alpine003

While you have very valid points and I agree to some extent on most of them, the conundrum I see here is business mixing with enthusiast sites. Generally most the enthusiast sites I go to have individual contributors freely discussing and sharing knowledge for the greater good of the hobby to further it's advancements and understanding. Obviously when you throw a business into a mix, it really doesn't mix. And hence that is one of the issues or flaws I see with this. Yes it's true that Jake has contributed great amounts of info on the m96 motors and he has every right to share or not share key pieces of info as he's put in the time and his own dollars.

I think the reason why we don't have the dynamics here on this forum from individuals like other forums is based on the cost of motors, special tools and parts which the avg person simply can't experiment as easily as other platforms. The other factor is demgraphically, the 911 owners have generally been hands off and non-diy, although we are slowly starting to see a change. But once again, the same individuals wanting to do more hardcore stuff to their engines lacks either the r&d dollars/resources and factory backing in terms of published specs/documentation to even start anywhere that makes sense. Couple that to the fact that people that come on here are the 2%ers that actually have issues with their cars. The rest have no inclination or motivation to learn about technical things about these cars but would rather be just driving them and are doing just that.

I personally know a Gold certified Porsche tech that's been a master tech for 30 years. Based on our candid conversations, it doesn't seem like Porsche offers their service techs the in depth training you get from other manufacturers. Once again leading to part of the problem of where we're at today.

As stated before, this isn't a magical engine nor rocket science and there are quite a few capable mechanics out there. Some indy Porsche mechanics choose the more bricks and mortars approach and do not really get involved with the internet as much. I can't blame them as it probably took alot of trial and error on their parts to extract info of what they've found and why would they share it to only have it conflict with their business?

All these factors basically prevent the progress of the enthusiast from getting anywhere unfortunately.

I wonder if the Chevy enthusiast crowd in Germany have a LSX god over there... hmmm....

Either way I know the Germans have to be laughing at us and this forum. Come to think of it, I don't ever recall an enthusiast from Germany being a member here and asking some engine related question.

Anywho that's the way I see it.

Rubik

OK, based on my Failure Mode Effect Analysis thinking, we know what the failure effect was, and we also know the failure mode - have a hunch. But the big question is: What was the root cause? We trust and assume that you've maintained your car well. And we know about shotty rod bolt decision by Mr. Porsche himself. But what else can we learn from this? For instance, what is your driving style? How many times in the last year have you entered the red zone on the tach? Did you do anything unusual that instant resulting in high load to the engine?

5CHN3LL

How about we save the mental calisthenics and Cuda inquisition for sometime down the road. The guy has a busted Porsche to deal with - I don't think he also needs a bunch of keyboard jockeys second-guessing his driving style and maintenance habits to cook up some half-cocked theory about a new-and-improved 996/M96 "weakness."

I hope you're not theorizing that driving a 996 aggressively could result in failure - after all, "driving it like the Dr. intended" is the lunatic advice offered freely around here, suggesting that if you just rag your 996 out a bit more, it will last forever. In fact, we have learned that high-mileage 996's are the really desirable ones, whereas a low-mileage example should be avoided at all cost.

Cuda, do you have a count of how many times you entered "the red zone" during the past year? When I first read that, I thought it was a far too personal question involving menses, but I see now that I was mistaken.

Schnell Gelb

Agreed.
Let's focus on fixes for all 30 modes of failure particularly the 26 that were dumped from Jake's book. We've probably all figured out the IMSB issues and solutions ,so it is on to the rest. Plenty of 'meat' there to discuss. Some of the issues can be deduced from the upgrade parts offered by LN - for example the drive shaft for the oil pump, pinning the sprocket on the Ims.
Others?
That way Cuda only pays once to fix his M96.

Sneaky Pete

I can't believe the turn this thread took. From I blew my motor to let's gang up on Flat6. Really guys? Everyone is an arm chair mechanic until it happens to you and soon find your nuts just disappeared and are sitting below your throat. Trust me I've been there. Now we get the post that is looking to blame Mike for this.

Anywho...carry on

DrBrain

Ehem, here is one enthusiast from Germany. Most of us Germans don't ask engine related questions because we deal with facts when they are there and don't fret what-ifs. Again, if you don't like beer don't go to the Oktoberfest, alter.

Regarding Jack Raby: he is a well respected businessman and Porsche expert in Germany. His approach is a mix of science and experience. I wish never to need his services but if I should ever need them I will go to him or people of his caliber. As we say, Hals und Beinbruch!

5CHN3LL

Sure - go for it - but how about doing it in your own thread, so Cuda can use this one for whatever he wants to share about the status of his car...

I don't know if Sneaky Pete was referring to me - but if so, I have absolutely no issues with Raby (other than I wish he hadn't axed the "failure" content from the book, but I can understand why). Jake certainly doesn't fall into the armchair quarterback category - but damned if there aren't plenty of them around. In fact, being willing to entertain a trade as payment is pretty damn cool.

DTMiller

I agree completely. I have some awesome video of me going upside down in my 99. Exactly 3 people have ever seen it. Me, my wife and my absolute best friend in the world. Every now and then I think about putting it on YouTube and sharing it. I don't because I don't need a bunch of people telling me how I f*cked up. I know exactly what went wrong.

