944Leigh

What engine replacement/rebuilding options are there for my 02 Boxster S?
I am aware of two:
1) Buy a refurbished engine from the factory
2) Have Flat 6 (Jake Raby) rebuild it with the option of going bigger. But he is in Georgia, and I'm in San Diego...

Are there others? How good are the refurbished engines? Do they just fix what was wrong or are they completely gone through/ updated?

MikeBat

I hope someone with experience chimes in here....

Macster

he has some negative impressions of remanuf. engines from Porsche.

Check his company's web site for the info in his own words.

I have no experience replacing a Boxster engine. (My '02 2.7l engine's got over 206,000 miles on it and I have not yet found it necessary to replace.)

No experience rebuilding a Boxster (or Porsche) engine. I have some layman experience rebuilding other engines, but nothing since maybe 20 years ago.

One plus for the factory remanufactured engine is the installation and engine come with a pretty good warranty so unless one has the new engine installed and then sits the car idle for 2 years... there is some attraction to go that route.

And should you sell the car the warranty is tranferrable and should help give a potential buyer some comfort about the car and its condition and some recourse should the engine manifest problems after he's bought the car.

Still looking at if from the point of view of you selling the car at some point: A Boxster with an aftermarket rebuilt engine could be considered a negative. OTOH, the buyer may be a big fan of the company you chose to source the rebuild from and this could help seal the deal.

Sincerely,

Macster.

smshirk

Jake Raby/Flat6 is just the no-brainer option IMHO,
I am pumped. This Thanksgiving I am thankful for Jake Raby, Charles, and everyone else who has contributed to their research and the project just getting rolling strong. I know I'm in Ga and it's easier for me, but I know all kinds of people who have had left coast shops rebuild air cooled engines from over here. I believe Jake has a plan for that eventuality as well. Think torque in a Boxster. My only worry is how I;m going to keep tires. I don't have PSM or LSD

944Leigh

"he(Raby) has some negative impressions of remanuf. engines from Porsche."

I have heard conflicting information on the factory "remanufactured" engines: that they only fix what broke, or, that they completely go through each engine, updating it with the latest upgrades in the process. Is there factory info on just what they do?

"Jake Raby/Flat6 is just the no-brainer option" I'm not sure if spending 18k or so by the time it is all said and done, is the best option for me, but I certainly see the attraction as I'm still considering it.
Are these the only options?

David A

There is a great article in Excellence magazine about these engines.

Macster

and what I've read on line and in various Porsche mags. The info all probably comes from Porsche. Which doesn't mean it is accurate or reflects reality. It can reflect what Porsche wants people to think.

Remanufactured engines are supposed to be quite good. I won't detail what's done, but they are supposed to get some TLC during the remanufacturing process.

Just repeating what I've read/been told: In some cases they are engines that for some reason failed the intermediate or final tests on the engine assembly line and were pulled off, fixed, and then resubmitted for qualification and passing were set aside for use for replacement engines.

In other cases they were engines returned to Porsche and upon tear down deemed worthy of remanufacturing. Until recently any engine that qualified to be replaced was shipped back to Porsche. You had the obvious basket cases and you had some that may have just had a small defect that upon being corrected rendered the engine quite commercially acceptable.

What one doesn't know is the quality of this teardown, analysis, and rebuild process.

Every part the tech throws away is more money off the bottom line so there's some incentive to reuse perhaps what should be replaced.

I have no direct experience with either disassembling new/original Porsche engines or remanufactured ones. Mr. Raby, or someone who he works with, or who works for him, I think has experience doing both.

Check out his company's web site.

There are several choices:

1) Source a new/remanufactured engine from Porsche and pay to have dealership install. Engine drop in fit. Straight forward to hook up fuel, intake, wiring, etc. Warranty supposed to be good. (IIRC, 2 years, unlimited mileage.)
Supposedly, this from "Porsche", new/remanuf. engine has updates/enhancements that applied to that year or MY range. Say if you have an '00 car with 2.7l you would get same size engine as the last model of that model's run. In this hypothetical case an '02. (I think in '03 the engines changed slightly and are not considered by Porsche to be suitable for placement in older cars.)

2) Same as (1) above but instead have independent shop install engine. No Porsche warranty. But other ease of install/hook up/updated stuff applies.

