bronz

Hello fellow Rennlisters,

As some of you know, i went through the whole bore scoring ordeal and ended up with Jake Rabys Stage 2 4.0L motor. Since then i have put about 4k miles on the rebuild. Couple weeks ago I was driving back from work, going through my neighborhood at 20mph and all of the sudden, i get the sport mode failure warning, emergency transmission warning and a check engine light. Immediately pulled over to the side and shut off the car. Start it back up, put it in drive and nothing. Put it in reverse, nothing. It just revs, but the car doesnt move.

Walk home about 5 blocks and get my volt meter. Measured the battery voltage and it was reading 12.1 Thought that was kind of low, so ran to Costco and grabbed a new battery, hoping it would help. Same thing. Scanned it with durametric, and it was reading "Software Error" in the transmission module.

With the help of Jake Raby and Charles Navarro, had one of the techs from LN Engineering come out to my house with PIWIS to check and recalibrate the transmission and do bunch of other stuff. PIWIS was not communicating with TCM. Decision was made to install a new TCM and repeat the process.

After installing the new TCM, the transmission shows stuck in 6th gear even though the shifter can be moved to reverse/neutral/drive. Luckily they have low mileage PDK in stock for my car, which is getting installed right now. It would be an option to tear into transmission and check whats causing the problem, but i will not be going this route due to the fact that pretty much no internal parts are available anyway.

That being said, i will be listing the car for sale to recoup some of the money. After spending over 40k in repairs and maintenance i have lost interest in cars in general as i have a lot of other things going on in my life right now. I might be listing the car on BAT, but i havent decided yet.

Cheers

Skwerl

So awful to hear that! You just had an extensive Raby engine rebuild too, right? Most people won't tolerate that one knockout punch, let alone a second with the PDK. Understandable that you want out, I'd be over it too at that point.

bronz

yes sir, just edited the post to point that out

Kodiak535

I’m really sorry that happened to you. Sympathy, brother.

if you don’t mind my asking, what was the $40,000 spent on? How much of that was on the motor?

bschurr

sorry to hear about your woes! I feel for ya.

If you decide to list on BAT be prepared for a barrage of questions and requests for details about the motor rebuild & replacement trans. Make sure that you have all receipts and documentation for the work performed. I have also noticed on BAT that engaged sellers are the most successful so be prepared to field all the inquiries in order to maximize your recovery via the auction.

best of luck - better days are ahead!

93Jaffe

Bronz I have been following your car for awhile now but I am unable to put myself in your shoes. What a nightmare to go through! Expensive 4,000 miles, hope you can look back at some with a smile.

yvesvidal

Probably $24K on the engine and $16K on the transmission.

Yves

Bruce In Philly

Bummer..... nothing to be said.

I should never have given Porsche my business again after two engine failures.... those experiences changed my view of them. It went from reverence to something just above my feelings about GM. Seriously. They are not some highfalutin group of engineering priests building purity. They are a mass-production, consumer product company who has a team of genius marketing folks. That is it and it is no more. I do enjoy their product and brand very much, but I don't revere them.

Sometime lighting will strike the same place twice... or more.

Thanx for your posts.... sad to see you go.... but very understandable.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

groovzilla

Bronz - So sorry to hear of your 997 issues. It might be better idea to sell your car within the RL community.
BAT could be more of a dartboard and RL members much more understanding of the time/effort and expense you have put into your 997.
Whatever you decide I wish you the best and sorry you were a part of the small % of owners who have had to deal with these issues.

Sporty

So sorry to hear and better luck on your next endeavor. Aside from all that, how was the 4.0 after it was broken in compared to what it was before the rebuild? Not sure that you ever updated us and we would love to hear detailed feedback on the feel and performance.

Steph1

Ah crap.... Sure don't blame you for moving on to something else whatever it will be. As already pointed out by another member, you already took a punch and now this.... No words to describe how I'm certain you feel.

Cheers and good luck.

PV997

Hey Bronz, sorry to read about this and hope things work out ok. Can you post the specific error codes that were stored with the failure, was it just the software failure? Often in response to a sensor failure the TCU will disable functions of the transmission and leave it in the last engaged gear (even though there is nothing wrong with the shifting mechanism). Understanding the codes would help unravel some of the remaining mysteries of this transmission.

Best of luck, hope you are back on the road soon.

php

Very sorry to hear this, I followed your entire other thread about the engine. I agree with others it would be better to put for sale on Rennlist as most people who will appreciate a Raby engine and "new" PDK will most likely be on this forum. I hope you can try out another Porsche at some time in the future, not because I'm a fan boy (I'm not), but it's just unfortunate to depart on such a sour experience.

posterchild2

I feel like a puss complaining and ranting about my $3,600 repair bill! Is it even worth dumping more money into it to recoup? I had a feeling I would be driving around in a ticking time bomb, so I ran to dealership and traded mine in as fast as I could before the damn thing exploded. I was told by several people, if you want to drive these cars lease them and then in 3 years return the keys and run as fast as you can, It's just money at the end of the day; but still hurts! Best of luck man!

linderpat

Damn, sorry to hear this Bronz. I can't blame you one bit either. If you still have anything left for Porsches, go older, and look at a 928. Once maintenance is caught up, they are as reliable as Timex watches, and frankly, deliver a similar driving experience to the 996/997 (I just bought another 928 this weekend - 5 speed 85). I love Porsches, but only certain ones. For the amount of money you have invested, you could have a GTS 928, one of the best now vintage GT cars in the world.