WhipE350

I'm looking at a high mileage 2005 'S'. I'm a Boxster guy, on my forth and have done extensive service on them including replacing IMS bearing myself. I'm looking forward to playing with a 911.

I was looking thru the service history on carfax and it was all done at Beverly Hills Porsche. I was shocked by how many times the brakes were replaced and radiator flush among other things. It seems it was owned by a sales person and would just be brought in and the dealer would do whatever they wanted.

Interestingly it says the engine was removed twice for service. What service would require that most likely? I'm hoping to see the actual service sheet to see what it says why.

ChicagoSpeed996

Call up the dealer they will usually let you know what exactly was done.

Petza914

I was looking thru the service history on carfax and it was all done at Beverly Hills Porsche. I was shocked by how many times the brakes were replaced and radiator flush among other things. [/QUOTE]

....or it had some chronic overheating problem. How many miles and how many brake changes?

ChicagoSpeed996

To piggy back on Petza, maybe it was a track car and was getting hot on track days, kept putting in new brakes and ensuring the coolant was good??

Blaine 997

+1 on the track car theory.

BIG smoke

When was the engine dropped and millage?
Recent? or 8 years ago?
closest track the BHP?

WhipE350

Hoping to see the actual service records today. One of the two engine removals had this on the carfax "Intake manifold gasket(s) replaced"

rickdogg82

The DME report may tell you if this car saw regular track duty.

WhipE350

Thanks guys. The dealership told me to call back today when the service manager is there and he 'might' give me the info. The gentlemen selling the car didn't have anymore information then what I already could get thru carfax.
I do have more observations if you could all weigh in. The car has 113,000 miles. It recently had the IMS bearing replace and it was the newer engine so the it was very expensive and the whole engine as you know had to be cracked open. The guys that did the work said engine was in great shape and had no other known issues at the time. The engine pulls hard and runs great.
Here were the observations:
- With PASM off rear end feels like shocks are worn out. Kind of boaty to me. Now to be fair I've driven a lot of 991's but not a 997. Big difference with PASM on though. Is this just the way Porsche engineered it? I've pushed up and down on the car and it snaps right back. Am I maybe just sensitive to this because I'm coming from a mid engine?
- It is Tip like my Boxster but it doesn't have the Sport button like mine. When in manual mode on at say 5 or 6k rpm upshifting (like from 3rd to 4th) there is a pretty long delay before it actually shifts. My Boxster doesn't do that, though to be fair I'm always in sport mode. It just seemed odd that it continued to hold the gear. It doesn't show a history of transmission filter change and I would do it first thing.
- Last thing I noticed and this is concerning. The oil pressure was pinned on 5. I noticed at the last moment before returning on the test drive.

So all an all I was impressed with the amount of work done on the car. New water pump, IMS, AOS, few other things. The guys has spend close to 10k getting it worked on so he doesn't have worries. Of course I would benefit. I like these older cars for project cars and would probably work on suspension for my projects, however I'm not an expert when it comes to oil pressure stuff.

Thoughts?

Petza914

Oil pressure should be pinned at 5 most of the time, except at idle, where it may drop to 3.5 or 3 unless it's really hot out and you've been running it hard - then you might see 2.5 at idle, but should jump right back up when you start driving again. Too much oil pressure isn't an issue - too little is.

At that mileage, if they're the original PASM suspension, it's toast. Good excuse to upgrade to Bilstein B16 Damptronics. When you do that, also install the semi-solid motor mounts (they're toast too at this mileage if they haven't been replaced) and that will tame the rear-end wallowing you're feeling. If you don't want to go the coilovers route, you can always find someone selling their OEM PASM setup that will be fresher than yours for a few hundred bucks.

frankyluis23

If the shock absorbers aren't leaking and the ride height is within limits, why would the suspension be toast?

Petza914

They just internally wear out at the 60,000-100,000 mile range - springs sag, seals start leaking internally, etc. Not really any different than any other suspension setup.

Iceter

Considering Beverly Hills Porsche's reputation, it's entirely possible that none of the many repairs were necessary. Perhaps the current owner is a lay-down and they have just been milking him over the past several years?

JCD911S

Early production 2005 engines still had the small IMS bearing which doesn't require a full tear down, but was more prone to failure. That being said, maybe the IMS went bad and some engine repairs were needed and the engine was still salvageable. That might explain a full engine drop.