He's denying everything. never said drive it. Never said anything. Now he's even claims he said leave it there Monday

I only had it for 8 months, just over 10,000 miles

I'm just.... Wow..... I dunno....

I uh, have a lot of photos, sry I haven't been uploading them, I've been using iPhone on forums, don't like using work computers for personal stuff

I'm not really interested in a 3.4 engine swap, unless they're real cheap and take payments. I got some money but not many thousands for a 3.4 + install costs

Blown does not necessarily mean unrepairable and based on your mechanics less than great advise, I would get a second opinon and a Quote to have it repaired or replaced with a reconditioned 3.4L.

Gotta be optimistic and perhaps if you have some good karma built up the world will turn in your favor.

Envisioning a nice inexpensive 3.4L conversion :cool:

I do know I have a lot of good karma, I know this doesn't look like it but somehow this is a good thing as strange as that sounds..... yeah, just.... let's just say this isn't the worst thing that has happened to me

So what's a 3.4 run?

We have a Cayman at the shop with a similar issue. Overheated it which has led to coolant in the combustion chamber. Just got here so I don't have details.
However this car would still run.

There are specifics I would get from your mechanic, like what exactly does he mean when the engine is blown?

debris in oil?
any CEL codes?
oil in coolant?
coolant in the oil?

Did the water pump fail?

Has he boroscoped the cylinders? Is there coolant in the cylinders?

good luck with the car,

Mike

BTW, I have my daily driver because of a water pump failure that ended
up with an intermix -- in this case the freeze plug in the heads blew. (I bought it that way)

about 25,000 miles after I rebuilt the engine with a new water pump,
the water pump failed again.

tons of white smoke at the rear of the car -- however it was just the coolant
dumping and spraying on the headers. I was 2 blocks from my house and limped home
(however temp never rose) and I was still leaking water in my driveway.

2 hours later (I had a spare WP), I was back on the road.

Mike

From mechanic:
overheated engine so bad it won't run that sums it up. it's hits on a cylinder here in there just won't run

Ok, seriously, now this guy's just being evasive and not very caring about the matter. If he's not going to tear through there and find out what's wrong without charging you because he messed up, and is going to deny what he advised you, then it's time to have it towed elsewhere and looked at by an unbiased 3rd party that knows about these cars.

BTW, if you car is a '97, don't bother with a non-2.5 swap. Just about every 97 has a DME that cannot be reprogrammed, so you'd have to get a younger car's DME and immobilizer in order to be able to reprogram it to accept code for a different engine. That's not an easy nor cheap task to undertake.

You may looks into seeing if there is a 2.5 out there that you can replace yours with if you do have a 97, or don't want to pursue a larger engine due to cost. I'm sure there are plenty of people willing to part with a 2.5, and you could have the full IMS upgrade done on it prior to install since it would already be out of the car.

Give the guys at Reid Vann a call, they are over near Manchester and Rock Hill. Porsche indy shop in STL. They might be able to help you, or help source an engine to swap into. There is another Porsche shop near Lindbergh and 70, but I can never remember the name despite driving past it everyday on my way to work.

After doing upgraded engine (version 8 JDM STI 2.0L that spun to 9k) after an engine failure on my old WRX, I wish I hadn't upgraded, and just put in a regular WRX engine and lived with it. So I would try to find a 2.5L, and get it in there.

986 Inquiry.. sux to hear..
I would find another source for a 2nd opinion..

Here's a link to replacement engines I found searching..
1997 Porsche Boxster Used Engine - Auto Parts Fair®

When you get a 3.4, you'll no longer lose to Evos or WRXs :P

To diagnose you are going to need someone experienced in the internals of these engines and those people are few and far between primarily because Porsche didn't sell internals parts for a while and had their dealers ship the engines back and just replace engines so the dealers didn't develop internals mechanics who would then quit to become indies.

Your options are outlined here...from $4k to $40k

Inquiry, It's like watching a movie, I totally understand your disappointment, frustration and future quandary. Dive the rental a few days and think this through when you are not pissed. I have to say this is either a communication problem between you and your mechanic or he's no better a mechanic than the enthusiasts on this board. I'm leaning toward the second probability as he should have tested all this before he returned the car to you.

yeah i'm not doing that, 3.4 costs more than the entire car, even on ebay

i'm looking at around $3,000 like this
1999 Porsche Boxster 2.5L Engine 160k | eBay

i know.... $3,000 for a 160k engine.... maybe i will just part this one out and buy another boxster with cash

yeah my theory is overfilling the system may have blown a hose and i instantly lost all coolant on the highway at some point which explains why i never saw puddles or anything at any time, most if not all the coolant was gone

i'll never ignore that light again on any porsche though, next time that stupid light coolant comes on if the temps are <200 I'm driving straight to shop and leaving it until light is off and if the temps are over 3/4th i'm pulling over and having it towed to the shop

Please do an Audi V8 swap and then tell me how to do it.

I really am sorry to hear this. Its such a drag even the 2.5L are so expensive!

Sheesh, Ghost, I see your point but you didn't have to say it like that. You make it sound like we're all a bunch of hacks with more beers than tools. :rolleyes:

It's not an impossible undertaking to do the swap with the other 2.5. Just be careful with those eBay purchases, some of those can be real hack jobs with more problems than solutions.

