After gaining the knowledge from this great forum and its members, I was able to get readings off my Durametric for my recently acquired 2000 996.1. Of concern was my cam shaft deviations of -8.33 for #1 and -7.64 for #2. I took it to a local “German” shop where they hooked it up to their computer and got similar readings of -8.25 & -7.61. I asked for a quote to replace all of the cam chain guides, replace the small chains, and rebuild the varios with all new O-rings. They said (depending on any additional items they find) that job would run me $12,377! Add to that the fact that they’re slammed a when they can get it into their shop, minimum of 4-6 weeks to get done. I’m at a loss. I have quote requests in for 2 other shops in my area. I am mechanically capable of most tasks but have never cracked open a motor and feel that timing stuff is best left to professionally trained people. Also, I don’t have a garage big enough to comfortably work in. The car is running smooth as butter right now but I cannot afford that kind of money for the repair. Also, I know it needs new plugs and coils and a few other maintenance things. At 145,000+ miles, it is a driver and not a collector grade vehicle.

Please share your thoughts as to if the quote is reasonable, what you’d do if you were in my shoes, and if I go to sell it, disclosing what it needs and what you think it’s worth. If anyone has any input how/where to sell it, that would help as well. Thanks in advance.

 

I got a quote for about $7k for the same job last year from a reputable shop in Atlanta. $12k seems a little excessive unless it included replacing items while the engine was out of the car.

 

Yeah... You are at one of those crazy decision points we all face. Deviations are clearly out of spec but the car runs fine. Cost to fix it is half a rebuilt engine. And you don't know if the cylinders are going to be good for another 50K or 150K.

It's a daily driver, but is it a forever car? If yes, get a compression/leak down test to gauge the cylinder health. If that's good, have the work done. If compression is bad, you are at the next decision point. If it is not a forever car, drive it until something breaks and sell it as a roller. Could be many miles down the road. Or sell it now. Then the question is, what would you buy to replace it. That one will have many more unknowns.

For me, I had the engine rebuilt with Nickies by FSI. This way I know the engine will last the next 200K + miles. Certainly longer than I expect them to allow me to drive.

Good luck with your decision. It's not a fun position to be in.

 

I had mine done for $6k here in Houston. Don't let them tell you the motor needs to come out because it doesn't.....that's just a money grab.....mine included having the RMS replaced, throwout bearing, and a bunch of other things (as long as your in there) done. $12K is nuts. Thats half the vale of the car! . I would assume it feels fairly sluggish? I don't want to scare you but remember if you drop a valve, you have your self a 3000 lb. paper weight in your garage. You could ship the car to Texas have it down and return for less then $12K!

 

It's actually easier to do this job engine out and makes sense especially if you are doing a bunch of other work, including the AOS, water pump, etc.

 

Quick math: Sachs clutch kit $700. Chain and 3 tensioners $700. RMS $25. Labor for r&r and installs <35 hours.

 

Here is some more quick math: Each of the cam variator in a 5-chain engine runs $1,500 now. Dealer item only. Mechanic who are busy do not / will not offer the rebuild option for the variator only to have it fail at their expenses again.

 

Shops usually use the listed retail price, especially on Genuine parts due to low margins.

 

Technically that is true, the motor does not NEED to come out IF you are a very very good mechanic. I am just a very (one very) good mechanic so I take the engine out to do bank 2 variocam. It beats inventing new curse words. And, if you are doing the AOS, water pump, belt, tensioners, 12V cable, alternator and starter rebuild, then the labor is about the same.

To the OP, if you cannot afford a Porsche rebuild, sell it now. It will not be cheaper. Or, drive it until it dies, then sell the roller.

 

If you want to keep it, forget the AOS or Porsche Motorsport AOS, both are known failure points. Get "Porschetech3"s UAOS to solve that problem. cost is about the same as official P-stuff, maybe even less. JMO

What about other things, like IMS, water pump, coolant reservoir, ignition coils, and on and on?
At 145k miles, your engine chains "may" be entering their last stage of life. When one of them goes, so does the engine.

A 2000 996 is a little common, but gaining appreciation recently. Is it a "keeper for life" or just a run-of-the-mill 996? Special C4, or something. Unusual set of options in the car? While a Slakker 3.4 Rebuild is not cheap, it is warrantied for 2 years and designed for fixing 996 warts and failures for 100k miles. Think about it.

YMMV

 

I was going to have slakker do the rebuild myself (for an upcoming rebuild), but they no longer do the rebuild service and only offer the o-ring kit for $150 plus shipping.

Much of your quote is probably the variocam actuators and oem parts. I would get a detailed breakdown and go thru it to figure out less costly parts. For example aftermarket cam shaft caps (6 needed) are $7 each vs. $20+ each for oem. It all adds up. Variocam Actuators are not difficult to rebuild - that would save you over $3k in parts alone - The variocam actuators are the same on a Boxster and a 996.

Best regards

 

This is so not the place to go after market ...

 

You could save so much money $$ if you could do the work your self ......

Before I retired I used to charge 5 hours per side to do Vairo-Cam Pads /Actuators on the 5 chain engines......so 10 hours total for both sides @$150 per hour Porsche Dealer Shop Rate ( Of course I got paid WAY WAY less than that ).

I could actually do the job in 4 to 4 1/2 hours with the engine still in the car....To me it was pointless to remove the engine for this... Sure it was a little more difficult to do still in the car, but the time savings was well worth it..... What took the longest was just waiting for the oil to stop dripping so that it doesn't get all over your hands/arms while doing the job...

Getting those two big mufflers out of the way and dropping the engine down to the crossmember gives plenty of room to work on the 5-Chain engines... on the 3-Chain engines there is not enough room to get the Special Tools in there for the Re-timing-- so its ENGINE OUT on the 3-Chain engines....

 

Yes that is correct BUT to have just the pads replaced you do NOT need to drop the motor....I did my RMS, throwout bearing flywheel bolts, etc. but not the AOS....no need to.

 

I think there is another thread here discussing short block costs and the cost is around $8K after you return the core and get that refund (I think the thread is 2025 pricing).
I think the short block includes all the cam chain and actuators, etc. - you would have to pay to have all the other assemblies transferred from the old block to the new block ...