Kerblammo! The motor is rubble. (Raby! Read this) - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

insite · 03-24-2009, 08:50 AM

well, it finally happened. i was in an 80mph left hand sweeper and the motor sort of lost compression and croaked. i coasted to a stop & attempted to fire it back up; it turned over twice and locked up.

i heard NO metallic sounds, there was NO smoke, the car dumped NO fluid, there was NO rod knock, there is NO evidence of metal shavings on the dipstic & NO water in the oil. put it in 5th, pushed it forward, dumped the clutch....LOCKED. put it in 5th, pushed it backward, dumped the clutch.....LOCKED. she's a goner for sure.

anyone have any idea as to what the failure mode could be? the car's a '99 and there were 139,500 miles on the motor.

she lived a long and happy life! at least she died on the track, doing something she loved, rather than sitting in traffic on I-285.....

Bladecutter · 03-24-2009, 08:52 AM

If you have her home, pull the spark plugs, and see what they tell you.

BC.

insite · 03-24-2009, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bladecutter

If you have her home, pull the spark plugs, and see what they tell you.

probably won't get a chance to do that until i pull the motor. considering the most common failure modes for this motor, i found it strange that it was so anti-climatic. at least i probably have a rebuildable core instead of a worthless heap of metal.

Boxtaboy · 03-24-2009, 10:19 AM

Sorry to hear. I'm no mechanic, so excuse me if I'm way off base here, but if you didn't hear any bad mechanical noises and no oil leaked out/no smoke, then could it be as simple as a failed fuel pump or other more minor issue?

insite · 03-24-2009, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boxtaboy

Sorry to hear. I'm no mechanic, so excuse me if I'm way off base here, but if you didn't hear any bad mechanical noises and no oil leaked out/no smoke, then could it be as simple as a failed fuel pump or other more minor issue?

i'd love that! actually, in those cases, the motor would be able to rotate. we put the car in gear, pushed it up to speed, and dumped the clutch. if the motor could rotate, the rear wheels would spin. they did not; they simply skidded to a halt. this indicates seizure.

Boxtaboy · 03-24-2009, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by insite

i'd love that! actually, in those cases, the motor would be able to rotate. we put the car in gear, pushed it up to speed, and dumped the clutch. if the motor could rotate, the rear wheels would spin. they did not; they simply skidded to a halt. this indicates seizure.

Oh man, sorry to hear. Well, like you said, at least it died on the track, and you got over 100K miles out of it. Not bad actually. You can now throw in a used 3.4L, and have even more fun!

insite · 03-24-2009, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boxtaboy

You can now throw in a used 3.4L, and have even more fun!

that's the plan! either a used 3.4L, a rebuilt 3.4L or a Raby rebuild. have to weigh the $$$ since i'm paying for a wedding & honeymoon in may. not to mention buying a daily driver to replace the box for awhile.....

rick3000 · 03-24-2009, 01:13 PM

I hope your motor hasn't died and it is something simple, but I could be a slipped sleeve issue. That affected some early '99 Boxsters.

edevlin · 03-24-2009, 02:03 PM

Sorry to hear about the passing of the engine, do you have any stratigies for finding a replacement: new, used, Raby?

Ed

Lil bastard · 03-24-2009, 02:06 PM

OUCH! Sorry to hear that! Face it, dead is dead, but it's in the dying that tells... asleep in traffic or Rock n Rollin' out of some chicane... well done! How many guys can brag they blew up a Porsche?... On the Track??

Not likely a slipped sleeve, haven't heard of one of those reported for years (probably all washed out of the fleet by now) and NEVER beyond 25k mi.

That's become sort of an urban myth, one that's likely hurting sales of early cars. Relatively few of these cars were produced and fewer still made it into the US market. Unlike the revised IMS which is ticking away in every later model Boxster. Personally I like my chances of a sleeve issue waaay more than if I had one of those self-destructing intermediate shafts.

Keep us posted on the transplant patient!

spine911 · 03-24-2009, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by insite

i'd love that! actually, in those cases, the motor would be able to rotate. we put the car in gear, pushed it up to speed, and dumped the clutch. if the motor could rotate, the rear wheels would spin. they did not; they simply skidded to a halt. this indicates seizure.

UNFORTUNATELY, VERY TRUE- this is one absolute/final test...I had to learn this (also) the hard way a couple years ago when my VW decided to call it quits.

Goodluck....it's just a car (and money).

Jake Raby · 03-24-2009, 02:33 PM

Based on the limited amount of preliminary information I'd say this one broke a rod bolt. That would explain no rod knock and immediate failure.

I'd be happy to give you a free observation on what has occurred... I am only 75 miles away :-)

Looks like it's time for my version

(I also have one good used 2.5)

Sorry to hear, but as always I would like to understand which mode of failure you have experienced.. You didn't by chance have the BK deep sump did you?

mikefocke · 03-24-2009, 02:42 PM

http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/sowhatcanyoudoiftheengineblows%3F

Let me know if you discover any other options.

Topless · 03-24-2009, 03:58 PM

Well done insite! She died on the battlefield... A good death. Sorry it had to happen now but I suspect added displacement is in your future. So far I agree with Jake. Probably a rod shoved in where it doesn't belong and jamming the crank solid. You have my condolences. Do keep us posted with what you find.

angman · 03-24-2009, 04:11 PM

Sorry to hear about the misfortune, but its probably a blessing in disguise. You treated that car well and its wonderful to know that it died on the track. Good luck with whatever you plan to do in the future (I vote for 3.4).

Jake Raby · 03-25-2009, 08:04 AM

Thus far broken rod bolts are the only mode of failure that happens often on the track to the M96 engines... (not including failures induced by oil starvation)
An engine failing on the track is justifiable, but the hunddreds that are failing while being driven 55 MPH is whats not acceptable.

I would be happy to chat on the phone and try to offer a better explanation for what happened.. A rod bolt is still my number 1 hypothesis on this MOF.

03-25-2009, 11:30 AM

I may be in the minority here, but I say a sports car, that has seen track time, that is 10 years old, with over 139,000 miles.....you got your money's worth.

Hope you get up and running again soon!

Jaxonalden · 03-25-2009, 12:52 PM

Insite,

Looking for a replacement? How about a 3.4 out of an '07 Cayman? Here in OKC we have a Porsche dismantler, Oklahoman Foreign, and he currently has a 3.4 on EBay for a buy-it-now price of $7,500...8,900 miles on the clock!!

Can you smell what the Box is cookin'?

insite · 03-25-2009, 01:04 PM

thanks for all the replies! probably look to a 3.4L or a raby rebuild or such; got to weigh all of the options. new cayman 3.4L will not work b/c of CAN bus issues.

jake - we'll be in touch! i heard you do thirty years / no interest. ;-)

Jake Raby · 03-25-2009, 02:10 PM

insite,
we make more power with an upgraded engine than the stock 3.4 and you don't have to worry about this again...