At this point I'm thinking another 2.5 boxster. I'd hate to pay 3k+ for used engine, another XXXX for install, then find problems. Better to pay 6-9k and have entire running boxster

I wanna part out the old boxster, but there's still a loan on it, can I do that? If I part it out I can pay loan off, but if I don't part out then keep paying until 2014 on car that just sits

Then the evil part of me says buy ~$2k used Toyota/Honda, part out boxster, let it get repo'd, then use part out $$$$ + own $$$$ to buy S cash..... then I have S and beater Toyota/Honda both paid for..... ya see told u it was the evil part.... EDIT: and illegal, apparently, cuz google searches have revealed it could be considered auto theft to sell off parts of vehicle that does not belong to you, even if loan in my name

So, bad idea.... Unless I keep paying loan, which is possible, could part out could easily be over a year of payments, giving me $ to buy S now and keep paying on 2.5. Insurance... would b insteresting, insure both? Lender will want to see full coverage, and don't want to leave S without full coverage, two policies for only one existing vehicle? Pretty much....

Well.... A lot to think about

At this point... I would have to say anything much over $2,000 cash that isn't guaranteed to get porsche running is not worth it.

Once it reaches $3,000+ in repairs I might as well part out, get 2-3k from part out, add to 3+ repairs would cost, and put 5-6k total towards new used boxster. Mine was 8 from dealership in saint louis (porsche cost more in Midwest) so 5-6k would nearly cover a new used boxster

I'll call dealership tomorrow too, it's barely been 6 months, maybe they have a suggestion.....?


One thing is for sure: I will continue driving boxsters. This rental 2012 focus has me convinced, even the stereo is worse than my 1998 boxster oem stereo if that can be believed

As you are finding, the economic truth is that Boxsters are fast becoming disposable. Who would have ever thought that a Porsche, any Porsche, wouldn't be worth a $7,000 major repair?

I would say part it out. I'll bet that you can get enough cash to get you pretty close to another one. There's lots of nice Boxsters out there. Here's one, not sure about the color but looks clean:

*** PORSCHE BOXTER CONVERTIBLE 80K MILES

He's had it for sale for a while now so a deal can probably be had.

I would talk to your lender and see what the options are. They may be flexible on parting out or selling -engine if it will pay the loan off.

That's not what I meant at all, I'd be one the hacks then too you know. There are only a few guys on here that have professional shops. All I can tell you is when you have a business dedicated exclusively to repair, you should be better at your occupation than an enthusiast. That said, there is no doubt through collective efforts and support we have all helped each other know a lot more about our cars than the average indy mechanic and even some Porsche salespeople. The repairs we have seen on here can easily stand beside a paid repair, to me this is the internet at it's best.

My dad's place was like a surgery center, need to weld? No problem, body work bay? yup. In short, we could take a car to the frame and rebuild it if there was cause. Now that isn't to say it can't be done at a house but it's a whole different world at a repair center.

My dad visited this place and was immediately smitten, this was the standard we shot for. I have a book signed by the president of Fiat Roosevelt motors and a thank you letter for the excellent customer satisfaction and dedication. I'm not so much impressed that he wrote just proud of the standard my dad would not compromise.

White Post Restorations

Call up Reid Vann still and ask for Brian Schwanter, tell him Matt Conte sent you. I rally race with him and he has been a Porsche specialist for years. He will be able to give you the absolute truth about what it is going to take to get the car running again. I ran everything about Porsche ownership and what to look for in the Boxster before buying mine, good personal friend of mine.

But once you have one it costs as much as a 911 in repairs and parts so they're still not "cheap" cars

I called and talked to Brian and dropped your name, I'll have it towed to Reid Vann today

You really jinxed yourself in the "yearly repairs" thread.

I had a Mazda Speed3 rental when my Boxster was in the shop for some body work a few weeks ago. I know exactly what you mean when going from the Box to a regular car.

Good luck with the diagnosis at Reid Vann. Hopefully they'll have some affordable options for you.

I know I was just thinking that this morning :) soon as I say "these cars are not that bad BAM!!!

Lol c'est la vie

I would be curious to look at the oil dipstick and coolant reservoir to see if any oil or coolant had mixed together..

Wish you luck, hopefully you'll find out today the cars fate..
T

bar10dah, you sure it was a Mazdaspeed3 and not a regular 3? Speed3s aren't really all that regular of a car, lol, nor are they usually rentals (because that would just be too much fun while my car was out of comission).

Nice story there, Ghost. I was just being a bit sarcastic there, didn't really communicate so well through typed text. I know you meant nothing bad by it. :cheers:

Honestly, I don't know. That's just what the guy said to me when I was renting it from Hertz. When I showed up to rent a car, the guy asked me what brought me in. I told him I just dropped my car off at the body shop and needed a car for about a week. He asked what kind of car, so he could put me in a comparable rental car. When I said Boxster, he said he had a Speed3 on the lot that'll be the same. NOT!

Easiest answer to this (and not to thread-jack here): was it a stick?

It's at Reid Vann now and they're looking at it

Yes it is a manual

Reid vann said they're pretty busy today but will try and look at it and call today

Please keep us all posted on your experience at Reid Vann. I've heard some good stuff about them, but currently take mine to Le Stable in Glen Carbon, since I'm on the other side of the river and its a lot closer.

I knew that there were a couple STL Boxster folks on here, but this thread is showing me there are more than I thought!

Good luck to you!

Actually my question about whether the car was a manual was for bar10dah and referring to his Mazda rental. Sorry for the confusion there, should have quoted him.

I will

My biggest fear now is someone will say YA I CAN FIX and I pay them XXXX and they come back saying OOPS! or ALL DONE! and it's running but throwing codes

But... I'll wait and see, trying to find another boxster under 12k in midwest is like searching for a virgin in a brothel. Checked craigslist , local dealer wanted 15k for 99 base with 160,000 miles. And kelly blue book says these are worth 7 :rollseyes:

Here's a possibility

porsche boxster 97