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My 2006 C4 has 28,000 miles on it and I was just told by mechanic that cylinder 5 is scored and un-savable without a rebuild. Somewhere deep down I knew this was the call I was going to get when I dropped it off because I brought it in with the following symptoms. Oil consumption seemed a little high, drivers side exhaust tip is blackened, cylinder 5 spark plug is black and gummy. Engine made a ticking noise. So I guess my two options are rebuild and replace motor. Looking for advice... Estimated rebuild costs? Best way to source a motor if I go that route? Sell car? and best way? how to get it to the right person who will get the most value from it, i.e. a racer who wants to upgrade parts of the motor anyway and this is a cheaper way to start. A hug would be great. Thanks, Adam
Depending on how much you love your car submit a ticket to Jake at Flat Six Innovations and get a quote/talk to him. They have a long backlog but they can hopefully keep you driving the car until your turn in line has arrived. Best of luck.
You can even opt to go with a bigger bore and have a trusted shop in your area do the rebuild instead of waiting for Raby's shop. Depending on your wrenching skills, you can save a lot of money by dropping the motor yourself, removing the top-end bits, and disassembling the block. A full-service rebuild will cost you $18-25K depending on the shop you use and other "while you are in there" stuff you decide to do. There is a lot of good info out there about rebuilds. Do your homework. Only you can decide if the calculus is worth it to rebuild versus selling. Sorry to hear about your situation and best of luck.
Thanks, I just checked into them. Looks like the specialist I need and my best option for the rebuild route. Only issue is it looks like their backlog goes out to 2023!! From reading their material it look spretty foolish to get another motor and drop it in since this is a common issue. So it's rebuild or sell I guess.
No need to jump when still grieving over the issue but I agree that putting in another stock engine won't give you the peace of mind that a well built engine from one of the specialists will. Cost is a personal issue as is whether this is a forever car or just a disposable asset that you can move on from.
Jake is no doubt the best (in the US at least) but his prices are high, you will have a long wait, and it's not the right answer for everyone. You will not get your sunk costs back if you decide to sell down the road. If you go with Flat Six, you should be doing it out of love (like buying an artwork), not as investment or because it's what the Rennlist crowd likes.
I agree with Busta Rib that you should consider a DIY (or a trusted shop) with LN Engineering upgrading the case. There's a couple good threads in the 996 forum of folks who went this route and rebuilt in their garage (and got it all done for ~$12k total IIRC). You should also consider a junkyard engine or even selling it as a roller. It all depends on how much you love that particular car, how long you can part with it, your ability to DIY, and your financial situation. Those are all things you need to weigh in making the decision. I'd do the LNE rebuild myself as my car is not a DD, I have a garage/tools, and I've enjoyed doing rebuilds in the past. I would not go with Flat Six because it's not the right solution for me but I certainly respect the decision of those that do go that route.
Last edited by PV997; 09-03-2021 at 03:57 PM.
Reason: typos
When my 2006 C2S goes south along this route, I am dropping the block at LN Engineering. While the block is there, the heads get sent out for new valve guides. I will assemble the engine and put it back in the car for another 150K miles. I am guessing 3 months out of commission and $10K.
Sorry this happened to your car - that really sucks and at only 28k miles.
Selling as a roller will only get you about $12k unless it is a uniqur color or has some special options or equipment like adaptive sport seats, PCCB brakes (yellow calipers), lots of leather parts inside, custom forged wheels, etc
Another option is an LS swap if the goal is to get the car back on the road sooner for and less.money. Thwre are some threads here and on Facebook about that. For me, because I love the sound, feel, and history of the flat 6 motor, I'd just get on Jake's list and put the car up until my number rolled around, but that's me.
Depending on how much you love your car submit a ticket to Jake at Flat Six Innovations and get a quote/talk to him. They have a long backlog but they can hopefully keep you driving the car until your turn in line has arrived. Best of luck.
Sorry to hear. I know I’m prob the only one to say this, but if you’re not up to spending $25-30k on a rebuild now, maybe just keep driving the car to see if it does end up failing. You might be surprised that it can go on for years and many thousands of miles before it drops dead at which point you can still spend the same amount of money or just dump it as a roller.
Sorry to hear. I know I’m prob the only one to say this, but if you’re not up to spending $25-30k on a rebuild now, maybe just keep driving the car to see if it does end up failing. You might be surprised that it can go on for years and many thousands of miles before it drops dead at which point you can still spend the same amount of money or just dump it as a roller.
Ticking, gummy spark plug, oil consumption, 3000 rpm at 75mph with scores bore not long for the world.
09-03-2021, 01:57 PM
My motor is trashed!
