Not a good day for my 986S 2001. Smoke and engine dead

[WhipE350]

Oh lord, gloom and doom. Be positive this might only be an AOS. I replaced my IMS on a 2000 'S' (waste of time it was double row...though very pleasurable project), changed my water pump (more waste of time the one in my car was like new after 57k miles), and replaced my AOS though I have no idea what condition it was in, can't see inside it . Ya would think the cars are piling up at dealers falling a part. My buddies at both dealers here say they are great little cars and yes they have commented that water pumps do wear out, but so do a lot of older cars.

Keep us posted OP, we hope the best for your car. Fix it and continue to love it.

[tomc88]

update;
so porsche mechanic came over.
Confirmed P0304 only fault code (good news).
He's looked at AOS - and yes, that has failed.
He can manually turn the engine (good news).

He needs to get it to the work shop to see if there is any unseen problems,
but so far his feeling is it is fixable, and almost certainly not a write off!

But I won't get too excited yet. It will get towed in this week and we will see what happens next

He reckons it's probably the original AOS - and he's surprised it's lasted so long (115K miles). naturally I'd have had this changed if I was aware of the problem before!

Seems like we should get a sticker made to stick on the side of the car for noobs, listing the many many things a porsche can potentially do to destroy itself

[recycledsixtie]

Originally Posted by tomc88

update;


Seems like we should get a sticker made to stick on the side of the car for noobs, listing the many many things a porsche can potentially do to destroy itself

Good one Tom. I believe it was Jack Raby(of engine rebuild fame) that said there are something like 21 ways in which a Boxster engine can fail. I wonder how many folks would buy a Boxster if they read all the threads - particularly the one on this forum "thinking of buying a Boxster". For myself I would have bought one anyway because I like the design and brand. Fortunately I bought one with 30k miles - a 2001 Box base and have had no issues. If it blew up tomorrow I would be installing another engine or getting an older Cayman. I fit in the category of "my wife does not understand me" LOL!

[tomc88]

yes, there should be a warning stick.

The problem is we only hear about them when they go wrong. the mechanic was telling me of plenty of examples of low mileage 986/996 with engine failures.

And it makes me thing 'do I really want this potential grief'?

But I think I might run this old 2001 to the ground, then if one day I can afford a caymen/boxster 2009, or a 911 turbo (not likely!) with a 'better engine' then I'll make the switch.

[woodsman]

I'm holding my breath while I wait for the final news Tom- please hurry! And while I absolutely love Porsche's, this will certainly be the last one I own with an M96 engine in it! Everyone's pulling for ya'!

[tomc88]

well it's good news.
other than new AOS and spark plugs all is well.

Not sure if I was panicking over nothing. Must admit my mechanic is a real pessimist

picking her up tomorrow

[pothole]

Originally Posted by tomc88

Not sure if I was panicking over nothing. Must admit my mechanic is a real pessimist

Definitely not.

It did sound like an AOS failure, but you can't be sure. And even an AOS failure can have nasty consequences if you are unlucky!

Super news that it was just the AOS in the end.