sniperonhigh

I recently bought a very clean 2001 boxter 2.7/auto (tip) with a locked up engine. The car has 105k miles, new tires/wheels/top.. anyway I'm just saying hi, I've been hanging around learning from you guys, so thanks for all the info I'm not really asking any questions until I diagnose this thing a bit more, just checking in and telling you guys how much I appreciate this resource.

ltusler

Remove belt and see if you can turn the engine over by hand.

Macster

I'd take out the plugs first.

Then it shouldn't take much force to turn the engine by hand. With the plugs in the OP risks using too much force and possibly over tightening the crankshaft pulley bolt, either stripping this or breaking it off.

Macster

If the engine is truly locked up the odds are the engine is no good. It might be a candidate for a rebuild -- partially it depends why the engine is locked up -- but that requires a professional rebuilder to assess the engine's condition and decide if the engine is worth rebuilding.

Schnell Gelb

One word of help and he is 'near' you & may have an engine - Woody !

sniperonhigh

Well, I had a couple of spare hours today, so I put the 986 on my lift and dropped the engine and trans. Big surprise - the engine is fine (well sorta fine, more on that later). It appears the converter is galled to the front pump bushing! Anyway, I could barely turn the engine via the flywheel - until the last converter bolts were removed. I have yet to separate the trans from the engine, perhaps tomorrow I will be able to clear a spot and see about removing that converter. I did re-mount the starter and run comps, front four were about 195 but two rearmost cylinders were 125 and 135. Engine had a new aos but was covered in old oil and dirt in that area. I found some old records in the owners manual complaining of coolant leaks. I now have some questions:

The two cylinders farthest from the water pump seem to have the least compression - is this something that you guys see often on cars that ran hot?

I've got this thing pulled and I am kinda bummed out that it may run fine. Would you recommend freshening it up? I have absolutely no other history and no idea of the miles SMOH if ever. Assume I am extremely capable and well equipped but ignorant of any nuances of this engine.

That's all I got for now, will keep you all in the loop, and thanks for the responses!!

Schnell Gelb

The 'hot side of an M96 is 4,5,6.
Wild suggestion : remove the oil/coolant heat exchanger and look for water pump impeller blade chunks. When a w/p with plastic blades fails ,the debris gets scattered throughout the cooling system but often accumulates in the heat exchanger.This WAG may explain the overheating?
The low compression - check if it is valves leaking or excessive bore/ring clearance?
Any Intermix of oil+coolant ? Also check for this in the coolant reservoir tank - aka milkshake.

Macster

Leak down test might be called for now to help identify why the 2 cylinders are down on compression.

To the question about freshening up the engine, my auto tech buddies told me that an engine that had suffered from overheating or loss of oil was *not* a good rebuild candidate. Ideally one wanted to rebuild or refresh an otherwise healthy engine albeit one that had some wear issues. IOWs, a "tired" engine.

The "nuances" of the engine is critcal. The devil is in the "nuances", if I can rephrase an old saying. Porsche does not document any of the critical measurements, clearances.

There is at least one company (Flat 6 Engineering) offering classes on rebuilding these engines but I do not know the cost, how thorough the classes are, the amount of "nuances" given out, etc.

In spite of the lack of information from Porche some owners have managed to rebuild or refreshen a Boxster (or 996) engine with AFAIK satisfactory results.

About all I can offer is pick up a Bentley Porsche Boxster Service manual. And also search out posts/threads/picture/video links provided by those few owners who have done a rebuild/refreshening and see if there is enough info for you to feel comfortable proceeding.

extanker

i would just fix the trans issue...........it is an 01 ........if you go into the motor you will be buried money wise into it. imho the odds say the motor is okay and i will bet if you check the compression after the car has been run you may find the oil brought the compression back up. NOW i can not guarantee ims,rear seal,chain wear pads,water pump later down the road. it really depends on how you will use the car.......keeper,flipper,budget etc. even those 2 low cylinders will fire and you will have all 6 hitting

sniperonhigh

Had a chance to look at the transmission yesterday. Looks like something blew up, ground itself to pieces, clogged the filter and starved the front pump. Kaboom. Anyway I'll probably ebay a transmission and go from there.


On the engine deal, my plans for the car are to keep it and drive it as a commuter (wife loves the car, always wanted one) a couple days a week and maybe some weekend drives within a couple hours of home. That said, it looks like the spark plug seals are leaking slightly and the ccv lines were in pieces all over the top of the engine like macaroni, so the engine looks kinda nasty. I doubt I will crack it open, so as stated earlier I bet those low cylinders will at least run fine or maybe even come up after driving it some.

I will look for impeller pieces (water pump looks new) and I do have a leakdown tester so I will at least do that as well. Hmm, my leakdown tester only has a fitting for 18mm plugs, so I have to find an adapter......... Coolant system is pristine and oil-free w/what appears to be new lifetime pink coolant. Has a few new hoses under car as well. I'm only guessing on the "might have ran hot" scenario, trying to figure why those two rear cyls are low.