I can only imagine the rage I would be consumed by if my engine blew itself to pieces and people wanted to talk about what I did wrong.

Sneaky Pete

No reference at all. When threads like this pop up the criticism for a guy who is willing to help come out of nowhere. Like I said a while ago you may hate him but he is your best friend when you need him.

Rubik

Schnell, I completely understand your point. My only interest was from a scientific standpoint. I had no intension of playing the blame game. That's just not my way. ... I cracked up at your comment on the "red zone".

Cuda911

Ah, I don't mind the question, I think it's fair enough in this thread.

In fact, just today I was speaking about that with a guy who was on the tour on Sunday... the same guy that took off, leaving me stranded (thanks Javier. See why I didn't pick up the hamburger tab today?). I was mentioning to him that I was pondering whether something I did caused the failure.

It's a tip, so impossible to over-rev. My driving style depends on where I'm going. I use it as a DD {Edit: I USED it as a DD, still not using past tense}. So, when I'm traveling around the county visiting clients, I usually have on talk radio, and drink my coffee. On drives like this weekend, I'm generally in the more "spirited" group.

In terms of maintenance... if I go more than 3,000 miles between oil changes, I start to break out in a cold sweat. About 1.5 to 2 years ago, I had the engine and tranny pulled and spent about 8K replacing anything I thought might be a wear item. So, this car has been, I believe, extremely well maintained. I realized today that I could have leased a new 991 for the past two years for less $$.

The roads this weekend had many sharp turns up and down hills and canyons. Mostly second and third gear stuff, but very fast. However, I have been on many such canyon runs.

Now, when the engine went kablooey, I was driving very slowly, since we had stopped to try and figure out where in the world we were. But, prior to that, was shifting a lot between second and third... dropping down to second just before the corners, hard accelerating out, then up to third, before it was time to drop back to second for the next corner.

I believe these car were built for this type of driving.... certainly no more abusive than an autocross. Except an autocross totals maybe 10 miles, and we went about 115 miles.

It's pretty much the same style as everyone else was doing, even the guy in the C7 'vette.

So, if I'm supposed to drive a 996 the way my grampa drove his big old Ford LTD, please let me know.

Additional comments:

1. The same as I asked in in my recent Fabspeed thread, please don't use my threads to bash any vendor. JR certainly knows vastly more about m96 motors than I could aspire to learn in a lifetime. When his book comes out, I'll be one of the first to buy it. When we were at the side of the road on Sunday, I was pondering whether this was Failure Mode #17 or #23. Sure, some people disagree with him on some issues. That's what forums are for. But, please keep that stuff to a different thread. Jake has contacted me and given some preliminary info. He's a valuable asset to the 996 community.

2. Insurance company sent out a guy today to look at the car. He says he used to be a mechanic, but he seemed to know very little about engines. He did, however, know that the damaged was caused from something internal, not external (I tried, at least, to convice him that maybe a rock punctured the case, but he didn't buy it). Interestingly, he valued my car at just over $25K (that's the value they would have given me if the car had been covered and written off as a total loss).

3. Thanks to several of you, I have a lead on what appears to be a good replacement motor. I spoke to the guy today, and will be following up later this week. Not sure if that will pan out, but so far is sounding good. So, feeling a bit better than I have since Sunday morning.

4. Hey: How did you guys like the fact that I had the presence of mind when the car broke down to take pix to post here? I even told the tow truck driver that at least I had the makings of a good new Rennlist thread.

Here's a little section of the road, from a Google earth image:
.

Rubik

Thanks for not being offended. The reality is that I drive the same way when I'm not using the car for errands. So, it is really really unfortunate. I wish you the best. Looking at the images I must say you must have had a lot of fun. I want to do the same and hope for the best. I definitely don't think anyone should drive these like driving Miss Daisey.

kon5t

Well I am a Kraut and enthusiast, so I assume I count?

Fact is Cuda has a pretty serious issue which is a bummer.

I think the facts are already out there, and until we see the engine stripped down, the root cause is just speculation, although speculation with some weight of experience courtesy of Jake behind it (which is worth probably more than anyone else's opinion on this board).

Cuda, I hope you get this sorted to your satisfaction, with minimum financial impact and downtime. Let me know if you need to drown your sorrows with a stranger, I am in Huntington Beach and always up for a beer.

K

wyovino

Best of luck, Cuda 911. You certainly have shown a level head and a great sense of humor about something that would send many people off the deep end. I hope whatever path you choose works out for you.

Mark I

Cuda: I think in your situation, I'd be considering the used market, too. Best of luck in whatever you decide. Here's an example of potential opportunities out there that come up occasionally:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-996-...47fb9f&vxp=mtr

Partially echoing what DrBrain was saying, things break - sometimes in spite of all reasonable precautions or apparent logic. I went recently for an inspection at the TÜV (well actually DEKRA) and there was an assortment of disasters there including a recently out-of-warranty high end Mercedes with a rod through the block. My father in law's meticulously maintained late model BMW 3 series inexplicably completely ate a chain guide on start up.

Let me add my best wishes for a great resolution and that you'll be back on the road soon. Wir drücken Dir die Daumen!