Shortlived Boxster engines survey

[Brian in Tucson]

I'm starting the process of replacing the engine in my 01 Boxster base. Replacing the 2.7 with another 2.7 from the same era.

My current engine is severely wounded because of the previous owner putting off repairs and maintenance and severely overheating the engine. It leaks oil and smokes. I got mine for cheap $3300, but it had a plethora of problems that slowly I've been correcting. The engine I'm putting in is a 2000, lately in a 2002. It's one of those engines that Porsche rebuilt with a beefed up IMS, and I've replaced the RMS and the front crankseal. About 60K on the engine since the rebuild. I've also done the water pump. And it will be getting headers and a new rear exhaust which will make it a true dual ex. system. And maybe a spin on filter adapter. Amazing all the spendy goodies you can throw at these engines.

It's a project car, it needs new struts and the cv joints need to be cleaned, repacked and new boots installed. But it has good interior, a relatively new top, and a paint job.

[jccash]

175,000 miles on my 99 986. Good luck with your project mine needs a paint job looking for a place in the Orlando area that’s good and cheap I’m ok with slow


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[BrakeExpert]

I wanted to say this to the engineers and to the consumers, us. The Boxster is a fun car to drive, and as of right now, one of the best bang per buck cars you can buy for the fun. One with a ripped rear window will sell as low as 5k, and if the IMS bearing doesnt go, awesome.

The IMS bearing if you ask me never should have been designed from conception. My thoughts on the new ferrari transmissions were the same, a bad idea from the get go. Ferrari didn't wanna raise the engine to alter the cneter of mass so they have an engine with a transmission on the rear AND FRONT of it, the front one only working with 4 gears. Sounds crazy, right? And as the 3 crazy guys on top gear proved on less-than-asphalt, had major problems with its design.

So thus is the IMS bearing. At its core, its a shaft located under the crankshaft, and thus from designing the engine, shoving the crankshaft UP, ie higher center of gravity. from 'racecar' perspective, this is thus bad. What gets me is that, annoying as it is, Ford's 4.0L v6 is considered a pain because its got both a front and rear timing chain. but it works. I see no reason why Porsche didn't put a gear on the end of the crankshaft and use that to run the chain. The IMS is a part inside the engine that didn't need to be there. Its not like say a Honda f-series/k-series balance shaft, and those are used on SOME models, not all, and are removed by any track racer at the beginning of the engine-modification process. In my opinion, a shaft below the crankshaft was a bad idea conceptually. I'm sure this was discussed but I wanted to state my opinion as a Boxster lover, a guy who loves to tinker, a master mechanic, a speeder and a cruiser.

I would also attack Porsche's idea behind the integration of the valve cover and cam caps into one piece as a dumb idea, questioning how much money they saved in a gasket and additional several bolts. Granted we let this one go because Porsche's loose oil, they just always have, whether its on the floor or out the tailpipe, tis a way of life. but an oil leak can be forgiven, theres not a moment where its one drop too low and immediatly can blow your engine up (okay yes there is but there's a dipstick.)

Upon learning about this bearing, I did what others do. Freaked out and started driving while keeping the RPM above 2500 whenever possible. If I was cruising at 45mph in 5th, my mind would say "oh, a 986 engine" and id downshift to 4th. Gotta keep the oil spitting onto the bearing seal so it doesn't dry out. And this becomes commonplace. And the other side of my mind says...would it have been so hard to run a single chain, or two overlapping ones, or a rear chain off a crank cog, or a big fat roller bearing lubed by engine oil, or a timing belt, gears, freakin pushrods, there are a million other ways and so many more cars NOT doing this and they're so much more reliable. It woulda been more conventional, cheaper, lighter, the list goes on and I wanna talk to the engineer who said this was a smarter idea than any other technology because...we can sell more aftermarket engines? Whatever the reason, mister engineer, stop making engines.

Also for a 2.5L this engine is really heavy. Rant over and out.

[Skullb]

These cars just get ya that way don’t they 😀

[marsheng]

Originally Posted by saaber

http://www.autofarm.co.uk/pdf/Total911_July06.pdf
and this one:
http://www.autofarm.co.uk/pdf/911PW_Apr06.pdf

Pages missing !! 404

[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)

[thstone]

After replacing my engine 4 times, I can confidently say that you can have a shop replace a 2.5L engine for less than $4,000. You just have to be a careful buyer.

2.5L engines with 90K miles can be purchased on eBay for $2500 or less. I have paid $1,850, $2,250, and $2,475 for my replacements.

I just checked eBay and there is a 91K mile 2.5L engine listed for $2200 + $250 shipping. You can easily get this for $2,250 with shipping.

Plan on $500 for consumables/parts and $1250 to swap the engines. For an experienced shop that knows what they're doing, its an 8-10 hour job and should be done in 2-3 days. When I had my last engine swapped in Nov, 2018, my local shop had the old engine completely removed in about 2 hrs!

If you want to keep the car, $4K is pretty cheap to extend the life of your existing Boxster for another 75,000-100,000 miles.

If you want to sell the car, putting $4K into a what is now a $3K car (because of the failed engine) will be pretty much break even.

Of course, if you can DIY the engine swap, then you're that much further ahead.

[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:

[HumbleBumble]

My 2000 986S developed a crack in 4-6 side head (drivers side) at 69k. The car never overheated, so I was somewhat perplexed that this could happen. Most likely a casting flaw which took it's time to show itself. I decided to go ahead and do the repair, which involved finding a used head and having it reconditioned, as well as having the coolant system flushed and cleaned. All told it came to about $8,500. Fingers crossed the other side is good.

[Starter986]

Originally Posted by HumbleBumble

My 2000 986S developed a crack in 4-6 side head (drivers side) at 69k. The car never overheated, so I was somewhat perplexed that this could happen. Most likely a casting flaw which took it's time to show itself. I decided to go ahead and do the repair, which involved finding a used head and having it reconditioned, as well as having the coolant system flushed and cleaned. All told it came to about $8,500. Fingers crossed the other side is good.

$8500??!!! For what? For what?