cedosada

If the time ever comes...

Han anyone ever done it or had it done?

How much would it cost?

What's involved in the Box engine?

Or is the whole engine just replaced?

When should we expect it mileage wise? 100, 200 300k miles?

Thanks!

cedosada

I was looking at an 01 S and it had 87k miles. I also find out that the motor has been replaced as part of a goodwill thing by porsche. I saw the receipt for it.

They were asking $25k. A good deal or not? Good everything except for chips on the front bumper and front hood. About 30 chips. I didn't buy it.

Rouser

A Porsche-replaced engine? Sheesh ... sounded like a good deal for an "S." Pity you didn't buy it.

Tisk, tisk ...

Doug&Julie

When my motor blew (at 29k miles ) the dealership says Porsche won't let them "rebuild" the motors, they just replace them. Figure a Porsche remanufactured (new) motor will run you about $6-8k, plus whatever labor. But I would think, unless you got a bad motor, it should easily run over 100k. ..I've heard of some, anyway.

Pyroproblem

Im replacing an engine now in a 01 S that has about 40K miles...0 compression Bank 1. 150 on Bank 2...
I think the owner over-revved it...For the most part,the engines are pretty hardy. Just fix the leaks as they come and change the oil...
As far as rebuilding,Ive only done one with my group from school. There are a TON of good old special tools needed...Good luck if you do the re-build.
Porsche doesnt let us tear down failed engines. They simply send us a new one and we swap it...The blown one gets sent to Germany for engineers to nit-pick at it...
I think they should last well over a 100K miles...

Turboflyer

The Boxster engine is water cooled and it is Porsche quality. I would expect 300 too 500 thousand easy if serviced regular. If it were only good for 100 thousand that in my opinion would be a piece of junk. A low quality Korean or japanese engine will go 100 thousand if you just add oil. Yep, think you should have snapped that S up for 25K. All the chips mean is that it was driven and not a garage queen.

bruinbro

I'm thinking of getting a blown 3.4 motor for $750. Assuming I need to replace the pistons, cylinders, valves and associated stuff, rods and bearings would the parts price be more than $5K? Also, how similar is a watercooled flat six to an aircooled six in terms of rebuild labor? The aircooled didn't require a large amount of special tools.

Thanks,
Bruinbro

Fletcher

Bruinbro - You bring up a good point. This was covered in recent GT article. Porsche does not as yet offer parts or info on rebuiling these motors....but obviously it is being done by race teams and the like on 996's evrywhere right. At some point these engines need to become user rebuildable. My first call would be to EBS (see them in excellence) about parts etc.. $500 seems pretty good to me. Wouldn't it be cool to build up a sweet 3.2 with P&P heads stroked to a 3.3 etc.. etc..The mind wanders at the chance. Someone here is rebuilding these motors............

Pyroproblem

The cylinder head itself (complete) runs over $3k...I will be replacing one at work on Monday...
Some of the tools needed are the CHAIN TENSIONERS that mimic the real ones w/ oil pressure...
The HOLDERS for the cams so you can remove the cover(you cant remove the cover w/o them).There are cam BRIDGES also used to hold them in place when setting the timing, which is also a tool...I was looking at the instructions and there are alot of steps...The marks on the chain links,vario-cam tensioner,etc
Id just buy a new engine for what its gonna cost to build one...

bruinbro

Thanks Pyro for the insight. Would you change your recommendation if I was going to do all the labor and this would not be a time critical project (say completion in 1 to 1.5 years)? Also, does anyone know what the core charge is for a 3.4 engine? Last but not least, what about commonality between the 3.2 and the 3.4? Can major stuff be interchanged? In the aircooled world all you basically needed to do was make sure the pistons fit the cylinders, the cylinders fit the case halves and the heads fit the cylinders, all of which was basically machining operations for the parts that needed bigger holes. Are the watercooled engines of the same ilk? For instance, can a set of 3.4 or 3.6 pistons and cylinders be fitted to the case halves with either a machined 3.2 head or stock 3.4/3.6 heads? The thing that makes me think this is probably not doable in the new world order is the cams and cam timing. Anyway, any input would be appreciated.

Bruinbro

Pyroproblem

I do not as to what crankshafts and pistons will fit different year engines. Im not sure which engine you are referring to when you say 3.4. I do think you can bolt different cylinders to the case halves since Im told the cases have remained almost the same though the generations... Id imagine the chains would work for either engine as well as the cams. There is some difference in the vario-cam/plus actuation between the 3.2 S and bigger 996 engines. Some V-cam solenoids are through the cover and some are on top of it. The S I believe is inside the cam cover

Im pretty sure that the OEM cylinders cannot be bored or honed due to the Alusil lining. Or maybe it was Nikasil. Cant remember which had which, But suppesedly you cant bore them out. Have to get new ones or maybe aftermarkets...
The cam covers on these engines are machined to the head and are a matched set. Theyre are also different piston weight groups. I cant remember the exact deal,but if you replace any pistons,you have to know which weight set they are.
If you are going to do all the labor yourself, Id say go for it...Id like to eventually re-build one completely but Im not there yet. Maybe one day. It would be a great learning experience!