Bad week...

[BoxsterLS376]

Sorry to hear about this. Very possible the oil separator could have caused this issue then once it was shut down allowed a cylinder to fill with enough oil to lock it. Assumably and probably best case oil will come out when they pull the plugs. If coolant comes out then you may have bigger problems.

If it is oil hopefully you can replace the separator, suck as much oil out of the cylinders as possible and hope for the best. It will smoke for a bit and worst case maybe throw in some new plugs once it burns off, hopefully they get most of the oil out and it won't do any damage to the catalytic converters.

If you have coolant in the motor then likely you have a cracked cylinder or cylinder head, in that case it is pretty much a boat anchor So like I said, hope for oil.

Answering your value question is a bit harder, unfortunately even with good motors they aren't worth that much yet alone with bad ones. Mostly due to repair costs and in most cases engine replacement will cost more then the car is worth. If the car is unique/exceptional i.e. an S model with rare options it may be worth saving or worth more to someone who will fix it, but if it is a run of the mill base model then yeah $4K with a bad motor is good money, heck you can buy 911's with bad motors for $5k.

Hope it turns out well for ya~
J

[TNcargirl]

Thanks so much for the input. These replies at least make me feel better (I'm trying not to think about all weekend but that's impossible). I'll cross the fingers for oil. She's never had any coolant issues and hasn't been running hot. I think I've just started to prepare myself for bent rods and cracked cylinders. I'm single but all my friend's husbands are muscle car guys and they just roll their eyes at my German car issues so this forum is my best way to get opinions. The shop is pretty backed up so it may be mid week next week before I know. I'll be sure to post the verdict. Thanks again. -rena

Originally Posted by BoxsterLS376

Sorry to hear about this. Very possible the oil separator could have caused this issue then once it was shut down allowed a cylinder to fill with enough oil to lock it. Assumably and probably best case oil will come out when they pull the plugs. If coolant comes out then you may have bigger problems.

If it is oil hopefully you can replace the separator, suck as much oil out of the cylinders as possible and hope for the best. It will smoke for a bit and worst case maybe throw in some new plugs once it burns off, hopefully they get most of the oil out and it won't do any damage to the catalytic converters.

If you have coolant in the motor then likely you have a cracked cylinder or cylinder head, in that case it is pretty much a boat anchor So like I said, hope for oil.

Answering your value question is a bit harder, unfortunately even with good motors they aren't worth that much yet alone with bad ones. Mostly due to repair costs and in most cases engine replacement will cost more then the car is worth. If the car is unique/exceptional i.e. an S model with rare options it may be worth saving or worth more to someone who will fix it, but if it is a run of the mill base model then yeah $4K with a bad motor is good money, heck you can buy 911's with bad motors for $5k.

Hope it turns out well for ya~
J

[BoxsterLS376]

Originally Posted by TNcargirl

Thanks so much for the input. These replies at least make me feel better (I'm trying not to think about all weekend but that's impossible). I'll cross the fingers for oil. She's never had any coolant issues and hasn't been running hot. I think I've just started to prepare myself for bent rods and cracked cylinders. I'm single but all my friend's husbands are muscle car guys and they just roll their eyes at my German car issues so this forum is my best way to get opinions. The shop is pretty backed up so it may be mid week next week before I know. I'll be sure to post the verdict. Thanks again. -rena

Yeah I drive a German car with an American motor so pretty much everyone just rolls their eyes at me

Best of luck~
J

[Porsche9]

Originally Posted by BoxsterLS376

Yeah I drive a German car with an American motor so pretty much everyone just rolls their eyes at me

Best of luck~
J

Just had a buddy lose a 5.0 coyote engine with just 70k in it. Stuff happens. Repairing the orginal engine or dropping an American motor into a Boxster are both a significant investments with both having merit.

[sfkjeld]

Originally Posted by BoxsterLS376

heck you can buy 911's with bad motors for $5k.

Where can I find these $5k 911s?

[husker boxster]

Sorry to hear about your situation. If it was hydro-lock, it comes down to how much damage occurred. Think rods usually take a beating in these situations.

A couple of options in case the worst scenario prevails.

1. A friend of mine has an 02 Boxster with a Cayman engine in it. Not sure if it's 2.7 or 3.4, but assumed 3.4. He was cleaning his MAF and evidently excess MAF cleaner leaked out of the air cleaner onto the exhaust and started a small fire. Did some damage to some of the plastic parts on the driver's side of the engine. He said it also fried his computer and the cost was going to be too much for him. He wants to sell his engine. Combining parts from your engine with the ones he needs (intake manifold, etc) might be a good soln. I can check with him if you're interested.

2. Try selling as a roller on ebay or on PCA.org. Someone may need a roller for a race car. There was an ad on Planet-9 for someone looking for a Cayman roller, but that was a while back.

Best of luck.

[BoxsterLS376]

Originally Posted by sfkjeld

Where can I find these $5k 911s?

See them pop up from time to time on Craigslist and various forums, Ebay as well, heck spend a bit more and you can get a nice convertible or targa for a good price - From current Ebay search:

No motor or trans, but went for $4500
2002 Porsche 911 | eBay

Complete with engine "tick" for $8200
Porsche: 911 all wheel drive | eBay

Targa with a "tick" that went for $10K
2002 Porsche 911 Targa 2D | eBay

99 coupe with a bad motor - $8k
1999 Porsche 911 | eBay

They are out there but you have to be quick.