Engine`s gone

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by Gilles

Hello Homeoboxter, bust just ran into this engine (not affiliated), but it seems that could be a great deal for the price, if it works out you could have with a nice powerplant for your Boxter :-)

https://rennlist.com/forums/market/1313957

That engine was one of my options when deciding what to do with my bore scored CSS. He's dropped the price substantially since I was looking 1.5 yrs ago.

[Dllrd23]

Sorry to hear about this. What year was it and what displacement? I have a bunch of parts from a 99 2.5L that I don’t have a use for(probably just jinxed myself) if you decide to rebuild.

[Homeoboxter]

Thanks, it`s the same, 99, 2.5L. I`m looking for a complete engine that I could just swap out, but actually I might rebuild it if i find a usable short block. Can you PM me with a list of what you have?

[piper6909]

Sorry about what happened, Homeoboxster. A catastrophic engine failure is probably on the mind of everyone on here. I've actually been looking around for a shop that would convert mine to electric if that were to happen. Do you know of any, and is that something you've considered? I know it's sacrilege for truists on here, but I think it would be interesting.

[Stl-986]

It's been done:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_SOP86n-PM

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by Stl-986

It's been done:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_SOP86n-PM

Yes, I've seen that. But it's well above my skill level so I'm hoping to find a shop that would do it.

I found a place but they want upwards of $60K, IIRC. I thought around $20K would be reasonable, but I don't know.

I would, however, be comfortable with a bolt-on DIY kit specifically designed for the Boxster, if I could find that.

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by piper6909

Sorry about what happened, Homeoboxster. A catastrophic engine failure is probably on the mind of everyone on here. I've actually been looking around for a shop that would convert mine to electric if that were to happen. Do you know of any, and is that something you've considered? I know it's sacrilege for truists on here, but I think it would be interesting.

Yes, I thought about that and it would be a perfect solution because I use the car for short rides. It would be an exciting project! It`s a lot of work though and it`s out of the budget too. It seems that the easiest and cheapest solution now is just to swap the engine out with the same 2.5 engine or rebuild it again if I find a low mile donor engine with good cases.

[Stl-986]

I would just swap with another one. Why buy a block, then tear down the old, build the replacement....doubles the time. Get one from a doner, replace the plugs, wp, change the oil and be done with it. Get it done in time for fall which I think is one of the best times of the year to be driving these.

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by Stl-986

It's been done:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_SOP86n-PM

Thank you for the link, it was pretty interesting to watch :-)

[Smallblock454]

Originally Posted by Gilles

Thank you for the link, it was pretty interesting to watch :-)

Agree ion that.

But do i really want a Boxster that sounds like a tram? I don't know.

[Radman]

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

Agree ion that.

But do i really want a Boxster that sounds like a tram? I don't know.

Yeah, for ~ the same $ you can get a nice 3.4-3.8 motor in the back and get around the same performance you could from the electric.

One thing about the electric conversion is that there a bunch of places to put batteries on a 986 so range would only be a limitation of $ for batteries.

[78F350]

I'd look at car-part.com for a complete engine and probably get one with a 90 day or 6 mo warranty. Here's a few in Northern California:



Swap the best bolt-on stuff from your rebuilt/bad engine.

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by 78F350

I'd look at car-part.com for a complete engine and probably get one with a 90 day or 6 mo warranty. Here's a few in Northern California:



Swap the best bolt-on stuff from your rebuilt/bad engine.

Thanks, I didn`t know this site!
I`m thinking of getting this:
https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/pts/d/aliso-viejo-1999-porsche-boxster-engine/7516701025.html
Price is largely negotiable.

I also thought about this, for a rebuild:
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/pts/7527129249.html
I assume this wouldn`t work with the 2.5 heads, clutch and transmission though, so I dropped the idea.

[Coaster]

Nice build thread - sorry to hear about the recent development.

I've not done any rebuilds but am considering one on my 03 986 S.

Can you give a little more detail about using the extra oil pump housing and pre-filling the oil on the build stand please? Did you fill completely (from the top I assume)? You used the dip stick to measure as you got close to the right amount? You used the drill to load up the block while you were filling? You just swapped out the cover with the drive and the hole-less cover when you were done (messy?)?

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by Coaster

Nice build thread - sorry to hear about the recent development.

I've not done any rebuilds but am considering one on my 03 986 S.

Can you give a little more detail about using the extra oil pump housing and pre-filling the oil on the build stand please? Did you fill completely (from the top I assume)? You used the dip stick to measure as you got close to the right amount? You used the drill to load up the block while you were filling? You just swapped out the cover with the drive and the hole-less cover when you were done (messy?)?

Yes, to each of your questions This whole procedure is not really necessary, I just did it because I had an extra pump and I wanted to make sure that the variocam system is filled up because I was testing those, see the video somewheer in the thread. I saw some builders using an external pump (any kind) to fill the engine with oil via an opening of the oil circulation system, probably the heat exchanger or the oil filter inlet could be used for this. Some builders just pre-lube everything with the assembly lube and that also works, I personally don`t like that though.

[Homeoboxter]

Hey All,

Last year I ended up selling the Blue boxster as a roller to a friend nearby who needed a donor car for his race car. After he took off everything he needed he gave the engine back to me so I had a chance to take a better look inside. I took a couple pictures before I scrapped most of the engine, here they are, just fyi.

Head off:



This is where the thick white smoke was coming from:



The other 5 cylinders looked totally fine.



The top of piston #1 broke off:




I don`t know how could I miss this completely during the rebuild, but one bank had been resleeved.



Here`s what the other bank looks like from the bottom:



I`ve read somewhere that some early bore scored blocks were sent back to Porsche in warranty and got resleeved. Later these engines had a tendency to fail. Perhaps mine was one of them?

When this engine blew up, it was a hot day and I was stuck in traffic, and the coolant temperature was higher than ever before. I had been going to clean the radiators and check the fans because I suspected they are not blowing at the highest speed. I never got around doing it. Nevertheless, now that I think about it, probably the engine got overheated. Another suspect is the aftermarket rings which perhaps didn`t like the Lokasil bore too much. Anyway, my theory now is that somehow the piston got seized for a moment and pulled the sleeve down, then in the next cycle the rings got stuck in the shoulder of the sleeve and that broke off the top of the piston. Also possible that that the rings broke first, hard to tell at this point. Just thought I share.

[husker boxster]

Classic example of trying to put a square peg in a round hole.

[elgyqc]

You put so much work into that engine, too bad it ended like that.

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by elgyqc

You put so much work into that engine, too bad it ended like that.

Lesson learnt, I guess, hopefully the next one turns out better I`ll stay away from these resleeved engines.

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by 78F350

Sorry to hear that especially after all the work of the rebuild.

I had a friend with a very similar failure - looked like a slipped sleeve (#6) on a '99 with under 100k miles on it. Pic is from the guy that bought it afterward when he had the engine torn down:


I had sold him the car about a year earlier thinking that the engine was in great shape and that by the age and mileage it was past the chance of having the 'early Boxster' failure modes.

It`s interesting to see that the sleeve slipped the same way as in mine. Perhaps this was a factory resleeved engine as well?