#$@! Blew my engine today #&*#@!
12-02-2014, 11:33 PM
#166
Cuda - been following this thread and I am really sorry to hear it. I know that gut feeling as I lost an engine in my C4S about 18 months ago and that initial disbelief followed with the what the heck will I do now hit hard. Although I had money in savings I had lost my job less than two months before and raiding my savings to the tune of $24k was not going to be an option. But I was really struggling with the thought of just letting the car go; which would have been the rational thing to do, but I am known for the irrational.
Although Porsche seemed satisfied to accept it as an IMSB failure, I personally suspected a rod. The engine ran for some gentle miles with what sounded to me like a rod knock, never lost a drop of oil, and the sound of marbles in a coffee can was noticeably absent. But hey, in the end Porsche provided the engine as good will (different story) and my cost for labor was more like $2,200 - so zero interest credit card came into play.
I follow your posts and know you are a true enthusiast and would assume that if anything you over maintained your ride. I live by the maximum 5k mile oil change interval, stick to all of the operating tricks like never letting the car idle to warm up, no short runs, lively driving yet avoiding the rev limiter and spending stupid money on stuff that isn't yet broken. Yet of my cars have experienced mechanical failures at times, it is what it is.
I think it is basic human nature for many of us to first want to believe that we somehow did something wrong, the illusion of control has us believing that we could have, or should have control over all outcomes. So it makes sense to me that folks will be inclined to ask questions in the hopes that they can learn what they "shouldn't" do.
Yet with some humility we can accept the simple truth that stuff just happens, sometimes good, sometimes bad, and we had absolutely no influence over the outcome.
I am dealing with a terminally ill wife who has lived a very careful and well balanced life, I think that in the 30 years we've known each other, she had 1/2 of a beer, and that was on our wedding night a little over 26 years ago, never put an illegal substance in her body and was typically reluctant to even take a Tylenol for a headache. Me on the other hand, well let's just say I entered the "red zone" far more often than the human machine should be able to tolerate, yet here I am.
I sincerely wish you luck in getting hooked up with a decent replacement engine at a cost that will allow you to continue enjoying your 996.
And I am impressed with the level of support this community continues to offer.
Best Regards,
John
Although Porsche seemed satisfied to accept it as an IMSB failure, I personally suspected a rod. The engine ran for some gentle miles with what sounded to me like a rod knock, never lost a drop of oil, and the sound of marbles in a coffee can was noticeably absent. But hey, in the end Porsche provided the engine as good will (different story) and my cost for labor was more like $2,200 - so zero interest credit card came into play.
I follow your posts and know you are a true enthusiast and would assume that if anything you over maintained your ride. I live by the maximum 5k mile oil change interval, stick to all of the operating tricks like never letting the car idle to warm up, no short runs, lively driving yet avoiding the rev limiter and spending stupid money on stuff that isn't yet broken. Yet of my cars have experienced mechanical failures at times, it is what it is.
I think it is basic human nature for many of us to first want to believe that we somehow did something wrong, the illusion of control has us believing that we could have, or should have control over all outcomes. So it makes sense to me that folks will be inclined to ask questions in the hopes that they can learn what they "shouldn't" do.
Yet with some humility we can accept the simple truth that stuff just happens, sometimes good, sometimes bad, and we had absolutely no influence over the outcome.
I am dealing with a terminally ill wife who has lived a very careful and well balanced life, I think that in the 30 years we've known each other, she had 1/2 of a beer, and that was on our wedding night a little over 26 years ago, never put an illegal substance in her body and was typically reluctant to even take a Tylenol for a headache. Me on the other hand, well let's just say I entered the "red zone" far more often than the human machine should be able to tolerate, yet here I am.
I sincerely wish you luck in getting hooked up with a decent replacement engine at a cost that will allow you to continue enjoying your 996.
And I am impressed with the level of support this community continues to offer.
Best Regards,
John
12-03-2014, 12:16 AM
#167
Burning Brakes
12-03-2014, 12:43 PM
#169
Race Director
You probably already know this and don't need me saying this but I don't think you did anything wrong in how you drove the car, maintained it, etc.
A Tip is generally easier on the car and the engine anyhow so other than not driving the car at all I don't see what you could have done to avoid this rod bolt failure assuming that is what it is and it probably is.
