2002 986S Catastrophic Engine Failure
03-01-2011, 12:28 AM
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2002 986S Catastrophic Engine Failure
This is my first posting. I would like to know how many Boxster S owners have experienced catastrophic engine failure on their Boxster S. I bought my 2002 Boxster S new. My first catastrophic engine failure was at 43,000miles covered by warranty which the porsche dealer replaced free of charge. That new replaced engine failed 100,000miles later in 2010. Both engines were serviced by the Porsche dealer by the book, in addition, I replaced the oil before and after DE events. Is this what you get out of those engines? I have a 2004 GT3 and have never had any issues neither all my friends that do DE with the GT3's. But as I have found from LN Engineering, they get several catastrophic engine failures yearly, D chunk, IMS failure, oil pump failure to name few. I'm very dissapointed as I love my Boxster S, if they can only get the engine right. I've owned BMW's driven hard with 200k miles and none of this has ever happened. Is that all I get from the Boxster's, 100k miles and then poof! I have a 1999 Boxster Tip (2.5L) that now has 98K and I'm selling it because I'm afraid the engine is going to go out anytime. As with the Boxster S engines, they ran strong to the last rpm when suddenly they died.Thanks!
Last edited by DrMario; 03-01-2011 at 12:42 AM. Reason: upgrade title
03-01-2011, 12:54 AM
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This is my first posting. I would like to know how many Boxster S owners have experienced catastrophic engine failure on their Boxster S. I bought my 2002 Boxster S new. My first catastrophic engine failure was at 43,000miles covered by warranty which the porsche dealer replaced free of charge. That new replaced engine failed 100,000miles later in 2010. Both engines were serviced by the Porsche dealer by the book, in addition, I replaced the oil before and after DE events. Is this what you get out of those engines? I have a 2004 GT3 and have never had any issues neither all my friends that do DE with the GT3's. But as I have found from LN Engineering, they get several catastrophic engine failures yearly, D chunk, IMS failure, oil pump failure to name few. I'm very dissapointed as I love my Boxster S, if they can only get the engine right. I've owned BMW's driven hard with 200k miles and none of this has ever happened. Is that all I get from the Boxster's, 100k miles and then poof! I have a 1999 Boxster Tip (2.5L) that now has 98K and I'm selling it because I'm afraid the engine is going to go out anytime. As with the Boxster S engines, they ran strong to the last rpm when suddenly they died.Thanks!
03-01-2011, 06:25 AM
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I lost an engine in my '01S at 69.5k last April due to (cumulative) oil starvation at AutoClub Speedway in Fontana. This particular kind of failure seems to be more common in cars which are tracked regularly (the car had done over 10 2-day Track/Time Trial events and almost 50 autocrosses in addition to being a daily driver and being taken on car trips). I have personally seen the Fontana road course take at least two other Boxster motors in this fashion.
If you scan the internet, you will find that the oil scavenging system on these engines can go dry if hard braking is followed by hard left cornering (as in turns 3 and 5 at Fontana). This is because the oil scavenging pump in the right head is at the rear part of the valve cover. Hard braking tends to pool some of the oil at the front of right valve cover where the scavenging pump cannot get to it, the hard cornering keeps it there (so the oil level in the main pan goes low) and sloshes the remaining oil in the main pan to the side, allowing the main oil pickup to suck air (very bad). This problem is especially exacerbated if you've developed your tires, suspension, and brakes to generate more than 1G cornering/stopping forces and/or you've lowered your oil level to mitigate AOS belches. All 987 Boxsters and Caymans built before 2009 can also experience this failure. (In the new 2009 9A1 engines, they installed two oil scavenging pumps in each head; the older engines have only one in each head).
The remedy is to either retrofit a 996 3.4l X-51 tandem oil scavenging pump on the right valve cover, which adds an oil pick-up point on the front of the right head (terribly expensive and hard to get) as well as the X-51 extended baffle oil pan, or do the pan and add an Accusump using adapter parts from outfits such as LN Engineering. There are alternative approaches to augmenting the oil pan from Brey-Krause, Mantis Racing, and LN Engineering. Information on these projects can also be found out in cyberspace.
My current setup includes the X-51 oil pan, an Accusump, and an oil-catch can between the AOS and the throttle body so that I can run the oil level fairly full and not have to worry about dumping oil into the intake, even if the Accusump has fully discharged. Engines manufactured after MY 2002 can use the Motorsports Dual Chamber AOS (at some expense and trouble) instead of an auxiliary oil-catch can.
The GT3 engines have the older air-cooled-style split case with a true dry-sump system. Their weak point is their press-fit/bonded coolant hose fittings which sometimes come loose and dump coolant on the ground (see recent article in Excellence). One of my friends also experienced this (twice).
As I related to some of my other friends who track Porsches, the other cars sometimes also lose engines, they just seem less surprised...
p.s. If you have to replace the engine on your dime, might as well put a 996 Carrera engine in...
If you scan the internet, you will find that the oil scavenging system on these engines can go dry if hard braking is followed by hard left cornering (as in turns 3 and 5 at Fontana). This is because the oil scavenging pump in the right head is at the rear part of the valve cover. Hard braking tends to pool some of the oil at the front of right valve cover where the scavenging pump cannot get to it, the hard cornering keeps it there (so the oil level in the main pan goes low) and sloshes the remaining oil in the main pan to the side, allowing the main oil pickup to suck air (very bad). This problem is especially exacerbated if you've developed your tires, suspension, and brakes to generate more than 1G cornering/stopping forces and/or you've lowered your oil level to mitigate AOS belches. All 987 Boxsters and Caymans built before 2009 can also experience this failure. (In the new 2009 9A1 engines, they installed two oil scavenging pumps in each head; the older engines have only one in each head).
