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Old 07-10-2009, 07:50 PM   #1
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Porsche's new design of our motors has no liners, no IMS, and no crank carrier; very much like a 944 motor. (From a tech session at this year's Parade.)
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Old 04-06-2010, 01:36 PM   #2
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What extended warranties, if any, will pay to fix the said problems addressed in this thread?

Are there any available 2nd hand from Porsche USA through a dealership?
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Old 04-06-2010, 02:59 PM   #3
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No warranty

will prevent a problem, they only pay to fix after the fact...if in fact they do pay off at all.

Porsche does not sell any warranty that Porsche backs and sells through a dealer for a car out of warranty beyond the dealer sponsored and Porsche backed CPO warranty which extends the original warranty two years or to 100k miles whichever comes first.

There are third party parts which are designed/intended to prevent the sort of problems that have been seen. You can even buy an engine almost totally rebuilt with such parts. Expensive.

Do these problems happen, yes. To every engine, not even close. Remember there are 200k plus Boxsters plus 996s with the same engine. Some would have you think the number of failures are double digit percentages, I think the number is much less. No consolation if it is your engine it happens to. But the problem free ones don't post so it seems everyone is having problems because those that do do post.
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Old 04-06-2010, 08:21 PM   #4
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Just over three years and 20k miles (50k total) on my 97 and I have had very few issues. Engine mount, new glass top, cleaned the MAF and other basic annual maintenance required on any car. Currently I am dealing with a broken key to my wheel locks. I drove over to the Porsche dealer and they removed the locking nuts for free. I had a great conversation with the mechanic. Can't believe what a fantastic group of people I've found in the Porsche world.

My Boxster has been much better as a car than the 1988 911 it replaced. My wife likes to ride in it and will even drive it occasionally. The A/C and suspension is much more useable than the 911 and I am a much better driver in the Boxster.

I'll admit the reason I bought the car was the initial outlay was so reasonable. I agree with earlier posters that it's not really the purchase of the car you should be thinking about, it's the expense of the continued ownership.

Quit waiting for the other shoe to drop, get out and drive. If you are unfortunate enough to have problems, make the best and enjoy the adventure!
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Old 05-03-2010, 04:58 PM   #5
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My 98' Boxster

I purchased my 98' Boxster in early 2000 with only 1,700 miles on it... it still had the brand new car smell in it. I paid $44,000 for it and was instantly in love! Never had anything big happen besides normal repairs, tires, ha, ha, etc... Did have the ignition switch replaced 3 times though. In 2008 I took it in 5 times for the check engine light, it kept coming on and I felt there was some loss of power. The first 3 times there was no compression in certain cylinders, which cost a pretty penny each time. The last two to three times I was told they couldn't figure it out and just reset the check engine light and returned the car to me. All this time I was getting scared because I felt there was something causing loss of power and vibration. December 15th, 2008 my engine blew up, so sad! Because of the economy, for the first time I was unable to pull the cash needed to fix it. I was told a valve spring broke. This month I was able to save the money needed to fix my baby. In my search for a motor and speaking with porsche people, was told about the IMS. I did order the part from, LN Engineering and it is being put in the car but had I known about it I would have had it replaced when I replaced my clutch. I wouldn't be $7,000+, so far, into this problem that could have been prevented. I wouldn't trade my car for anything, but I would have paid the money to retrofit the IMS in a heart beat, at my expense, had I known about it. I am very used to, everytime I have my car serviced plan on $1,000+, but by time I finish this I will be close to $10,000. Come on! Porsche should have at the very least made us aware that there was an issue that could be fixed. My car had 77K miles on it and the motor I bought has 39K, with the new part I am hoping for many years of happy driving. Just a little disallusioned with Porsche, shame on them!

