Shortlived Boxster engines survey

[FauxDiablo]

Originally Posted by MKlasing

Hello to all,

I am new to the board. I have a 2002 986S that I ordered new in 2001. I use it as a daily driver and have over 132,000.0 miles on it. It has always been dealer maintained and I was just given the news that I need a new engine. Not from wear or the high milage but because my block is pourous and I have coolent leaking into the oil. From my research on the blogs it looks like this is not uncommon in the earlier 986 (1997 - 1999) but has not appeared in the later models until now! Porsche NA and the Dealership have offered 10% each on the parts and the Dealership added and additional 10% on labor. From what I see this appears to be a manuafacturing defect.

Anyone have any additional comments.

Regards,

Mike

Porous aluminum block and head castings are INCREDIBLY rare in pretty much every vehicle made since forever. And by incredibly rare, I mean so rare that a tech will not spot it unless they are looking for it after taking everything apart and using ultrasound and/or magnetic or flourescent testing.

If you had a porous casting, this problem would have been spotted a very long time ago. My guess is anything but a porous casting.

[Liamray]

Originally Posted by FauxDiablo

Porous aluminum block and head castings are INCREDIBLY rare in pretty much every vehicle made since forever. And by incredibly rare, I mean so rare that a tech will not spot it unless they are looking for it after taking everything apart and using ultrasound and/or magnetic or flourescent testing.

If you had a porous casting, this problem would have been spotted a very long time ago. My guess is anything but a porous casting.

I agree, I’d be getting a 2nd opinion on your problem!

[maytag]

Originally Posted by Liamray

I agree, I’d be getting a 2nd opinion on your problem!

I hope he did..... three years ago when he wrote that.....

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[Rob175]

So how much would one be looking at spending if they had a trashed engine and want to replace it. Just a rough idea of what it would cost to have a shop do it (engine + labor) .....$6M, $7M, $8M, $9M, etc.............??

[Paul]

Hard say, since the "while you're in there" costs vary widely.

In my case, I replaced at least:

AOS
Coolant tank
IMSB
RMS
Flywheel
Clutch
Pilot bearing
Pressure plate
Throw out bearing
Several hoses
Coil packs, tubes, and spark plugs
Several hoses
Power steering fluid
Water pump
Coolant
Oil and filter
Serpentine belt

[maytag]

Originally Posted by Rob175

So how much would one be looking at spending if they had a trashed engine and want to replace it. Just a rough idea of what it would cost to have a shop do it (engine + labor) .....$6M, $7M, $8M, $9M, etc.............??

Paul's right, there's too many "while you're in there".

I suspect it'd look something like this:

"gulp. (holding breath)"
"brace yourself"
"try not to cry out... don't fight it"
"listen to the pretty banjo-music"




for reals.
If you find an indy shop to replace the motor with a used motor, it'll be more like:
"you really should replace the..."
"no, just put it in"
"but we won't warranty it unless we ..."
"i don't care, just put it in the way it is..."
"ok, fine. here's the math: $4,000 for a used motor with 87k miles on it. $500 in shop supplies, oil, filters, etc. $1850 in labor, for a total of $6350"
"But I only paid $6500 for the car!"
"Then I suggest you find another one."



Seriously; paying someone else to work on a 20-yr-old Porsche that's worth under $10k is really impossible math. It doesn't work.
If you can DIY, I just swapped my motor out for basically free (the cost of my time aside).
To me, this car doesn't make sense to a non-DIY-er.

YMMV

[Rob175]

So, I gather the answer is either DIY or buy another Boxster, if that's the car I want....and in that case, I'd have to research how best to dispose of the trashed engine car. I suppose there are people who will buy it as is.

(I hope my car doesn't read this....it would be upset to learn I was prematurely talking about its demise....lol)

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by Rob175

So how much would one be looking at spending if they had a trashed engine and want to replace it. Just a rough idea of what it would cost to have a shop do it (engine + labor) .....$6M, $7M, $8M, $9M, etc.............??

Do it nice or do it twice! :dance: