Blown engine. This sucks!

[Swhitcomb]

Well, in December of last year, on my 37th birthday, I was finally in a place in life that I could afford a Porsche. Found one liked, a Black on Black 02 Base. Had 61k miles on it. Price was right, and it was in good shape. It was at a dealership that took the crap Scion I had to trade, and financed me on it. Within 60 miles the check engine light went on and it ran like crap. I bought it with no warranty. However, the dealer agreed to repair it. After some issues, they took it to a good European shop and got it fixed. MAF sensor had failed. Over the next several months I drove it, and enjoyed it. However, I couldn't help being afraid something expensive would break. It's a fun toy, not a commuter car. For that, I had a company vehicle. At the end of June, after 10 years, my company took my company vehicle. Suddenly, the Boxster was being driven 110 miles daily. 2 weeks in, I was halfway to work and suddenly it jumped. Had half as much power, and the check engine light went on. I pulled over, and it died. I nursed it home. About halfway home the check engine light began to flash. Should've just had it towed. Got it home and pulled the code. P0343. Cam position sensor fault. I figured the problem was electrical. I wasn't at a point where I had the money to take it to a shop. So it sat. I found a new job with a company car, and got to a point where I could take it to a shop. My wife thought it'd be a $5000 repair. Nonsense I said, it's an electrical issue. $1500 maybe. Well, the same shop who fixed the MAF called me within a few hours of getting it. No compression on cylinder 2, and that was just the 1st one he checked because it was throwing a misfire code on that cylinder. He told me they weren't equipped to do an engine swap, but reccomened a shop that was. I had it towed there. That shop had a 2 week waiting list. So patiently I waited. It had now been 2 months since the car broke. 2 weeks later he calls me. Lots of metal in the oil, car needs a new engine. Wonderful. The car has 64900 miles on it. It's going to cost 14.5k to replace the engine. Bad thing is, with the trade in, I still owe about 15k ok it.

So, when it's all said and done, I'll have a $30000 986 that's worth about 8.5. I am very disappointed and dismayed.

[Perfectlap]

Ouch! Sounds like you could have done some things differently to have minimized this risk.
But what's done is done. If I were in your shoes I would park the car and keep an eye out for a used motor. No point wrecking your credit. You'll have one expensive Porsche once its running again but the math on owning these cars long-term is always horrible. You either lose $40k in depreciation or you end up spending as much on repairs and maintenance, upgrades as you paid for the car in the first place.

[Topless]

A bad day for sure.

Find a same year replacement motor at a dismantler for $3-5k, have the IMS and chain guides replaced and get it installed. Maybe $6-8k and you are back in business. Things could be worse.

[Giller]

That's really crappy man. I feel for ya. I just got to a similar place in life where I could stretch it and get a Porsche - and now I too do live with a similar fear.

Good lesson for all new buyers - get a PPI done before purchase and check/change the oil often. Everything I've read says consistent oil changes will give you good notice to hopefully help avoid impending doom. (not foolproof of course).

[kk2002s]

This is the situation most of us lose sleep over. It's the scenario we keep playing through our heads driving down the road.

So we all have a true soft spot for you and your situation

I have a year left on my extended Power train warranty. After that I'm truly flying solo and I maybe I'm flying solo even with it. Would only know if something happens

I would be in the same place if it let go with no warranty.
I have a loan so either I get another loan to fix the engine, part it out or sit it in the garage until I could afford to fix it on my own

And for those who tends to bash Jack as a domes day guy about engine issues - He is the one bring a ray of light and hope into this conversation

[crod]

Originally Posted by kk2002s

This is the situation most of us lose sleep over. It's the scenario we keep playing through our heads driving down the road.

So we all have a true soft spot for you and your situation

I have a year left on my extended Power train warranty. After that I'm truly flying solo and I maybe I'm flying solo even with it. Would only know if something happens

I would be in the same place if it let go with no warranty.
I have a loan so either I get another loan to fix the engine, part it out or sit it in the garage until I could afford to fix it on my own

And for those who tends to bash Jack as a domes day guy about engine issues - He is the one bring a ray of light and hope into this conversation

For sure Jake is the guy and the more knowledgeable one out there on this matter. If I were a new owner, first thing for sure is to take care of the IMS. And then make it a routine, changing it every 25,000 to 35,000 miles with the clutch.

