Ried Vann called, blown engine

I can't do craigslist in another state, too big of a risk that I fly there and car will not be what they said

Kinda vague, are the heads cracked? As someone else said maybe you can work with your existing engine. If not then you face the decision I did and it's a personal and tough one. Do you endeavor to put a large investment into an already older Porsche or do you bail out of it and start from scratch? For me a lot of that decision was based on a lack of reasonably priced engines, maybe you will have better fortune in finding one and it will determine the future of your 986.

Or you could do what Ghostrider did and buy a sweet Spyder :P
Won't lose to any EVOs or WRXs with that either :P

Again, not to threadjack, but bar10dah, I thought the MazdaSpeed3 was actually a fun little car. Despite it's FF layout, it's got a little bit to a kick with it.

I hear you, and don't even try bothering with the guys at Vogue Motor Company with that 03 Boxster. They are complete dicks and very shady. I walked out of that place after wasting 3 hours of my time. They have had that car sitting on the lot for at least 6 months now.

I ended up getting an 02 Boxster with 75k on it for $13k from Lou Fusz Fiat in Creve Couer. Had a few problems, but have fixed them up with minimal money invested. But I have noticed some redic prices for Porsches in the STL area.

I feel sorry for your loss/breakdown. I just could not imagine buying a Boxster engine used on spec. that it is going to run okay when installed and you are not sure that it is going to run. At least with a used car running with a PPI done you kind of know what u are faced with.
:confused::confused:

Inquiry, not a perfect solution but if money is an issue wait till January when all these Boxsters are sitting on someone's floor plan, might be able to make a better deal.

I have a perfect running 2.5 that was a trade in sitting on my floor downstairs. It ran way too good (made 173HP on our dyno) to take it apart for a 2.9 build that the customer wanted. I was going to wait for a broken Boxster to come our way for sale, then slap this engine in it for another daily driver to add to my fleet. All the broken cars lately have been 3.2s, so its sitting here ready to be shipped!

I'll make you a deal on it as is, or with an IMSR carried out. It has zero issues and is a one owner engine. Call us at 706.219.4874

I called, look forward to hearing back from you

Called dealership I bought boxster from in November. Ran credit and I'm approved for another vehicle but they don't have any Porsches right now

So all they told you was the engine's blown? Not even suspicions for what caused it or what failed/broke in the process?

Something about not holding compression in five of the cylinders? Losing coolant? Basically dead, from my extemely limited understanding. Sorry I drove a toyota for 8 years before buying Porsche, I didn't need to know anything :D but the avalon had all the excitement of driving a couch

Sounds like a cracked block. That sucks. :(
Hmm...I'd offer the guy on cl 8k and meet in the middle at 9.

If you don't jump on that...would be awesome to have both a white Box and a black one! :D

Found a 03 on ebay in chesterfield. Called the guy, I'm checking it out tomorrow

Cardinals win again! :D

Hey I had the same identical problem. If you got coolant in your oil, sometimes the oil cooler leaks giving the appearance of a blown head. After I replaced my oil cooler, I got up to 230+ on the way home. Next morning I filled the coolant tank the PROPER way as illustrated in the mechanics manual. You have to open the bleed valve run the engine and blip the throttle to get the air out. After that no more problems. Boxster doesn't do too good in 100+ heat. I live in AZ and was thinking of refitting the s middle radiator. I also put a bottle of cool wetter in my radiator.

Overdrive, it was an "auto-stick."

Is it because of broken water pump impeller blades? It's a good reminder to those that haven't changed out theirs yet...

i test drove another boxster tonight, a 99 with 85k on it, asking 9k

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1343353924.jpg

and... something, maybe it was just that car, it did have a funky smell, like that smell from auction cars get. I use to buy state surplus vehicles, old cop cards, etc, and you'd open the door and they'd always have that horrible smell, i'll never forget it

But anyway, it wasn't as fast. Yeah, I know, I don't know, it just.... didn't pickup, anywhere near the way mine did. It was a base, 5-speed like mine, just felt slower. Not like seconds slower, not like 2012 ford focus slower, but it was a clear difference. And the owner selling it was in the passenger seat, but I've had passengers before, and he was a small guy so it wasn't that. I kept asking him, is the oil new? air filters? .... repairs? everything good? Yep yep yep yep YES. So I dunno.

didn't handle like it should either, felt.... loose, at highway speeds. Bit of wheel shaking. Where my 986, was more like a mountain bike, completely tight, and when you turned the wheel it reacted, instantly.

