good suggestion above... +1 on new engine.

 

I purchased a new engine to replace my 2001 3.4L with 57K miles after experiencing the same problem. Once oil was noticed in the coolant here is what we did:

1) Flushed entire cooling system with Shout.
2) Replaced the Oil Water cooling system on the top right of the engine as that could be the issue and cost was $500.
3) After two DE events, I noticed the brown coolant again. Using a long peice of tubing I sucked out about two liters into a water bottle. After letting this mixture settle, about 2/3 of the fluid was oil!
4) Now I knew the issue and had one of two ways to go. Repair the gasket etc or replace. I replaced for $8500 plus $1500 to install. New engine is completely new with two year Porsche warranty and significantly upgraded

Joel Riser at PCA has addressed this issue and helped me through my problem. Your engine is shot...sorry!

 

No you would do a core exchange to keep the engine price around $8500. At least, that is what I did.

 

Thanks to all with the good advice. I'll plan on replacing the engine.
"bella1"; where and when did you get an engine exchange for $8500? Best price I've found so far is $11K with the exchange. I understand Porsche sells a cooling system cleaner to get the oil out, which I'll plan on having the shop use. The Oil/water cooler was boiled out and pressure tested OK.

 

Sunset or Suncoast will get you the best price, but FWIW there have been many reports of price increases on the 3.4's due to the weak dollar and # of replacements from just last year. 10k may be the going discount price...

 

cdodkin: Looks like he didn't need asbestos underwear after all...just another in an ever expanding line of failures...some similar, some slightly different, but failures nonetheless.....

 

Here is the info on Engines/Pricing from my post last week. 3.4's are now over $11,000, more expensive thn 3.6's or 3.6 X51's. Unbelievable!!! The price of $8,500 for a 3.4 is from last year I think.

Pricing on Remanufactured engines from both Sunset and Suncoast

3.4 E-gas $11,010.06/$2,229.63 core charge
3.6 $8,543.78/$2,336.81 core charge
3.6 X51 $9,600.73/$2,566.24 core charge

Shipping seems to be $300-$400 each way to Chicago area. Remember that the core charge is refunded only after the core is returned to the dealer, then returned to Porsche and torn down to see if it is "rebuildable." I am not sure what impact a cracked cylinder head or cracked liner has on this refund, although Porsche does not seem to want to tell anyone what the problem with the engines are. Does anyone have any knowledge of how Porsche handles this.

Also, Suncoast says you can use a 3.4 core on a 3.6 engine, but you get the lower credit for the core return, so this could be a couple of hundred dollars.

R&R of the same engine (i.e. 3.4 for 3.4 or 3.6 for 3.6) seems to run from $1,500 to $2,500 depending on dealer or independant. Upgrading from a 3.4 to a 3.6 cost more. Roock quotes $4,000 to $5,000+ for a turnkey. They also said the price togo to a 3.8 (997) would be about the same. There was a 3.8S engine listed here in the classified for only $9,010 with a core charge of $2,376, but I have not checked this out with a dealer.

Other options, flat6 innovations is offering a rebuild, including new sleeves, and a proprietary IMS upgrade (they say better than Autofarm) for about $14,000. There is a shop in the Los Angeles area (not Motormeister) that has 3.4's foir $6,500, with a $2,500 core deposit, refunded if rebuildable, some reductions if a head is cracked, or a liner. 6 months 6,000 mile warranty. They say they check all heads and blocks for cracks, and have a proprietary upgrade to the IMS. Don't know too much about this one.

 

Wow, prices have gone up. I think I paid around $9.5 5 months ago for my 3.4L. Sunset was very quick I made good on my refund. I wouldn't hesitate to deal with them again. My shipping wasn't very much either. I spent a lot on the replacement engine and even though I'm selling my car now I don't regret it at all. I highly recommend the factory replacement engine. Everything has been checked over, you get new spark plugs, alternator, starter, power steering pump, stock headers, etc. with a 2 year warranty. Hard to put a value on that piece of mind. My car was only down for 3-4 weeks total. Kent

 

so i understand this..is the 3.4 ..13k and change..and you get 2k back..or is it 11k and you get 2k back...sorry i am a tad slow at times..
how much is the install?? thanks,j

 

Right now the numbers are:
$11K Factory engine, plus
$2.75K Core deposit, refunded if the core is "accepted by Porsche", plus
$2.8K Labor, plus
$2.5K estimated additional parts and labor to flush the cooling system, recharge the A/C, misc hoses, freight/transport charges
$19K total, less
-$2.75K core deposit refunded equals
$16.3K total

So, is it all worth it? I love the car, but it is killing me financially, and now is not a good time to be bleeding. When I add up all I've put into it and add the cost of the new engine, then subtract what I think I could get for it (max), for the number of miles I've put on it (less than 5500), the car is costing me $6+ per mile, without including gas or insurance.
Very disappointing to say the least. I bought the most car that I thought I could afford at the time and it has been downhill all the way. I thought I did my homework, but boy has ownership been an eye opener. Do I have a lemon? Seems my experience is not untypical, more unfortunate.
I have to decide what to do in the morning.

 

I think your numbers are a little high. The engine is $11,010, plus about $600 for shipping to you and returning the core. The core deposit on a 3.4 is approx. $2,300, which you should get back. Even my local Stealer is only $2,500 to remove the old engine and put in the new one. It should be about 15 hrs. I don't know where the other $2,500 is from, flu8sing the cooling system should only be a couple of hours, and the AC compressor is not removed so you should not need to recharge it. There may be some belts and hoses but that should only be a couple of hundred dollars and the install should be part of swapping the engines.

However, I know it is alot of money, my car is sitting in the garage waiting for a winning Lotto ticket. So I certainly sympathize with you.

 

Another option is to buy a 3.6 engine from Suncoast, $8,500, pay the difference in core charges, about $400, so you are still about $2,000 less than a 3.4, then ship it to Roock in Atlanta, They are between $4,000 and $5,000 alll in for the conversion from a 3.4 to a 3.6, so you are under $15,000