2000 Boxster pukes up o-ring debris
 

I have a 50K mile 2000 Boxster that recently had cam adjuster problems due to o-ring debris sucked out of the oil sump and pumped into the feed for one of the cam adjusters.

$2000 to flush, experiment, replace a couple cheap parts and get it on the road. Don't know where the o-ring came from and of course that is a concern. Told that the guess is originally green. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

On a related note, I am now wondering about ongoing maintenance costs with a 12-year old car. I know about RMS and IMS issues. Anything else I need to be thinking about? It seems that it costs $400-500 just to "touch" an engine.

I should add that up until now the only repairs outside normal service items are driver's side window lift mechanism and an air bag sensor replaced under warranty.

Thanks in advance for responses.

In the past few months I was doing some research on the forums for alternative oil filter systems, and found some posts saying that certain oil filters, including the top of the line NAPA filter used O-rings inside them for by-pass valve seating, and someone else had engine problems when one of these O-rings came loose. If it wasn't on this forum, it might have been on Rennlist or Planet 9. Check around.

Good luck.

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have a great car. That is not a lot of repairs. Mine is similar, very few repairs, yes my list of part replacements is huge, it's because I enjoy doing it. I've not heard of the problem you had with an o-ring, maybe someone else has.

How could o-ring parts find their way into the crankcase?

That's what I'd like to know. Unfortunately I don't know enough about the engine to even guess. The earlier post referencing oil filters might be one mechanism.

Silicone sealant is the "gasket" used to seal the crankcase halves, oil sump cover, & cam/head covers so any excess sealant is squeezed out into the engine. That's probably what you are seeing, if you post pictures maybe we can verify that.

The mechanic in the shop didn't save the debris, so I can't take a picture. I've read elsewhere about the sealant and seen pictures. These guys were pretty sure it was originally an o-ring, but who knows?

I would prefer that it was a chunk of sealant because then I wouldn't have to wonder what problem will occur in the future because of a missing o-ring.