BMo

I know this freakin' topic comes up alot, but your thoughts are welcome. I got a PPI on an '04 w/X50, manual tranny, 10,500 miles, stock car. The read on the ECU was basically 42,00 stage 1 ignitions and 399 stage 2 ignitions. Based on someone's excellent prior explanation, that converts to about 12 seconds of stage 1 errors and 1.1 seconds of stage 2 errors. The head tech at Porsche of Albuquerque (where the PPI was done) said the car is in excellent condition, but the guy who owns the car is his customer, I'm not. However, a service tech at Porsche of Portland seemed to think those numbers were pretty sedate. I'm thinking of having them do a leak down test but the stealership in ABQ says it's gonna be rather costly. Anyone have any thoughts?

slant911

Sorry I can't answer your question directly about whether that is too many over revs or not, however, if there is something you want done at PPI time then definitely DO IT. Don't let anyone talk you out of it. You'd never feel good about the car if not 150% sure up front. The cost of a leakdown is peanuts compared to knowing exactly what you have.

JasonAndreas

If it was me I would look for another Porsche with 0 Type-2 rev violations. Were you hoping to buy a CPO?

You never want to have a PPI performed by the shop responsible for the regular servicing of the car. In fact most shops will refuse to do it because of the conflict of interest.

Kevin

A leakdown will show a possible bent valve.. If and when the owner missed the shift.. At 1 second he quickly put in the clutch.. The cost for the leakdown will be a few bucks over changing the plugs..
The car is covered under warranty but can you get the dealer to CPO it??

BMo

Kevin - the dealer said they would not CPO it as it is a private party vehicle. They would only CPO it if they bought it, checked it and then sold it themselves. As for leakdown, I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal but the svce tech is making a song and dance about how much work it is, that the rear bumper needs to come off, 6 to 8 hours of labor, blah, blah. Sounds a little suspect to me?

Jason - as for finding a car with 0 type 2 revs, from what I've been reading on here it's common to find a few type 2 ignitions on the ECU check. Clearly no type 2 errors would be ideal, but it's time consuming, tiring and expensive to repeatedly check out cars. More than anythng it's a pain. I know I need to do due dlilgence but I just want the process to be over, to buy a car and start driving it. Also, if the number of type 2 errors isn't too significant, then why be worried about something that it's not worth worrying about? But this is what I'm trying to figure out since I'm not a mechanic, or engineer, or...

So anyway, thanks for the input so far, I do appreciate it!

srf506

Get them to do the Leakdown, what the h _ l l, they're getting paid for it, and see what you've got. If the leakdown numbers aren't perfect you got a decision to make, drop the car and run, or go back to the owner an screw down his asking price and accept the risk. Its a lot better to do that now than have to stick a bunch of money into a rebuild later. Nothing's a guarantee in this world, but forewarned is forearmed.

JasonAndreas

A Type-2 overrev is significant enough that PCNA will basically void the powertrain warranty if you have even a single one, including on CPO'd vehicles. On models prior to the 996 a missed shift would always result in the valves floating and your pistons slamming into them. Improved valve springs and some sacrificial transmission parts have dramatically reduced the occurrence but it still causes problems.

C DeVito

Did they tell you the engine hour the last type 2 Overrev occurred and the total hours on the engine? It will help determine if it was early in the engine life and it has worked well since or it was right before the PO put it up for sale.

tkerrmd

Good answer and my opinion also. I would not buy that car.
My car is tracked (by me) heavily and there are NO type two over revs even with hundreds of track miles. So I find it hard to believe you cant find one that the owner knew how to shift the car.

acf

When I was looking for my car I had a handful of cars checked out. All of them showed some type 2 over revs. Some people I talked to said it wasnt a big deal, and it will be rare to find a 996 turbo without any type 2's. I didnt feel comfortable with having any type 2's and found a car with zero. It seems like a real grey area, unless porsche will ppi and cpo it, I'd keep looking if I were you.

99firehawk

seriously.....................if you hit a valve its not going to be something that turns up later in life, valves bend engines dont run, or at least run very well. leak down is not going to tell you anything. but will run ya close to a 1000 $ at a delaer . car runs and doest misfire and drivers fine = valves are ok.

porschedude996TT

My thoughts you ask:
Rest at ease, your type 1 and type 2 numbers are low and if the engine is running well, (read purrs like a kitten), then you most likely have no present damage. Problems associated with an overrev are going to be quite evident. Bent Valve (missing power pulse) or Stretched Connecting Rod Bolts (metallic clatter when you let off the throttle). All your worrying is not going to help any situation that may be present. "Don't worry, be Happy" your own a 996TT, the world is good!

If you later start to here funny noises, it is most likely your imagination playing with you. If you think these water cooled engines make noise, try owning an air-cooled 911. They make all kinds of funny noises. In my ’72 911, I could here the oil returning to the oil tank, and always the slightly uneven tap-tap-tah-tap sound the rockers arms made on the cam. By comparison, the water-cooled engines are silent.

BMo

Thanks again to all for the info.