Kaboom! Blowing up an engine! - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

NewArt · 09-19-2018, 05:44 PM

My 2 day tack event ended with a catastrophic bang on Monday! Threw a rod, I guess, and blew off the whole damn top of the engine taking out the starter motorand leaving oil and shrapnel everywhere! Nope, not the IMS. Forensic investigation will start this winter. Watch for the YouTube video on my channel. Now I’m trying to source an m96 engine that will work with my dme 7.8. Would like to upgrade but too much $$.

MWS · 09-19-2018, 06:54 PM

Between you and Maytag on the track, I believe you now have a complete scrap engine.

pkp4911 · 09-19-2018, 06:58 PM

I had a similar scenario when I spun a bearing on my 3.2S... Hot day, no oil temp or pressure guage... No over rev, No warning... Just a flutter. That car now has 3.6 out of 911 but I don't track it anymore. Snakebit. Tracked 2.4 911E for 25 years without ONE mechanical failure. Oh the irony.

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thstone · 09-19-2018, 08:14 PM

Sorry to hear of this.

I am on Engine #5. Once you get to your third replacement, you'll realize that M96 engines are standard wear items like brakes and tires. I'll buy engine #6 this winter so I have it on-hand and can swap it in quickly whenever #5 decides to fail.

husker boxster · 09-20-2018, 03:34 AM

How often did you run it up to redline? Looking for data points.

M97s have weak rod bolts and frequent runs to redline have been known to stretch the bolts, causing failures. Just wondering if that's also an issue with the M96? I shift at 6K rather than pushing into that final 1200 rpm.

PaulE · 09-20-2018, 08:09 AM

Sorry to hear this bad news. My engine went after I drove to Mt. Tremblant and before I got on the track. I was lucky to get a tow home from someone else in our club and I got to drive his 997 GT3 home. Mine is being rebuilt and I hope to have it back by Thanksgiving. In my case it was the IMSB and a timing chain ramp. but there was no damage to the block, heads, crank or rods. I don't have the skills, tools or time to rebuild my engine myself. Are you going to rebuild yours? You should inquire of Porsche Canada if they have M96 short blocks on sale now as mentioned in other threads.

jaykay · 09-20-2018, 06:41 PM

jeeeez man that hurts I wonder if carrillos would have helped

NewArt · 09-20-2018, 07:02 PM

I’m sure that one can make an M96 near bulletproof with a fat wallet. Mine is thin and about to get really skinny!

maytag · 09-20-2018, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MWS

Between you and Maytag on the track, I believe you now have a complete scrap engine.

?
I've got NO scrap!
I'm all back together and hit an hpde last weekend, thank you very much! Haha

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NewArt · 09-21-2018, 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maytag

?
I've got NO scrap!
I'm all back together and hit an hpde last weekend, thank you very much! Haha

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Good for you man! :dance:

Gilles · 09-21-2018, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewArt

I’m sure that one can make an M96 near bulletproof with a fat wallet. Mine is thin and about to get really skinny!

Jesse, the 3.6 engine that BYprodriver has for sale should look pretty good on your car and will make you want to keep your car for ever :-)

seningen · 09-21-2018, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaykay

jeeeez man that hurts I wonder if carrillos would have helped

We used arp bolts and nuts for our rebuilds.

I don’t think there is an issue with the rods themselves but I’m no expert.

Mike

maytag · 09-21-2018, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilles

Jesse, the 3.6 engine that BYprodriver has for sale should look pretty good on your car and will make you want to keep your car for ever :-)

Plus one on that, hahaha.

JFP in PA · 09-21-2018, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seningen

We used arp bolts and nuts for our rebuilds.

I don’t think there is an issue with the rods themselves but I’m no expert.

Mike

In general, for a stock rebuild, ARP bolts should be enough. For a full tilt upgrade, better rods would be on the agenda.

NewArt · 09-21-2018, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilles

Jesse, the 3.6 engine that BYprodriver has for sale should look pretty good on your car and will make you want to keep your car for ever :-)

Looks like he no longer has it.

jaykay · 09-21-2018, 02:39 PM

.............how did your car run with the headers and pipes? Was it good while it lasted?

NewArt · 09-21-2018, 04:46 PM

Oh yeah! Ran beautifully until the big bang. I don’t think that the incident has any connection to the mods that I have done. I did push the car pretty hard on the track. Yes, I often bounced off the rev limiter.

BYprodriver · 09-22-2018, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewArt

Looks like he no longer has it.

I have 1 ready to install.

Brian in Tucson · 09-22-2018, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

I have 1 ready to install.

If you can swing the finances, this is the way to go. More power and reliability.

Geof3 · 09-22-2018, 09:55 PM

I think “catastrophic failure” might be the understatement of the year! Wow. Good luck with the the new engine project. If you need to unload some of those fancy exhaust toys, I know a guy...