I wonder about the owner who drove his '98 Boxster IIRC over 200K miles and tracked it frequently and had a rod bolt fail. And I wonder about those owners who have covered as many or more miles than you and haven't had any rod bolt failures.
Thus I think it was just a fluke. A bad bolt with probably some tiny inclusion in it that eventually developed into a stress fracture and failure.
The used engine sounds like the best path to follow. Factory engines are just too expensive for most of us. A rebuild is just too expensive again for most of us.
Try to get some kind of "warranty" or some kind of if only short lived "money back guarantee" on that used engine so if the engine proves to be bad out of the shipping crate you can at least exchange it or even get your money back. And enlist someone who can evaluate the engine so you are less likely to get a bum engine if you select the engine yourself.
BTW, I was going to offer that if that 914 was nice maybe you should keep it and sell the 996 and use the money to put into the 914. The 914 being a nice car, and getting a bit scarce, a simpler car and easier to maintain and repair. I sometimes reflect back that maybe I should have picked up that very nice 993 (in speed yellow no less) with very low miles for around $40K I found in the Sacramento area rather than buying a new Cayman S or after that got smashed buying a used 03 Turbo.
A Tip is generally easier on the car and the engine anyhow so other than not driving the car at all I don't see what you could have done to avoid this rod bolt failure assuming that is what it is and it probably is.
I wonder about the owner who drove his '98 Boxster IIRC over 200K miles and tracked it frequently and had a rod bolt fail. And I wonder about those owners who have covered as many or more miles than you and haven't had any rod bolt failures.
Thus I think it was just a fluke. A bad bolt with probably some tiny inclusion in it that eventually developed into a stress fracture and failure.
The used engine sounds like the best path to follow. Factory engines are just too expensive for most of us. A rebuild is just too expensive again for most of us.
Try to get some kind of "warranty" or some kind of if only short lived "money back guarantee" on that used engine so if the engine proves to be bad out of the shipping crate you can at least exchange it or even get your money back. And enlist someone who can evaluate the engine so you are less likely to get a bum engine if you select the engine yourself.
BTW, I was going to offer that if that 914 was nice maybe you should keep it and sell the 996 and use the money to put into the 914. The 914 being a nice car, and getting a bit scarce, a simpler car and easier to maintain and repair. I sometimes reflect back that maybe I should have picked up that very nice 993 (in speed yellow no less) with very low miles for around $40K I found in the Sacramento area rather than buying a new Cayman S or after that got smashed buying a used 03 Turbo.
12-03-2014, 12:57 PM
#170
Drifting
the same guy that took off, leaving me stranded (thanks Javier. See why I didn't pick up the hamburger tab today?).*
No way you did anything to the car. You weren't pushing it that much. Just bad engine.
See, I'm not the only one who thinks making the 914 a bad *** car would be cool! ;-)
12-03-2014, 02:45 PM
#172
Racer
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: 40th Anni. South OC, CA
Posts: 285
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Silotwo/John,
Why not let the engine idle to warm up?
Personal experience with my 40th /60k miles is to do this upon first drive of the day, especially if less than 70 degrees out.
Paul
Why not let the engine idle to warm up?
Personal experience with my 40th /60k miles is to do this upon first drive of the day, especially if less than 70 degrees out.
Paul
12-03-2014, 02:56 PM
#173
Rennlist Member
Read operating instructions in your manual. Why would you drive off with a warm engine and cold tranny plus other fluids? All parts of your car should warm up together accordingly.
12-03-2014, 04:14 PM
#174
Because the aim is to get the oil up to temperature as quickly as possible, without stressing the engine unduly (because of potential lubrication problems with thick cold oil). Idling does not meet the "as quick as possible" parameter. Typically you should run the engine in the 2000-3500 rpm range under light loads to achieve this goal.
12-03-2014, 04:46 PM
#175
Drifting
As an owner of a 03 Boxster, I'm interested of to know of all other procedures to keep these engines healthy. I was under the impression that after car was warm it was good to redline it every now and then... true?
12-03-2014, 04:48 PM
#176
Race Director
Thread Starter
Dang it! You've ruined my plans. Thought maybe I could pluck a motor while no one was looking.
Hey - I SCORED AN ENGINE!!!!
And, I don't mean the internal scoring type of scoring. Plenty of time to do that later. My plan is to work through each of the various failure modes.
