JMon

Can someone take a look at this video and tell me if the oil pressure is normal enough during the turns?
At the end of the video is the picture of the hole in the engine block.

2005 997s 49,000 miles. Stock engine except clutch and IMS bearing. One of the last recorded laps before the “catastrophic engine failure” aka blown engine. Actually a fairly slow lap. The lap where it blew was after 3 back to back 2:32s then a 2:35 with traffic and then it blew during braking at turn 15. It actually sounded like I threw a tire.
Unfortunately the lap where the engine actually blew was not recorded.
Look at the oil gauge. It seems to drop mid-point during a corner. That is possible due to the RPM change, but I don’t know if that is normal or not. I never would look down at the oil gauge during a turn, just on the straights, and it is usually pegged.
Now this was the first time I used the new GoPro HD2 (thus messed up on the battery life) so I can see the gauges here, but not with the old camera. I have no way to compare from other days. Towards the end of the video there is another shot where it shows me going out to the track and the oil pressure seems a bit low. I’ve seen that before when the car was all warmed up. We still don’t know what happened to the engine, but cylinder 1 is basically “missing” as in you look into the sparkplug hole with a scope and it’s not there.

more pictures from this engine:
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...n-the-pan.html

JMon

FYI make sure you switch to 720P (HD) so you can see the gauge better.

Spokane5150

Terrible news. Somebody posted an engine from Europe for about $10k a while back but I'm not that would be the way I'd go.

There are two motors on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-911-...18a282&vxp=mtr

JMon

Are these cars (Non GT3s) just not reliable for track use or did I just get really unlucky?

That ebay engine for $16k seems kind of high doesn't it??? FYI: I have another thread asking for help finding a new engine....

Spokane5150

my bad....

Spokane5150

Research IMS Failure on this site.

JW911

I can't even see what your oil pressure gauge is doing in that video....????

RollingArt

Your oil pressure looks fine through the corners. It never drops down to zero, and it never drops below an acceptable minimum.

Sounds like your engine blew do to a cylinder wall failure. That is another semi-common failure method of these engines.
You should read the original post before responding. His IMS bearing was already upgraded. Also, with his symptoms, this does not sound like IMS bearing failure.

utkinpol

well, you need to open up a motor to find out what has happened.

any m97/m96 motor that goes on a track car should have a lot of work done, oiling is a very first one, usual way is to put 996 x51 m96 oil pan, it has to be trimmed to fit any 997 car but it helps to keep oil better around pickup tube, next level is accusump system.

if you are running car on hoosiers and run in a fast group like white/black - ideally more work has to be done to any m96/m97 motor, from $10K average to $24K rebuilds at Flat6 shop replacing rods, rod bolts and some other internals to those that do not fall apart at 7K rpm.

all i can say about this topic - on my car from 4K rpm to all way up with 5w50 oil pressure never drops below 5 mark, usually it is all the way up. it is also required to have motorsports edition AOS installed so oil would never get sucked into cylinders.
if you want to keep this car and do not want to replace it with GT3 that has better track engine then best solution is to ship this engine to any reputable rebuilder that knows how to prep M96 motor for racing conditions and do an average rebuild of it with better rods and rod bolts, at same time doing big bore so you get more displacement and more torque. it will cost you some $ but result will be OK and better than another 'cat in the sack' M97/M96 motor that can fall apart on a track in the same way. there is a good chance your motor is repairable.

do not be overly upset, all engines die on a track from time to time including GT3 cars. on our cars it costs less to repair or replace them. at least car did not go into wall, you are alive, motor is just a motor, it is replacable.

JMon

Are you sure it never drops below 5? That is what I always thought because I never looked at the gauge when downshifting or turning. Only noticed the drop on the videos or after the car was idling when hot (See video)
I’m not sure oil was the issue, just a guess.
Another thing, I’m not sure if the engine can be rebuild (See the hole in the block)
I had my VW bug’s block welded before and that is still in good shape, then again that’s just a 100hp engine.

alexb76

Bad luck man, it sucks. Problem is with '05 cars, even with upgrade IMS, you still have the old design and more suspect... but as Paul very correctly mentioned, you need to be on top of maintenance/oil to ensure reliability.

Lastly, I'd say follow his advice, might as well rebuild with upgraded parts to make it more robust for future.

utkinpol

I do not need to guess - I have data logger, just came back from DE today, it shows oil pressure lowest level at 17psi during hot lap, highest pressure at 37psi. 17 is after braking on main straight at , in a long sweeper pressure goes also down to 18psi at 4500rpm and then goes up to 35psi at corner exit.

If your motor died due to cylinder crack it is not oil related most likely.

utkinpol

Btw, I looked again- min(17) max (37) was for old run in april with 0w40 oil. Now with 5w50 on same track it shows min(30) max(45) psi and 45 is probably a max sensor can report as data flats out.
One more reason to use proper oil for track.
And of course pressure should never drop down to single digits.

JMon

Do you think the drop is a function of g force applied / oil pickup, or just RPM dropping?

utkinpol

Put x51 996 oil pan, it should help. Suncoast used to have them and they will explain how to trim baffles. Oil pressure drops when there is no oil to pump