We changed ours at 56,000 miles and it was in good shape as far as I could see. Next time clutch is done, new IMS is going in for sure.

CR

[78F350]

Sorry for your loss. Like the others are saying though, it can be fixed for a lot less than your current quote. I am still very new to these, but before buying learned that I would have to budget $2-$3K a year for care and feeding. $14.5k is well beyond that.
I'm guessing that you are not in a position to DIY, but that is a possibility if you have some aptitude, time, and space. There are some good guides, and plenty of people on the forums to help with questions. Do you have any local enthusiasts that may lend a hand? I would if I was local.

[Jake Raby]

Hmmn, This is a classic issue for that particular engine. I don't believe that you need an engine, I believe that you need a repair.

No compression on one cylinder and those faults could mean a munched cam lobe or lifter (both super common with that M code engine) or even a broken valve spring. Any of these will lead to metal suspended in the oil, but in the hands of a specialist that's resurrected engines for over a decade, it may not be terminal. At the same time, not calling the tow truck could have lead to driving the car to death.

BTW- The factory engine program is gone forever- there are no more completes, just short blocks that are being quoted at 18-20K. That won't help you, because a short block uses your old heads, which is probably where your damage lies.

Get another opinion, get several and go invasive. Assume nothing, quantify everything.

Do this right, or you'll be doing it again.

Your engine code is synonymous with failed cam lobes on the outboard intake valve for cylinder #1, I've seen dozens of these fail, BUT out of all those we've saved all of them but one. At 64K, its worth seeing the extent of collateral damage before throwing in the towel. No one else will tell you this- they only know how to swap things out and at the end of the day, saving an engine probably doesn't mean more to them than their paycheck.

[Deserion]

qualityporscheparts on eBay does have take-out engines that may be a fit for what you need. Not endorsing, just suggesting to take a look.

[Swhitcomb]

Well, the 14.5 gets me a rebuilt by Porsche engine with a 3 year 36000 mile warranty. I had the shop order it. Just very dismayed. Partially by the short lived engine, and more so by the fact that I can't do it myself. I've built lots of VW aircooled engines. I hate that the boxster is so unserviceable.

[Deserion]

Originally Posted by Swhitcomb

Well, the 14.5 gets me a rebuilt by Porsche engine with a 3 year 36000 mile warranty. I had the shop order it. Just very dismayed. Partially by the short lived engine, and more so by the fact that I can't do it myself. I've built lots of VW aircooled engines. I hate that the boxster is so unserviceable.

Reman engine through Porsche won't have the LN IMS bearing. Best option may be to get a good used engine, do the LN IMS retrofit, RMS, AOS, and other easily-accessible-while-out parts and save about 8-10k.

[flaps10]

Originally Posted by Swhitcomb

[snip]
Partially by the short lived engine, and more so by the fact that I can't do it myself. I've built lots of VW aircooled engines. I hate that the boxster is so unserviceable.

First, I feel for your pain and the expense you're going through.

As a guy who built his own air cooled VW engines I feel there are way more similarities than most Porsche fanatics would care to admit.

I looked through the engine build sequence on flatsix's page and was impressed with the design differences (the crank running in a bearing carrier instead of right on the case halves), but in the end it's a horizontally opposed engine with two more cylinders and the cams (plural thank you) out where they belong. You just have to move the expected prices over one decimal point.

You can buy a 9-year old $70,000 car for the price of a new Kia - but the day it needs to go in the shop it's still a $70,000 car.

That is the truth right there.

The VW engines I built were hopped up and you had to be just as meticulous as Jake discusses on his 986 build or you were just throwing your money away. If you slap a type 1 together you will get what you deserve in short order.