Here's the poop: Several of you let me know about one listed here on RL, so I spoke with the seller. The engine is from same model and year as mine, 2003 C2. Very well maintained, by a Porsche enthusiast and PCA member.
Earlier this year, he was in a minor fender-bender where he was tapped from behind on the freeway. As he was at the side of the road exchanging info with another driver, a truck came by and side-swiped his car, totaling it.
The engine was not damaged. In fact, he has videos posted of the car running... it still runs fine, even though the body is pretty well destroyed.
57,000 miles are on the motor, and IMSB was replaced at 41,000 miles. He send me the receipt to verify this work.
The car is at his mechanic's shop, but his mechanic is in the hospital. So, he's arranging to get the car sent to another mechanic to get the motor out, crated and shipped to me.
I'll keep you all posted. So, sounds like I'm going to be stuck hanging around with all you jerks in the 996 forums, after all.
Ummm... Jake, c'mon....I didn't think that was very cool of you to post right after me in the seller's thread, offering to buy the motor. I was already in the process of discussing pricing with the seller, and I think he would have lowered the price more had you not essentially started a bidding war. You are able to pass on any increased cost to your customer. I am not.
Hey - I SCORED AN ENGINE!!!!
And, I don't mean the internal scoring type of scoring. Plenty of time to do that later. My plan is to work through each of the various failure modes.
Here's the poop: Several of you let me know about one listed here on RL, so I spoke with the seller. The engine is from same model and year as mine, 2003 C2. Very well maintained, by a Porsche enthusiast and PCA member.
Earlier this year, he was in a minor fender-bender where he was tapped from behind on the freeway. As he was at the side of the road exchanging info with another driver, a truck came by and side-swiped his car, totaling it.
The engine was not damaged. In fact, he has videos posted of the car running... it still runs fine, even though the body is pretty well destroyed.
57,000 miles are on the motor, and IMSB was replaced at 41,000 miles. He send me the receipt to verify this work.
The car is at his mechanic's shop, but his mechanic is in the hospital. So, he's arranging to get the car sent to another mechanic to get the motor out, crated and shipped to me.
I'll keep you all posted. So, sounds like I'm going to be stuck hanging around with all you jerks in the 996 forums, after all.
Ummm... Jake, c'mon....I didn't think that was very cool of you to post right after me in the seller's thread, offering to buy the motor. I was already in the process of discussing pricing with the seller, and I think he would have lowered the price more had you not essentially started a bidding war. You are able to pass on any increased cost to your customer. I am not.
12-03-2014, 05:02 PM
#177
Race Director
Really I would not be worried about taking the engine up to redline. My 2002 Boxster has over 287K miles on it and I still take the engine to redline -- once fully warmed up - once in a while. I have done this upon occasion ever since the engine came out of "break in".
Besides the engine experiences some pretty good loads at lower RPMs that if a rod bolt (for instance) was going to let go it could just as easily let go then as at redline. IIRC in the case of Cuda911's engine he was no where near redline when what is believed to be the rod bolt failed.
About all I can suggest you do is show the engine/the car a bit of mechanical empathy and take it easy until the engine is warmed up, completely warmed up (and like to run the engine pretty easy for 10 or 15 minutes *after* the coolant temperature gage needle reaches its "warm" position because these engines take a while to fully warm up), give the engine some cool down time before shutting it off. Run an approved (natch) oil of the the viscosity that is appropriate for where you live and drive and change this oil and filter at reasonable intervals. Do the other fluids at reasonable intervals, the plugs, filters, etc. at their scheduled times/miles, and take care of little things before they turn into big things. Avoid accidents. Enjoy the car.
If you feel the car has to be locked away in the garage while you cower under the bed for fear something bad will happen then the car is not for you and you should do yourself a favor and get rid of the car and replace it with one you do not live in fear of.
I mean we all love our Porsches, that is a given, and we all want them to last and be trouble free without having to rebuild the damn thing every other drive, but we have to be able to get in the car without twisting the old guts into knots from worry.
While I love my two cars if it ever comes to the point I'm afraid to drive them for fear of an engine going boom I'll sell them ASAP and buy another car I do not live in fear of. There are number of cars out there. While I need a car I do not necessarily need a Porsche.
12-03-2014, 05:11 PM
#179
Wow, that didn't take that long...
I think there was more time and effort put into all these usual RL posts on everything and anything except what you should do next. Talk about thread contamination...