NH1st996

First, I'm a first time Porsche owner and have found this Forum and it's members to be a great resource! Thanks in advance for all of those who share their experience and expertise!

Car: 2001 996 C2, 3.4L with 79K

I’ll apologize in advance for those that feel these topics are covered elsewhere, but I couldn’t find a discussion that had all the variables as my situation.

Background:

Bought used 3 months ago, felt pretty good about seller’s integrity and maintenance records/history he had and as well as Carfax info.

Purchased it and drove it for a couple weeks, probably 200 miles or so, car ran well but there was the metal on metal rattle when starting it that lasted a couple seconds. During my research before purchasing I had decided I would at least do the IMS bearing so I didn’t have that in the back of my mind every time I was driving.

Found what appeared to be a good Porsche Indy, good on line reviews, had a number of Porsche’s in yard (some very expensive classics, Boxsters, etc.) and seemed knowledgeable and friendly. I decided to have him do the IMS, AOS, RMS, full clutch kit and flush fluids (antifreeze, differentials, etc., gave him the deposit to cover parts and dropped it off. After a couple weeks started to get worried about his responses to questions, delays, etc. he ended up having the car for 6 weeks. He also suggested lifters on bank 1 and timing chain tensioners and guides, which I agreed to.

Ok…..car is done…yippee……should drive like new and be worry free! I picked up the car and noticed 10w-30 oil listed on the slip, and only 2 gallons of antifreeze and he couldn’t tell me exactly what antifreeze he used ( I was worried about mixing based on what I have read..). Drove car home and check engine light came on and noticed oil on the garage floor immediately after parking and there is an intermittent chirp/squeal on startup and while driving. Check the codes and they were Cat. Conv efficiency, Injector circuit (all 6) and Hot MAF film. I cleared the codes, drove it and only the Cat Conv. came back. I dropped the car back off at Indy and he fixed the oil leak (spark plug O rings and cam shaft covers). Regarding chirp/squeal he said he cleaned the pulleys and serpentine belt (belt looks like new….) but didn’t fix the chirp/squeal

Pulled filter out of housing and this is what glove looked like...

Drained oil in sunlight... brand new oil drain pan and oil only has about 150 miles on it..
. I decided I would change the oil after a bit of driving ( 3 days after picking it up and maybe 150 miles) and what I found has me really worried…see pics. My first thought was “gold dust”, but on the glove it looks more like a copper color. I put in M1, 0w-40 and a new filter. I drove it about 20 miles and plan on doing another oil change, dropping the pan and sending an oil sample to Blackstone.
Drained oil with only 150 miles since last change in brand new oil drip pan..


My question to this forum is this: Is there any chance this is a normal result after doing this type of engine work…?



So
Sorry for the long post and appreciate any input from this knowledgeable group!

cds72911

Nope, not normal. Not remotely normal.

venom51

Nope..that's what oil looks like when main journal and rod bearings have been eaten.

lowpue

if it is the crank, this what it will look like when it fails....ask me how i know☹

wildbilly32

Not that it matters but why did your mechanic recommend and change the bank 1 lifters?? Just curious...

Prelude Guy

This was my first question when I read the OP's post.

Low chance the lifters were bad.

NH1st996

They probably weren't looking back on it. There was a slight ticking but I hadn't driven the car much so I really just went with his recommendation to do it "while I'm in there" and I was agreeable to any pre-emptive work while engine was out as I don't have a lift.

NH1st996

Thank you both.....felt stupid asking the question, but I guess I was holding out hope..

Is it reasonable to think a competent mechanic would have noticed a/the problem when doing the work I described? And/or could it be the result of the work that was done if not done correctly?

wildbilly32

There are no stupid questions.

I don't have an opinion on this chicken or egg question, but I would find a different mechanic just based on the lifter deal and the 10w30 oil.

Prelude Guy

Did the mechanic mention how the oil looked when he changed it? I am guessing he didn't.

Where do you live?

NH1st996

He didn't mention it and based on the fact that it was this bad with only a couple hundred miles since he put in new oil, I feel like it would have been evident while he was inside the engine.

I'm in beautiful New Hampshire! (where it's great weather to take a Porsche for a spin)

NH1st996

Oh man lopue......I think I can figure out how you know....bummer!!

Prelude Guy

So the "dust" is only in the oil filter, not in the oil itself?

I was hoping you might be closer. I might be getting a running Boxster engine in a few weeks. Could be an option if you need a replacement engine.

Coopduc

NH: welcome, and you have lots of company and support on this site. Once you decide on a course of action, every day will get better than the day before! Many of us have been in the same boat. Here’s some pics of my situation when I bought mine.

venom51

Yep..no stupid questions. Now you just have to deal with the aftermath and decide if the car has enough value to you to cover the expense of doing what comes next.

Personally knowing what I know I don't think someone with a clue could have been in that engine and not noticed things going pear shaped. However I wasn't there when it was being worked on so I wouldn't be willing to throw someone under the bus. If he wasn't looking specifically for the condition of the rotating assembly and nothing had been bad enough to show elevated heat levels around a journal then he may have done nothing wrong. Trying to arm chair repair work from a far is always an exercise in how to be completely wrong.

Even if the seller was perfect on maintenance these are mechanical items. Things can go south at any point and be the fault of no one. A perfectly running engine is trying to tear itself apart with every rotation on the best of days. I would perhaps look for another Indy but I think once you start telling the story that someone was in it before that shop you need to be prepared for the response. Either way someone is going to have to tear it down to see what is responsible for all the cooper material in the oil.