woodywoodpecker

So heres the drama.

I have purchased two heads now from OK foreign. Both of them are cracked. When they get here they go to a machinist who has a block and head tester. OK foreign claims they test them in the car. OK has held me back over two weeks now.

I tried this site: http://car-part.com/ it came up with a Pontiac Gran prix gt head?

So I have to see what Gary at Ok is going to do for me. At this point I just want to give up but of course cant. I would like for OK foreign car to credit the card and I will get one from another source. Maybe that Silver Star place has one.

The machinist here does heli-arc welding but my shop here thinks it cant be welded where it is but I have to call him in a hour.

So do other heads work on this care that are identical? Like the Honda S2000 an the Pontiac Grand Prix GT?

Im not going to buy a new one.Thats out of the question. The heads are costing 5-500 plus 50 or so for shipping. Ive only paid for one of course but there both bad.

AHHHHHH What to do now!

The cylinder head from a Honda S2000 or a Pontiac Grand Prix GT are not interchangeable with any Porsche engine cylinder heads.

What you might have a better shot at doing than what you are suggesting with Gary at Ok is to try to have him get the cylinder head from whatever junk yard (or recycler as they like to be called) where you may find a good one. Junk yards trade parts between themselves all the time.

If you try to do it that way, the junk yard that actually provides it to Gary at Ok and Gary at Ok will both make a little profit and you will get your good cylinder head. A win-win situation for everybody.

Good luck.

Regards, Maurice.

I called silver star they didint have one nor did there search show up one.

I will call Gary again.

Gary was rude while I was calm. He said I will call him when I get a chance, Thank you and hung up. Thats just wrong. Hes done me wrong so bad already.He has our CC number. I guess its not urgent for him that hes screwd me over twice. Ive been w/o the car since August 4th, it was brought into shop August 11th.

So heres the drama.

I have purchased two heads now from OK foreign. Both of them are cracked. When they get here they go to a machinist who has a block and head tester. OK foreign claims they test them in the car. OK has held me back over two weeks now.

I tried this site: http://car-part.com/ it came up with a Pontiac Gran prix gt head?

So I have to see what Gary at Ok is going to do for me. At this point I just want to give up but of course cant. I would like for OK foreign car to credit the card and I will get one from another source. Maybe that Silver Star place has one.

The machinist here does heli-arc welding but my shop here thinks it cant be welded where it is but I have to call him in a hour.

So do other heads work on this care that are identical? Like the Honda S2000 an the Pontiac Grand Prix GT?

Im not going to buy a new one.Thats out of the question. The heads are costing 5-500 plus 50 or so for shipping. Ive only paid for one of course but there both bad.

AHHHHHH What to do now!

The cylinder head from a Honda S2000 or a Pontiac Grand Prix GT are not interchangeable with any Porsche engine cylinder heads.

What you might have a better shot at doing than what you are suggesting with Gary at Ok is to try to have him get the cylinder head from whatever junk yard (or recycler as they like to be called) where you may find a good one. Junk yards trade parts between themselves all the time.

If you try to do it that way, the junk yard that actually provides it to Gary at Ok and Gary at Ok will both make a little profit and you will get your good cylinder head. A win-win situation for everybody.

Good luck.

Regards, Maurice.

I called silver star they didint have one nor did there search show up one.

I will call Gary again.

So heres the drama.

I have purchased two heads now from OK foreign. Both of them are cracked. When they get here they go to a machinist who has a block and head tester. OK foreign claims they test them in the car. OK has held me back over two weeks now.

I tried this site: http://car-part.com/ it came up with a Pontiac Gran prix gt head?

So I have to see what Gary at Ok is going to do for me. At this point I just want to give up but of course cant. I would like for OK foreign car to credit the card and I will get one from another source. Maybe that Silver Star place has one.

The machinist here does heli-arc welding but my shop here thinks it cant be welded where it is but I have to call him in a hour.

So do other heads work on this care that are identical? Like the Honda S2000 an the Pontiac Grand Prix GT?

