2003 Boxster Engine failure at 36k miles

[b-raddetail]

I was at a track day at the Ridge Motorsports Park in and going around a corner when the car stuttered and made a giant puff of smoke then lost almost all power. I limped it back into the pits. Thankfully a Bullet Racing, a Grand-Am race team was there. He put it on the computer and said things were not looking good. Can sensor failures and a couple other things I do not recall.

Thankfully they had an extra spot left on their rig and towed it back across the border to their shop in Vancouver BC (I'm from Kelowna BC). Once he removed the engine and tore it down, there was lots of shrapnel in the cylinder heads. The only thing he could target was one of the lifters was worn through and may have sent some metal through the heads taking out the oil pump, a cam, the lifter holder. The biggest mystery is how the debris made it from one head to the other taking out that oil pump and doing a bunch more damage. Nothing ever made it into the cylinders and was contained only in the heads.

The repair was so expensive I contemplated just cutting my losses and selling the car for scrap or parts. Things are tight being a full time university student. The car is gorgeous and in amazing shape with low miles and I could not see it go to waste. I ended up getting the car repaired. They replaced and upgraded the IMS bearing, did the rear main seal and a couple of know issues while the car was appart.

I love the car and am happy I fixed it. I was just wondering if anyone else has experience or have heard of similar top end failures?

This is my first post, I hope I have included enough info about the breakdown.

Here is the picture of my car now named the Brokster as its taking all my money.

[MikenOH]

Sorry to hear about the mechanical problems--way too early.

What was the extent of the repairs besides the IMS/RMS? Did he do the clutch? Where the heads pulled? Overall rough cost of repairs?

While the boxster is a great car, the cost of a major repair is substantial to the point where the owner may need some pretty deep pockets to keep it on the road.

Best of luck with it.

[b-raddetail]

He pretty much rebuilt the heads and replaced a lot of stuff in the heads. All new lifters, one new cam, the body that holds the lifters, new oil pumps. He cleaned everything up put in all new seals and fluids and put it back together.

The clutch was also replaced.

It was quite an extensive parts list that added up pretty quick. The most expensive items were the camshaft and the lifter housing. The one I did not realize until after was the cost of the lifters. I looked at the price per unit and at $60 I moved onto the next thing. Later I realized that there was 24 of them for a total of $1440 when Pelican only charges $22 a piece or around $530 for all of them. Overall the parts were around $6500 and labor was just over $5000. I do not think I got a great deal but I dont think it was too bad either. They towed me back for only $500 instead of around $2500 to hire an other company. My grand total after paying the lovely taxes was hair over $13000

They are a great shop with all the latest gear, he is a Grand-AM GT3 cup car crew chief and mechanic. They did a bunch of little extras and did not cut any corners. The car is running great and I believe it was worth it.

[Flavor 987S]

Too bad this happened, but we here know little about the car's history. How it was maintained? Driven? Treated? Tracked? Over-reved? Whatever. Still painful when they go "boom".

But the goods news it that you are ready again to rock-and-roll!
When I was putting myself through college, I could hardly afford and extra Domino's pizza, let alone a sportscar and a $13k repair bill. Good on you.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by b-raddetail

He pretty much rebuilt the heads and replaced a lot of stuff in the heads. All new lifters, one new cam, the body that holds the lifters, new oil pumps. He cleaned everything up put in all new seals and fluids and put it back together.

The clutch was also replaced.

It was quite an extensive parts list that added up pretty quick. The most expensive items were the camshaft and the lifter housing. The one I did not realize until after was the cost of the lifters. I looked at the price per unit and at $60 I moved onto the next thing. Later I realized that there was 24 of them for a total of $1440 when Pelican only charges $22 a piece or around $530 for all of them. Overall the parts were around $6500 and labor was just over $5000. I do not think I got a great deal but I dont think it was too bad either. They towed me back for only $500 instead of around $2500 to hire an other company. My grand total after paying the lovely taxes was hair over $13000

They are a great shop with all the latest gear, he is a Grand-AM GT3 cup car crew chief and mechanic. They did a bunch of little extras and did not cut any corners. The car is running great and I believe it was worth it.

I think you are confusing 2002 lifters & 2003 design which are far more expensive.

Checkout the video in General discussions, "Has Porsche let us down thread", post #19.

[b-raddetail]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

Too bad this happened, but we here know little about the car's history. How it was maintained? Driven? Treated? Tracked? Over-reved? Whatever. Still painful when they go "boom".

But the goods news it that you are ready again to rock-and-roll!
When I was putting myself through college, I could hardly afford and extra Domino's pizza, let alone a sportscar and a $13k repair bill. Good on you.

The car was well maintained. It was a two owner car, the first owner was an older gentleman who owned it for 4 years and traded it in on something from the Ferrari Maserati dealership. This is where the next owner purchased the Box. He drove the vehicle very little and had the car maintained at our local BMW dealership where his wife was the service manager.

The car was never tracked before the day it blew. The car was treated very well both mechanically and cosmetically. The previous owner said he did not drive the car hard and that it was more of a Sunday cruiser.

Since I bought the car I have only put 4000 miles on over two summers. I do drive the car spiritedly but always wait till it is warm and never over-rev it or downshift over aggressively.

I have always loved cars and have been working and saving since I was 12. At age 14 I started my own automotive detailing business over the years it has grown and allowed me to purchase and enjoy cars.

It also help that I have amazing parents who are funding my education and are very supportive in everything I do.

[b-raddetail]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

I think you are confusing 2002 lifters & 2003 design which are far more expensive.

Checkout the video in General discussions, "Has Porsche let us down thread", post #19.

I did mix up the different lifters. Thank you for the clarification that makes me feel better about the repair cost.

That video was interesting! Some of the damage in the head was similar to mine such as the snapped drives on the oil pumps. The damage was contained only in the heads for me and no other failures elsewhere in the engine like the IMS shaft in the video.

[AndyA6]

Seems like you got a repair done by good people. Good work = $$$.