Advice needed on maintenance items to bring her up to date for longevity/peace of mind. Timing chains/IMS bearing replace/seals to replace/valve adjustments/????

I have rebuilt a lot of flat 6 engines, but all of them are air cooled and between 360 to 540 cubic inches. I will pick up a service manual for this one though. Thank you guys for the advice!!

Macster

Think you are on the right path.

You can let the leaking spark plug tubes go for now if the leaks aren't bad. I'm thinking you probably want to avoid putting any real money into the car -- well besides replacing the transmission money -- until after you have the transmission and have a chance to road test the car and develop a sense of whether it is ok to continue.

Be sure the transmission oil cooler system is free of any metal debris from the failed transmission. Not sure if a backflush with some kind of non-flammable solvent/cleaner is doable and sufficient if doable but you must be sure the oil lines/cooler/etc are free of any metal or any material debris.

Check the RMS and the IMS end flange for any signs of leakage. If you spot some you probably want to replace the RMS and the IMS end flange and its bolts. It is SOP (under warranty at least) to when an "RMS leak" is being fixed to replace the IMS end flange and bolts with new ones as it is often not clear if the IMS end flange and bolts are leaking.

If you replace the RMS avoid installing it to the same position as the old one.

If you replace the IMS end flange and bolts be sure you know how to properly do this. My recollection -- but you really need a better source of this info than my memory -- is the position the engine/cams is importnt and the engine must then be secured in some way so the IMS can't shift out of position when the flange is removed.

The lines being in pieces on top of the engine could be due to mice. If so this could get expensive if the wiring harnesses were damaged. All the engine compartment wiring, rubber and plastic hoses are suspect and in fact any and all wiring and hoses. I've seen a Cayman in and mice had gnawed through one of the vapor lines that runs between the fuel tank and the engine compartment through the middle of the car.

You might want to check for mice damage and to what extent before you order the replacement transmission. If the wiring harness is chewed up replacing this can be expensive. But for right now you need to know if there is any rodent damage to the car and the extent of any rodent damage to the car to know what you may be facing in repair costs.

For maintenance and services right now I'd be sure the engine has fresh oil and a filter and an approved oil is used.

The coolant you believe is ok.

Do a brake fluid flush and bleed to ensure the brake fluid is fresh.

Be sure you check the body water drains for any trash build up. Clean out the radiator ducts of any trash build up.

Then get the replacement tranmission installed and road test the car.

If the engine proves to be ok then take care of the leaking spark plug tubes and any other leaks that you find.

If the tires are worn unevenly then an alignment is called for. With my 2002 Boxster with a good alignment and reasonably driving I can get 20K+ miles out of the rear tires and double that from the front tires.

If you find the car road worthy after a wash or after the car has been in the rain check for dampness along the bottoms of the doors. If the door bottoms (carpet trim) is damp/wet the door membranes are likely bad and need to either resealed (sometimes not a *permanent* fix) or replaced.

Schnell Gelb

"I have rebuilt a lot of flat 6 engines, but all of them are air cooled and between 360 to 540 cubic inches. I will pick up a service manual for this one though."

Welcome to this part of the Flat 6 World. Your Continental/Lycoming perspective will be interesting to read. It also changes a recommendation I would have made about working on this M96 engine. You clearly have the skills and resources But more importantly the FAA attitude. That will serve you well. I had initially thought 'oh no, another sbc expert who will get in way over his head'!
One view point we need to hear is the 'in aircraft flat sixes, they fix/avoid that M96 problem this way'. Most of us have only automotive knowledge. I worked a lot with Jaguars but that was grossly inadequate for the standards required to rebuild the M96.
For your immediate tasks you will find two issues:
1. access to many items is awful but we may be able to suggest solutions based on our own bruised knuckle experience!
2. "while you are in there" - not the FAA standard of PM -but the -it took so long to get at this part, what else should I fix now.
Used 986 Tiptronic automatic transmissions are plentiful because they generally seem long-lived and there are so many engine disasters that the accompanying trans is difficult to sell. The manual 6 speed is a different story.
Good luck with your repairs !

Chuck W.

I have had great luck with qualityporscheparts on eBay. They have a couple '01 Boxster Auto Trans listed for $1,125 to $1,500 shipped.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw...orque&_sacat=0

EDIT.... my bad, those are all out of S models.

sniperonhigh

Hey, you totally left out Franklin I have a 6A-350 on my test stand right now, pretty cool engine.

Chuck, I'm pretty sure the S trans will fit if I change the drive flanges ....almost sure enough to bet $1,125 obo

Eh? Change drive flanges on a trans from a 3.2? I hear the bolt size is the only difference?

Schnell Gelb

Well that is closer to the Porsche PFM (aviation version) -Both were considered "unsafe at any altitude" and Tucker kinda struggled with it too!LOL