Engine comes out from underneath just like a bug. There isn't tons of reach from the top but there isn't much to be done up there anyway. There is access from the front side which no air cooled VW had, and pretty much everything else it comes down getting at it from underneath.

As for the rest of the car outside of the longblock, I'm finding it to not be any more exotic or difficult to work on than any other car I've owned (and I've owned plenty of cars and worked on them all).

[Lobo1186]

Originally Posted by Swhitcomb

Well, the 14.5 gets me a rebuilt by Porsche engine with a 3 year 36000 mile warranty. I had the shop order it. Just very dismayed. Partially by the short lived engine, and more so by the fact that I can't do it myself. I've built lots of VW aircooled engines. I hate that the boxster is so unserviceable.

14.5K gets you another 02 base. IDK that price seems pretty steep.

[Coaster]

Originally Posted by Lobo1186

14.5K gets you another 02 base. IDK that price seems pretty steep.

I got my 03 S for just a little more than that too.

[Jake Raby]

Sops never became proficient with these engines because they were too cheap to replace in the old days.. That is, except for us. Thats why we are where we are, because of foresight and forethought, coupled to pioneering the components and assembly before we "needed" to. Today I have done the same thing with the 9a1 engine family.

All that said, a blown engine and a broken engine are two different things. To someone thats not proficient with the engine internally, they'd rather do brake jobs and oil changes than to tear into your engine. Why? Because there's more money in it and the car leaves the same day, and there's less liability. I don't know what its like for a car to arrive and drive the same day- everything we see is broken. Broken badly and typically given up on by everyone thats touched it before.

West Virginia is what we call "local" shipping. I have cars here from California, and Vancouver Canada as well as about 28 more places across N. America.

Yes, I always bring the real news. Call it doom and gloom, or call it reality. Most modern humans can't handle the truth. They don't want to hear that everything mechanical will fail at some point, unless it wears out first.

We have two sides of the house here at Flat 6, we don't just carry out or reconstructions, but we also do these types of repairs on lower mileage engines that prove themselves to be solid candidates for repair. Not everything has a good prognosis, but you have to give it a shot before just buying something else.

[Swhitcomb]

Just to make myself feel better. The rebuilt engine also includes a new LN IMS bearing and clutch and flywheel. In fact, the shop says only my AC compressor and throttle body will be reused, the rest will be new or rebuilt. Still though, it's a lot of money. It does seem on par with what I've read others have spent for the same thing.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Swhitcomb

Just to make myself feel better. The rebuilt engine also includes a new LN IMS bearing and clutch and flywheel. In fact, the shop says only my AC compressor and throttle body will be reused, the rest will be new or rebuilt. Still though, it's a lot of money. It does seem on par with what I've read others have spent for the same thing.

Ummmmmmmmmmm......., I have a problem here. All factory reman engines coming out of Porsche since 2005 carry the oversized non serviceable IMS bearing that requires a total engine tear down to replace. Exactly where is your shop getting this engine from??

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

Ummmmmmmmmmm......., I have a problem here. All factory reman engines coming out of Porsche since 2005 carry the oversized non serviceable IMS bearing that requires a total engine tear down to replace. Exactly where is your shop getting this engine from??

Good point, plus supposedly only short blocks are available from Porsche now.
When Porsche supplied complete engines with accessories it was a 2 year warranty if installed at a authorized Porsche dealer. Be sure to see what you are getting & what the warranty is, in writing!

[seningen]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

Good point, plus supposedly only short blocks are available from Porsche now.
When Porsche supplied complete engines with accessories it was a 2 year warranty if installed at a authorized Porsche dealer. Be sure to see what you are getting & what the warranty is, in writing!

Call Sunset Porsche and get a quote -- they'll be pretty close to cheapest if
you go the factory route (not that I recommend that) but some folks
will pay for that comfort.

Otherwise do what others have suggested and search the reputable dismantlers.

I just used my last 2.7L -- or I would have had a heck of an engine for you for 2/3 that cost.

Mike

[daveccpa]

Man that sucks. I also just purchased a 2000 Type S with only 55,000 miles on it and really hope I don't have those kind of issues with it.