engine numbers

[DaveBBOXSTER]

I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH Boxster ENGINE NUMBERS. Car documents say engine code is; M962265Y08601-10 as does the service book plus V5.
It's a UK 2000 Boxster 2.7 BUT...The number stamped on the engine says;
M96/2167110632
Based on the fact that the service record shows no replacement engine and the code is badly stamped with dots from a hand punch on the engine does anyone please know what is in my car? I had decoded it as a 3.2 2001 series 7...I cannot see how this would work with the 2.7 ECU?

[Smallblock454]

Hello,



it seems that there is something missing in the number of the engine. Where did you read that number on the engine?

Regards, Markus

[DaveBBOXSTER]

Hello Markus,
I have just rechecked the photo of the engine number on the plate near the sump and it is M96/2265Y14392 SO I MUST HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT THE WRONG PHOTO ORIGINALLY! Sorry my mistake so it is a 2.7 2000 engine BUT still not matching the car V5 or original service book number...as last 5 numbers are different

[Smallblock454]

Hello,

does the engine number have AT in front?

M96.22 65 Y 14392 ist still not a valid engine number for the car, because the engine shurely wasn't made in 1965.
M96.22 00 Y 65Y 14392 would be valid.

Regards, Markus

[DaveBBOXSTER]

Hello Markus
There is no AT the front of number - the number reads as; M96/2265Y14392 I assume its M96 engine 22=2.7, 6 cylinders, series 5, Y=2000 YEAR with last 5 digits that don't match the documents of original supplied engine?
Kind Regards Dave

[DaveBBOXSTER]

[DaveBBOXSTER]

Hello Markus, Another photo to show stamped engine number sorry it is very poor quality

[Smallblock454]

Hello,

that looks strange to me. In general the engine number should be easily readable and this looks like somebody did a fake number himself.

Maybe it is how it is photographed, but it looks strange to me.

Other opinions?

This is how it should look like on an AT engine:




Regards, Markus

[jakeru]

I'd say it looks pretty clear, from my 114k mile frame of reference.

(But Markus, what is that? I figure it's got to be one of those a "new old stock", zero-mileage cars? )

But seriously... One of those days I'd like to clean mine up, so I might be able to read the engine code, too. (Mine's a 2001 2.7, for what it's worth.)

[Smallblock454]

Hello jakeru,

as the AT number on the engine says, the pitures shows a replacement engine (Austauschmotor).

My problem wasn't the dirt on DaveBBOXSTER engine number. It was how it was punched in the aluminium and that some numbers / digits aren't readable or not there. These numbers digits where originally made with a computerized robot. And that looks different, even if there is dirt and some kind of corrosion.

Regards, Markus

[DaveBBOXSTER]

Markus,
The photos I sent were adjusted by me to try and make the stamped numbers more legible - I had read somewhere that Porsche used to hand punch / stamp the engines that were rebuilt...I did have a sample from another boxster I found online that was done like this so I am fairly sure this went on. Also as far as I can tell the numbers are there (although the corrosion has made it hard to see them)
My concern is that the last 5 (serial numbers?) do not match the original engine number shown on the bonnet underside label or documents / service book.

Regards Dave

[mikefocke]

But if the engine was a rebuild, the numbers wouldn't match the documents. In the US, engines weren't rebuilt in the US but swapped and the failed engine sent to Porsche Germany "for analysis and salvage/rebuild". They used as many parts from the failed engine as they could and apparently in your case may have just swapped the short block.

Do UK dealers have any records that would help you determine when the swap was done? From the hand stamp, I'll bet it was early in the car's life.

As to what IMS it has, anyone's guess until you drop the trans for some reason and look at the IMS cover.

[FoxRvrBox]

Isn't there a list of single row / dual row IMS bearings broken out by VIN?

[Smallblock454]

Hello Dave,

if the numbers don't match, the engine doesn't belong to the car. If the engine was rebuilt by Porsche it has to have the digits AT in the serial number, which this engine obviously doesn't have.

Engines that were rebuilt by Porsche at this time don't have handpunched serial numbers. In general they have used new engine blocks for the rebuilds, because of the coating problems of the cylinder walls.

I think it's a good idea to ask Porsche UK for some support? Maybe they can help and give you validated data on the car.

---

Hello FoxRvrBox,

there are some infos about the serial numbers and IMSB versions on this site: Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Intermediate Shaft Bearing Replacement and Upgrade (IMS) - 986 Boxster (1997-04) - 987 Boxster (2005-06)

Caution: the description of how to change an ISMB is outdated. If you have an AT engine, nobody can tell what ISMB is used.

Regards, Markus

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by FoxRvrBox

Isn't there a list of single row / dual row IMS bearings broken out by VIN?

No, this never exsisted in spite of what you may read on the internet.

Assuming the car still carries its original engine, 97-99 were all dual rows, 2000-2001 can go either way (you have to pull the car apart and look), 2002-2004 were all single rows, 2005 was another transitional year when you had to pull the car apart to see what was in there (single row or non servicable oversized), and 2006-2008 were all the non serviceable bearings.

If the car has a replacement engine, all bets are off as you then need to either determine the year of the replacement or pull it apart.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

.

Hello FoxRvrBox,

there are some infos about the serial numbers and IMSB versions on this site: Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Intermediate Shaft Bearing Replacement and Upgrade (IMS) - 986 Boxster (1997-04) - 987 Boxster (2005-06)

Caution: the description of how to change an ISMB is outdated. If you have an AT engine, nobody can tell what ISMB is used.

Regards, Markus

Markus, that article was wrong when it was published, and has not gotten better with age. It has simply been proven incorrect too many times to be of value.

The more accurate approach is what I answered to another poster.

[DaveBBOXSTER]

Thank you all for the helpful replies.
I have had the car since March of 2012 I found the wrong engine number whilst changing spark plugs or the water pump or the AOS or changing the water expansion tank in 2014 and emailed and called my local Porsche dealer (as I had bought parts from them) but they didn't respond and seemed unhelpful. I have had a leaking RMS since I bought the car (it had a report from a Porsche dealer stating leaking RMS) or maybe it's the dreaded IMS bearing!? Did get it checked in 2012 but two specialists reckoned no noise at bearing... Only done 15k miles and it's on 114k now and have waited two years for clutch to go so I could get bearing + RMS seal done too. I was hoping a replaced engine might be a benefit thinking that Porsche might have put a dual bearing in as a matter of common sense but it seems probably not.
I will try contacting Porsche via their website to see if they can let me know more about the cars history but here in UK Porsche have a snobbish attitude to second hand/old Boxster owners who cannot afford over a £100+ an hour costs and who try and fix it themselves. I also think if an engine is swapped, changed or replaced you should have some record in the service book and the car documents updated...Did Porsche seriously swap engines and put no details of this in the service record?
The engine may have been swapped by an annoyed owner privately and the car sold on