Boxter 986S 3.2 motor

[Niko]

Thanks Anthony.   just replied...

[Jason E]

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. 

I suppose my 400k comment stemmed from several talks with Bruce Buchanan on the subject of 944/968 engine longevity.  This may have led me to have made an erroneous assumption that a Boxsters engine may be expected to do the same if well cared for.

My tight, cheap & poor description of myself was meant to be a bit flippant.  I suppose I should describe myself as expectant rather in so much as I would expect that if I paid for a car that had been well cared for I would hope that it would last.  Of course one assumes that these engines are high performance machines with the attendant issues that high performance engines may suffer from.  However I suppose as a novice in the Porsche world I hear people very often talk about the superior engineering & legendary robustness & longevity of Porsche engineering & again perhaps erroneously expect them to last longer than a "normal" car if well cared for.  I understand anything can fail for any number of reasons but again I just don't want it to happen to me.  Perhaps I should stick to a more modestly priced Marque!  Like a Trabant perhaps.

[Mike737]

There's an m96 floating around in the UK with 300k miles (not km!) on it, so I don't think that 400k km is out of the question, nor is 500k. It's all down to how you treat the engine at the end of the day. If you instantly push it before it's warmed up, or skip service intervals then you can have to expect you are shortening the lift of the engine.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=47&t=1601182&i=0
http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=115081

If you want to debate more about the m96 then take it to one of the many threads that already exists on this forum or open a new one.

In this case I don't think it would have been Niko's fault. This might have just been a small manufacturing defect in the engine, other Porsche models have them to as well as other brands. Maybe it was an owner before Niko that flogged it when cold. Who knows? This is just one case and Niko is trying to help the poor guy out, so let's try to be constructive and find engines and options. 

[ANF]

Only thing that is ‌@Niko 's fault is his dodgy spelling of Boxster

I hope the new owner finds an economical fix and does not sour his Porsche experience

[Niko]

 

Only thing that is ‌@Niko 's fault is his dodgy spelling of Boxster

I hope the new owner finds an economical fix and does not sour his Porsche experience

HA HA.. Thanks ANF, and it must be my keypad, seems to have the 'C' where the "B" should be.

I suppose my 400k comment stemmed from several talks with Bruce Buchanan on the subject of 944/968 engine longevity.  This may have led me to have made an erroneous assumption that a Boxsters engine may be expected to do the same if well cared for.

My tight, cheap & poor description of myself was meant to be a bit flippant.  I suppose I should describe myself as expectant rather in so much as I would expect that if I paid for a car that had been well cared for I would hope that it would last.  Of course one assumes that these engines are high performance machines with the attendant issues that high performance engines may suffer from.  However I suppose as a novice in the Porsche world I hear people very often talk about the superior engineering & legendary robustness & longevity of Porsche engineering & again perhaps erroneously expect them to last longer than a "normal" car if well cared for.  I understand anything can fail for any number of reasons but again I just don't want it to happen to me.  Perhaps I should stick to a more modestly priced Marque!  Like a Trabant perhaps.

In my opinion owning and driving (a) your Porsche is one of life's greatest enjoyments.  

Be great if you could put a 100% "nothing is ever going to happen to my car" (or your car)

but the reality is... something could go wrong, for whatever reason.

I can assure you my Coxster wanted for nothing while I had it and was in perfect health when I sold it.

(if it wasn't I woudn't have sold it) 

Maybe if you are concerned about things failing on your possible future Porsche, you really only have two options.

1.   Buy a new one.

               OR

2.   Don't buy a used one at all, if it's going to cause you that worry, and maybe stick with "a more moderately priced Marque" as you suggested.

 

There's an m96 floating around in the UK with 300k miles (not km!) on it, so I don't think that 400k km is out of the question, nor is 500k. It's all down to how you treat the engine at the end of the day. If you instantly push it before it's warmed up, or skip service intervals then you can have to expect you are shortening the lift of the engine.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=47&t=1601182&i=0
http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=115081

If you want to debate more about the m96 then take it to one of the many threads that already exists on this forum or open a new one.

In this case I don't think it would have been Niko's fault. This might have just been a small manufacturing defect in the engine, other Porsche models have them to as well as other brands. Maybe it was an owner before Niko that flogged it when cold. Who knows? This is just one case and Niko is trying to help the poor guy out, so let's try to be constructive and find engines and options. 

Thanks Mike, you have said exactly what I wanted to say on all counts.

 

[Niko]

It is apparently a cylinder head port that is cracked resulting in coolant in the oil.

Still unknown what caused that.

Paul is now in the market for a complete motor, at this stage the expense of repairing the heads and then recoing the motor

probably outweighs the price of a second hand motor.  So that looks like the solution.   The S.A. motors mentioned earlier are being considered 

[Mike737]

Makes some sense now. Unfortunate it is, but there's a few which have had the same issue. Hoping to hear that it's back in action soon.

[Niko]

Thanks to all who assisted in helping to find a  "new motor" in particular Anthony (ADS911)

Paul has just paid for one of the S.A. 3.2 motors listed above, and delivered to Lennox Head from S.A.

So all going well the yella terra will be back on the road again shortly.

Pauls mechanic is also going to replace the IMS while he is putting it in and get the tip gearbox overhauled.

So all in all it should be good for many years to come.

 

[firstone]

I'd be doing water pump and thermostat as well.