haripin

Did you have the bores scoped?

I just spoke with a reputable indy Porsche shop and they will do a compression/leak down/bore scope and PPI for $800

Sporty

Just ask them to take out spark plug #6 first and scope that one, then the next, if bad, stop and just pay them for their time (hour?). if good then go the full monty.

although more thorough (and I believe necessary on the .2s), taking the oil pan off is too much trouble and going thru the spark plug hole most likely will reveal any issues.

Ericson38

I would not do it that way, go through the crank case (drop the pan). That way you get a good look at whats accumulating, the pickup screen, and the bores, where the skirts are rubbing the bores( side loads), not up at the top where the piston in the ring land area is smaller around anyway.

haripin

****. Might as well have them drop the freak'n engine while I'm at it and add the damn plating to the cylinder walls.

Sporty

you can have someone do that to your car when you look to sell.
do what I said, if you see scoring out of the gate, stop and pay the $150(est) instead of $800. If all the cylinders are fine, then you can ask them to drop the pan or include that in the $800 if it gets that far.

haripin

Yeah that's what I plan to do. Start with Cyl 6 and go on from there -- stop if any signs of scoring because it won't matter then.

I talked to Sloan at SSI and he seemed very honest and actually suggest that they start with the scoping cylinder by cylinder first before doing anything else.

Let's see what happens. I feel good about the car and current owner otherwise I wouldn't be wasting my time.

Some things that give me anxiety is (1) first owner in NJ = cold weather; (2) second owner in MA = even colder weather; (3) current owner, who is a big PCA member, purchased from a non-Porsche dealer two years ago and there are limited (if any) service records from the second owner. Also, the Carfax doesn't show any service entries for the second owner, who had it for 8 years and drove 20K miles.

So I'm guessing the second owner babied the car. A babied 997 in cold weather is not, at least from what I understand, a good combination. But I'm probably overthinking things a bit.

Sporty

yes you are overthinking it. I am in NJ and my car is garage kept, so it never really had super cold starts. I have had it since new (2005 base 3.6) has only 43k miles on it but all well driven , non babied, but correctly warmed up etc. It burns no oil, sounds perfect, brings me joy everyday when I look at it and drive it. But you have the right idea - proceed cautiously and pragmatically; no need to agree to spend $800 clams right off the bat. Good Luck, I know its a tough time to be a buyer right now.

haripin

Thanks! I'm actually in Bergen County, myself. Where in Jerz are you?

TopKatz

I don’t get the cold weather thing. I’m in MA and my car is garaged year round snd does not see the road through the winter. Either way Warm up your car prior to reving above 3k.

Sporty

Mountainside -between Summit and Westfield

Torq5teer

No one should buy a 997.1 for any reason regardless of miles. I bought one 7 years ago with 50k on the clock and have regretted every day and every one of the 40k miles I have put on it. I always feel so much better when the weather is bad and I can stow it away in favor of my Camry. Now THAT is a car.

rileyracing1

• Quote:

  Originally Posted by Busta Rib

  I had a 997.1 C2S that exhibited bore scoring at around 83K miles. That compelled me to do more research into the issue and based on my findings and opinion, I would avoid buying a .1. A high percentage of these engines are inherently prone to scoring due to the cylinder liner material (see all of the Raby Youtube videos on this topic). It doesn't mean 100% of .1 cars will experience scoring but I believe a significant percentage will ultimately fail. If you buy a .1, there is a high likelyhood you are facing a rebuild, or you will have to deal with the potential issue whenever you sell. Not worth the hassle, IMO, unless you find a car that already had the engine rebuilt with Nikasil liners. Strong opinion from a desk jockey so YMMV.

Here we go again -"a significant percentage will ultimately fail " How about this there is a significant percentage of women that will cheat on you or a significant chance you may get cancer and die or a significant chance the markets will crash .... I have owned 3 955 Cayenne's 2 997's and countless motorcycles (over 100) with the exact same cylinder treatment and in over 40 yrs I have had only one bike fail due to bore scoring and I think that one failed due to a bad 2cycle oil injector and not due to the exact same cylinder process as our cars. Enough with the fear mongering just because yours failed does not mean every other one will have the same fate.

You fail to recognize in your rationale how many 997 & 996's were made in total and of those made how many failed due to this issue and of those subtracting abuse . neglect or stupidity the overall SIR (service incident rate ) will be in the single digits. 996 & 997's are now over 15yrs old and there are tens of thousands of 996 & 997 examples with over 150,000 s Miles on them still running happily the proof is in the pudding !! If u no like no buy ...roll the dice and go for a .2 or a 991 and hope the score monsters don't creep up on you at night ..

TopKatz

This is the best response.

groovzilla

Always remember the whiners and worriers are on the Forums drumming up the Bose Score fears. Just like the IMS fears.
Just a fact.
Yes small% have issues but no different than any other high end car. Almost every Porsche model has had issues. Most Mercedes/etc

The best way to buy a 997 or any other Porsche model is to find one on PCA or RL/Pelican Forum. RL forum seems to be my go to for the past 4 997's/3 996C4S's/3 993's/2 964's/over the past 10 years.
Stay away from used car lots, Dealer auction cars/etc..
Service history/chatting with sellers shop are your friend. PPI a must.

Peace and Love

Ericson38

Go in stages. Don't be in a hurry. That's 50K dollars. Is a borescope through the oil pan or down the hole? Be specific when they quote you.