Engine sh!t itself

[Randeep]

Hi all,

 

After having my Boxster's suspension refreshed only 200 miles ago I have been using it as intended, but on coming back from a trip to Birmingham it cut out coming off the motorway and then started to make a serious clatter. I pulled over had it recovered to a local garage (CavendishPorscha) who have looked at it and said the crankshaft has serious play and there are fragments of metal in the oil filter, so its basically a write off engine wise

Now I've just spent many thousands of pounds over the last 18 months on the following getting it in a better condition:

1. New coil packs all round

2. Replaced brake pipes front to back

3. New Brembo disks/pads

4. Full suspension refresh, all coffin arms, top mounts, drop links, Koni active shocks and H&R lowering springs (only 200 miles on them)

5. Fitted 5mm spacers all round with longer studs (as per anniversary edition as it has the same Carrera 2 wheels) 

So the car is a midnight blue 2003 2.7 facelift but its done 138K, so my dilemma, I could end up paying the price of what its worth (when working) just on a second hand engine and fitting (not sure of cost but ballpark £5-6k), leaving me circa £13K+ into the car or I cut my losses and sell it as is, however how much would I get for car as it stands?

I'm awaiting a quote from CavendishPorscha on a second hand engine and fitting. No point in re-building...

 

Thanks for the help

 

Randeep 

 

[edc]

Very bad luck! I guess you're looking at £1.5-2.5 with the bad engine. If iubha e the time, space inclination, out could break the car yourself and realise more but I think you will have more time in labour dismantling than is worth it. 

Say you get £1k more by breaking you're probably in for 30+ hours dismantling. Multiply that by your jobs hours rate and you've probably busy through £1k in labour. 

[RedBarediver]

15 minutes ago, edc said:

Very bad luck! I guess you're looking at £1.5-2.5 with the bad engine. If iubha e the time, space inclination, out could break the car yourself and realise more but I think you will have more time in labour dismantling than is worth it. 

Say you get £1k more by breaking you're probably in for 30+ hours dismantling. Multiply that by your jobs hours rate and you've probably busy through £1k in labour. 

Sadly this is very true. You can also bite the bullet, put a new engine in and keep the car until you get buried with it. You'll never see the money you spent on buying, fixing and maintaining it if you do sell. On the other hand you will have a car that has had a complete suspension refresh, and now a reconditioned engine so should be good for many more miles.

Not an easy choice to make unfortunately. I already have so much invested in mine that I am dreading having to make the same choice... Mine is a Cat S and lately I am thinking that the cam chains and cam chain guide rails will probably have to be refreshed at some point. It's on 104,000 miles.... I don't have the space to do it myself or I would give it a go as a project.

Edited April 18, 2023 by RedBarediver

[Menoporsche]

Rotten luck. We had another high-profile well repaired 986 then see its crankshaft bearings explode.  IIRC it was eventually sold (of course at a loss) to an enthusiastic garage who enjoyed putting it back on the road in their spare time.  Don't know where it is now. Kick in the teeth for the owner.

Aside from freaks of the market (Waiting List Editions, and C ovid craziness), we all lose money on cars, it's just as petrolheads we tend to conveniently overlook a lot of the expenses. So it's just a question of how fast we lose it. 

Only you know how much you have time, money, patience, love for precisely this car, etc.

Good luck.

[bagss2]

Very bad luck.

I recalled seeing this on th'Bay tuther day when I read your post: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234976386550?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=z6Efp5jZRgu&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=6Rw_oE--Qpq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=WHATS_APP

(NB. I have nowt to do wit' seller and can't vouch for this donkey, just thought it could be a more inexpensive option).

Good luck.

 

Cheers, Baggers.

[fizz]

Man that is soul destroying to hear for you mate.  

Im fearful of ending up in the same boat as im currently putting a lot of monies into mine as well inc most of what you have listed. Dont know which way you should go but going by ebay i see there are a few 986 2.7 engines circa £1500. How much would a garage charge to fit it? Might be worth ringing round and see who would be willing to take it on and what they would charge. 

Did you have any symptoms that anything was wrong leading up to it? Was it a case of a pulley going bad? 

[fizz]

4 minutes ago, bagss2 said:

Very bad luck.

I recalled seeing this on th'Bay tuther day when I read your post: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234976386550?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=z6Efp5jZRgu&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=6Rw_oE--Qpq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=WHATS_APP

(NB. I have nowt to do wit' seller and can't vouch for this donkey, just thought it could be a more inexpensive option).

Good luck.

 

Cheers, Baggers.

That Dansk exhaust must be worth a few quid as well... hmm  

[Daboy3000]

Just been talking to a guy on FB that has a 2.7 on 110k with engine knocking.  Must be the season for it.   

Sorry to hear your news Randeep, I know how gutted I would be.  I hope you get it sorted.

I recently had to replace the airbag in my i3, it was over a grand, if you can get an engine for a Porsche for not much more than that sounds like a bargain.

[Boxer boy]

What’s the lubrication regime been .In your ownership period and as far as you can tell with the SH ( if any ) that came with it ? 
 

Just trying for the benefit of other 2.7 owners to get a handle on the wear and see if there’s anything to learn preventative wise .There might not be ! 

[iborguk]

33 minutes ago, Daboy3000 said:

if you can get an engine for a Porsche for not much more than that sounds like a bargain.

No chance I'd say.

[½cwt]

Looks like £2.5k to £2.75k for a working motor straight from a car, not reconditioned.

Edited April 18, 2023 by ½cwt

[80sMatchbox]

Sorry to hear this. It's a slight worry in the back of my mind as I would like to sort a few things on mine too though nothing major just yet.

 

 

[John2000]

Really sorry to read of your bad luck I'm not mechanical so can't help you but it think all 986 owner worry about this happing.

