'02S 60K Engine go boom - Fix or Not

[barkinfool]

Hi All --

Supreme bummer to make this post. Last week my nicely conditioned '02S grenaded while pulling into the garage after a short drive. 60K miles, very well maintained. There were no warning signs. Owned the car since '09, bought w 13K miles & have all the maintenance records. Had ceramic IMS, clutch, & pretty much all else replaced per specs before this happened. Trusty indy who did the IMS/clutch @ 35K wants to buy the roller for usual figure & make a track car. He does not recommend replacement engine given value of the car. Questions are:
Should I put a used S engine and fix given all majors done & I love the car? (I have a line on an S engine for $4K). How much should it cost beyond cost of engine to get it repaired (# hours or $$)? Is there any examination that should be done of the replacement engine before installed or should it go in blind?
Extra bonus points & not to be annoying since this might be a crazy Q, but should I put in a bigger 996/carrera engine if I'm replacing? I don't feel the need for more power, but given the damn thing blew up, should I spend a noticeable more $$ to put in carrera when I'm replacing the damn thing anyway?
My thanks for opinions & I'll let you know what I decide!

[Allegro]

Why go boom?? Rather curious since I have an '02S with a replacement IMSB.

[piper6909]

Hey Barkinfool. Sorry to hear about what happened. Do you know what caused it? I have an 02 base and should the same happen to it, I'd replace the engine.

I don't know what your indy's offer is, but I'm sure it's not enough. You'll have to do the math: Can you get a decent, comparable replacement car for $4000 plus labor? Or, even if you plan on selling it, is your running car worth more than $4000 plus labor plus your indy's offer?

Sorry, I don't know anything about fitting a 996 engine into a 986.

[barkinfool]

I haven't asked him to tear the motor apart, but he's very experienced with these motors and he gets zero compression when attempting to restart -- said he could dig in but it would be $$ wasted. There are failure modes beyond IMS in these engines, so this could be another example.

I have a diaglink porsche code reader @ PO343 Phase sensor 1 (camshaft Hall-effect sensor 1) + PO107 general engine code (these came up after I cleared the originals accidentally & then tried to restart).

I don't want to scare people who have had the IMS done - we all know there are some other failure modes out there no matter what you do. These are great cars, but sometimes the engines fail.

[barkinfool]

Originally Posted by piper6909

Or, even if you plan on selling it, is your running car worth more than $4000 plus labor plus your indy's offer?

Sorry, I don't know anything about fitting a 996 engine into a 986.

Thanks Piper. Yeah, I don't know the cause, there was no warning. As you can tell from my Qs, I'm leaning to fix, but that is against his recommendation. When I look at prices on-line, I can't replace my car for a reasonable amount of money, so that is driving my view on this a bit. I'm just looking for some knowledgeable folks to chime in as they usually do. I'm in car mourning right now I guess....

[NewArt]

The Porsche Boxster as seen by NewArt would say: A great experience looking to be had! Get your 4K motor, assuming it’s good, and get your hands dirty! I’ve done it more than once as you may have seen on my YouTube channel. (Plug). I’m no Porsche tech, my degrees are in fine arts! :dance:

[obthomas]

Use what you know about a boxster. Go buy a 2003-4 S in good shape get the glass rear window. Put the cars side by side in your garage. Take all the pretty parts, wheels, tires, off your 02 and put them on the newer car. Then sell the 02 to the guy that wants to race.

[BrokenLinkage]

Seems replacing the engine makes the most sense from a time / $ / final outcome stance. Considering there is some risk even with a replacement engine, but you know the rest of the car well.

Now from the perspective of an enthusiast, upgrading the engine will add to the cost and complexity a bit more than it will add to the resale value, but perhaps not so out of proportikn to the entertainment value. Your call.

I have an inherent mistrust for conflict of interest situations, like a mechanic pricing work on a car that they would like to purchase as-is for their own purposes. Both roller value and cost of engine replacement have a lot of variability. I would shop that around if I could.
And if I had the space, I'd dissassemble the blown engine myself for educational purposes.

[Gilles]

I do have a problem with cars as I become emotionally attached to them, therefore I am with you on the intention to fix the car specially since you had been maintaining it for 11 years and it only has 60k miles.

Swapping an engine (for one of the same kind) it's a bit labor intense but not really difficult, if you plan ahead and prepare yourself with the basic tools, you should be all right.

I believe that investing on a table lift will allow you to do the swap in your garage with the car on stands, these table lifts are not really expensive (I got one from HF) that worked very well, and combined with a home made (4x4) wood brace for the top, would allow you to brace the engine from the top for removing the engine and transmission mounts, before lowering both with the table lift, I can share some pics if you want.

There is a pic of one of these tables here:

Engine removal

Good luck

[jmitro]

buy BYprodriver's engine and install it

seriously, I'd fix it and drive it again. But then I don't mind doing my own work

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by BrokenLinkage

I have an inherent mistrust for conflict of interest situations, like a mechanic pricing work on a car that they would like to purchase as-is for their own purposes. Both roller value and cost of engine replacement have a lot of variability. I would shop that around if I could.

Bingo!

[Andy804]

Hi Barkinfool,

Sorry to hear of this misfortune. If I were in your situation, I would likely rebuild the engine or replace it. My '03 S is my first Porsche street car (I started out with a spec Boxster race car) and I have an attachment to that car unlike any other car I've owned. So while the monetary of the value of the car doesn't justify it, I'm already in the mindset that this car is worth keeping until I pass it down to my child (unless I can get my hands on a 718 Spyder). And I neither have the time nor the inclination to tackle on such an involved job myself so I'm also speaking from the perspective of having to pay an independent Porsche shop to do this.

I would talk to a few shops to get an idea of what it would cost and then I think only you can determine whether you want to sink that kind of money in having the engine repaired/replaced or if you rather sink that money into another car.

With regards to the 996 motor, I think it's not as simple as plug-and-play because of the orientation of the motor with the transmission.

Best wishes on this decision. Keep us posted.

[PaulE]

I feel your pain. 2 years ago I was in the same situation as you with my 2003 S which I bought new. I had preemptively upgraded my IMSB to a ceramic LN bearing at 42k miles which then failed at 77k miles. It was caught as soon as the engine started making noise and there was very little collateral damage. I elected to have it rebuilt as 3.6 with LN Nickies. It wasn't an economical decision but it was the right one for me. If you can afford BYProdriver's rebuilt 3.6 you'd be hard pressed to get the same engine for that price. Since my car is a 2003 it has a 3 chain engine and different Motronic system so his wouldn't work for me. It would work in your car.

[Paul]

IME the most cost effective course of action is to sell the car as is and buy another car. Even with a used motor and doing all the work yourself, you will likely exceed the value of the car.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by Paul

IME the most cost effective course of action is to sell the car as is and buy another car. Even with a used motor and doing all the work yourself, you will likely exceed the value of the car.

And possibly perpetuate the whole cycle again.