Im not going to buy a new one.Thats out of the question. The heads are costing 5-500 plus 50 or so for shipping. Ive only paid for one of course but there both bad.

AHHHHHH What to do now!

OK so a head failed ....

But I'd be looking for a used head from another engine of the same approximate mileage that had a sleeve failure or something similar on the other side. No sense in a new head when the one opposite is 7 years old. Nor any sense rebuilding it for the same logic.

Other options that come to mind are upgraded engine (used or new) or crate engine. The rebuilders who promise improved engines just don't have enough samples with enough miles nor offer warranties good enough yet to justify that expense (IMNSHO).

There is a list of recyclers with links on the web page

Thanks an hr ago I ordered a used head from OK foreign. The engine was a takeout for a replacement engine due to a Blance shaft issue? He didint know mileage since it was a take out but it was from a 2000 or 2001. It will end up being about 1500 less for using a used head thats rebuilt once it arrives.

Hmm... I show an MSRP of about $2300 for a cylinder head(and cam cover).

Who quoted you $3300?

redmond European. They also quoted me 650 to rebuild the head.They send it out to a machinist.I feel thats pretty high. Thats without the vale springs an valves. Thye figure thye have enough valves to use from the old head and new head.

Any reason why not to buy a used head? I would have it compression tested and valves replaced. A new one for 7 times as much money has a one year warranty or 12k. Old 500 or 750 with cam New 3500.

I understand things could go wrong with this used one I also understand new things could go wrong with the new but covered under warranty for a short period.I mean this car took 7 years for the head to crack.

Thanks

Remember the head and the cam cover are a matched set - so you will need both.

yes Im buying the valve cover if I go this route. I didnt realize each head is 3300. I thought there was one. I only need one thank god. Its cheaper to buy a used engine if you needed two which is a bit ridicilous on porsches part I think.

Any reason why not to buy a used head? I would have it compression tested and valves replaced. A new one for 7 times as much money has a one year warranty or 12k. Old 500 or 750 with cam New 3500.

I understand things could go wrong with this used one I also understand new things could go wrong with the new but covered under warranty for a short period.I mean this car took 7 years for the head to crack.

Thanks

Hi I have a post on here " My engines toast now what" that alot of you have helped with thanks.

Found out today that its the head , theres a crack between the clylinder 1 and 2 wheres theres and alleyway one carries oil the other water, theres a crack between them thus sending oil into the water.

My Indie shop wants 3500 for a brand new head. Where can i find a rebuilt one? I understand that if I get one from the junkyard it should be pressure tested and new valves put in and replace the head gasket as well.

He suggested Oklahoma Foregin car an one semi local to here ( Im in Seattle) called Camel Nelson in Arlington. I havent looked at either one of these due to just finding out news, there both junkyards not rebuilders of heads. I understand theres salvage yards that just rebuild heads???

The car is a 01 Boxter S with 50k. Triptronic.

Thanks

This will explain it all,,,

http://www.986online.com/cgi-bin/ASI_Store...ptioncodes.html

Very nice, thanks

Since I just looked up the value at kbb dot com . Does anyone know where on the net it explains the options to know if I have them or not? Example full leather verse leather seats and sport design or sport touring pkg. Also aero kit and wheel pkg.

Thanks

I have no experience with Redmond.

But Im just curious that after AOS wasreplaced if someone actually did perform a leak down test? or they are just assuming cause it's still smoking?

There are many causes for the type of white smoke.

"If it is a very dense white smoke with an acrid odor, then it is due to coolant burning in a cylinder when the engine is first started. The cause could be a seeping head gasket which allows coolant to accumulate in a cylinder when the engine sits unused for a couple of hours. Diagnosis is usually done by a combination of cooling system pressure testing and cylinder leakdown testing.

Another cause would be worn valve guides and seals. If the valve guides in the engine are worn, it will allow a tiny amount of engine oil to seep down the guides and pool below the heads of the valves when the enigne is not operated for several hours. Upon startup, the accumulated oil will be drawn into the cylinders and burned. The amount of oil involved is very small, typically with worn valve guides you do not notice any measureable oil consumption on the dipstick; a couple drops of burning oil makes a LOT of smoke. Oil smoke is not bright white, but is more of a grayish-white color and smells somewhat like burned oil."