I part exchange my 986 with 150k on it I don't want to think how much money I spent on it but nothing needed doing to it but I drive through  Europe two or more time a year and this issue was at the back of my mind that's why I upgraded my boxster but I will now need to spend on this car I'm already £400 in with pre and post inspections

Hope you find a suitable engin at a good price if that's what you decide to do

[Randeep]

1 hour ago, bagss2 said:

Very bad luck.

I recalled seeing this on th'Bay tuther day when I read your post: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234976386550?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=z6Efp5jZRgu&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=6Rw_oE--Qpq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=WHATS_APP

(NB. I have nowt to do wit' seller and can't vouch for this donkey, just thought it could be a more inexpensive option).

Good luck.

 

Cheers, Baggers.

Thanks Baggers, might be an interesting one to follow up on, the local specialist is finding out how much he can get an engine for (as he fitted one for a customer at Christmas), so will see what he comes back with...

[iborguk]

5 minutes ago, Randeep said:

Thanks Baggers, might be an interesting one to follow up on, the local specialist is finding out how much he can get an engine for (as he fitted one for a customer at Christmas), so will see what he comes back with...

Sorry to hear of the grief, hope you get sorted. Where are they intending to get the engine from ? 

[Randeep]

1 hour ago, fizz said:

Man that is soul destroying to hear for you mate.  

Im fearful of ending up in the same boat as im currently putting a lot of monies into mine as well inc most of what you have listed. Dont know which way you should go but going by ebay i see there are a few 986 2.7 engines circa £1500. How much would a garage charge to fit it? Might be worth ringing round and see who would be willing to take it on and what they would charge. 

Did you have any symptoms that anything was wrong leading up to it? Was it a case of a pulley going bad? 

Its gutting as I spent £3k on it in Feb...

The prices on ebay seem all over the shop, ranging between 1.5k to 2.75k. I'm waiting to hear how much CavendishPorscha will charge to swap in labour, I'll ring around as well.

It was parked up for a few weeks when the front spring broke (couple of months back), when I restarted it, there was a rattling sound which went away then didn't come back (I put this down to standing still). I did start to hear a slight squeaking last week, thought the water pump was starting to go, could have possibly been a pulley on its way out...

[Ol' Shatterhand]

You're in good hands at Cavendish, they're my go-to indy and they know what they're doing.

I'd be very interested in finding out the root cause of your engine failure.

In the meantime, here is something to add to the man-maths balance, depending on what you're quoted (I am sorely tempted to bid for this myself and exchange my car):

https://wbandsons.com/listing/porsche-boxster-hartech/

[Randeep]

48 minutes ago, Boxer boy said:

What’s the lubrication regime been .In your ownership period and as far as you can tell with the SH ( if any ) that came with it ? 
 

Just trying for the benefit of other 2.7 owners to get a handle on the wear and see if there’s anything to learn preventative wise .There might not be ! 

I've had the car for 18 months and its had two services in that time at local Porsche specialists, last one in Feb. It had a full service history until about 110k where it looks to have been sat, missed a service then changed hands. The service book also states its had the RMS done (not sure about IMS, but assume they would have checked during RMS change). The full service history up to 110k is what made me think it would be ok, may be the subsequent gap created an issue...

[Randeep]

18 minutes ago, iborguk said:

Sorry to hear of the grief, hope you get sorted. Where are they intending to get the engine from ? 

I'm not sure, I will ask...

[iborguk]

3 minutes ago, Randeep said:

I've had the car for 18 months and its had two services in that time at local Porsche specialists, last one in Feb. It had a full service history until about 110k where it looks to have been sat, missed a service then changed hands. The service book also states its had the RMS done (not sure about IMS, but assume they would have checked during RMS change). The full service history up to 110k is what made me think it would be ok, may be the subsequent gap created an issue...

Easy for me to say you'll likely never know the root cause now without spending a chunk of change having the engine taken apart...

Roll forward and deal with the options presented to you 👍

 

[Randeep]

23 minutes ago, Ol' Shatterhand said:

You're in good hands at Cavendish, they're my go-to indy and they know what they're doing.

I'd be very interested in finding out the root cause of your engine failure.

In the meantime, here is something to add to the man-maths balance, depending on what you're quoted (I am sorely tempted to bid for this myself and exchange my car):

https://wbandsons.com/listing/porsche-boxster-hartech/

Good to hear, they are definitely enthusiasts and like a good chat showing you round the classics they have in, etc.

That would be a great car...well worth the guide price...

[Topbox]

Bad luck,  I know your pain  Had my 986 break it's engine at 17 years old on half the miles of yours. No right or wrong as to what to do next, as many factors involved as you clearly appreciate. What helped me was to remember how much money you loose if you buy a new car then sell it 3 or 4 years later. All the best.

[Randeep]

38 minutes ago, Topbox said:

Bad luck,  I know your pain  Had my 986 break it's engine at 17 years old on half the miles of yours. No right or wrong as to what to do next, as many factors involved as you clearly appreciate. What helped me was to remember how much money you loose if you buy a new car then sell it 3 or 4 years later. All the best.

Very true, out of interest did you replace the engine?

[Boxsum]

Sorry to hear !

Not sure of your situation but if mine ever goes bang (again) *new engine fitted back in 2008 by Exeter Porsche only  20,000 miles, I’m going all out and doing something worth doing maybe a 3.6 

Look at it as an opportunity or sell it! 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Boxsum

[Topbox]

1 hour ago, Randeep said:

Very true, out of interest did you replace the engine?

No, I sold on as was. I had owned the car four and half years and did some work early on, so I had had my money's worth from the car in many ways. I lost 4 to 5k on what it would have been worth in good order. A garage owner gave me 2k, rebuilt the engine and then had it fail again I heard.