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Jake Raby · 08-05-2009, 07:46 PM

I'll clarify tomorrow exactly what we have found with James' car...

The lifters were not stuck in place.. The hydraulic tappets had frozen, which is absolutely typical at any mileage more than 50K... In this case 20 of the 24 lifters had failed.

We caught his IMS early enough that it could be saved, it partially came apart during the extraction process..

Just because you don't have a CEL doesn't mean you don't have internal wear... The CEL illuminates once a problem of significance occurs.. They call them "idiot lights" for a reason.

If it illuminates, you have waited too long..

I heard James' car fire up twice and after it idled for 30 seconds I knew where to look... That was before listening to it with the scope...

I have documented most every aspect of the repair and if its OK with James I'll post it all here... A true 60K service means opening up the cam covers, inspecting lifters, changing vario cam chain tensioner pads, pulling the sump pan and inspecting for a clogged oil pick up tube or torn oil control windows..

We learned these things by tearing these engines down over and over again and seeing the same trends at the same mileages...

As always we did a pre evaluation on the dyno and tomorrow after we finish the work we'll evaluate it for a true before and after set of comparatives.. Then I'll put 200 test miles on it personally and send it back home...

REALIZE that stuck lifters and worn tensioner pads may not be catastrophic failures alone but they can compound to create a poor running, low power engine that can have valve timing issues that can cost you big.. Its all about preventative maintenance and having someone work on the engine that knows their inherent issues and where to look for them..

BTW- James' 4-6 cylinder bank was 4 degrees retarded on it's cam timing.. at tear down...

Its not my intent to scare anyone, just to give solid information based on real world experience from direct experience with this engine.

I have yet to see a single engine come in for tear down or intervention that didn't have at least 2 malfunctioning lifters... The replacements we have developed won't have these issues again as their internal valving has been altered. That should show up on his dyno graph, it does wonders for my full blown updated performance engines..

James has ben great to work with... Thanks james for sending us your Boxster..

08-05-2009, 07:46 PM	#9
Jake Raby Engine Surgeon Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Cleveland GA USA Posts: 2,425	I'll clarify tomorrow exactly what we have found with James' car... The lifters were not stuck in place.. The hydraulic tappets had frozen, which is absolutely typical at any mileage more than 50K... In this case 20 of the 24 lifters had failed. We caught his IMS early enough that it could be saved, it partially came apart during the extraction process.. Just because you don't have a CEL doesn't mean you don't have internal wear... The CEL illuminates once a problem of significance occurs.. They call them "idiot lights" for a reason. If it illuminates, you have waited too long.. I heard James' car fire up twice and after it idled for 30 seconds I knew where to look... That was before listening to it with the scope... I have documented most every aspect of the repair and if its OK with James I'll post it all here... A true 60K service means opening up the cam covers, inspecting lifters, changing vario cam chain tensioner pads, pulling the sump pan and inspecting for a clogged oil pick up tube or torn oil control windows.. We learned these things by tearing these engines down over and over again and seeing the same trends at the same mileages... As always we did a pre evaluation on the dyno and tomorrow after we finish the work we'll evaluate it for a true before and after set of comparatives.. Then I'll put 200 test miles on it personally and send it back home... REALIZE that stuck lifters and worn tensioner pads may not be catastrophic failures alone but they can compound to create a poor running, low power engine that can have valve timing issues that can cost you big.. Its all about preventative maintenance and having someone work on the engine that knows their inherent issues and where to look for them.. BTW- James' 4-6 cylinder bank was 4 degrees retarded on it's cam timing.. at tear down... Its not my intent to scare anyone, just to give solid information based on real world experience from direct experience with this engine. I have yet to see a single engine come in for tear down or intervention that didn't have at least 2 malfunctioning lifters... The replacements we have developed won't have these issues again as their internal valving has been altered. That should show up on his dyno graph, it does wonders for my full blown updated performance engines.. James has ben great to work with... Thanks james for sending us your Boxster.. Last edited by Jake Raby; 08-05-2009 at 07:58 PM.