There wasnt a compression test. The shop that replaced the AOS wasnt what I expected. I told him a few forums thought it may be the AOS. So he assumed I wanted it replaced instead of diagnosing. There computer cant talk to porsches. I was very upset.

The smoke to a novice eye is white. In the car it smells like antifreeze burning. When the smoke came out first time at the end of pipe tips it was residue of liquid which to me seemed like oil. There is very much presence of oil in the antifreeze filler tank.

"When I dropped off at Redmond European he said by looking at dipstick he didint see any water. Its obvious theres oil in the antifreeze though."

Question: Did you drive the car from one place to the other??

Does it run and not smoke??

Ed :cheers:

juniinc: What do you know about Redmonds?

No we didint drive it. It was loaded on a flatbed. The place before said they still saw smoke. They mentioned white and blue but they may been blowing smoke up my u know what.

I was reffered to Redmonds by a owner out here of Woodinville sports Cars . Redmonds has been in business for 35 years.Was told it was an honest shop and does good work and knows what thye are doing.

Barrier in Bellevue & Larson in Tacoma.

it is rare to see a cracked cylinder liner for those models after 2000 but sounds a lot like it.

Yes, u can get to the head with engine still in the car.

Approximately 23 hrs for both head gaskets with standard tranny, a bit more with an auto trans

A good indy should be able to do it for about $2000 +machine shop cost+parts, if it is a blown head gasket.

When I dropped off at Redmond European he said by looking at dipstick he didint see any water. Its obvious theres oil in the antifreeze though.

When you say cracked cylinder liner do you mean block or head ? or did you mean a piston?

I was told by a shop if it was head cracked it would be a 3000 part and about 3k in labor. Head gasket about 3 grand for all. The place its at now would rather drop the engine to work on it since he says thye come out pretty easy and the time it would take to try and do it through the top might just equal out due to it being harder to work on in the car? I dont know this place had a bunch of porsches there which helps the comfort level and only 2 audis that I saw. He alos said that he has never seen a block crack on anything but 98 and 99 so never on an 01.

My fingers are crossed its not the block.

Isn't Barrier Porsche the closet dealer to you?

I believe theres on in bellevue and seattle, one is called barrier. Im taking it to a place that specializes in three makes , one is porsche.Looking for them to tell me what it is before I make and decisions. This first place is costing me 150 that its at now.Thye just tell me I need a new engine.

You are getting good feedback on your engine problem. Further testing/checking of the "oil cooler" sounds like a good route to take. I hadn't thought of it, but it does make sense. I was waiting for your follow up reply to talk to our Indi here in Phoenix about your problem -- I'll do that in the AM -- DJ is good at diagnostics. I'll let you know what he says.

The reviews I see about Autohaus Vick are mixed but with 73% Good ratings. The consensus is "Expensive".

I guess I don't know what a "Bosch Certified Tech" is???

I'm glad you talked to Sunset Auto in Portland. If I were in your shoes I might arrange to take the Boxster down there, just for the peace of mind. I will continue to research Seattle area shops through the other Boxster forums (PPBB, etc.) FYI, I learned a long time ago to seek out the BEST resource you can find in a reasonable geographic area to solve your problems (ours was a son's medical situation living in a small town) -- don't settle for less.

More later,

Take care,

Ed

Ed (Arizona) on PPBB you can see our profile...

Thanks Ed, thats really nice. We are going to send it to Redmond European in the morning where they will do a block compression test an a oil cooler compression test. Then diagnose from there. Thye alos run dye through the engine.

The car was purchased at a dealership 3.5 years ago used in santa monica california.It was an Audi dealership.

Its currently at Autohaus Vick in Bellevue WA they are all Bosch certified techs. They might be over there head a little bit in replacing an engine on this car.There engine is 4000 more anyways.