Last edited by Leslie Beauchemin; 05-03-2010 at 05:01 PM.
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Old 05-03-2010, 06:15 PM   #6
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I agree with Leslie about Porsche's shame. This defect is a matter of poor design and has nothing to do with driving style, care or maintenance. They should be extending the warrantee on IMS for 100K.
Hey, this is not a Chevy Colbalt.....for these prices we expect a higher degree of quality, engineering and loyalty from the manufacturer.
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Old 12-31-2010, 08:41 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wake&moto
What extended warranties, if any, will pay to fix the said problems addressed in this thread?
this is how some may operate:

many aftermarket warranties cover only lubricated parts. the IMS is a lubricated part. It is sealed with it's internal lubrication. however the seal would not be covered. once the seal disintegrates the bearing fails. DENIED

if there is a lubricated part failure then proof or evidence of regular lubrication must be provided.
in one example of a failed component a blued or black color indicate no lube.
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Last edited by Frank M; 12-31-2010 at 08:45 AM.
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Old 09-12-2010, 05:23 AM   #8
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Blown engine 1999 at 30K

I did report this to this forum way back in 2005 when it happened. But here we go again .... my 1999 boxster from the non-german assembly plant (finland i think) blew up. I took into Scotsdale Porsche in AZ they said the engine had a "hole in it" i assume thet ment the engine pushed the cylinder sleeve though the block or head or something like that.

I let the car sit for 2 years and then let Brandywine Porsche in Newtown Pa. install a factor fresh Porsche re-built engine. They offered to install a rebuilt 3.4 instead of standard 2.5. At the time Eric Delahaye managed Brandywine Porsche service - this guy is a genius and a true proffesional.

Ok, this part breaks my heart, but here goes .... To purchase and install the 3.4 was $20,000.00 to purchase and install the 2.5 was $9,000.00. Porsche N.A. offered no, i repeat NO, help.

I could not afford to do the 3.4 so I just did the 2.5 standard engine. Final bill was more like $12,000.00 due to other work i had done when engine was out.

Now with that said the factory rebuilt engine pulls better than the original and i am very happy with the project (allthough i wish i did the 3.4).

Again Porsche N.A. did not offer any help, as a life long Porsche owner (this is my 3rd Porsche) i doubt i'll buy another due to this experence. But i will always keep this 986 at this point i am committed finacially to it - and want to leave it to my daughter.

I am spec'ing out a Viper for my next car .....
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Old 09-12-2010, 05:43 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sturgedm
I did report this to this forum way back in 2005 when it happened. But here we go again .... my 1999 boxster from the non-german assembly plant (finland i think) blew up. I took into Scotsdale Porsche in AZ they said the engine had a "hole in it" i assume thet ment the engine pushed the cylinder sleeve though the block or head or something like that.

I let the car sit for 2 years and then let Brandywine Porsche in Newtown Pa. install a factor fresh Porsche re-built engine. They offered to install a rebuilt 3.4 instead of standard 2.5. At the time Eric Delahaye managed Brandywine Porsche service - this guy is a genius and a true proffesional.

Ok, this part breaks my heart, but here goes .... To purchase and install the 3.4 was $20,000.00 to purchase and install the 2.5 was $9,000.00. Porsche N.A. offered no, i repeat NO, help.

I could not afford to do the 3.4 so I just did the 2.5 standard engine. Final bill was more like $12,000.00 due to other work i had done when engine was out.

Now with that said the factory rebuilt engine pulls better than the original and i am very happy with the project (allthough i wish i did the 3.4).

Again Porsche N.A. did not offer any help, as a life long Porsche owner (this is my 3rd Porsche) i doubt i'll buy another due to this experence. But i will always keep this 986 at this point i am committed finacially to it - and want to leave it to my daughter.

I am spec'ing out a Viper for my next car .....
So those prices are several years old and it would be worse now!

Re Viper, didn't I just read that they were being discontinued???
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Old 09-12-2010, 10:06 AM   #10
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I agree with Sturgedm. Is a pity that Porsche did nothing to help in your case or mine. I got the 'you r just a poor boy that got a Porsche and don't have the money to let us maintain it for you so, go away' treatment when I went to the local dealer for info and advice. Needless to say, I will NEVER buy a brand-new Porsche nor take my car to them for service.

My Boxster is a Stuggart built so I do not think is related to where they were assembled. According to Charles Navarro, and other experts, sub-standard manufacturing and engineering decisions are a major factor on 996 engine failures. I'll bet the 'nickies' I installed on my engine will way outlast any OEM cylinder sleeves out there. the JE pistons look way better quality than OEM too.