Body was good. Black on black. New top, maybe it had been sitting awhile? the roll bars were all eaten away, like it had been sitting in the rain for years. Latch to trunk was broken. Keyless entry buttons were broken. Latch to bring seats down were broken off and rust was in there.

only 85k

I guess mine was more rare than I thought because mine was (is?) in PERFECT shape at 100,000 miles. But I figured, it's a $50,000 exotic 2-seater convertible, no one's baby puked in the backseat, no dogs or cat, people that buy these have $, they don't live in trailers, they take care of their things. Apparently not everyone. He said he only had it a few months, bought it in florida from some guy, so who knows.....

but i dunno anymore.... this really got me thinking, maybe new engine is the way to go? 3k engine, ~1k install, driving my PERFECT boxster again, vs risk 10k on a lemon?

the really scary thing is NONE of what I saw tonight would appear in photos, unless it was high resolution and they took a photo of exactly that spot, so i would be oh-so-screwed if I bought something on eBay, flew 1,000 miles and found out, oh.... this wasn't mentioned in the auction.... oh you didn't notice it? Oh... yah, ok, that's... uh.... yeah..... what bout this? didn't notice that either? Huh...... i didn't see this in the photos, i looked at the photos, guess they weren't good enough to see all this..... (wow)......

guess something is to be said about buying locally.... and hanging on to what you have if it's in good shape rather than throwing it away

there is inspectmyride
https://www.inspectmyride.com/

i've never used it but it sounds like a good idea... and look, they inspected a boxster:
InspectMyRide.com Vehicle Condition Report | 2003 PORSCHE BOXSTER

and.... screwed up the displacement (3.0?)

Here it is Tuesday night, light was solid red. This is actually the photo I text the mechanic and he said see if there's coolant coming out... oh there's not? You're fine. I had brought it to his shop just the day before and he looked over everything and said everything was fine
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1343355273.jpg


Next morning driving to work, when I pulled over and called him and said hey, it's 250, now what? Bad temp sensor? Drive more? well.... ok.....
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1343355167.jpg

15 miles later....
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1343355419.jpg

this is the only fluid that was under the vehicle when towed, not.... as much as I'd expect...? but, i'm far from an expert on these things, which is why I call people who claim to be an expert... or, at least take other people's money while pretending to be an expert
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1343355501.jpg

and i know, i must seem like an idiot, because EVERYONE knows, car overheating, PULL OVER HAVE TOWED. Yeah yeah... i.... trusted the wrong person for advice. I know, overheating, have fixed, so I brought it in, Monday, have it checked out, tell me is it drive-able? Because this is what it was doing, in rush hour traffic, on a 110 day:
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1343356322.jpg

so I was like, oh no, that's not good, I better take it in to have it looked at!

Told it's fine, add coolant, keep driving. Past 3/4? Solid red light? Keep driving. Max temp? bad sensor, keep driving.... :(:confused::mad::barf::ah:

If you mean an automatic with a gate to the side to allow for manual shifting, that's a vanilla Mazda3, probably even a 3i if it was a rental, so no surprise it was quite pedestrian to your Boxster.

yeah my rental 2012 focus offers that, and trust me pushing a button is not the same as rowing gears at all

Oh!!! Thanks for the update! Yeah Vogue Motor Company always have a boxster for sale on craigslist.... ok, i'll watch out for them, thanks for the advice

And inquiry, I think you may have just trusted a bit too much here. If this was someone who doesn't know Porsches specifically, I wouldn't figure this to be good advice. Flashing or solid red lights tend to set off alarms and wave flags in anyone's mind, and clearly you had your doubts here. You should have erred on the side of caution knowing that these cars have numerous failure points, some of which can have rather catastrophic results.

