My baby's engine is gone - now what?

[ashman21]

Hi folks,

The engine for my 2001 986 shuddered & lost power last weekend. The service center says the timing chain had a problem, that impacted a shaft in bay 1, and the engine is shot.

I've never had this happen on a car before, and am at a loss on the next step. Could someone please help point me in the right direction?

thanks & enjoy yours!
ash

[Cbonilla]

Options are few. Rebuilding the engine or buying a new engin will cost far more than the car is worth

A used engine may be feasible if you can find one at a good price and have an indie shop that will work k with you

My 03 S had an IMS failure at 100k. Car was in very good shape other that

I sourced a 3.2 with 40k Miles for $5k. All told my bill was $8500 or so when the add ons were done - IMS , and water pump etc were done. So I came out slightly ahead to even

[AZ986S]

Sorry to hear that

Many folks have been through that decision point, and it really depends on a few things:

* Do you have the ability to do the engine swap or rebuild yourself? If so, it will save you lots of money.
* What is the condition/miles on your car other than the engine?
* Are you OK with having a fun car that is worth less than what you have into it?
* How long are you planning on keeping your car?
* Do you have another car you can use in the meantime? Daily driver?

Basically it is worth $3K for the rolling chassis, so you take the loss now if you go that route. Or you can part it out... Keep in mind that there is a great deal of risk with used engines unless you know the source for certain or you can test it while still running, but that is the cheapest way. You can always consider the LS swap and you would have a beast.

If this were to happen to me, and with all the effort and cash I have put into it, I would probably do a used 3.6 swap.

[mikefocke]

A while back I collected many ideas from responses to questions like this into a "what can you do if your engine is blown" article. Link.

It all comes down to a lot of personal preferences and resources (technical, money, time, proximity to a P-car experienced mechanic, etc.) as others have already said.

Sadly, any engine has its design weaknesses and any running part wears out. I frequent the forums of other another brand car with great reliability reputations and hear sad tales of woe there too. Sure sorry it had to happen to you.

[ashman21]

Thank, you, all.

I'm not mechanically inclined, and don't know much about the engines... but I've loved this car. The 986 - a daily driver - has 120K miles on it, and the rest of it is actually in a pretty good shape. I'd like to keep the car as long as I can have it. Sometimes driving it is the best part of my days. Yes, I do have other cars I can use in the meantime so am not in an urgency.

I'd like to have the car ideally for close to 8 more years. Given this and after going through mikefocke's link, am now leaning on getting a factory engine or contacting RND. Will sleep on it and likely contact them next week.

thanks, all.

best
ash

[Quadcammer]

I think rnd closed its doors. I had a bad motor also, so i located a good used motor and will do the swap. Most cost effective

[AdamT]

I also had an engine failure recently (within a couple of weeks of buying an 01S), and have just gotten the car back after installation of a reman engine from Vertex in Miami.

So far my experience has been good, although I obviously can't yet comment on longevity. See my post about it with more detail here:

http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/67066-got-986s%3B-now-getting-vertex-engine.html

The price of the fully remanufactured engine for my car was about $7,800, which was the least I could find for a reman -- sort of, since there were two or three other outfits with similar prices, then a few that were much higher.

If you want more information, Vertex's website has lots; I also called them before deciding, and they were extremely willing to provide more detail.

One final note - sounds like your engine failure may have been catastrophic. When you buy from these folks (and all others that I found), there's a core charge. They did specifically want to know what was wrong with my engine when I asked about getting the core charge back. Mine had a cracked head, so they were confident it wouldn't be an issue. If you go with any exchange outfit, you might want to find out whether you can expect anything back on your core.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Quadcammer

I think rnd closed its doors. I had a bad motor also, so i located a good used motor and will do the swap. Most cost effective

RND is alive and well........

[Quadcammer]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

RND is alive and well........

My bad, it was rnd europarts that is no longer

[thstone]

Here are your options:

Option 1: Used Engine (eBay, salvage yard, or similar): This is the cheapest route - simply replace the engine you have with another used engine and do a 60K service to get the car back on the road. Future reliability is unknown with engine longevity anywhere from 10K-100K miles. Obviously 10K miles would be a bummer and 100K miles would be awesome - but no one can say for sure which it will be. $4K-$5K. You can save $1500 of the cost if you can do the swap yourself.

Option 2: Refreshed Engine: Some call them "refreshed" or "certified pre-owned" and some sellers will even call them "rebuilt" even though they are not really rebuilt. This option will generally consist of a used engine that has good compression as-is with maybe new timing chain/guides, a new water pump and/or alternator, new thermostat, and a 60K service. Be sure to check exactly which parts are new/replaced because it varies. Again, future reliability is unknown. $5K-$10K with higher priced engines having fewer original miles and/or add'l components replaced and/or coming from better known shops.

Option 3. Rebuilt/Remanufactured Engine: A remanufactured engine where the engine is rebuilt to meet the original spec's, mostly using OEM parts. This is a classic rebuilt engine. Some engines may have updates like IMS/RMS but you'll need to specifically check. This option should give you ~100K miles of service but the reliability is (again) completely dependent on the engine builder and the extent and quality of the updates installed to address reliability issues. Likely to have a warranty of some kind so be sure to check the warranty details. $8K-$12K. Higher priced engines have more high quality parts/updates and/or come from better known shops.

Option 4. High End Fully Rebuilt: The engine is rebuilt from the ground up with lots of new parts and all upgrades. Buyer may be able to specify some build details as desired. Engine is probably better than anything coming straight out of the factory brand new. Shops that do this work are top-end and their business relies on a good reputation. Should expect ~100K+ miles but check the warranty details. $12K-$20K. This will give you the most peace of mind (and maybe the highest performance) but it comes at a cost. Be aware that you may not get 100% of the engine cost back in resale value but that really depends on the buyer.

In summary, only you can decide which path is right for you and depends on how long you expect to keep the car, how much you love the car, how much money you are willing to spend, etc, etc.

[lowpue]

I recently bought a roller and a used engine thinking I would get away with having a car for cheap. Two used engines later I went with a remanufactured one. Project cost about 20K for an 01 boxster. Was it worth it, probably not, but I must say I love the car now.