Rebuilt engine options?

[FredinVa]

Hi everybody,

First off, THANK YOU for all your advice and pointers! I really appreciate it.

I did contact IMSWorks and he clued me into the Porsche recycler DC Automotive (which is only 2.5 hours from my house). He was a very nice guy.

If I were to go the used engine route, you guys have mentioned changing the IMS bearing, and several other items. Chain guides were mentioned, can that be done without major disassembly?

What other parts would you recommend a used engine get before installation?

Thanks again!

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by FredinVa

Hi everybody,

Chain guides were mentioned, can that be done without major disassembly?

What other parts would you recommend a used engine get before installation?

Thanks again!

I`d only replace the small chain pads in the head, 4 pieces in total. If the engine is out it`s a fairly easy job, you just need to lock the cams and crank at TDC with some special tools and pull the head covers then remove the actuator-camshaft asssembly, replace the pads, then put everything back on and set the timing. Check my build thread, there`s some info about this job. I`d check the water pump and all the components of the SAI system, that`s also a common failure point and it`s much easier to get access to it when the engine is out.

[flmont]

It would be Great to build a bulletproof engine for these cars ,I think it could be done with the collective knowledge of this board very easily, its the technical know how and tooling I think is a big issue,then its the,which parts are the best for long term use,Jake seems to have the answer,If you could ever get them to mass produce and then sell them,.I think he could make 2 fortunes by selling to the Porsche masses..but of course not at 20K ea,..8-12 K would seem fair enough..to me volume is the money maker.

[FredinVa]

Originally Posted by flmont

It would be Great to build a bulletproof engine for these cars ,I think it could be done with the collective knowledge of this board very easily, its the technical know how and tooling I think is a big issue,then its the,which parts are the best for long term use,Jake seems to have the answer,If you could ever get them to mass produce and then sell them,.I think he could make 2 fortunes by selling to the Porsche masses..but of course not at 20K ea,..8-12 K would seem fair enough..to me volume is the money maker.

I agree.

I am actually surprised Porsche does not sell crate engines, given the number of cars that need them.

If my Corvette motor dies, I can go to Chevy:

https://www.chevrolet.com/performance-parts/crate-engines/ls/ls3

If my Fox Body Mustang dies, I can go to Ford:

https://performanceparts.ford.com/engines/#302


It seems like Porsche would see the market for crate engines. I understand there would be a price difference from Ford & Chevy, but the skill level difference between pulling an engine and building an engine is big enough to warrant the market for crate engines IMHO.

[Robert986]

Not to hijack the original thread but since it´s being discussed..

How hard is it really.. to rebuild a M96 on your own? I have rebuilt one engine and fixed and serviced a lot of others, but never opened up a Porsche engine, certainly not the M96. Sometimes it sound like it really is rocket science and you need to pay a super premium to get it rebuilt.

I have a very vague fantasy about one day rebuilding a M96 myself with the specs and improvements I want..

Can it be done by a "normal" car-guy just taking it slow an paying attention to details?

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by Robert986

Not to hijack the original thread but since it´s being discussed..

How hard is it really.. to rebuild a M96 on your own? I have rebuilt one engine and fixed and serviced a lot of others, but never opened up a Porsche engine, certainly not the M96. Sometimes it sound like it really is rocket science and you need to pay a super premium to get it rebuilt.

I have a very vague fantasy about one day rebuilding a M96 myself with the specs and improvements I want..

Can it be done by a "normal" car-guy just taking it slow an paying attention to details?

Essentially it`s similar to any other engine, not rocket science. Of course, it`s more complicated than, say, an in-line four due to the flat arrangement, so you need more special tools for a rebuild and there is a number of steps that are not plausable. What is really annoying though is that there is no repair manual available, except for the used ones for over a $1000. But you can actually collect all the information needed from the web, it`s time consuming though.

[jsceash]

Originally Posted by Homeoboxter

Essentially it`s similar to any other engine, not rocket science. Of course, it`s more complicated than, say, an in-line four due to the flat arrangement, so you need more special tools for a rebuild and there is a number of steps that are not plausable. What is really annoying though is that there is no repair manual available, except for the used ones for over a $1000. But you can actually collect all the information needed from the web, it`s time consuming though.

I have a pdf shop manual of the boxster to 2004 but really the manual does not cover 2003-04 it stops at 2002.
I also got on the internet the 2005 -2008 shop manual. this covers engine changes on the 2003 -2007 but not the 2008
If messaged I could email them.

[Quadcammer]

Originally Posted by Robert986

Not to hijack the original thread but since it´s being discussed..

How hard is it really.. to rebuild a M96 on your own? I have rebuilt one engine and fixed and serviced a lot of others, but never opened up a Porsche engine, certainly not the M96. Sometimes it sound like it really is rocket science and you need to pay a super premium to get it rebuilt.

I have a very vague fantasy about one day rebuilding a M96 myself with the specs and improvements I want..

Can it be done by a "normal" car-guy just taking it slow an paying attention to details?

I built an m97 for my friends race car. Few steps which you have to sit and think about and the wrist pin clip took us 2 tries...yes you have to split case again, but overall not too bad at all. I have rebuilt a few engines as well but not an expert

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by FredinVa

I agree.

I am actually surprised Porsche does not sell crate engines, given the number of cars that need them.

If my Corvette motor dies, I can go to Chevy:

https://www.chevrolet.com/performance-parts/crate-engines/ls/ls3

If my Fox Body Mustang dies, I can go to Ford:

https://performanceparts.ford.com/engines/#302


It seems like Porsche would see the market for crate engines. I understand there would be a price difference from Ford & Chevy, but the skill level difference between pulling an engine and building an engine is big enough to warrant the market for crate engines IMHO.

The Ford "Fox" body is very flimsy, I worked for Steve Saleen in 1993 & he always said,"Brace it before you Race it, and we made,sold & installed all the parts to do that.

[Qingdao]

Originally Posted by FredinVa

If my Corvette motor dies, I can go to Chevy:

https://www.chevrolet.com/performance-parts/crate-engines/ls/ls3....

If your .................. (fill in the blank)................ motor dies you can go Chevy.


LS Swap the world. LOL

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by flmont

It would be Great to build a bulletproof engine for these cars ,I think it could be done with the collective knowledge of this board very easily, its the technical know how and tooling I think is a big issue,then its the,which parts are the best for long term use,Jake seems to have the answer,If you could ever get them to mass produce and then sell them,.I think he could make 2 fortunes by selling to the Porsche masses..but of course not at 20K ea,..8-12 K would seem fair enough..to me volume is the money maker.

You can see on LN Engineering's website what it costs to build a reliable M96 engine that will last.

[Jake Raby]

Originally Posted by flmont

.to me volume is the money maker.

And the headache maker...
and the business killer..

These engines can't be mass produced. 100% of the efforts that have been made to do so, have failed. They will continue to do so.
You either give the engine the time it requires, and spend the money to do so, or you do the job again.

[flmont]

Yea I can understand that,.You would think the factory would want them as good as possible when they built them,..But that sure turned out a little diffrent than intended,.and yes every engine has diffrent issues aswell.