3) Source engine from other car just like yours. If you have '02 Boxster 2.7l with Tip, source engine from salvaged/wrecked '02 Boxster 2.7l Tip car. Have independent ship install. Engine drop in, but there's some risk that engine may be of questionable condition. Could be just short of a few revs of going boom. Depends upon who you source engine from, the source's rep, warranty, guarantee, and oh how good you are or how good someone you hire is at qualifying a replacement engine.

A variation of this is to source a bigger engine. Say if you have an '02 Boxster with 2.7l engine source an '02 S 3.2l engine. Or even an '02 3.6l from a 996. It gets harder when one sources an engine from model years outside of the car's model years. IOWs, hard to drop in an engine from a '987 into a '986. Fuel, intake, electrical, water, oil, etc. hookups get more complicated. But there are shops that have solved these.

4) Have your existing engine if a suitable candidate rebuilt. If not suitable, then source replacement engine. Rebuilder may be able to offer some help/guidance in deciding if your engine rebuildable or help in chosing the engine. In fact, I would think a rebuilder would want to play a major role in choosing the rebuild candidate engine. Since he is rebuilding the engine he's going to be on the hook for the engine should it go boom after he works on it. He can't dismiss the engine failure by saying the engine was no good to begin with.

Which way to go? I can't say. I have my thoughts, but I do not have to make the decision now and when (if) the time comes I may have changed my mind.

Sincerely,

Macster.

mikefocke

They do fix and test the rebuilt engines
They don't fix any design problems inherent in the design of the engine.
They do warranty the engine (for how long depends on who pays).
The crate motor price is expensive.
Installation is expensive to very very expensive depending on where it gets done. I heard of a 2002 used 3.2 motor total price of $15k today.

More thoughts/sources.

Jake Raby

Location doesn't matter. We have cars being shipped from all over the country to our new facility, when it opens next month. there are instances where cars can be shipped together on the same truck for reduced costs.

The shipping of the car is just a little more than local sales tax would be on the purchase in California and you'll have specialists performing the work, in the same facility where the engine was created.

MikeBat

Hello Jake,

any thoughts about posting prices for your upgrades?

Like a menu... $x for an IMS upgrade, $x for a complete rebuild etc...

As well, will you partner with others to install your upgrades in regions that are cross border (like me in Canada) or over seas?

Jake Raby

My website is being heavily updated now, when its complete in about 2 weeks all the possibilities will be posted.

We are now accepting applications from independent Porsche shops across North America that want to license our technology and tools.

We do promote vehicles coming to our facility heavily at this point, because we want full control over the tuning, installation and field testing of any vehicle employing our technology. This is due to the heavy scrutiny that exists within the Porsche world for any "fixes" to the M96 engine. If we experience a single failure, the entire program is doomed and for that reason there are zero risks being taken.

originalmotorhead

What's the website URL ?

Tom

R2R

How about a Ruf conversion?

2002-2004 Boxster S:

RUF offers a 3.6 liter 996 Carrera Engine Conversion for the 2002-2004 Boxster S. Each conversion includes a crate motor from Porsche, a new 996 flywheel, new 996 clutch, complete RUF exhaust (headers, sport cats, muffler), RUF air intake, RUF tuned 996 ECU, all necessary wiring, hardware and labor.

The RUF 3.6 liter Boxster S conversion comes in two versions. The standard 3.6 liter engine will yield 330hp. The "X51" version of the 3.6 liter engine will yield 355hp and uses a GT-3 ECU instead of a 996 Carrera ECU. Each has the same reliability and maintenance intervals as a RUF 3600S and 996 Carrera.

In addition, RUF offers an aerokit, wheels and various interior items. Click here for more info. http://www.rufautocentre.com/conversions/BoxsterS.asp

mikefocke

On this forum the home URL of a poster
can sometimes be found by clicking on the member/poster name to the left of the message and clicking on the View member's homepage. That assumes he built a profile.

www.flat6innovations.com is Jake's URL.

rob76turbo

This probably the wrong engine for your car...but here is a factory fresh engine in the DFW area. Scroll down and you will see it.

http://mav.pca.org/Classifieds/Partsforsale.asp