Gino911

Had my 2006 Carrera S 997.1 (60,000 miles) at the track last month and after about 30 minutes of driving it began to run rough and then the Visit Workshop light came on. Once I got it stopped, it would start only after much effort and produce a significant amount of grey smoke and very rough idle and run with little power. Car was towed to an independent Porsche shop and (my mechanic's notes): "after spark plugs and coils were replaced, unfortunately the engine did not run properly still. At this point, I removed the spark plugs and coils again to perform a compression test on all 6 cylinders. Cylinder #1: 0psi Cylinder #2: 190pis Cylinder #3: 225psi Cylinder #4: 0psi Cylinder #5: 190psi Cylinder #6: 185psi. With a borescope inside the cylinder, both Cyl #1 and Cyl #4 do not move with the crankshaft. I was able to find a smashed up valve inside Cyl #1 that has damaged the cylinder head and the block. Without further disassembly to see what else is broken, but I suspect that both Cyl #1 and Cyl #4 have broken connecting rods due to contact with the valve. At this time, we recommend engine replacement." We have avoided remooving the engine and tearing it down to avoid the cost involved with that process. The search for an engine from my mechanic's sources has been fruitless. I have called Flat Sixes and they have not been very positive about a repair/rebuild and at best are 18 months out on rebuilds. Engiens from ebay are being avoided right now becasue you just don't know their history adn I don't know if I have a clean core to trade. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Is it a roller or is it worth fighting for an engine rebuild / replacement. Would like to hear some feedback from other owners / enthusiasts.

ilovemaui

Sorry to hear the news. You might able purchase one from Suncoast. It won’t be cheap but it might be your best bet.

rtl5009

Sounds like you lost a rod bolt and that causes a lot of carnage. If there’s no oil on top or the ground the case might be able to be saved.

jamesinger

VISION in CA usually has motors: https://www.visionmotorsports.com/
You can also check wreckers like https://www.ladismantler.com/
There is also a couple wrecked cars I have seen in the classifieds where the motor is not damaged. It is a SUPER long story but I have swapped all the best undamaged bits from 2 wrecked cars onto previously owned cars usually using a newer/higher end model and swapping it to my car. For example, I had an entire interior of a 2000 Civic SiR sent from Canada to LA and just swapped it on the curb. The dismantler sent it wrapped in plastic on a crate from the headliner to the carpets. The car had been rear ended, so there was 0 damage to the interior bits. I also did this with an EVO VIII using the best bits from various CT9A chassis and even EVO X bits.
Last, I had a valve meet a piston at the track. It sounds a lot like your story. The piston shattered and scored up the cylinder. We did tear the motor down and I had it rebuilt from a 2.0 to a 2.3. I am not sure what the extent of the damage of your specific motor is but it was really amazing to rebuild the engine of this particular car and address all the issues and etc. The stroked and bored out engine was a little beast too. I do feel it was worth the cost...but you know, different situations and all.

Petza914

You could also look into shipping it to Hartech in the UK. They don't seem to have the same time backlog as FSI

stunistu

I might be interested in purchasing your 997 as a roller. Where is the car located?
I also have 2 complete 3.6 long blocks that are disassembled. I am willing to sells parts such as crankshafts, heads, case halves.
Contact me at ; stuhpps@hotmail.com

Frank 993 C4S

Until you know whether you have a rebuildable core, it's hard to recommend any specific options. Check on reputable engine builders in your area that have experience with these engines. I can recommend some on the East Coast. It will take a couple of months because shops are short staffed and busy right now. Buying a used engine is the cheapest alternative but is also a big gamble. (Been there, done that and won't do it again).

frybear

Try LN engineering

Hella-Buggin'

Call Vision Motorsports. Also try RND. Like stated above, you will need to tear it down to see if it's a usable core. If not, buy a donor and send that in to be rebuilt.

Gino911

I am located in Denver, CO. I am looking at the option of rebuilding the engine as is but if I get to the "roller" decision I will recontact you. Would you be willing to give me a price range for purchasing a roller? Would help me in the decision making. If you would rather speak offline in order to do that, we could do that as well. Thanks for your interest and assistance.

gutenfreibier

Gino911.

I am in Denver CO too. Sorry to hear of your situation. I once had a 2005 that had an engine failure which resulted in me making the decision to sell it as a roller. My logic was: I have already gotten the 10-25k bill. Do I love the car enough to be 10-20k upside down in it? I thought I would just take the money I would have spent, and upgrade to a 991 or maybe even pick up a 993 or 964. Well none of the air cooleds, or 991s I drove truly blew my skirt up, and prices just kept climbing. 3 years of searching, and owning a corvette, m roadster, rx-7, and rationalizing later, I have an 06. Funny enough, the previous owner lost a rod, and swapped in a junkyard 3.6 with new ims, clutch, etc at the same time. My old car was a little nicer, but had less options. In the end, knowing where I eventually landed, I wish I'd have just rebuilt it and had a wicked little 4.0 with no worries in the back of my mind.

All that said, I am quite pleased with 3.6 power, and if you could find a wrecked automatic car, scope the bores, and do a leakdown test, replace ims if 05, new aos, new injectors, plugs, coils, etc while the motor is on the stand, I'd have no reservations about swapping a used engine in. Rod bolt failure is pretty rare.

zdet

Buy this for the engine and brakes and then sell it as a roller or part it out:

https://www.mercedesoflittleton.com/...AB29945S740335

bgoetz

Not sure I would touch that car unless I knew who built it and the details. If it is an FSI build, which I doubt I would 100% say it is worth the ask. If it is a DYI build using steel sleeves, then I think it is a big risk. If is a shop build using an LN block then I would want to talk with the owner/builder and get details on what all was done.

Bxstr

Regarding "fighting for an engine rebuild/replacement" if you mean from Porsche, you probably won't get very far, unfortunately.

If you like the car and have attachment to it, rebuild with a company that will solve the problems that can cause a future failure.

If you aren't connected with the car and it's just a sports car and you'd be happy getting something else, find someone to buy as is and get rid of it now.

I'd personally sell it as is. I wouldn't want to rebuild with a less than reliable builder or put a random engine in it (like you also mentioned you wanted to avoid) and then have issues for the new owner down the road.

stunistu

I need some details about your car before I can give you a price for your roller if that is what you decide to do.
Hopefully it is a 6 speed manual "S" coupe.
Please contact me at stuhpps@hotmail.com
Stu Nickerson