I don't mean for that to sound harsh and bust your balls, so don't take it personally. It's just a rather hard lesson to learn. I hope you're able to get this sorted out between this shop where your car currently is and maybe an engine from Jake Raby, and without breaking that bank too heavily.

Then, in the future, get the car on a flatbed when it starts yelling at you. ;)

Thank you for talking with me over the phone today. The offer was very reasonable, but by the time I pay for 2.5 + shipping + install, I could have made payments on a used boxster for over a year, maybe two years, so my options are entire new car or just the engine. Plus, coming up with all that, cash, at once, is not nearly as easy as paying that over 12-24 months.

new used engines just do not make financial sense for the price these vehicles are going for

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1343355167.jpg
My god, that image scares the JesusRapingAngels out of me. I would pull over before it even got NEAR that point, regardless of what ANYONE said.

i agree... and i called someone, and said this really isn't right, this is not what is suppose to happen, and they should have said exactly what you said "My god, that scares the JesusRapingAngels out of me. I would pull over"

but they didn't... and i know, that sounds really stupid, but.... i trusted someone, with my car, someone who had earned that trust over many years of many successful repairs, and this is what happened. How was I suppose to know? After being right every time for so long... kinda just trust them to be right, you know?

I would have been better off on my own, I was on the side of the highway, I would have shut off the car and called a tow truck and take a cab to work, then rent a car like I did to get home, but at least I'd still have my Porsche :(:o

you're right, i bought mine in November, i will... wait, as incredibly painful that will be :barf::barf::barf::barf:

i don't think you guys understand

My computer background? Boxster
Screensaver? Boxsters, mostly from THIS forum
Cellphone? My Boxster, day I bought it at dealership

Before I got the boxster, it was a dream, so... yeah, I don't put pictures of cars all over my stuff, so nothing, anywhere, but once I owned it, why not? I have it, it's mine, and I *love* it, why not?

I took a picture of it.... everyday, for 4 months. Everyday I work, I'd take a photo, of it parked. I told myself it was in case someone hit it, but i secretly knew the truth. facebook? what do you think?

i'm like a kid, it's pathetic, i got a fever, and the only prescription is more porsches!

how am i going to show my face at PCA meetings?!? :(:(:(:(:(:ah:

Do you have a place to install the engine yourself? Got a decent garage? Fall is coming up, temps will be dropping, and I'll have a few months of downtime from my racing program to help out someone with an engine swap. I've pulled out and swapped lots of Subaru engines (putting in a new engine/trans this weekend in my race car). I'll gladly pitch in and help you out with an engine swap if you want to go the DIY route. With a complete engine it really is pretty simple. Just gotta plug everything in the right spots. Just takes time. :)

I have a garage but not a "garage" so I have no tools, just a hammer, adjustable wrench and cordless drill, will that be enough? I'm afraid purchasing tools for a engine swap could cost nearly as much as paying someone.

These aren't the same engines in subarus are they?

Don't tempt me on a swap, half me really wants to swap, especially after test driving that boxster tonight and seeing how bad a used boxster can get and what great shape my boxster was in!

Hey 986 Inquiry, maybe you did some damage to your cooling system last year when you smashed into that pedestrian? That poor lady. How's she recovering from her injuries? You were going to sue her for getting in your way and wearing black clothing at night time. Maybe you can use some of your lawsuit proceeds, and pay for a new engine or Boxster, or brand new Boxster 981 with all the options. Karma, dude......it will get ya!:)

Really all you need is a good jack, jackstands (all cheap at Harbor Freight) and a metric tool set. If you seriously wanted to do a swap yourself, I could bring my tools over for a weekend and help you out, or let you borrow some. Things are much easier with a portable impact, extensions, and a good torque wrench.

Not the same engine, but similar design (boxer), though you have to drop the engine down through the car rather than pull it up in a Subaru. But really once you've tackled one modern engine swap, you've tackled them all. Hardest part seems to be removing the transmission, and that doesn't really seem all that hard in itself, just time consuming.

