ilikemy944

"Porsche now has a rule that service techs aren't allowed to open up motors or transmissions"

What are they hiding in there? Really cool secret technology, or a mistake?

Bob S. 1984 Silver

I think, on the part of Porsche, by replacing the entire unit and not permitting the dealer or factory trained tech to open it up is a way of keeping the information out of public domain as to what part(s) are failing and causing the problem. It is, IMHO, a sad commentary on the quality of more recent offerings from Porsche. And, it speaks poorly of ten or fifteen years down the road for folks like us who buy a vehicle (a) we can afford and (b) want to work on ourselves.

Enjoy your relatively simple (mechanically) user friendly 944 while you can. There will never be another model, despite some quirks, this easy to maintain again from Porsche.

Sean

It may be that Porsche wants the engines back at the factory so they can be examined in house...to determine the source of failures. Plus, they refurbish at the factory and send 'em right back out into the field.

There were several reports of Boxster engine failures after the car debuted in 1997. My understanding is that Porsche was using a new casting technique with the M96 (986/996) engine. There were some engine failures due to bad casts and slipped sleeves.

But in recent years, it seems the majority of the engine woes have been eliminated. We're now hearing reports of high mileage 986s and 996s, so there is hope for the future.

One ongoing source of oil leaks is the rear main seal. I have no idea how prevalent it may be, but a lot of Boxster owners are concerned about it.

Porsche has been pretty good about covering this sort of problem outside of warranty.

My Stuttgart build (FWIW) 986S has been mostly trouble free. I had a front trunk latch fail, and the convertible top electric relay. No oil leaks. Engine seems rock solid so far (knock on wood!).