Boxter 986S 3.2 motor

[Niko]

It is with sad regret that I have to announce that my old Yella terra looks like it has had an engine blow up.

Apparently the new owner Paul was doing an overtake when a large plume of blue smoke popped out, pulled over immediately and engine wont start.

Getting looked over now but apparently the Doctor says it looks terminal..

No more details as to that, but looks like he is looking for a good second hand 986S motor, if anyone has any clues can you get back to me please

[911sies]

Crap, that's not good.There must be a few engines out there, I would think. The 3.2 S sold pretty well, so I'm imagining a few of them found a hedge. 

Without wishing to vulture on bad news, I would be interested to hear why the motor let go, if you find out more, 

[Niko]

Yes, it is crap, I was very surprised when Paul told me.  

180k on the clock, I have asked to find out what his mechanic comes up with.

IMS shouldn't have been a factor, that was replaced when I had it.

 

[Mike D'Silva]

so, the motor turns over but does not start?

Has the AOS shat itself and filled the intake with oil?

 

[Niko]

so, the motor turns over but does not start?

Has the AOS shat itself and filled the intake with oil?

 

No more details yet Mike, can't tell you re... turns over or not.   

AOS was replaced when I had it not too lmany K's back.   But I guess it could go again.

Certainly keep everyone up to date as soon as I get more info from him.

 

[Niko]

No more details yet Mike, can't tell you re... turns over or not.   

AOS was replaced when I had it not too lmany K's back.   But I guess it could go again.

Certainly keep everyone up to date as soon as I get more info from him.

 

Ok.. I have just been told the engine will not turn over.   

Turn the key and you get that noise you dont ever want to hear.   Just a clunk.

Sounds like it may be seized or something inside broken.

Pauls mechanic up there (Lennox Head) is having a look at it tomorrow so more to come once he has done his tests.

Coolant is all good in the reservoir and at right level.

Re the AOS there had been no tell tale early warning signs of big wofts of smoke out of the exhaust.

But that is still a possibility I guess Mike.   Tomorrow should tell us.

 

 

[ADS911]

Sorry to hear.

There was a couple of low km's 3.2S Motors in SA for $6 -7k recently.

let me know if needed and I will track down the details.

[Niko]

Sorry to hear.

There was a couple of low km's 3.2S Motors in SA for $6 -7k recently.

let me know if needed and I will track down the details.

Thanks for that, I would have thought somewhere between $6 and $8k would be the ballpark figure..

I will let you know, and if it is required if I could just get the phone number or details I can pass them on to Paul.

Cheers

 

[TINGY]

Sad news indeed, no one ever wants to see that happen to anybody, hope it all works out ok for him.

[Airhead]

Niko warranty any good?

[Niko]

Niko warranty any good?

ha ha, stop it.    This is serious  

 I actually feel bad enough about it as is.

[Jason E]

Sorry to hear Niko.  Whilst not your fault of course I can understand why you feel bad for the purchaser.  This kind of story scares the crap out of me.  Being tight, cheap & poor myself I would hate to buy a car & then have this sort of thing happen & be up for an unexpected 6 to 8k.  You hear many say that a Porsche motor will do 400k no worries if looked after (but of course these stories come around now & then just to shrivel the balls like a winters dip).  It just goes to prove that no matter how well looked after a mechanical object is you need to factor in a "what if" contingency (as in "what if I need to sell a vital organ to raise the money to fix my engine?").

[BAFE]

That's crap news @Niko understandable to feel for the guy but its certainly nothing you can be faulted for. 

It was a well and truly pampered car while in your care....

Surely he'll find a replacement motor he'll just need to exercise some patience i guess

[Caver]

Be interested in the diagnosis when it comes to hand.

[Niko]

Jason, it is extremely rare (as far as I know) for something like this to happen. (Whatever it is...at this stage) 

(So I wouldn't be panicking, if your thinking of buying one.) 

Having said that we don't know yet what the actual problem is as Paul (new owner) is not all that mechanically minded,

so until we get an official diagnosis we won't know for sure what has let go.

Paul definitely loves the car and wants to keep it and although rebuilding the current engine (if needed) would be the best thing as far as keeping it original etc goes, reality is it's a 15 year old car now and there is not a lot of cars out there who don't have some major problem at this stage in it's life.

Up till now the car hasn't had any problems that would scare the bejeesus out of you, so it has had a good run.

In fact looking around on the roads nowadays brands of most older cars are no longer on the roads so, the Box has done well really.

