semicycler

1) What year? This is a very important question for IMS bearings in the 997 series (early 2005, later 2005-2008, or 2009-2012).

2) Post the repair work invoice, redacted if needed.

I read "rebuild" in the title and think engine tear down cylinder/piston/head work. This is many hours well beyond 32 with costs well above $10K, closer to $20K or more if done right. But your description sounds like an IMS bearing replacement on an early 2005, using OEM parts instead of LNE parts.

So, post the year and the repair invoice and the advice you get will change.

Blaine 997

In my case, it helped me buy my car, not the Audi dealer selling it. 2005 997.1 C2. Porsche replaced engine under warentee after IMS failure in 2008 at 20,000 miles. 35,000 miles on new motor (55,000) on the car. 8/10 exterior (9/10 when I get two wheels refinished), 9/10 interior, super clean car, all maintenance records since new, all service done at Porsche dealer. I chewed them down $9000 from their asking price only because of the non original motor. I saw it as a plus, but convinced them it was a big minus. I couldn't fault the rest of the car. Got the car for under $31K. I only had 996 money to spend and managed to get into the 997 I really wanted.

turnstile

Car is a 2007. Invoice info below, verbatim.

Invoice:
Item / Quantity

Engine Gasket Set / 1
Main Bearing / 14
Rod Bearings / 12
Water Pump / 1
Oil Separator / 1
Drive Belt / 1
Spark Plug / 6
Coolant / 1
Syn Motor Oil / 10
Oil Filter / 1
Intermediate Shaft Bearing / 1
Machine Work / 1
Engine Overhaul / 32

Ben Z

You might want to check this LINK and compare what they do to what was done as a "rebuild" on the car you're looking at. The RND protocols were set up by Jake Raby (Flat Six Innovations) and Charles Navarro (LN Engineering) with the goal in mind of addressing as many of these engines' known failure modes as practical and possible. One thing I definitely do not see on the list you posted is re-sleeving the cylinder block with Nickies to address the bore-scoring mode.

Skwerl

If you're really into the car and could get it for a good enough price to pursue it, you might get more of the story out of the shop that did the work if you called them. I imagine they'd remember that job and you could find out what the deal is.

JuanK20

I don't see an engine rebuild as such a bad thing. Since it's a 2007, this explains why the IMS wasn't addressed.

turnstile

I was going to do so, but am still up in the air of pursuing the car at this point. Im curious to hear what you guys would consider a 'good price' for a car like this?
2007 4S Manual - Factory Aero w/ PSE and Turbo wheels. Black on black. 9/10 on both interior and exterior. Brakes, tires, and clutch in great shape. 100 miles on the engine 'overhaul'.

Sneaky Pete

Not sure about the price but I can say that a 4S aerokit is rare!

semicycler

Good, so a 2007 has a larger, non serviceable but more reliable IMS bearing. The only way to change it out is to open up the engine.

By the parts list it looks like they did open the engine. The IMS bearing was replaced with OEM on a 2007 in the process, no big deal that it's not aftermarket then. I doubt the IMS bearing was the source of the engine rebuild though. If this was an early 2005 then maybe, but not a late 2005 through 2008 though. Most of the other items in the list read as maintenance items handled while they were in there - oil change, water pump, AOS. Except for main bearings and rod bearings, they are the puzzle. Why did this engine need new main and rod bearings?

I bet there was a catastrophic water pump failure with internal junk polluting the oiling system. Maybe it was a metal impeller style WP digging into the aluminum block, shedding aluminum particles throughout the engine. To fix it the bearings were replaced, the damage cleaned up with some light machining, and the engine put back together. All me guessing though.

Or a really dumb person paid to have their 2007 IMS bearing replaced preemptively. This means they paid someone to split open up a perfectly functioning engine block to fix a non-existant bearing problem because they got confused with the 996 series/early 2005 997 cars. Or this car is a unicorn that had a larger, reliable 997.1 IMS bearing that failed (I really doubt this last one).

If you could find out why the main and rod bearings needed to be replaced then you will get the real story on this engine.

If it were me I'd want to know exactly why this engine was split open and repaired, perhaps even speaking with the repair mechanic directly. Otherwise I would pass on this one - there are too many other cars out there that haven't had their engines split open. Plus I'd have to deal with this problem again when trying to sell the car - the next buyer would want to know the history of the engine, why it was split open, and either run away themselves or negotiate down because of lack of information on an engine event.

edit: I'm a moron - water pump/cooling system is completely different from the oiling system. Maybe the shop charged the previous owner for IMS work that was never done instead? There are a few document cases here on this forum of that happening already. People not knowing that a preventative 997.1 IMS bearing replacement on late 2005's through 2008 is (a) not needed because they have a reliable larger bearing and (b) requires the engine to be opened up. People read about the 996 IMS bearing failures and assume all 997's are affected too - but they are not. But if it truly was a 2007 IMS bearing failure then maybe unicorns do exist.

turnstile

Spoke with the guy who did the work on the motor. He said the engine had a spun bearing, which caused the motor to seize. He stated the crank had been replaced (with a reconditioned one), along with the main bearing, and rod bearings. The rest of the items (IMS, Water pump, OS) were replaced as preventative maintenance. He said that the IMS was replaced with the large ceramic bearing unit. I believe he said it was manufactured in Japan. Regardless, I asked if any damage occurred to the case or other internals and he said there wasn't any.

Warranty on the engine work is 6 months / 6000 miles.

Hella-Buggin'

What's it worth for the risk?

for me, considering a new engine will cost you about $25k... I wouldn't take the risk on an unknown builder for the price the car is offered.

turnstile

That makes sense. However, I would be buying the car with a 3-4 year full-wrap warranty, which would mitigate the risk. Though I would have to confirm with the warranty company that they would cover the repair, in this situation. Regardless, I appreciate all the input from you guys.

JayRace

Out of curiosity, what warranty are you looking at that will cover issues with a rebuilt engine from a third party?

turnstile

What I said in my prior post is that I would have to confirm if the warranty company would cover such a claim. Though I recently read through the companies coverage, and under "not covered", is pre-existing conditions. This would lead me to believe that indeed they would not cover something like this if the motor failed.

Hella-Buggin'

It seems like you're trying to convince everyone why it's worth it.

The concensous here, is that it's not.

The price doesn't justify what you're getting.
Keep looking. You'll find the right car and when you do you won't need approval from any of us.