I'm getting ready to have my 3.4L 996 engine removed after I lost 6 cylinder. I have a donor engine being taken apart and fully serviced. I don't want to wait 6 months for a 3.6 upgrade. Are the other reliable performance upgrades I can have done while the engine is apart? Is it possible to add x50 afterwards?

Already planning IMS, FMS,RMS, all electronics, bigger oil pan with baffles.

 

FMS ?

X50 parts seems very expensive so I doubt you want to go that route, it is not worth it..unless you can find parts at decent price, which you probable won't.

If you plan on tracking the car, I'd go for the LNengineering dual scavenge oil pump. that require mods of the engine head, but I think this is the best mod for track duty. the x50 package had an oil return line which was doing kind of the same thing, but less efficient.

 

why a 6 month wait for a 3.6??

just use the 3.4 that is being taken apart and turn it into a 3.6

 

I have to ask........in the IMS survey thread you say you had the bearing failure....here you say you lost a cylinder. Which is it?

 

The waiting time from LN varies. I'd assume the OP already contacted them to ask what the turn around time for rebore and plating will take. When I built my 3.8 it took 4 months from start to finish. You need to disassemble motor to see if cases are usable first off, then negotiate with your engine builder for all necessary parts & labor costs. Then crate cases, ship and wait begins. Mine took almost 8 weeks to return from LN. Then rebuild begins, break in miles, dyno testing etc. It's worth the wait for a bump in displacement and the opportunity to upgrade parts. You know what you have once it's complete compared to buying a donor motor with unknown condition & service intervals.

 

 

Sneaky, that's the $20k question
haven't taken my old engine apart yet. it is the prevailing diagnosis by all the shops I've spoken with in getting estimates with my rebuild. (PS, I like the look of the yellow lights on your car) We will either use the engine from my car for the rebuild or my spare 3.4.

Bite, this is my preferred route. From talking to DC Auto, Jake Raby, and shop in Pgh, all are far out, with Raby the farthest. I live in GA, so i'm open for any suggestions.

 

Hardback, if it was august, I think the 3-5 month process would be easy. Hard in March to look at being out till summer, with so many HPDEs already on the calendar Im going to keep investigating options, but LN has a great reputation and if I do it, I prefer that route.

 

He's probably referencing the 6 months that I quoted him when we talked a few weeks back.. Heck, 6 months is a quick turnaround at our level. We are now past October for scheduled projects featuring full reconstruction.

Rick, Glad to see that you took that engine apart. That was a wise move.

 

Jake that is very true. its been about 5 months now from when I finally decided that i was doing a full rebuild and heck after changing plans 3 times during the build I'm just getting pistons made after we had to work out all the details. So I hate to think about it but I'm sure I still have 3-4 more months left before I'm done.

 

Haste makes waste.. You can't rush success, but you can damn sure rush failure.

That's why you'll never find a clock in any area of my facility. It takes as long as it takes.

 

Jake, I should have bought one of your test engines. I was early in my research, and lacked perspective I have today. I'd buy it now in a heartbeat Based on research, you produce an amazing product, just a little out of reach for what I want to invest in a car I was planning to sell in 1-2 years for a 996.2 GT3.

Goldcrest is talking to LN and exploring options to get me on the road. There's so much knowledge on this forum that I wanted to make sure I consider all reliable options for an overhaul.

 

I hear ya Rick. 4 months feels like 4 years with no 996. Add in the loss of track events and it looks quite dim. Down in South Florida we have glorious blue sky days during winter months, just perfect weather. I missed those 4 months last year waiting for my car to return.

Im actually thinking it may be a good idea to have another 3.8 (or larger) built and waiting to be swapped when the current engine needs a refresh.

Yeah, we need spare motors now. Who's with me?

 

No worries.. What we do isn't for everyone.

The first experiences with these engines have a learning curve that's 90 degrees and straight up to infinity.

Corners that are cut become sharp as a razor blade, too.

You'll probably learn that it's impossible to construct these engines correctly for less than what we charge, but that's probably another one of those hindsight experiences that you have to live to believe.
Unfortunately too many people have to experience things retrospectively to understand the true scope of what an actual engine program presents. ALL we do are engines and we know better than to even attempt anything else.

 

So, other than upgrading to 3.6, anything else I should add to the list?