Once you've swapped an engine you'll be able to tackle any maintenance job on most any car. I know I am confident. Just not confident enough to rebuild a trans. That'll I'll still have a pro do, ha.

Check your PM's.

thanks, I'm considering swapping. Buying another boxster is smarter financially but I really loved mine :)

For now I'll just have to buy something cheap to get around since ex wanted my extra vehicle.

Go track down some beater Neon...I'd normally say find one for $500 with a blown head gasket, which isn't hard at all to repair, but you can find a cheap beater to get around in, no problem.

As I said before, be careful shopping around for used engines if you decide to go the swap route. Not everyone has scruples and puts these things back together well.

You should also find out from the shop where the car is now what happened to your engine. Maybe it can be rebuilt.

Boxster is still at Reid Vann. I called for more information. They said they're still looking for a 2.5 locally. Asked about financing and no, none available. I could pay the 4k+, but there are cheaper options right now, like buying a beater and driving that for a few months, until I figure out if swapping or new boxster is the better

They're going to get back to me about the cost of installation and engine availability. Told them flat6 has one, Reid said they'll let me know how much to install if I bring in my own engine. Right now i owe $55 for half hour diagnosis

Reid Vann mentioned the cost of rebuild being 13k, so I'm guessing it can be, otherwise why quote me a price? I'll ask again when they call back

I learned a valuable lesson: never take a Porsche to a shop that does not work on Porsches often. Yes, labor is about double at a Porsche specialist, but a few hundred bucks difference is MUCH cheaper than the emotional stress and financial burden of a new engine.

I'm also discovering every Porsche is unique. They might leave the factory the same, but they're not all in the same condition 10 yrs later. That great deal on craigslist or ebay might not run as great as the seller claims, and there could be a lot of problems not mentioned in the ad, like the 99 I drove yesterday with the rollbars eaten up, engine not accelerating like it should and steering wheel shaking at 60mph. Sure it can be repaired, but who wants to pay full blue book and have a bunch of repairs? Just because a engine light is not on does not mean the Porsche is driving like it should

reid vann emailed me a estimate: $7000 total. $1300 labor, $4500 engine, $1200 for taxes, fees, water pump, oil, etc

I emailed them back with a long list of questions , ill post them When I hear back

Engine is used 2.5 with 29k on it

Inquiry, The valuable lesson is to not ignore idiot lights, one can blow and American engine the exact same way, overheating is after all overheating. Your wedding pal mechanic was flat wrong regardless of maker.

I had a shop to use free to rebuild my 986 but I was physically unable to do it, which was THE ONLY way that made economic sense on a 10+ year old car. If you pull the trigger, at the end of the journey you have another engine without knowledge of driving history and still laden with the faults the company has since tried to correct, just my two cents. If I had done that and had another failure I'd have been close to paying far more than half a spyder (with initial purchase included) and still have a roller.

Regarding the "kick to your balls" while you are currently fetal. What happened in the past seemed a bit ugly to me too but people are humans and the best we can do is learn from that and try to be a better man next time. I would remind the poster that grinding a lesson into another person while standing in judgement is also tossing a big negative boomerang, best not to have too many airborne at once. Good luck.

Oh I did not ignore any lights, every time a light came on I either brought the car to the shop or called mechanic and described what was happening. I did as told, unfortunately the person I was asking was not the expert they claimed to be.

So the lesson I learned was call the actual Porsche experts and listen to them... or call two Porsche experts maybe

And... am I grinding a lesson into someone? Sorry if someone feels that way, I'm trying to grind it into myself really, I certainly learned my lesson and just posting my story, I hope it doesn't feel like i am rubbing something in someone's face because that is not my intent

No, I think Flav a Flav took a lil cheap shot but having said that your posts of that incident were a bit tough to read. My point is anyone is capable of being a dick, the true measure of the man is whether he has contrition for his stupidity, makes restitution if necessary and changes for the next go around.

PS I thought you said the gauge was pinned hot when the car crapped, if so my point stands, that would happen with any car, they share similar technology.