Hello, I recently purchased a 2008 C2 Cab. 997.1 from a dealer in PA. (4 hrs. from home). Long ago I owned a 1980 SC and loved it. Got married, had kids and sold it, with the thought of someday buying another one. It is in very good condition, well cared and
for what I thought was good price. I zeroed in on the 997 model for style and size, I like the smaller build.

I didn't do much research before buying, saw the ad and jumped on it. I went to see it, test drove it and was very pleased with the overall condition of it. It had a slight engine ticking noise that I equated to lifters. I didn't have a PPI done (my bad), because I didn't think it would last on the market and was far from the house. Anyway, I know much has been written about bore scoring and I've read most of it. After owning for 6 months, the noise seems louder and more noticeable than before. There doesn't seem to be excessive oil consumption, very little smoke and the left tail pipe doesn't seem any sootier than the right. I love the car, but can't stop thinking about "bore scoring", I dream about it, wake up and can't stop thinking about it. It's become obsessive and I research rebuild options, local shop, flat six, etc. Spending much more time and energy than is healthy.

I know I could get a bore scope done, or do it myself. Whether or not there is scoring, I can't swing a rebuild for now. Am I doing more damage driving it? It drives great other than the ticking sound. Just looking for opinions and maybe a therapist?

Thanks and Sorry to beat an old subject.

 

Had you done some research before buying you would have done a PPI and Bore Scope Inspection.
If I were you I'd do a Bore Scope Inspection thru Spark Plug Holes to see if you have scoring.

Then ask questions

 

I second this--you are going to want to know what you're looking at. I was in the same boat, but fortunately was planning on a performance engine build or swap anyway.

If you do have the beginnings of scoring, you can prolong the engine with very frequent oil changes, using an oil with a high moly content, but failure still becomes a factor of when rather than if.

 

The best way to deal with anxiety is to collect all of the facts (Bore Scope Inspection) and then develop a plan to deal with it if it exists. It's no fun waking up in the middle of the night!

 

As mentioned . .scope it to determine severaty then course of action. Ie. thicker oil / additives etc. A car with early scoring can be driven for years without failure if mitigated correctly . Don't worry so much .... Enjoy the car ..knowledge is power . Many owners decide to rebuild their 997s even without scoring just to get a hopped up 4.0 ! Start a small fund so when the time comes you have some back up $$ for the rebuild .

 

Scope through the plug holes for starters - cylinder 6 then 4 then 5 then 3 then 1 then 2 is the order of most likely scoring frequency. 6 is on the passenger side closest to the front of the car.

Does a Carfax show that the car lived in the NE it's whole life and are there service entries showing it was driven in the winter - if so, this significantly increases the likelihood of scoring due to the way the engine warms up with the regular 180 degree thermostat and people leaving the car idling to warm it up during the cold start enrichment cycle.

If you find scoring, determine how bad it is and then what you plan to do. You can't make it better and if you can't swing a rebuild might as well drive it until it's really bad. Use Driven DT40 oil and change it every 3k miles, install the LN Engineering low temp thermostat, have your oil samples.analyzedntinsee how quickly aluminum content is increasing and hope for the best.

 

The car spent most of its life in New Jersey, so cold weather could have been a factor.

Thanks for your responses....next step is to bore scope. I'll do it next oil change through the sump.

 

When is your next change? You may want to do it soon, get a diagnosis, and then plot a course of action. There are oil-type strategies to get more out of this engine while you wait for a rebuild. If you let the problem go too long, you may destroy the engine or raise its rebuild cost. BTW, smoking is bad... these engines will fart some smoke on startup... sometimes..... but overall smoke on startup is rare.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

 

You should definitely start a UOA as well as a bore scope. Bore scope through the spark plug hole is a good start but the recommended method is up from the oil pan.

Also, driven DT40 5W-40 is the oil that most owners use.

https://drivenracingoil.com/i-304977...mance-oil.html

 

How many miles on your 997?? I ask because if it has more than 50K miles, scoping from the top through the Spark Plug Holes should very well indicate whether or not you have Bore Scoring.
IMO and experience having Bore Scope Inspected 5 997's engines with lower and higher mileage, engines with +50K mileage will show Scoring at the lower/middle & high areas of the cylinder walls using the Spark Plug Holes method.
Also a good time to replace Spark Plugs if it is getting close to the time.

Cost to have Porsche Specialist Indy Scope from Spark Plug Holes should be around $250-$300 compared to $1000-$1200 Oil Pan method.

Super low mileage 997's probably best to go through the oil pan.

 

Thanks for this information. It has 75K. I was going to scope it myself, I'm sure from the top would be much easier at least to start.

 

If you are hearing ticking and scoring is the cause, you will most likely see it from the plug holes.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

 

If you now get bore scope what do you plan to do with results? At this point you have two choices. Drive and enjoy until it beaks or bore scope and line up new engine. The pundits can say get bore scope but you now own the car and imho doesn’t add value to do so. Drive the hell out of it until it breaks.

 

Might run a thicker or different oil, like FR50 5w50 instead of DT40 5w40 so less of it ends up in the combustion chamber to foil the plugs. Might change the oil more frequently to have better viscosity and more anti friction modifiers in it more of the time.

 

Thanks for your information. 75K on the car. I am going to scope it myself, so I'll try from the top and see what that shows, then try the bottom when I change the oil.