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It appears my engine has cylinder damage from failed spark plugs. I was selling the car and the prospective buyer got a PPI and the scoring was discovered. So now I have a car I was planning on selling that needs a large cash investment. In a bit of a unique situation, the car already has a Flat 6 innovations engine in it with the Nikasil liners. It was a 2005 base but now 3.8. The engine since the elective rebuild has ~37k miles on it and was rebuilt at Raby's place in 2013. So, leaning into the group brain trust to see what the general advice and options are including rough cost estimates. I have engaged a shop recommended by Jake Raby. This was kind of a punch in the gut since I had a sale and planned to put the cash into a new house but those plans are now changed.
Thanks in advance
for the input!
Last edited by tbobby910; Yesterday at 09:11 PM.
Reason: Update title and adding spark plug failure info
Sorry to hear this. IMO Real Estate/house purchase comes before our toys.
Hard to believe the engine crapped out after only 37K miles. I wonder if previous owner has documentation of oil changes/engine care/etc since the rebuild?
No clue when it happened. The car is the car in the link below. I purchased it from the guy that won that auction. Previous owner only had it 4k miles and I've been meticulous with oil changes, warming up prior to high revs, and oil analysis etc. I did not have it bore scoped when I purchased it. Honestly its all a bit frustrating because it seems like it shouldn't have happened but it did...
And yes, agree. We own a few investment properties and recently moved out of one of them and we're renting a place while we decide where we want to live. Wife found a house she liked and selling the car was just adding to the down payment. No matter how you slice it, the sale of the car was a nice addition to the house fund.
No clue when it happened. The car is the car in the link below. I purchased it from the guy that won that auction. Previous owner only had it 4k miles and I've been meticulous with oil changes, warming up prior to high revs, and oil analysis etc. I did not have it bore scoped when I purchased it. Honestly its all a bit frustrating because it seems like it shouldn't have happened but it did...
And yes, agree. We own a few investment properties and recently moved out of one of them and we're renting a place while we decide where we want to live. Wife found a house she liked and selling the car was just adding to the down payment. No matter how you slice it, the sale of the car was a nice addition to the house fund. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...11-carrera-41/
I have owned many 997's and have done many Bore Scope Inspections when I have looked for 997's to purchase. Have seen some ugly results and yours are certainly looking ugly.
I'm really sorry to hear the news - Perhaps a good used warrantied engine might suffice and less painful to the wallet and get the car going and sold?
Not so fast........ Have you sent the native images to Jake at Flat 6? Has he confirmed it's scored? It's hard to tell from those pictures but that looks more like bore streaking (purely cosmetic), not bore scoring. Streaking is often misdiagnosed as bore scoring. Nikasil doesn't really score.... not unless you do something ridiculous like run the engine without oil in it.
Not so fast........ Have you sent the native images to Jake at Flat 6? Has he confirmed it's scored? It's hard to tell from those pictures but that looks more like bore streaking (purely cosmetic), not bore scoring. Streaking is often misdiagnosed as bore scoring. Nikasil doesn't really score.... not unless you do something ridiculous like run the engine without oil in it.
I sent them last night and have not heard back. I’ve read everything about the streaking and unfortunately some marks look like scoring. We were in communication about the oil consumption issue and I replaced the AOS per his suggestion. As far as I know, it’s never gone below min oil.
Not so fast........ Have you sent the native images to Jake at Flat 6? Has he confirmed it's scored? It's hard to tell from those pictures but that looks more like bore streaking (purely cosmetic), not bore scoring. Streaking is often misdiagnosed as bore scoring. Nikasil doesn't really score.... not unless you do something ridiculous like run the engine without oil in it.
If you can't see/tell the bad scoring in those photos you need some serious eyewear
Last edited by groovzilla; 07-17-2024 at 11:02 PM.
I would wait to hear back from him and you could also create a ticket with LN Engineering who is handling this side of the business for Flat6 these days. How much oil is it consuming and has it been increasing? Nikasil cylinders require low tension rings and are known to consume more oil. It's too early to panic just yet, I am not convinced that is scoring from those images alone.
I sent them last night and have not heard back. I’ve read everything about the streaking and unfortunately some marks look like scoring. We were in communication about the oil consumption issue and I replaced the AOS per his suggestion. As far as I know, it’s never gone below min oil.
Is the car exhibiting high oil consumtion or engine noise??
If you can't see/tell the bad scoring in those photos you need some serious eyewear
Take a look at the fourth picture in particular, that is clearly a long gouge toward the top that has significant depth. I know Jake is like a god around here, but we can make that call without his blessing.
So what could have happened? That doesn't look like scoring I've seen before (progressive aluminum galling) but more like something that foreign debris could have caused. Although it doesn't erase the damage, it may not spread as the debris was likely flushed out already.
Second the comment to open a ticket with LNE as those are Charles' sleeves and his shop did the work. Plus he always has insightful comments.
Take a look at the fourth picture in particular, that is clearly a long gouge toward the top that has significant depth. I know Jake is like a god around here, but we can make that call without his blessing. So what could have happened? That doesn't look like scoring I've seen before (progressive aluminum galling) but more like something that foreign debris could have caused. Although it doesn't erase the damage, it may not spread as the debris was likely flushed out already.
Second the comment to open a ticket with LNE as those are Charles' sleeves and his shop did the work. Plus he always has insightful comments.
Whatever the case it will be interesting to find out what could have caused this.
Last edited by groovzilla; 07-17-2024 at 11:30 PM.
I'll be interested to hear what Jake says. The residue on top of the piston in all of the photos that show the piston surface, and what looks like damage or corrosion on the edge of the top of the piston in the 4th photo looks like something else might be going on with this engine.
07-17-2024, 09:31 PM
997 cylinder damage from failed spark plugs
