mlambert890

I hate to say it, but the reality is that forums (for any car) represent an extreme niche of ultimate worst case scenarios and *very often* lots of extremely critical details are "left out"

This happened all the time with the GTR and with the E46. With the GTR tranny it is similar apocalyptic doomsaying about how the car is essentially rendered valueless, how there should be class actions, etc b/c of the "nightmare transmission". When you look though, the failure rate is *very low* statistically and at least *some percentage* of the failures are from folks who launched the hell out of the car.

The 996 is up there in years now. Some of these cars are on their 9th owner and 3rd auction. Personally, I dont trust in the honesty of people at all (quite the opposite from my experience) and especially dont trust anything once the documented history is this lost.

Should Porsche *really* be backing up engines that may have never had so much as an oil change in 10 years?

How many documented cases of proven, original owner, *well maintained* engine failures have there actually been? On all of my cars I am always either the original owner, or the second owner and only buy when I see a documented history that is iron clad and low mileage for this reason. The most bullet proof design on earth cant survive years and years of neglect.

If you buy a super high performance car with high miles and an unknown history, you are really rolling the dice. Im not saying there isnt something about certain aspects of the Porsche engine design that makes it a bit more fragile, but to expect Porsche to "make good" on cars that are *this far* off the reservation isnt reasonable IMO.

Bob Rouleau

When you contemplate a new crate motor remember that the engine is complete that means a new alternator, AC compressor etc. I'm told they come with oil in them and are ready to run as soon as installed. This is a lot more than the usual short or long block.

bar

AC is actually not included in a Porsche crate, though power steering pump and alternator/starter are, as well as the exhaust manifolds, injectors/coils, etc. It's much more than a long block, and AC is the only major component not included. Just as well, it's much easier to have the AC compressor stay with the car thus not having to evacuate/recharge the system when swapping an engine.

philooo

I never thought of that and always compared it to the $10k cost for a corvette engine, but you are right, there are plenty of new parts coming with it. Saves labor but man it adds to the price.

In the end the most annoying part is the "core charge roulette". At least if they had a list of things the engine needed to pass / fail that would help.

But putting $18k in the Porsche casino.. scary...

Is it possible to send the engine for review before pulling the trigger ? shipping will be a bitch already but still less than losing $18k for nothing.

What is the process exactly ?

fasteddie99

If it's financially feasible, ship it to Jake Raby and have him do a 3.8 build. It will be done right, by the master himself. He stands by his work. That alone, is priceless. And uncommon. Plus, you will have a bullet-proof missile for years to come.

philooo

How much is Jake Raby charging for 3.8 conversion lately ?
Now that you have a cylinder wall destroyed is definitely a good time for the 3.8 upgrade

fasteddie99

I don't know the cost offhand. It ain't cheap, but you get what you pay for. He has the costs all laid out on his website: flat6innovations.com

philooo

BTW, anyone has a good borescope to recommend, I was checking some youtube video of engines and that is pretty cool I wonder if the cheapy ones at home depot work or if you need to invest $$ to have anything worth it

txhokie4life

You've got to have the little camera head to fit into the spark plug hole for an M96.

Been too long since I bought mine -- can't remember the size.

Mike

Byprodriver

They are kinda like TV's to me, the bigger the screen the better you are going to be able to identify what you are seeing. The SnapOns are nice.

David Clarke

Borescope: No affiliation, but... http://www.trait-tech.com/product/T-...on-camera.html

soverystout

$18k is the starting point for one of Raby's reconstructions. No way I am giving Porsche that core charge and then wait and hope they might give it back to me.

Jake is the way to go IMO.

alpine003

I'm willing to bet there are a lot of good Porsche engine builders out there that might not have the exposure or internet savy to market themselves like some.

I mean c'mon, a Porsche engine isn't a magical thing that only a few can work on. Sure the parts might cost a bit more(especially OEM if you even have a choice depending on part) and you might need some special tools but I'm willing to bet that there are a good portion of independents out there that have built quite a few Porsche engines that can do just as good of a job. It's just a matter of finding them and finding one that is fair and not willing to impose the famous Porsche tax on you.

Of course, you can play it safe and go by internet reputation and pay the premium for a piece of mind. That would be an individual decision that varies by person.

My $.02

andys-944

I just searched e-bay and there are a bunch of rebuilt engines $7.5 to 10k.
Obviously you'd want to do some research on who to use, buts its a whole better than $34k

I would guess Porsche is saying they don't want to bother with older cars all the trouble they bring.

dotframe

Every time I see one of these threads I can't help but wonder if Porsche still sells air cooled engines and how much they charge for those?