986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post

mikefocke · 08-26-2011, 03:27 AM

it is my understanding it is possible you have en earlier block with a second generation IMS in it and there is little way of telling without the transmission off.

I do agree the engine is probably as good as and as bad as an originally installed engine...might even be better as Porsche could have used parts introduced from 2000 through 2006 depending when they rebuilt the engine. The problem is we don't know when they actually rebuilt it or when it was pulled for rebuilding or what caused it to be pulled. There is a long pipeline between the production line, the refurbish line, shipping, storage and final shipment to the dealer.

There are stories of the rebuilds having more man hours in them and being better tested than the originally installed engines as they leave the factory but your is long past the infant mortality stage where that should matter.

There are also stories of rebuilds having a mix of parts so that you can't blindly order an internal part until you see which version it actually is as the rebuilder just took the part from the bin of what they were using at the time of the rebuild without any effort to match the part that needed to be replaced with one that matched the rest of the block.

If I were buying I'd be using a song and dance about "numbers not matching so it is less valuable in the future" and "uncertainty of parts revisions" to drive the price lower. Not sure the 996 will be as collectable as earlier ones because of the numbers produced and their excellent rust-proofing provides more survivors so matching probably won't matter.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy if the price/condition/maintenance history was right.

08-26-2011, 03:27 AM	#9
mikefocke Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Sanford NC Posts: 2,591	While the third IMS was a design introduced in production in 2007 it is my understanding it is possible you have en earlier block with a second generation IMS in it and there is little way of telling without the transmission off. I do agree the engine is probably as good as and as bad as an originally installed engine...might even be better as Porsche could have used parts introduced from 2000 through 2006 depending when they rebuilt the engine. The problem is we don't know when they actually rebuilt it or when it was pulled for rebuilding or what caused it to be pulled. There is a long pipeline between the production line, the refurbish line, shipping, storage and final shipment to the dealer. There are stories of the rebuilds having more man hours in them and being better tested than the originally installed engines as they leave the factory but your is long past the infant mortality stage where that should matter. There are also stories of rebuilds having a mix of parts so that you can't blindly order an internal part until you see which version it actually is as the rebuilder just took the part from the bin of what they were using at the time of the rebuild without any effort to match the part that needed to be replaced with one that matched the rest of the block. If I were buying I'd be using a song and dance about "numbers not matching so it is less valuable in the future" and "uncertainty of parts revisions" to drive the price lower. Not sure the 996 will be as collectable as earlier ones because of the numbers produced and their excellent rust-proofing provides more survivors so matching probably won't matter. I wouldn't hesitate to buy if the price/condition/maintenance history was right.