a used engine should cost about half of what a crate engine would. a quick google search shows plenty for sale in the US (i don't know the logistics of having one sent to canada, not to mention it's could be a crapshoot on quality).

of course, that doesn't explain how you went from "bad fuel pump" to "blown engine" overnight, and i certainly wouldn't use the same shop to do the swap - but that's just me.

they shouldn't have to split the case for a preliminary diagnosis; getting the heads off should be enough to get an initial tell on the state of things given the symptoms. as most of that is labour, you might be able to pressure/guilt them into owning some or even all of that. depending on how busy they are they are not out of pocket for the labour component (as opposed to parts expenses) so it is a good place to start negotiations.

Sounds to me like since your car arrived "they" have been assessing your ability to write a big check! :eek:

I'm going to guess the shop turned the engine over possibly starting it and running it to complete death since they suspected it was the fuel pump. But it was probably run to death when you first noticed the change in engine sound.

Sorry for your loss, hope you can find a cost effective way to get back on the road.

So guess I need to look for a used M96 Tiptronic motor.

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Update.


I now know a little bit more about what's going but still don't know the exact cause of the failure.

Firstly, the shop admitted the fuel pump was misdiagnosed.

Second, compression tests showed low compression on the left bank of cylinders.

Third, hand turning the engine, they could feel it tighten & catch, then loosen u again during the rotation.

Fourth, the cam timing is out.

This sounds to them like a bent or stuck open valve, causing the engine to flood with fuel.

They're almost certain that it's not an IMS failure, but still want to drop out the engine the case to investigate. Sounds reasonable I guess, but now I'd rather use another shop, who has better M96 knowledge, to get a second opinion.

What do you guys think?

Let's see: The cam timing is off, one or more valves are bent, and they think it is not an IMS issue and want to pull the engine............. Sounds like you need a new shop.

Let's see. We are on post #48 already. And on post #2 a knowledeagble Forum member suggested you go to another shop. Many more here have added the same comment. I think you know what you should do next.

It's going to another shop already, but you try taking your car to another shop when your car is in pieces, they're billing you a ton of change for the misdiagnosis and more to put it all back together.

You don't pay. They keep your car.

i think you're making a smart move.

i would ask them if, since they essentially fixed the wrong thing (the fuel pump) before doing any actual work, to settle with the cost:
- parts for fuel pump (they can eat labor)
- labor for the actual diagnosis of the not-a-failed-but-good-chance-it-failed-IMS work they did.

push for that, tell them that since they didn't actually fix anything that was broken and ended up doing work that didn't need to be done prior to diagnosis that both of you should have to share the "mess up"

of course, like you said, since they have the car they're holding all the cards.

best of luck!

Good luck trying to negotiate with them. I’ve been there and the issue is the law sides with them and is designed more around dead beats that can't pay their repair bill. Sadly at least where I live there is not much recourse for the customer to argue with the supposed professional on their diagnosis. They would pull out some troubleshooting 101 and say my trained professionals followed standard process and it brought us to this conclusion so we fixed that first. Step 2 still not working keep looking.

At the same time you don’t need to believe everything they say. Heavy flooding does sound like a stuck, broken, bent valve. With that issue and the car running for limited time there should have been a bunch of codes coming up and the CEL lit on the dash while you had the car before taking it to the shop.

Go to ebay and type Boxster engine...I saw several for sale.:cheers:

Thank you for your insight.

However, did you notice how many of those eBay engines would work with a 987.1 Tiptronic?

If it was that simple I'd have one on a crate headed my way already.

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the fact that it's a tiptronic has no bearing on whether or not it would work. the engine is the same between manual and TIPs.

The main difference should be the flywheel, and you will using your own..

.

They might be spinning me line, lord knows they've spun enough of one already, but theres mounting, flywheel & wiring issues when installing a non tip engine to a tip vehicle. You can modify to fit but that's another couple of days labour I'll be having to swallow up.

Dealer backed this one up, so if you guys say otherwise, I'm again left being the one weighing up differing opinions at my own risk & cost.

I'll probably take the 2nd shops opinion on this one once they get the vehicle.

They're the ones having to do the rebuild.

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VFX, you might want to weigh the cost of selling the car as is then buying used, should save a few thousand in the end. Used '02-03 Box prices in my area are less then the price of a rebuild, plus you can fetch a few thousand for your roller. Fall is the best time to buy, prices are dropping.

well, lemonade out of lemons. as a 2005, your car should be able to take any 997 or 987/cayman engine up to 2009, so look at it as an opportunity to get a 3.4, 3.6 or even 3.8 in there for less than the cost to rebuild your current engine (if it needs rebuilding).

once you've disentangled yourself from the current shop, perhaps let us know who it was so as to facilitate some caveat emptor.

Unfortunately you have to have someone who know's, me I would have contacted Porsche for the engines that would work. My 2000S is a joy to drive, also a tip with a 3.2 liter power pant. Good luck.:cheers:

+ 1

"as a 2005, your car should be able to take any 997 or 987/cayman engine up to 2008"

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