Keeping in mind also this one is now a daily driver.

That model Boxster for the price your paying for them is a hell of a lot of fun for not a big payout.  

And I agree you, it might be prudent to have a little put aside for unexpected surprises.

Anyway gents stay tuned and I will bring in updates of what has happened.

 

[qstoria]

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/st-peters/engine-engine-parts-transmission/2003-porsche-986-boxster-s-3-2l-m96-24-complete-engine-4-sale/1118833084

Been advertised for a while now and I feel it will continue to do so at an asking price of 12.5k but perhaps a more realistic offer of around 8k will get it moving.  IMS access is right there for you and it is low KM (a good thing once IMS is done!)

All the best with the search Niko and to the new owner Paul.

[Niko]

Thanks for that Qstoria, that certainly has all the bits and pieces and with only 36k on the clock.

I will pass it on to Paul.

Thanks again...

[Apogee]

I'd be sourcing a 3.8L engine instead. Might as well use the opportunity to upgrade. Turn a bad thing into a good one.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/fawkner/wrecking/wrecking-2007-porsche-carrera-911-997/1079861124

www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/rossmoyne/wrecking/porsche-911-997-4s-convertible-damaged-all-parts-wrecking-mot/1124193543

[Niko]

Sorry to hear.

There was a couple of low km's 3.2S Motors in SA for $6 -7k recently.

let me know if needed and I will track down the details.

Mate hate to ask you but would you be able to give me any details you may have on either of those donks.

Be interested in the diagnosis when it comes to hand.

Craaaacked head apparently.    I am still trying to see if the mechanic can give a reason.

I'd be sourcing a 3.8L engine instead. Might as well use the opportunity to upgrade. Turn a bad thing into a good one.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/fawkner/wrecking/wrecking-2007-porsche-carrera-911-997/1079861124

www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/rossmoyne/wrecking/porsche-911-997-4s-convertible-damaged-all-parts-wrecking-mot/1124193543

I understand what your saying, but Paul wants to keep it as a 3.2 plus I would think a 3.8 would be well and truly out of the price range anyway.

[Airhead]

Turn the key and you get that noise you dont ever want to hear.   Just a clunk.

Sounds like it may be seized or something inside broken.

Craaaacked head apparently.  

Cracked because a rod & piston went through it?

Cracked alone shouldn't stop it turning over.

[Niko]

Agree Baz, but that's all Paul can tell me at this stage.

I find it hard to understand how it would "just crack"   

Certainly no mention of that sort of piston or rod castrophe.

Coolant and Oil were all good.  

[firstone]

Water pump failure would crack the head (amongst other things) and may not lose coolant. 

[Niko]

I replaced the Water pump about three years ago, that's not to say it hasn't failed though.

I am still trying to find out more...re the cause.

[t888]

Sorry to hear Niko.  Whilst not your fault of course I can understand why you feel bad for the purchaser.  This kind of story scares the crap out of me.  Being tight, cheap & poor myself I would hate to buy a car & then have this sort of thing happen & be up for an unexpected 6 to 8k.  You hear many say that a Porsche motor will do 400k no worries if looked after (but of course these stories come around now & then just to shrivel the balls like a winters dip).  It just goes to prove that no matter how well looked after a mechanical object is you need to factor in a "what if" contingency (as in "what if I need to sell a vital organ to raise the money to fix my engine?").

yeah definitely. I hope the owner gets his car sorted out ok. Unfortunately I don't think anyone familiar with the m96/m97 engine design would be expecting 400k kms (the front-engined v8's are another story). The IMS bearing issues are only one of many failure modes. That said I think this risk is already reflected in the prices for the 986 boxsters / 996s. Who would buy one of these over a similarly priced later gen car? 

There's a thread on one of the US forums at the moment about how a 996 is really a $30k USD + car regardless of initial price and i think they've got a point.

The 9A1 engines, used in Boxster and Cayman 987.2 and 911 997.2's onwards seems to be faring pretty well in terms of reliability but of course they come at a big premium. I can't really picture their prices ever falling below their .1 predecessors, and likewise for the 987/997 when compared to the 986 and 996. The reality is that for the 'tight cheap and poor' a Porsche probably isn't a rational choice. 

[ADS911]

Mate hate to ask you but would you be able to give me any details you may have on either of those donks.

Hi Niko,

Actually know of 3 x Motors. 

I'll PM details to you shortly.

I investigated while sourcing some other bits for mine. 

Cheers