Guys, my message is that, a full rebuild can be done for fewer than 7K if you do the work yourself and keep everything OEM, maybe a little more depending if you take the opportunity to upgrade a thing or two. The main hurdle you will have is to build or acquire the Porsche special tools #9612 and others (see list at http://www.baumtools.com/pdf/porsche_timing_tools.pdf). Aside from the 9612 and the cam tensioner tools, my brother built all of the tools for me fairly easily. The one you cannot go without is the piston pin and clip installing tools (9608 & 02). The cam alignment I did it by 'feel'. So far, I put over 8K miles on it with no issues.

I love Porsche cars, always will, but don't like Porsche 'the company' very much right now...

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Old 01-01-2012, 04:36 PM   #11
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I'm curious - what does one do with a blown engine? Are there generally any salvageable parts on it, or is it off to the salvage yard and how much could one reasonably expect to get from them?
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Old 01-03-2012, 09:41 AM   #12
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Don't know about repairable or salvageable parts. I ended up selling my 2003 with the dead engine for $5K and walked away.

FYI, I went through the exercise of contacting Porsche Customer Service. They gave me the "car is out of warranty" run-around, which I expected. Additionally, they told me that there is a higher level of customer service for which I was not qualified (probably because I haven't owned enough Porsches). What a way to insult a customer!

They showed ZERO interest in trying to understand the source of the problem. Looks like they were happy to chalk it up to just another probably IMS failure after 25K miles.

I'm not in any hurry to own another one.
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Old 01-04-2012, 09:26 AM   #13
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I'm curious - what does one do with a blown engine? Are there generally any salvageable parts on it, or is it off to the salvage yard and how much could one reasonably expect to get from them?
I buy engines for parts or accept them for exchange on my rebuilt engines.
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Old 05-23-2012, 11:30 AM   #14
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I have to say that after reading this entire thread, I am more than a bit concerned.

I purchased my '01 S new and for various reasons haven't driven it much in the last 5 years (winters are long here in Alberta).

I feel I might be particularly vulnerable to the potential IMS failure as the car has been in extended storage. My total milage just turned over 20,000 km (12,425 miles) and I have an appointment with an independant Porsche shop next week for an oil change, filters etc.

I guess I'm the guy who drives infrequently (although I'll be using the car much more now) and it seems as though I'm a prime candidate for an expensive IMS experience.

Should I be thinking seriously about the IMS upgrade now? I would appreciate any and all suggestions.
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Old 05-23-2012, 02:59 PM   #15
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I bought a 2001 Boxster base with 50k kms a year ago and have not had any kind of engine problem except diagnosed with very minor mist of oil coming from rear main seal.
To me your choices are:
1. drive as is and risk ims fail
2. install new ln ceramic ims bearing
3. or install IMS Guardian which would detect failing ims before it breaks.
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Old 05-23-2012, 03:06 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by ccjazz View Post
I have to say that after reading this entire thread, I am more than a bit concerned.

I purchased my '01 S new and for various reasons haven't driven it much in the last 5 years (winters are long here in Alberta).

I feel I might be particularly vulnerable to the potential IMS failure as the car has been in extended storage. My total milage just turned over 20,000 km (12,425 miles) and I have an appointment with an independant Porsche shop next week for an oil change, filters etc.

I guess I'm the guy who drives infrequently (although I'll be using the car much more now) and it seems as though I'm a prime candidate for an expensive IMS experience.

Should I be thinking seriously about the IMS upgrade now? I would appreciate any and all suggestions.
YES in your particular situation especially, possibly the best investment you will ever make!
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Old 05-23-2012, 03:41 PM   #17
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recycledsixty & BYprodriver....

Thank you for the fast replies. I spoke with the mechanic who will be doing my work next week. He will be looking for any signs of IMS issues while he has the car and suggested doing the upgrade before I put it into storage this fall.

I suppose that seems reasonable, thanks to this forum and others I am very aware of what I should be keeping an eye on.

The upgrade will happen this year!

Thanks again.
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Old 05-23-2012, 07:20 PM   #18
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YES in your particular situation especially, possibly the best investment you will ever make!
That is the best answer so far. Just replace IMS!
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Old 06-16-2012, 02:37 PM   #19
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2004 Boxster S, 550 Anni Edition, 34K miles, IMS failure.

$15K to bebuild the engine.

Owned the car less than 12 months.
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Old 06-16-2012, 05:28 PM   #20
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Ouch !! Ouch !! Ouch !!
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