The remedy is to either retrofit a 996 3.4l X-51 tandem oil scavenging pump on the right valve cover, which adds an oil pick-up point on the front of the right head (terribly expensive and hard to get) as well as the X-51 extended baffle oil pan, or do the pan and add an Accusump using adapter parts from outfits such as LN Engineering. There are alternative approaches to augmenting the oil pan from Brey-Krause, Mantis Racing, and LN Engineering. Information on these projects can also be found out in cyberspace.
My current setup includes the X-51 oil pan, an Accusump, and an oil-catch can between the AOS and the throttle body so that I can run the oil level fairly full and not have to worry about dumping oil into the intake, even if the Accusump has fully discharged. Engines manufactured after MY 2002 can use the Motorsports Dual Chamber AOS (at some expense and trouble) instead of an auxiliary oil-catch can.
The GT3 engines have the older air-cooled-style split case with a true dry-sump system. Their weak point is their press-fit/bonded coolant hose fittings which sometimes come loose and dump coolant on the ground (see recent article in Excellence). One of my friends also experienced this (twice).
As I related to some of my other friends who track Porsches, the other cars sometimes also lose engines, they just seem less surprised...
p.s. If you have to replace the engine on your dime, might as well put a 996 Carrera engine in...
Last edited by Lightning MO; 03-01-2011 at 08:16 PM.
03-01-2011, 01:47 PM
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if you DE the car, adding the following items, in my opinion, are your best bet for a long lasting engine:
1) accusump
2) 3rd radiator
3) 'S' oil cooler (obviously S models already have this)
4) IMS bearing retrofit
5) thicker oil (i.e. 15w50)
if you do it yourself, all of the above are less than $2k and will give you great piece of mind.
1) accusump
2) 3rd radiator
3) 'S' oil cooler (obviously S models already have this)
4) IMS bearing retrofit
5) thicker oil (i.e. 15w50)
if you do it yourself, all of the above are less than $2k and will give you great piece of mind.
03-01-2011, 05:57 PM
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M96.. not much else you can do. Our local AX chair had motor failure on his last year, iirc, at about 110K miles. The GT3 engine is a different beast. The aircooled cars are a different beast. The "regular" Boxster/911 are built to a price point and it shows. Sorry to hear you've been "twice bitten".
03-01-2011, 08:17 PM
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Oh yes, the increased periods of high RPMs also overheats the power steering system and accelerates the wear on the alternator bruses and water pump. An underdrive pulley is the easiest mod which addresses all three of these issues.
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03-01-2011, 08:50 PM
#8
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if you DE the car, adding the following items, in my opinion, are your best bet for a long lasting engine:
1) accusump
2) 3rd radiator
3) 'S' oil cooler (obviously S models already have this)
4) IMS bearing retrofit
5) thicker oil (i.e. 15w50)
if you do it yourself, all of the above are less than $2k and will give you great piece of mind.
1) accusump
2) 3rd radiator
3) 'S' oil cooler (obviously S models already have this)
4) IMS bearing retrofit
5) thicker oil (i.e. 15w50)
if you do it yourself, all of the above are less than $2k and will give you great piece of mind.
And a Deep Sump oil pan kit?
I'm working through the items you just listed prepping the car..
03-01-2011, 09:19 PM
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Is there any actual proof that the Accusump helps? In the way back world of 914s (which have a similar "wet sump" system) the deeper sumps and accusumps were thought to cure the issue of oil starvation. Same is also true in 944s.. Having had 2 914s, 1 with an accusump and 1 without, NEITHER engine incurred a failure despite years of AX and DE use. I have also seen over the years folks with accusumps have engine failures.
While its possible a Boxster on R comps can create some pretty serious G forces, so too does a 914 on similar tires.
imho, M96 issues for failure are a direct result of how the motor was designed and I am not confident that some of these band aids will help. I am a fan of the revised IMS work by LN engineering.. but that doesn't prevent an issue like D chunking.
While its possible a Boxster on R comps can create some pretty serious G forces, so too does a 914 on similar tires.
imho, M96 issues for failure are a direct result of how the motor was designed and I am not confident that some of these band aids will help. I am a fan of the revised IMS work by LN engineering.. but that doesn't prevent an issue like D chunking.
03-01-2011, 09:30 PM
#10
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This is my first posting. I would like to know how many Boxster S owners have experienced catastrophic engine failure on their Boxster S. I bought my 2002 Boxster S new. My first catastrophic engine failure was at 43,000miles covered by warranty which the porsche dealer replaced free of charge. That new replaced engine failed 100,000miles later in 2010. Both engines were serviced by the Porsche dealer by the book, in addition, I replaced the oil before and after DE events. Is this what you get out of those engines? I have a 2004 GT3 and have never had any issues neither all my friends that do DE with the GT3's. But as I have found from LN Engineering, they get several catastrophic engine failures yearly, D chunk, IMS failure, oil pump failure to name few. I'm very dissapointed as I love my Boxster S, if they can only get the engine right. I've owned BMW's driven hard with 200k miles and none of this has ever happened. Is that all I get from the Boxster's, 100k miles and then poof! I have a 1999 Boxster Tip (2.5L) that now has 98K and I'm selling it because I'm afraid the engine is going to go out anytime. As with the Boxster S engines, they ran strong to the last rpm when suddenly they died.Thanks!
