Overheated to 250, died on side of highway, left stranded

[986_inquiry]

Ried Vann called, blown engine

[986_inquiry]

I can't do craigslist in another state, too big of a risk that I fly there and car will not be what they said

[Ghostrider 310]

Kinda vague, are the heads cracked? As someone else said maybe you can work with your existing engine. If not then you face the decision I did and it's a personal and tough one. Do you endeavor to put a large investment into an already older Porsche or do you bail out of it and start from scratch? For me a lot of that decision was based on a lack of reasonably priced engines, maybe you will have better fortune in finding one and it will determine the future of your 986.

[Crono0001]

Or you could do what Ghostrider did and buy a sweet Spyder :P
Won't lose to any EVOs or WRXs with that either :P

Again, not to threadjack, but bar10dah, I thought the MazdaSpeed3 was actually a fun little car. Despite it's FF layout, it's got a little bit to a kick with it.

[MConte05]

Originally Posted by 986_inquiry

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:

I hear you, and don't even try bothering with the guys at Vogue Motor Company with that 03 Boxster. They are complete dicks and very shady. I walked out of that place after wasting 3 hours of my time. They have had that car sitting on the lot for at least 6 months now.

I ended up getting an 02 Boxster with 75k on it for $13k from Lou Fusz Fiat in Creve Couer. Had a few problems, but have fixed them up with minimal money invested. But I have noticed some redic prices for Porsches in the STL area.

[recycledsixtie]

I feel sorry for your loss/breakdown. I just could not imagine buying a Boxster engine used on spec. that it is going to run okay when installed and you are not sure that it is going to run. At least with a used car running with a PPI done you kind of know what u are faced with.

[Ghostrider 310]

Inquiry, not a perfect solution but if money is an issue wait till January when all these Boxsters are sitting on someone's floor plan, might be able to make a better deal.

[Jake Raby]

I have a perfect running 2.5 that was a trade in sitting on my floor downstairs. It ran way too good (made 173HP on our dyno) to take it apart for a 2.9 build that the customer wanted. I was going to wait for a broken Boxster to come our way for sale, then slap this engine in it for another daily driver to add to my fleet. All the broken cars lately have been 3.2s, so its sitting here ready to be shipped!

I'll make you a deal on it as is, or with an IMSR carried out. It has zero issues and is a one owner engine. Call us at 706.219.4874

[986_inquiry]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

I have a perfect running 2.5 that was a trade in sitting on my floor downstairs. It ran way too good (made 173HP on our dyno) to take it apart for a 2.9 build that the customer wanted. I was going to wait for a broken Boxster to come our way for sale, then slap this engine in it for another daily driver to add to my fleet. All the broken cars lately have been 3.2s, so its sitting here ready to be shipped!

I'll make you a deal on it as is, or with an IMSR carried out. It has zero issues and is a one owner engine. Call us at 706.219.4874

I called, look forward to hearing back from you

Called dealership I bought boxster from in November. Ran credit and I'm approved for another vehicle but they don't have any Porsches right now

[Overdrive]

So all they told you was the engine's blown? Not even suspicions for what caused it or what failed/broke in the process?

[986_inquiry]

Originally Posted by Overdrive

So all they told you was the engine's blown? Not even suspicions for what caused it or what failed/broke in the process?

Something about not holding compression in five of the cylinders? Losing coolant? Basically dead, from my extemely limited understanding. Sorry I drove a toyota for 8 years before buying Porsche, I didn't need to know anything but the avalon had all the excitement of driving a couch

[particlewave]

Sounds like a cracked block. That sucks.
Hmm...I'd offer the guy on cl 8k and meet in the middle at 9.

If you don't jump on that...would be awesome to have both a white Box and a black one!

[986_inquiry]

Found a 03 on ebay in chesterfield. Called the guy, I'm checking it out tomorrow

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by Devact

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!

Cardinals win again!

[madmodz]

Hey I had the same identical problem. If you got coolant in your oil, sometimes the oil cooler leaks giving the appearance of a blown head. After I replaced my oil cooler, I got up to 230+ on the way home. Next morning I filled the coolant tank the PROPER way as illustrated in the mechanics manual. You have to open the bleed valve run the engine and blip the throttle to get the air out. After that no more problems. Boxster doesn't do too good in 100+ heat. I live in AZ and was thinking of refitting the s middle radiator. I also put a bottle of cool wetter in my radiator.

