Oops I did it again...

[dvenman]

Gory photos of the sort of thing you *don't* want to see when your engine is stripped after a sudden stoppage:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151753584927783.1073741826.789867782&type=1&l=a91bdffd30

It's likely that the valve spring broke, the collets let the valve drop and the subsequent carnage ensued. There is swarf in the intake plenums, which means it's likely also in the crankcase and then in the rest of the engine. Steve Bull's have said it would be approximately £5k to rebuild the engine and that's just uneconomical for me at the moment.

So, I'm after advice. As I see it I have a bunch of options, some of which make sense and some of which don't. I'm listing all the ones I've thought of and would appreciate comments and steers. I'm trying to be practical and subjective, rather than emotional.

1. Buy a new engine from Porsche. At £10-12k (ish) this is plainly silly for a car which cost me just under £8k to buy.

2. Buy a reconditioned engine which has a warranty. £4k plus VAT plus fitting plus WYAIT things like metal-bladed water pump, low temp thermostat, upgraded IMS (if not fitted), new clutch and DMF if warranted. Possible, but the bill's already going upwards and the numbers won't match.

3. Buy an engine out of a Boxster which has had a front-end crash, int he region of £2.5k. Assuming I can find a decent one, from a vehicle where the DME records little or no range1/range2 ignitions, there's still a risk as the general state of the engine will be unknown. Add in the cost of fitting and a warranty and you're up to about £4k or so (£1k for a warranty, £500 to fit...) plus the clutch stuff.

4. Get the engine rebuilt. If the swarf hasn't damaged anything else it's still a starting point of a £5k bill for a new cylinder head, replacement liner and the labour involved, plus the "WYAIT" stuff as (2). At least the numbers will match, and I know the 4-6 cylinder head and camshafts should be ok

5. Part the car and engine out - the accessories are in generally good nick, the bodywork's ok, the electrics are good. How much could I realistically expect to achieve this way?

Despite all this, I'm determined to get back into a Porker as soon as I can - the driving experience is sublime, and I miss it.

 

[spyderman]

I would *not* have a rebuild - the crank could be bent. A recon engine would be the safest bet; only buy a crashed engine if you are supremely confident it's in good nick.

Chris.

 

[Nick_USA]

I've been here post an IMS failure on a 986S.

I am inclined to agree on don't rebuild the engine unless you are planning on getting rid of the car very quickly.

With a recon engine you could be buying a rebuild of an engine that has had the exact same fault as you own. The only advantage here is that the engine now works and you aren't into 'we found this during the strip down and therefore you quote needs to be redone'. You may also get a limited warranty on the work but it usualy only covers the parts replaced not the complete engine.

A post crash engine is a lottery and you are probably not going to get any warranty that is any good with this.

The option I chose was the new factory engine from Porsche. Expensive perhaps on the outside looking in, howver, if you have go to the stage of know what is wrong with your car then the engine is already out. So the only remaining cost is the new engine and the refit and not the continued tear down and labour. The biggest advantage on the new engine is the 2 year warranty for the complete engine. The only things reused from the old is the clutch plate (and you could replace it here) and the air con pump, everything else is new. Yes all of this cost me 11K but you know where you stand.

One final option to consider, scrapping the car as is, it should pay for your current bill plus leaving enough for a deposit on the replacement. I know this may sound crazy but if you paid 8K then it may be an option worth considering.

 

[Motorhead]

Ouch..! That's really bad luck Dave.

Other than scapping the car for parts, I agree with Chris on this. Probably best to get an expert rebuild from a Porsche specialist like Hartech or Autofarm.

Jeff

 

[dvenman]

Hmmm. Maybe a trip to Bolton or Weston-on-the-Green is in order...

Some small context about the way the engine stopped may be in order, relating to Chris' point about the crank. For a few months there's been a vibration - engine related, since it was at idle when the car was stationary. On the way home (only 10 minutes away...took me another 2 hours to get the last 10 miles) it felt different / a bit worse, so on a downhill I put the clutch in and simultaneously took my foot off the gas. Then I heard a sound like fabric rustling and the dashboard lit up, the power steering went very heavy, and it all went quiet. The car was coasted about 1/3 of a mile to a safe place to stop, and then recovered on a flat bed.

In that situation - no load on the engine (not even the gearbox in neutral) and no power applied, what are the chances of a bent crank ? And what mechanism would cause that ?

 

[dave364634]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PORSCHE-BOXSTER-986-2-5-ENGINE-/151124879402?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item232fbea82a
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Porsche-Boxster-Engine-Porsche-Boxster-S-Engine-M96-21-Engine-986-3-2-/291032276653?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Plat_Gen%3A986&hash=item43c2e01ead
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PORSCHE-911-996-3-4-ENGINE-REBUILD-FIT-2-YEAR-PARTS-LABOUR-WARRANTY-/270899740851?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3f12e200b3
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PORSCHE-911-996-997-3-6-ENGINE-REBUILD-FIT-2-YEAR-PARTS-LABOUR-WARRANTY-/270899740875?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3f12e200cb
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Porsche-996-3-6L-GT2-Petrol-Engine-M9670-/271141158490?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3f2145be5a
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PORSCHE-CARRERA-S-4S-997-911-3-8-ENGINE-SUPPLY-FITTING-2004-2009-/111221423147?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item19e5503c2b
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-4-2-V8-32-Valve-Engine-Type-AHC-340-BHP-S8-Uprated-ABZ-/171052325651?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item27d3835b13

How brave are you feeling?

 

[Motorhead]

ORIGINAL: dvenman

In that situation - no load on the engine (not even the gearbox in neutral) and no power applied, what are the chances of a bent crank ? And what mechanism would cause that ?

Dave,

One advantage of the flat-6 (boxer) configuration is that the crankshaft is very compact and stiff and therefore able to withstand considerable abuse*. However, from your pics it appears that the valve has been rattling around in the cylinder - causing a significant amount of damage - and only a complete engine strip-down will tell you the extent of the damage to various components. Any reputable engine rebuilder will do this as a matter of routine.

I recall your previous posting re engine vibration (didn't we think that it might have been a failed engine/gearbox mount?), so it seems as though the problem has been building for a little while.

Unfortunately, it looks like a very expensive repair job to me.

Jeff

*Anecdote: I remember seeing Porsche 962s running on 5-cylinders for extended periods at the Le Mans 24-hours, the damaged cylinder having been blanked off when the piston burnt out. Must have been very uncomfortable for the driver..!