Originally Posted by chuck911

Heh, that was the Walter White in me coming out again. A fairly simple deduction really. Was not expecting metal shavings though. In hind sight probably should have. Anyone who has seen these engines torn down up close will be amazed at the close tolerances. I'm not talking about the 0.001" tolerances of main bearings but how close parts like connecting rod journals fit next to main bearings, or how little clearance there is even from the head bolts that fasten those con-rods come to other parts of the case. It looks tight even on those videos, but if you see an engine and look closely while turning it over by hand there are lots of places where parts are moving very, very close indeed. Like, you could slide a piece of paper between them- barely. Now when a main bearing "goes" enough to hear the knocking sound this indicates the crank is moving back and forth and knocking against the sides of what is supposed to be a perfectly round snug circle. But I guess if it can move around enough to cause knocking it might also move around enough that the crank shaft (carrying the con rod journals) allows those parts to interfere with (i.e., scrape into) other parts.

The million euro question Porsche is no doubt investigating is: chicken, or egg? Was it main bearing failure that caused the metal shavings? Or metal shavings that caused main bearing failure? And if so then where'd those come from?

Incidentally, what you know and others don't, is how I reasoned it out that there was likely a knocking sound in the first place. (Because you were very careful and never said a word about what kind of sound.) It was simply that nothing else but this would merit a full engine swap. Whatever it was had to be within the case. Within the case the only thing one would hear is main bearing knock. Now… My favorite 30 sec of my all time favorite show… say my name….

Originally Posted by tmg57

Just curious, why did the engine swap take so long. Original estimate was two weeks, but it took five?

Originally Posted by CamsPorsche

Guys I know you are all excited to "hear" what the OP has to say about any sound but if I were in his shoes I too wouldn't be saying much at all considering how well Porsche is taking care of him. Why jeapordize anything if there was a chance of doing so. I wonder if Porsche scans these forums etc...? If they were smart they would.

Originally Posted by trysixty

glad to hear your back on the streets...........now if we could only get one day of good weather for some topless motoring!!!!!

I'd like to start up our monthly 100 mile tours again with our wild 991 friends from Canada soon. I need to check if a Boxster S would be ok to tag along

Hope you can make some this year.......looks like there is someone in town with a X51 also.

Originally Posted by LexVan

Nicoli, I'd recommend a 1,000 mile oil change, and install an L&N magnetic drain plug.

Originally Posted by Nicoli35

I had the car in briefly for a service, but we found a noise that shouldn't have been there. After a little investigation, evidence was discovered of a possible engine failure (or something to that effect) about to occur. Porsche AG agreed, and in two weeks a new engine will be on the car. Apparently it's a drop-in transplant complete engine being delivered. Wild stuff. My dealer (who I love, and service advisor is great) says Porsche prefers to investigate the engine themselves. Good thing I didn't have any warranty-affecting engine mods. Anyway, it's in good hands and I'll just miss her for a few weeks. She's the best snow car I have with those Michelin Alpins on.

Originally Posted by Nicoli35

I haven't gone through the first page of this thread to check exactly, but there was never an estimate of two weeks. It just took time for the engine to ship to us here and for the dealership to get it done. Roger Jobs Porsche has sold me probably 3 or 4 new high-end cars and I've traded at least 5 to them. We have a solid relationship, great service advisors (I've owned each of the 3 automotive brands they sell at Roger Jobs), no complaints here. They took care of me.

Originally Posted by tmg57

I wasn't implying that you may have been treated poorly, I was just curious where the time went. Engine delivery? Shop time? Other?

Originally Posted by chuck911

+1 to that. Should have mentioned earlier, that depending on the size and composition of the metal shavings they really should do more than just swap motors. Fragments of a certain size can remain in oil coolers and lines, only to flush back into circulation causing problems later on. Thin shavings like filing particles probably all will be flushed and filtered out- but that should be done before installing the new engine. In this case I wouldn't even wait 1,00 miles. Although if you're able to pull and inspect the filter (tearing it open) and it comes up clean at 50 miles or so then you're probably home free. Another thing to do is simply look at the oil under a bright light. Any remaining shavings will sparkle in bright light.

Originally Posted by chuckbdc

I think all of the above should be a good will project by the dealer! A report of that would be good will toward them and PCNA!