[bar10dah]

Overdrive, it was an "auto-stick."

[ekam]

Is it because of broken water pump impeller blades? It's a good reminder to those that haven't changed out theirs yet...

[986_inquiry]

i test drove another boxster tonight, a 99 with 85k on it, asking 9k



and... something, maybe it was just that car, it did have a funky smell, like that smell from auction cars get. I use to buy state surplus vehicles, old cop cards, etc, and you'd open the door and they'd always have that horrible smell, i'll never forget it

But anyway, it wasn't as fast. Yeah, I know, I don't know, it just.... didn't pickup, anywhere near the way mine did. It was a base, 5-speed like mine, just felt slower. Not like seconds slower, not like 2012 ford focus slower, but it was a clear difference. And the owner selling it was in the passenger seat, but I've had passengers before, and he was a small guy so it wasn't that. I kept asking him, is the oil new? air filters? .... repairs? everything good? Yep yep yep yep YES. So I dunno.

didn't handle like it should either, felt.... loose, at highway speeds. Bit of wheel shaking. Where my 986, was more like a mountain bike, completely tight, and when you turned the wheel it reacted, instantly.

Body was good. Black on black. New top, maybe it had been sitting awhile? the roll bars were all eaten away, like it had been sitting in the rain for years. Latch to trunk was broken. Keyless entry buttons were broken. Latch to bring seats down were broken off and rust was in there.

only 85k

I guess mine was more rare than I thought because mine was (is?) in PERFECT shape at 100,000 miles. But I figured, it's a $50,000 exotic 2-seater convertible, no one's baby puked in the backseat, no dogs or cat, people that buy these have $, they don't live in trailers, they take care of their things. Apparently not everyone. He said he only had it a few months, bought it in florida from some guy, so who knows.....

but i dunno anymore.... this really got me thinking, maybe new engine is the way to go? 3k engine, ~1k install, driving my PERFECT boxster again, vs risk 10k on a lemon?

the really scary thing is NONE of what I saw tonight would appear in photos, unless it was high resolution and they took a photo of exactly that spot, so i would be oh-so-screwed if I bought something on eBay, flew 1,000 miles and found out, oh.... this wasn't mentioned in the auction.... oh you didn't notice it? Oh... yah, ok, that's... uh.... yeah..... what bout this? didn't notice that either? Huh...... i didn't see this in the photos, i looked at the photos, guess they weren't good enough to see all this..... (wow)......

guess something is to be said about buying locally.... and hanging on to what you have if it's in good shape rather than throwing it away

there is inspectmyride
https://www.inspectmyride.com/

i've never used it but it sounds like a good idea... and look, they inspected a boxster:
InspectMyRide.com Vehicle Condition Report | 2003 PORSCHE BOXSTER

and.... screwed up the displacement (3.0?)

[986_inquiry]

Here it is Tuesday night, light was solid red. This is actually the photo I text the mechanic and he said see if there's coolant coming out... oh there's not? You're fine. I had brought it to his shop just the day before and he looked over everything and said everything was fine



Next morning driving to work, when I pulled over and called him and said hey, it's 250, now what? Bad temp sensor? Drive more? well.... ok.....


15 miles later....


this is the only fluid that was under the vehicle when towed, not.... as much as I'd expect...? but, i'm far from an expert on these things, which is why I call people who claim to be an expert... or, at least take other people's money while pretending to be an expert

[986_inquiry]

and i know, i must seem like an idiot, because EVERYONE knows, car overheating, PULL OVER HAVE TOWED. Yeah yeah... i.... trusted the wrong person for advice. I know, overheating, have fixed, so I brought it in, Monday, have it checked out, tell me is it drive-able? Because this is what it was doing, in rush hour traffic, on a 110 day:


so I was like, oh no, that's not good, I better take it in to have it looked at!

Told it's fine, add coolant, keep driving. Past 3/4? Solid red light? Keep driving. Max temp? bad sensor, keep driving.... :ah: