My first REAL SCARE with the Boxster! need some advice..

[CrisZenithBlue]

On my Sunday morning spirited drive i was coming out of a tunnel at full throttle and it suddenly started to shake at 80 mph. as i pulled over the oil pressure light came on.
My first thought is.. well.. the engine finally gave up. 2000 2.7 130k, IMS direct oil feed done a year ago with double row bearing as the one it came with. first thing i do is go look under the car waiting to see oil and chunks of engine guts everywhere but not one drop of anything. i breathe again..

i let it sit for a couple of minutes, check the oil level and its good. i figured i would drive it slow on the shoulder to get off the very busy highway but while i did that the light came on and off intermittently for a few hundred feet then went away completely so i drove it home 6-7 miles. it drove normally, was making power, temp gauge didnt budge so i got home safe.

what am i looking at here? oil pump? oil sender?
when this happened i had been driving it flat out for about an hour and a half (i dont get up at 6 to drive for nothing )

other things to mention is i have been having two small oil leaks which seem to be coming from the spark plug tubes on both sides on the cylinders towards the front of the engine. i was about to look further into those next weekend. when i say small i mean there is never a drop of oil on the garage floor so the leak is prob only when the engine is running. the oil level never dropped at all in 3000 miles.

what a scare! it's the engine vibrating that made my heart skip a beat. is that normal with sudden oil pressure loss?


any advice would be appreciated guys! i'm going up north on a 3000 mile drive in two weeks and i need to have this sorted.

thanks,

Cristian

[Mig]

When the shaking started, did you lose all power as well? I'm curious to know how much power, if any, you had.

[CrisZenithBlue]

Originally Posted by Mig

When the shaking started, did you lose all power as well? I'm curious to know how much power, if any, you had.

i didnt lose all power but not sure how much either because i backed off the gas and let it coast.

[steved0x]

If the oil pressure came on at idle maybe your oil was really hot and thinned out? What was your water temp gauge reading?

Misfires could cause shaking and a flashing CEL, did you see any aos type smoke bombs? Maybe because of the tunnel you didn't see it?

Do you have a durametric or a way to see if you have any stored codes?

You can change the oil filter and cut off the ends of the old one and spread it out to look for any debris?

[CrisZenithBlue]

Originally Posted by steved0x

If the oil pressure came on at idle maybe your oil was really hot and thinned out? What was your water temp gauge reading?

Misfires could cause shaking and a flashing CEL, did you see any aos type smoke bombs? Maybe because of the tunnel you didn't see it?

Do you have a durametric or a way to see if you have any stored codes?

You can change the oil filter and cut off the ends of the old one and spread it out to look for any debris?

that could be it. i did 3000 miles on this oil change and i tend to drive it hard. the car has actually been sitting for one month while i was out of the country and this was the first hard drive. when i pulled the dipstick to check the oil level there was a bit of smoke/vapor coming out so maybe the oil was hot and thinned.

i am due for an oil change anyway. my walmart Mobile just got here so i think i'll run and do it now and see how it goes.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by CrisZenithBlue

On my Sunday morning spirited drive i was coming out of a tunnel at full throttle and it suddenly started to shake at 80 mph. as i pulled over the oil pressure light came on.
My first thought is.. well.. the engine finally gave up. 2000 2.7 130k, IMS direct oil feed done a year ago with double row bearing as the one it came with. first thing i do is go look under the car waiting to see oil and chunks of engine guts everywhere but not one drop of anything. i breathe again..

i let it sit for a couple of minutes, check the oil level and its good. i figured i would drive it slow on the shoulder to get off the very busy highway but while i did that the light came on and off intermittently for a few hundred feet then went away completely so i drove it home 6-7 miles. it drove normally, was making power, temp gauge didnt budge so i got home safe.

what am i looking at here? oil pump? oil sender?
when this happened i had been driving it flat out for about an hour and a half (i dont get up at 6 to drive for nothing )

other things to mention is i have been having two small oil leaks which seem to be coming from the spark plug tubes on both sides on the cylinders towards the front of the engine. i was about to look further into those next weekend. when i say small i mean there is never a drop of oil on the garage floor so the leak is prob only when the engine is running. the oil level never dropped at all in 3000 miles.

what a scare! it's the engine vibrating that made my heart skip a beat. is that normal with sudden oil pressure loss?


any advice would be appreciated guys! i'm going up north on a 3000 mile drive in two weeks and i need to have this sorted.

thanks,

Cristian

Scan the car with a Porsche specific scan tool, looking for any stored pending codes.

[CrisZenithBlue]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

Scan the car with a Porsche specific scan tool, looking for any stored pending codes.

thanks! i'll stop by a place tomorrow and have it hooked up.
ill do the oil change in the meantime.

[Smallblock454]

Hello,

i agree with JFP in PA. First do an electronic diagnosis with a Porsche specific diagnosis tool. I think there will be some hints.

