Kaapoooowww! IMS failure happened to me
 

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Some questions:

How confident are you with your or your mechanic's diagnosis? What is it based on? Has the oil pan been examined and what sort of fragments are there?

You doing the swap or who is and what are their experience?

How confident are you of the warrantee you might receive with a used engine? Buying a used engine is a crapshoot. Would you be doing any preventative items on the used engine before installing?

Where are you located?

What is the condition of the car besides the engine?

Mike,
I'm an old gearhead and this is my second Box. First one was a really tricked out '99 (75k miles), which I replaced the IMS at 80k because of what I had read here. As it turned out, the IMS in the '99 was just fine.
I bought the "S" because my '99 was stolen and totaled during a high speed chase by the law.
My '03 is immaculate...show room condition with all of the bells and whistles.
My experience from formula super v is that when a motor blows and ceases to run, then I stand there and watch oil dump out on the ground, a disaster has happened. In this case, mostly from the rear of the engine. I got the car to my shop late so no farther inspections (Friday) took place. But with the symptoms, we pretty much wrote it off as an IMS failure. I'll know more tomorrow.
I have the absolute faith in my mechanic as does every other Porsche owner on the Mississippi coast. He won't steer me wrong. Too much history together...

as far as buying a "used motor", I really have no idea other than what I have been able to google up about the engine shops.
I know I cannot afford a new motor. So I will have to take a chance (just like not replacing the IMS after getting the '03). I will replace the IMS on the purchase of a used motor with the KN retrofit. And the main seal as well as the clutch.

My concern is...how many other people have taken the route that I have to take and what the risk\reward factor is. I may be at the point where I just have to walk away and buy a rice burner which is not acceptable. I want my S back and running strong (i'm 66) so I want to enjoy the car like I did my '99. I might mention that my wife and I enjoy road trips, and the Porsche is more comfortable and fun to travel in then my really slick Volvo T5R 850....

That's my story, and all of the info I have as of today. Tomorrow may shed some light on what the real damage is. I'm pretty sure if you heard all of the noise followed up by a dead engine and 10 quarts of oil spilling out, your first reaction would be the IMS going out to lunch....

I'd appreciate any more suggestions, or advice you may have regarding this emotionally painful and costly experience.

Sincerely,
tim

I'd look for a higher mileage motor.

Or for the same money you can go buy another '99 with 125k+ miles on it and drive the hell out of it, while parting your '03 to make your money back.

I found a couple of used Cayman 3.4L engines ready to install for just short of $6k with a warranty.
I'm going to go over to my Porsche shop today and see if he has verdict on the engine. His diagnoses is IMS failure as of Friday.
He usually doesn't like it when I go out and find parts from, lets say Pelican parts, at 20% cheaper than what he would charge me.
We kind of worked out a deal...I'd find the parts, drop ship them to him, then let him add 10%....
He told me the other day that he'd lost sight of the cost of used engines as he hasn't had to replace one in several years.

tim

That may be an option. But if he can get another engine installed for $10k, than buying another car would be pointless.
"Parting" out my present car wouldn't really be worth the effort and the return would be minimal....

tim

Please remember that you will have to get a 03 or earlier Boxster S engine for it to work.

My info says that I need an '03 or later. Porsche introduced variable cams in '03.

tim

Tim, sorry for your loss. Probably a good chance you won't find a low mile engine for less than $6k, a higher mileage engine is okay, some of them last almost forever. Think of them as 'road tested.' I put a used engine (from Ebay) in my 01, factory reman'd, with a new ims. Had about 60K on it and it runs pretty sweet. Mine was a 2.7 and was $2500 shipped from LA. I got kind lucky, I guess. A 3.2 would have been another $1500, I think.

I wouldn't suggest anything but putting a decent used engine in it. The car is basically worthless without an engine and a decent replacement car is gonna cost a minimum of $6K. Whatever you choose, be sure your engine has an upgraded IMS bearing.

Mike Focke has an amazing collection of informative articles: https://sites.google.com/site/mikefo...oxsterwebpages

Mike, or anyone else,
What is the shop time to R&R the engine in my boxster s?

tim

I've done it once, I'm in my mid 60's and don't move fast anymore or have the stamina to do it straight thru. My guess would be less than 20 hr. If your mechanic has done an R&R before, he should be able to give you a pretty accurate guess. As I remember I was quoted 2 to 2.5 grand. Which is why I decided to do it myself. For a shade tree mechanic such as me, the learning curve was really something. I've done lots of engine r&r before, can do a dodge truck V8 in 2 days, the Porsche was the hardest one I've done. So totally different from other cars.

Tim, if you're retired and an old gearhead, why don't you do it yourself. I did mine in the carport when I was 66--last winter. So satisfying when it finally started and ran nice.

Been down this road before with another car. Engine blew and I bought a rebuilt engine from an extremely reputable source and had it installed by the best mechanic in the area. Three months later the rebuilt engine blows up. I had to pay the mechanic to remove and inspect the engine and he said it severely overheated. The re builder refused to cover it under warranty because of what the mechanic told him. I know that the engine did not overheat and something internal failed. But I had two against me so I was out of luck. I lost a lot of money on that fiasco. Never again will I put myself in that compromising situation. My advice> walk away and don't look back.