joes c4 cab

I have called several local mechanics and I have not found one yet that says changing the cylinder sleeve is an economical alternative. I have been told several times that by the time you get the motor disassembled enough to change that sleeve, and (most likely) get a different cylinder head that is sized to the new sleeve, it is not enough of a savings to matter when you factor in the fact that the new motor will come with a warranty.

The reason I am do not want to keep the car is that I was planning to sell it this year regardless. My wife and I are planning to have another child and clearly the best time to sell a cabrio is in the spring/summer. I was able to get away with one car seat in my car for the last year and a half, but 2 car seats is not going to work.

What about keeping it for a weekend car?

First of all I do not want to end up like Bob, writing back in a month that my tranny is gone now and I have to dump more money into it. I would KICK myself for not selling it.

Second, (and I am sure I will catch hell for this) my mechanic advises that if I want a weekend Porsche that will hold up after warranty, I should get a 993. Even if keep mine for a weekend driver, there is no guarantee that in 2 years when the warranty on my new motor expires, that it will not fail again.

Third, I have a seriously bitter taste in my mouth as I do think this motor failure is Porshe's fault, and I find myself spitting on the floor when I drive by a 996. That is not a good sign. In short, I am DONE.

racerjsz06

MY 1999 996 had a major issue with a liner as well. Cylinder #2.

I spoke to Porsche service rep 3 times and he said at 61K mi. and that age, I am out of luck, no matter what the problem is. I agree someone should press Porsche, especially since there seems to be a problem with some of the early production 996's.

Seems like someone ought to go after them for a design flaw. I just received a notice that if my Linclon Towncar had the MAF replaced that Ford would, under the terms of a lawsuit, repay me for the full amount. My father also just received word that Masonite would be paying for the new siding on his 5500 sq foot house due to the terms of a lawsuit. Both faulty products, both companys have to pay. How does Porsche get off scott free. I paid for my new motor $6500 plus a $2500 core, and you can believe I won't be sending my motor back until I have thoroughly documented the damages. PM me and we'll get a list going.

LVDell

That is just an ignorant statement and invalid. Your indy needs to be taken out back for that one.

I totally understand what you mean. My advice it to get the motor with the warranty and sell it. You will be able to sell it easier and you will have the peace of mind knowing you did it right for the next guy. Karma has a funny way of kicking you in the tail......in short, don't screw the next guy over with a shotty @ss questionable engine band-aid replacement.

racerjsz06

Don't do the liner -

Think about this a new motor is $6500 plus $1K to install and you'll have a car you can sell with a 2 year unlimited mile warranty. Plus, you won't have3 someone from Rennlist or a local Club calling you a crook.

As for the 993 - have the heads redone on your 993 at 100K mi and you'll spend close to the same for an entire 996 motor. If you want really reliable get a 964 or a 944 turbo (mine had 140K mi of hard DE and AutoX!).

I still love my 996 - lowered with a great suspension, sounds great with cat bypass pipes and outruns many higher powered cars at AutoX and tracks. Great car, Porsche just needs to stand behind the few bad eggs (especially since the Caymen has the same motor!).

Good luck!

pl

what's the hourly rate of your local porsche dealer?
the reason bob had to do the first eng. replacement by an indy was due to the sky-high($150/hr) rate charged by his local p-dealer.
if you local dealer charge you a reasonable rate, do it in the dealer. a fac. re-conditioned eng. is much, much better than repair the liner.
996 is too complex for indys, even for the dealer to rebuild.

rcg412

totally agree with Dell - spend the 7900, essentially a new car! Why wouldnt you do it? Motors are replaced all the time.

bobporsche996

actually the reason i had the first engine replacement done by an indy was because the dealer wanted $18,000+ my core was unusable and they wouldn't take it back due to the rod thrown out of the engine causing a hole in the core, which means they wouldn't take it back...

it was either $7800 including labor "installed and out the door" for a used one with 8000 miles (no core needed to buy the used one), or $18,000 for the porsche dealership route with their $150 labor costs.. unfortunately the 8000 mile one failed due to the cylinder sleeve problems per se the previous posts.. so now i'm on #3 which was installed by the porsche dealer.. (the last time i actually had a usable core to return to them..) and then i drove home and my tranny went out, but that's another story gl joe.. i know how it feels to have a sour taste in your mouth.. my 996 is for sale right now.. i'm done with porsche.. the marque as far as i'm concerned cares as much about their customers as their non customers..

pl

how much is the core-credit from porsche?

OGiii

Have you tried getting a price off an Indy with the car as it is? They will be able to reapir at cost and the deal may stack up, just a thought if you want out of the car anyway.

joes c4 cab

I asked a couple of indy's about that and they both told me no one is making race cars out of the 996 - especially not the C4 cab. Too many options on my car too would not make it desireable for somone looking to build a track car.

Anyway, here are a couple of pics - before and after so to speak.

9NINE6

actually the reason i had the first engine replacement done by an indy was because the dealer wanted $18,000+ my core was unusable and they wouldn't take it back due to the rod thrown out of the engine causing a hole in the core, which means they wouldn't take it back...

it was either $7800 including labor "installed and out the door" for a used one with 8000 miles (no core needed to buy the used one), or $18,000 for the porsche dealership route with their $150 labor costs.. unfortunately the 8000 mile one failed due to the cylinder sleeve problems per se the previous posts.. so now i'm on #3 which was installed by the porsche dealer.. (the last time i actually had a usable core to return to them..) and then i drove home and my tranny went out, but that's another story gl joe.. i know how it feels to have a sour taste in your mouth.. my 996 is for sale right now.. i'm done with porsche.. the marque as far as i'm concerned cares as much about their customers as their non customers..






good BOB get off the f#^$$# board
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BlackCab996

Sorry to hear about all of this, but if I were in your shoes, I would go with the warranty motor if you can really get one for $7,900 - the starting bid on that rebuild on ebay is $4,200 - for resale, I think you'll take a bigger hit than the $3,000 difference if you put in the rebuilt motor with no warranty.

If I would have been looking at non CPO cars, I definitely would have considered a car with a replaced engine if that new engine were under warranty. Or...as others have mentioned, I would put in the warrantied motor and drive it myself for a while.

Whatever happens, it sucks, so sorry again...and good luck.

Russ Murphy

This is a pic of a slipped sleeve? It's cracked/broken for sure, but you stated earlier the mechanic said it was "slipped" about an inch and a hole was worn in it. It's difficult to tell from the pic, but isn't the sleeve flush with the rest of the block surfaces? How does a sleeve slip towards the head? Wouldn't the head thats bolted to it stop it even if it broke free of the block?

Chris 996

2 Year Warranty is the way to go. Enjoy the car for awhile then sell.

4s

Similar problem.Just got my 02 c4s back from the dealer today after only having it for 3 months. They said the valve guides were worn and they replaced the whole engine under warranty. I know what your feeling because I've had the same feeling for the last 2 weeks while my car sat at the dealer. It only had 15,000 miles on it. I agree that no car with the price point of a porsche should need to have the entire engine replaced. Its crazy. Let me know what you end up doing. I have to say though that at least I can smile again. I may even leave work early to take it for a drive.