Not A Good Day Today...
08-26-2018, 12:09 AM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
Not A Good Day Today...
I was driving my 2002 cab today around town. At 2500 rpm in second gear (steady state, no load on engine) there was a loud metallic grinding noise followed by a misfiring engine and loss of power. I pushed in the clutch, made it to the side of the road, and turned everything off.
I tried turning the engine over once. It turned but did not fire. Had the car flatbedded to my ace mechanic's shop.
He won’t be in to look at it until Monday, but I’m fearing the worst.
The car had the rms/ims treatment at 40k miles (preventative maintenance). Odometer now shows 72K. Perfectly maintained machine that was running perfectly until this happened.
Will report on the findings when I know what’s up.
Bill
I tried turning the engine over once. It turned but did not fire. Had the car flatbedded to my ace mechanic's shop.
He won’t be in to look at it until Monday, but I’m fearing the worst.
The car had the rms/ims treatment at 40k miles (preventative maintenance). Odometer now shows 72K. Perfectly maintained machine that was running perfectly until this happened.
Will report on the findings when I know what’s up.
Bill
08-26-2018, 01:16 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
Fingers crossed for you.
08-26-2018, 11:57 AM
#7
Oh goodness, that really stinks. I've had that kind of thing happen to me and it's feels like you've been gutted. Maybe some of the Porsche experts on this forum like PorscheTech3 or even Flat 6 Innovations can assist you on what may be happening to your car and give you some valuable advice on the next steps. If your indy can't help, I would recommend Tony Callas up in Torrance.
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08-26-2018, 12:35 PM
#8
Former Vendor
Hate to see another one fall..
Being a 2002, and with the limited info from the OP, it sounds like a timing chain failure. These have become one of our most prominent failures as time takes it’s toll, and most are concentrated in the 2002 model year. Mileage does not seem to matter with these failures, and neither does maintenance.
It’s pretty easy to diagnose with the engine in the car.. Remove the cam tunnel (green) plugs in each cylinder head, exposing the camshafts. Slowly rotate the crankshaft and see if all the cams move. If you have one pair of cams that remain stationary, then it’s pretty conclusive. A lesser common failure is failure of the main IMS drive chain from the crankshaft. If this fails, then all of the cams will remain stationary when the crankshaft is rotated.
Of course, IMS tensioner paddle failure is still another possibility as well, and this will usually only retard the bank 1 cams.
There’s a lot more failures that the posted sympoms could be related to. The only way to really know is with a detailed teardown. Considering the engine was attempted to be restarted (never do that when you hear mechanical noises and an engine shuts down) I’d expect that you’ll have quite a bit of scecondary damage to other components.
If you’d like to set up a chat with Mr. Raby once you get some basic info from the shop, just submit a support ticket under the category “Help, my Porsche engine has failed!” category(these tickets get priority). l’ll make sure that he sees it.
Being a 2002, and with the limited info from the OP, it sounds like a timing chain failure. These have become one of our most prominent failures as time takes it’s toll, and most are concentrated in the 2002 model year. Mileage does not seem to matter with these failures, and neither does maintenance.
It’s pretty easy to diagnose with the engine in the car.. Remove the cam tunnel (green) plugs in each cylinder head, exposing the camshafts. Slowly rotate the crankshaft and see if all the cams move. If you have one pair of cams that remain stationary, then it’s pretty conclusive. A lesser common failure is failure of the main IMS drive chain from the crankshaft. If this fails, then all of the cams will remain stationary when the crankshaft is rotated.
Of course, IMS tensioner paddle failure is still another possibility as well, and this will usually only retard the bank 1 cams.
There’s a lot more failures that the posted sympoms could be related to. The only way to really know is with a detailed teardown. Considering the engine was attempted to be restarted (never do that when you hear mechanical noises and an engine shuts down) I’d expect that you’ll have quite a bit of scecondary damage to other components.
If you’d like to set up a chat with Mr. Raby once you get some basic info from the shop, just submit a support ticket under the category “Help, my Porsche engine has failed!” category(these tickets get priority). l’ll make sure that he sees it.
08-26-2018, 12:36 PM
#9
Instructor
Thread Starter
Thanks for the good wishes above! I have a gut feeling that this is not a grenaded engine situation. Trying to think positive...
Have to say that even if the worst scenario comes true, I've gotten more worth out of this car in sheer FUN than I've put into it dollar wise.
If it seems prudent to sell as a roller, I'll do that and then go out and buy another one!
Bill
Have to say that even if the worst scenario comes true, I've gotten more worth out of this car in sheer FUN than I've put into it dollar wise.
If it seems prudent to sell as a roller, I'll do that and then go out and buy another one!
Bill
08-26-2018, 01:11 PM
#10
6L6, is it the car that's in the avatar picture? 2002 Cabriolet? Can you tell us what type of replacement bearing was installed on the car at 40K service? How was it maintained? Local shop, Porsche dealership, or DIY? Forgive my curiosity.
08-26-2018, 01:16 PM
#11
Being a 2002, and with the limited info from the OP, it sounds like a timing chain failure. These have become one of our most prominent failures as time takes it’s toll, and most are concentrated in the 2002 model year. Mileage does not seem to matter with these failures, and neither does maintenance.
I just found this digging around Rennlist...
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-3-causes.html
Last edited by NuttyProfessor; 08-26-2018 at 01:20 PM. Reason: found a link on Rennlist
08-26-2018, 03:21 PM
#12
Instructor
Thread Starter
Do not know the replacement bearing type, but that work was done by the local Porsche dealer where the car was originally purchased new by my son-in-law. He lives very nearby, so I've driven the car since it was new and finally bought it from him about three years ago.
The car has been beautifully maintained by a 5-Star rated indie since Day One.
Everything on it was running PERFECTLY when this happened with zero warning. I drive the car every day, so there's no suffering from lot rot.
Just made the 200 mile roundtrip to Pebble Beach and back last week to watch the US Amateur Golf Championship. Car ran perfectly as it always has. If it had to break, I'm glad it broke locally and not far from home.
Bill
08-26-2018, 05:58 PM
#13
Race Director
08-26-2018, 09:34 PM
#14
Burning Brakes
08-26-2018, 11:55 PM
#15
Race Car
Fingers crossed its savable! Also interested in why 2002 is more prone? Maybe because it was the first run of the new 3.6 M96 and by 03-04 they had updated things on them?