If you get no results (not alternatively to an electronic diagnosis first):
Pull the sparks and look what they look like.
Check the oil filter for plastic debris. Especially plastic parts from chain rails.
Do an oil pressure test with an adapter and a oil pressure gauge like described in the workshop manual.

Questions:
Is your car an MT or an AT?
Do you use a low temp 71 degree water thermostat?

Regards, Markus

[JFP in PA]

Now, does anyone care to hazard a guess as to what area of the engine he will find codes for?

[CrisZenithBlue]

OH CRAP!!!

it looks like my engine is toast!

oil filter housing had a lot of metal particles and the filter is full of green plastic bits..











on the way to the shop (6 miles away) i got a bit of vibration and the oil pressure light came on for a second.

fresh oil and a new filter and driving home the light came on for half a second.
engine doesnt clunk or anything but its probably eating itself up inside.


DAMN! should i still try and take it to get it checked or assume it's gone?

i am having a bad Sunday to say the least. if it is dead at least it went out like a sports car, pushing hard at 7200 RPM in a tunnel screaming like a murder victim. a worthy death. :ah:

[Jamesp]

Originally Posted by CrisZenithBlue

OH CRAP!!!

it looks like my engine is toast!

oil filter housing had a lot of metal particles and the filter is full of green plastic bits..











on the way to the shop (6 miles away) i got a bit of vibration and the oil pressure light came on for a second.

fresh oil and a new filter and driving home the light came on for half a second.
engine doesnt clunk or anything but its probably eating itself up inside.


DAMN! should i still try and take it to get it checked or assume it's gone?

i am having a bad Sunday to say the least. if it is dead at least it went out like a sports car, pushing hard at 7200 RPM in a tunnel screaming like a murder victim. a worthy death. :ah:

I don't see an IMS failure here. Get a magnet and see if the trash in your filter is magnetic. If not, your IMS bearing is very likely fine. One or both of your variocam adjusters seem to have bit the dust, Contact Woody to see if he has replacements. While you are in there you might consider new chain ramps and tensioners.

[CrisZenithBlue]

regardless of what it was that caused it.. i am getting a bit concerned about a rebuild not lasting.

could i get some input on what is a MUST to replace while rebuilding?

also, would you say it's better to drop a used engine because of the difficulty of cleaning the broken one? is it really that difficult to clean the metal shavings?

i'm about to pull the trigger and having some second thoughts about the rebuild hearing some of the concerns.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by CrisZenithBlue

regardless of what it was that caused it.. i am getting a bit concerned about a rebuild not lasting.

could i get some input on what is a MUST to replace while rebuilding?

also, would you say it's better to drop a used engine because of the difficulty of cleaning the broken one? is it really that difficult to clean the metal shavings?

i'm about to pull the trigger and having some second thoughts about the rebuild hearing some of the concerns.

A proper clean out is essential, preferably using and ultra sonic system. I would pull your current engine and look it over before making any decision. And who you select to do your engine is critical, a lot of shops claim they can, but that is not always the case.

[jdraupp]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

Now, does anyone care to hazard a guess as to what area of the engine he will find codes for?

Cam deviation bank 1-3?

[CrisZenithBlue]

Originally Posted by jdraupp

Cam deviation bank 1-3?

is the green plastic chain tensioner ramp which prob went bad and screwed up the timing which made the engine chew itself up?

i thought that would throw a code or something when it went out of norm.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by jdraupp

Cam deviation bank 1-3?

Interesting call, now tells us why?

[specboxCO]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

Interesting call, now tells us why?

Failure of the hydraulic cam adjuster. The green material is from the seals inside the unit.

[Disaster]

Originally Posted by specboxCO

Failure of the hydraulic cam adjuster. The green material is from the seals inside the unit.

And if it got out of timing that would explain a lot and not be a catastrophic failure.

But the one rule is STOP driving at the first sign of an issue. That can be the difference between a minor fix (cam chain tensioners) and total engine failure.

[MWS]

Sorry, I feel your pain. Try and remain optimistic, don't assume the worst until you KNOW.

Optimism won't fix the problem, but it won't ruin your day. Do the diagnosis, and even if things still point south, do a tear down to confirm.

I speak from experience... Just because you assume somthhing is toast, it's no reason to liven up the mood by going at it with a sledgehammer; sure, it's fun, but when you find it's just a bad gasket, that's when you find out how bad a day you really can have.

[Smallblock454]

Hello JFP in PA,

i would have said camshaft devation problem as an error code.

Hello CrisZenithBlue,

1.) please clean the plastc debris from the oil and tell us which color it has. I would suspect a light brownish color. I wouldn't suspect a green color.

2.) please check if the metal flakes are magnetic or not.

3.) don't drive the car.

4.) stay cool.

Thanks, & regards, Markus