The alpha and the omega

[limoncello]

First, great explanation, Jim.
Second - wonder if they'll go back to a double bearing. Maybe a little vibration is not so bad after all?
Anybody know if there are any major engine redesigns in the works, or is it status quo for a few more years?

[Brucelee]

I find it kind of appalling that this kind of design issue shows up on an engine that has been out since 1997.

What is Porsche's motto?

[70Sixter]

Porsche put us thru this with with the notorious cam timing chain tensioners that failed with disasterous consequences if you were at high rpm. Fortunately my 911 went slowly, albeit noisily.

And a stop-lite failure would probably not be catastrophic. Porsche finally fixed the problem with additional lubrication, but it was in the mid-80s (MY84 Ronzi said in earlier post)

[Finallygottaporsche]

RMS - all years
Cylinder Liners - 98-99
Intermediate Shaft - 02 and up

i guess youre screwed no matter what

[spine911]

Originally Posted by Finallygottaporsche

RMS - all years
Cylinder Liners - 98-99
Intermediate Shaft - 02 and up

i guess youre screwed no matter what

I second that.... After owning 5 Porsches and other euro makes(BMW, MB, Land Rover, VW), i can safely say that the overall quality of Euro cars are just deteriorating over the years. If it is reliability you are looking for, id definitely switch to Japanese engineering(Toyota/Lexus, Honda, etc...). It is really a sad trend.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by spine911

I second that.... After owning 5 Porsches and other euro makes(BMW, MB, Land Rover, VW), i can safely say that the overall quality of Euro cars are just deteriorating over the years. If it is reliability you are looking for, id definitely switch to Japanese engineering(Toyota/Lexus, Honda, etc...). It is really a sad trend.

I do think the German car makers have serious quality issues and I am not talking loose cupholders or a rattle or two.

This is too bad, as they DO make wonderful cars to drive.

This has been happening for many years and does NOT appear to be an diminishing problem for them.

Now that Lexus has targetted Europe ........

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Finallygottaporsche

RMS - all years
Cylinder Liners - 98-99
Intermediate Shaft - 02 and up

i guess youre screwed no matter what

sounds like a 2000-2001 Boxster is the sweet spot
(for avoiding the statistical possibility of a major engine failure)

[denverpete]

Originally Posted by Finallygottaporsche

RMS - all years
Cylinder Liners - 98-99
Intermediate Shaft - 02 and up

i guess youre screwed no matter what

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

sounds like a 2000-2001 Boxster is the sweet spot
(for avoiding the statistical possibility of a major engine failure)

I've heard so many "explanations" about cylinder liners, intermediate shafts, what causes the problem, and their "effective" dates. I call B.S.

I've seen and heard about way too many intermediate shaft failures from 97 - 2003. This is NOT limited to 02 and up.

What pisses me off about all of this is that I found a really nice '03 S and the only thing keeping me from it is the thought of another engine failure - this time out of warranty.

[Finallygottaporsche]

i love driving German cars. Porsches and BMWs communicate with the driver in a way that very few cars do. i will continue to drive German cars
for the time being because of performance. i will just try to drive cars that are still under warranty so there is no engine reaplacement issue to deal with.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by Finallygottaporsche

i love driving German cars. Porsches and BMWs communicate with the driver in a way that very few cars do. i will continue to drive German cars
for the time being because of performance. i will just try to drive cars that are still under warranty so there is no engine reaplacement issue to deal with.

That is pretty much my take on it.