting the appropriate pistons and crankshaft as there seem to be little or hardly any aftermarket ones around. Not to mention fuel injectors and cams

Where do you intend to get these? There's also the dimensions of the cylinders to consider the 3.4 or 3.6 ie. the ratio of stroke vs diameter of the cylinder

That's why I'm considering using 'out-of-the-box' tuner houses solution from likes of 9ff, TechArt which unfortunately no one seems to have much experienced with.

But once you get past these things, it's just putting the motor back in. I'm hearing from a few that a 996 lump will not fit in easily into our cars. Something about it being mounted 'the other way round' in the 996 so some amount of work needs to be done to get it into the Boxster. Not to mention different electrical wiring

[Ad Sach]

Originally posted by clubhead
I'm hearing from a few that a 996 lump will not fit in easily into our cars. Something about it being mounted 'the other way round' in the 996 so some amount of work needs to be done to get it into the Boxster. Not to mention different electrical wiring

Yes the 996 is mounted in a reversed direction compared to the Boxster. This is not a major problem. Turning around the intake manifold basically requires unbolting, rotating and reattaching the intake manifold. Electrical wiring is not a problem AS LONG AS YOU GET A COMPATIBLE MODEL/YEAR and keep the 996 ECU. What I hear is there are a couple of sensors, like oil pressure, that the Boxster doesn't use that need to be blocked off/taped off

The issues I am aware of are:

Air intake - An aftermarket intake/custom ducting is needed to mate the air vent on the drivers side with the intake manifold. The tricky part here is avoiding an air leak and not fouling the MAF - standard stuff.

Fuel rail - with the 996 intake manifold turned around there needs to be some bending. If the 996 fuel rail is not available the 986 fuel rail needs new ends.

Engine position - The 996 engine sits lower in the Boxster so a couple of mounting bolts need to be shimmed with a custom plate or something similar.

Brakes - If you have an S you are fine. If you stay off the track you are fine. If you have a base Boxster, you need better brakes to handle the track.

Exhaust - The 996 needs a custom exhaust. This gets tricky because the ECU expects pre-cat sensors and post-cat sensors. Lots of folks try to leave of the pre-cat catalytic converter and this cause problems in a base Boxster - let alone a converted Boxster. If I were to try this, I would try to keep the 996 exhaust as 'stock' as possible - including all the normal catalytic converters and exhaust sensors in about the stock positions. Maybe after a few months of running well, I would try to go for a free-flowing custom exhaust. There are enough new variables in this conversion, that mucking with the exhaust should be saved for later. It goes against the grain to leave horsepower on the table - but then again, it gives one a chance to gain some relatively cheap horsepower after the 996 powered Boxster starts feeling underpowered.

ECU and engine year - Get this wrong and you have months of problems. The best way to get this right is talk to someone with a successful conversion on your same model year and get all the exact same parts. By successful, I don't mean :It runs and smokes the tires and pulls like a train but I still have CE lights every week." Unless you want your wallet to stay open to the dyno & ECU experts, dealership and the parts stores, I suggest you follow the lead of someone who has a car like yours that has actually run for 4-6 months with 0 issues.

--------

If this seems like too much work, you can probably just hand RUF $25,000 - $30,000 for a car almost as good. If you proceed carefully, you can come out with one of the world's quickest Boxsters for about 1/2 half price. If you rush in, you may end up with a 'parts car' bargain for someone else to buy and enjoy.

IMO the risk of never getting a fully sorted car is probably worse with boring out the engine, trying unproven pistons, Shrick Cams, etc. than with the 996 conversion. Several folks have done 996 conversions, I don't know of anyone who has independantly done internal Boxster engine modifications.

[Adam]

Can't oem 996 engine parsts be bought like pistons, cams...ect. I just don't see the wisdom of ditching a perfectly good engine and doing a swap that will cost 50% of the total cost of the car.

[tqtran]

freaky986 : If I can remember correctly, you can not boar the engine out. If I remember right the engine is not 100% metal, its part silicone(in layers) and boaring it out would damage the stability of it. Someone that has a tech book handle look it up for me cause I am not at home right now. I recall entertaining this idea in the past and was told that the engine composition would handle this. ToolPants any input here????