porsche factory rebuilt motors ? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

jacabean · 08-25-2011, 12:01 PM

I am looking at a 2000 996 . the car had a porsche factory 3.4 rebuild installed in 2007 due to an IMS failure on the original motor. anybody up here have a factory rebuild installed ? are they as reliable as the original motor ? since it is a 2007 rebuilt motor would it have been upgraded with revised parts ?

s_wilwerding · 08-25-2011, 12:17 PM

Rebuilt motors come with 2 year warranties, which is up now, but proves that they stand behind them. In a lot of cases, rebuilt motors are better than originals since they have upgraded parts. However, I'm not sure which upgraded parts would have been installed in 2007 - I don't recall if they were rebuilding with the updated IMS then.

thstone · 08-25-2011, 12:30 PM

"are they as reliable as the original motor ?"

Yes. No one knows when or if it will fail. 10,000 miles or 100,000 miles, no one can say.

jacabean · 08-25-2011, 12:36 PM

we all know about possible failures. i just want the rebuild to have equal odds not less. i was hoping to find out what kind of upgrading porsche did to its 3.4 rebuilt in the 2007 era. I can not find any info.

JFP in PA · 08-25-2011, 12:38 PM

All “factory rebuilt” Porsche engines sold after 1/2006 contains the “final solution” oversized IMS bearing, which has also demonstrated that it still can fail. I'm not really sure this is the type of "revised part" you were looking for. Biggest issue with this engine is that this large diameter IMS cannot be removed without totally disassembling the engine, making an update very expensive at a minimum.

jacabean · 08-25-2011, 03:33 PM

would be safe to say this motor is as good or better than the original ?

Paul · 08-25-2011, 05:26 PM

I have over 40,000 miles on a 2005 3.6 factory reman, no issues so far.

JFP in PA · 08-25-2011, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacabean

would be safe to say this motor is as good or better than the original ?

I would say they are equals.

mikefocke · 08-26-2011, 03:27 AM

it is my understanding it is possible you have en earlier block with a second generation IMS in it and there is little way of telling without the transmission off.

I do agree the engine is probably as good as and as bad as an originally installed engine...might even be better as Porsche could have used parts introduced from 2000 through 2006 depending when they rebuilt the engine. The problem is we don't know when they actually rebuilt it or when it was pulled for rebuilding or what caused it to be pulled. There is a long pipeline between the production line, the refurbish line, shipping, storage and final shipment to the dealer.

There are stories of the rebuilds having more man hours in them and being better tested than the originally installed engines as they leave the factory but your is long past the infant mortality stage where that should matter.

There are also stories of rebuilds having a mix of parts so that you can't blindly order an internal part until you see which version it actually is as the rebuilder just took the part from the bin of what they were using at the time of the rebuild without any effort to match the part that needed to be replaced with one that matched the rest of the block.

If I were buying I'd be using a song and dance about "numbers not matching so it is less valuable in the future" and "uncertainty of parts revisions" to drive the price lower. Not sure the 996 will be as collectable as earlier ones because of the numbers produced and their excellent rust-proofing provides more survivors so matching probably won't matter.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy if the price/condition/maintenance history was right.

jacabean · 08-26-2011, 07:57 AM

the owner has put 25k on the rebuilt motor and claims it has been flawless. i'm in the process of working on a deal with him , so we shall see what happens. i got to go all the way to Cali to get it and plan on driving it back to Boston.

RandallNeighbour · 08-26-2011, 09:07 AM

I have a factory rebuilt 2.5 in my 97, installed in 2004, which now has 35k on it and it's going strong, with the exception of a tiny valve cover leak, which is not unusual for the 2.5's from what I hear.

Overdrive · 08-26-2011, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacabean

the owner has put 25k on the rebuilt motor and claims it has been flawless. i'm in the process of working on a deal with him , so we shall see what happens. i got to go all the way to Cali to get it and plan on driving it back to Boston.

Check the jack and the spare before you leave with it if you buy it. Would be a shame to be almost home and catch a flat from one of the infamous potholes (a.k.a. craters) in Boston.

BYprodriver · 08-26-2011, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacabean

I am looking at a 2000 996 . the car had a porsche factory 3.4 rebuild installed in 2007 due to an IMS failure on the original motor. anybody up here have a factory rebuild installed ? are they as reliable as the original motor ? since it is a 2007 rebuilt motor would it have been upgraded with revised parts ?

I would say at the least it should have a zero issue RMS & minimal wear on the cylinders & rings which is not the case with most 99-01 3.4's on the road. What part of CA are you picking up the car?