What they have told me is , theres oil in the antifreeze, there antifreeze in the oil. Theres no codes for loosing compression which might mean a head gasket. He says theres blowby , hes 98% sure it needs a new engine. But they didnt do compression test, they didnt check the oil cooler ( which I understand can cause the same issues I am having) They claim its not the oil cooler because theres blowby? But sunset imports in portland told me its 9 times out of 10 the issue your having is the oil cooler. The water/oil mix thing. It is leaking coolant under rear passenger tire.

Thye want way too much for a new engine anyways. I was told 10600 by someone else new from porsche if it does need one and 1800 labor plus any misc. parts oil , clutch etc. Says it may top out at 15k but thye would determine the problem first.This person says rarely on these cars does the block crack. He only services porsches for 30yrs.

Some other shop wants to do a compression test on the oil coooler, a block comression test to test for hydrocarbons that will determine if it s a head gasket.

I did smell antifreeze in the car while driving. Also the place that has it now said they saw white smoke and even a little blue.

It couldnt just be the heater core right?

Im just trying to feed more info here to see if I can stir anything up.

Thank you

1) We are thinking of getting a junkyard engine put in. Has anyone here bought one and for how much approximately?

I've seen Boxster engines on eBay for as low as $1500. eBay is a good source for engines, especially because of the buyer protection. If anything is wrong, if the engine is not as described, etc., you can get your money back. Also, buy the parts and labor warranty wherever you buy the engine. You can usually get a 30-day, 60, 90, 180-day, 1 year, 2 years, etc. The price depends on the length of the warranty. I would think that if anything is going to go wrong, it's going to happen in the first month or two of driving, so maybe the 60- or 90-day would be the most cost-effective. Make sure you get the LABOR (in addition to the 'parts') warranty. Parts may be relatively cheap, but if you have to take an engine out once it's in, you're talking big bucks. I just had a Saab engine removed/installed and it was $1500 to take out the old engine and put in the new one. I believe the labor was $75/hr, so that's 20 hours just as a time estimate for engine-swapping.

2) Should we have them drop it just to confirm the issues since it has to be dropped anyways in case its lesser of a problem.

Only if it needs to be dropped. You may decide to take it somewhere else and you may get a better labor rate if the mechanic takes out the old one AND puts in the new one.

3) Any other options that im missing here?

Yes. Upgrading to a 3.4L (or bigger) engine!! Many of us are just waiting for our old engines to die so we have an excuse to justify buying and installing a bigger engine. Fate is calling. Are you going to answer? ;)

Ebay has two right now both for right around 5k, one has 90 day warranty on block. The other one I didnt notice.

I dont have time due to urgency of getting it fixed as quick as possible so im looking for a short answer on the larger engine options. I understand it needs mods if it were to be done. I guess theres a 3.4 and a 3.6 engine replacement. Any ideas what this job cost?

I have done some research with locals around here and I was told the 20k was high.Theres not many options in seattle for this car.

Hi, a few post below here says "major white smoke out of pipes" Well had AOS replaced. But coolant is going into the oil and oil is going into the coolant. So the well respected auto mechanics its at tells us it probaly a cracked head gasket or cracked head. Either way it needs a new engine. He says 28 hours in an out and 5 hrs to clean out tubes etc. Plus 14 k for engine (longblock). Total of 20k!!!! We cant do this for more than one reason.

The tech heard there was a technical bullentin put out on the boxter s where the engine block didint meet right with the head but he called a dealer and gave VIN and we are out of warranty , its a 2001 boxter s with just under 50k on it.

I have questions to the board not in any order

1) We are thinking of getting a junkyard engine put in. Has anyone here bought one and for how much approximately?

2) Should we have them drop it just to confirm the issues since it has to be dropped anyways in case its lesser of a problem.

3) Any other options that im missing here?

Thanks

OK, I had the AOS replaced. I expected there to be smoke till the oil burned off. I took it for a ride for 50 miles yesterday at speeds between 30-70. It was cool out. Had a little smoke. Then on way back I put it in second drove it up to 6k rpms then shifted into third big smoke came out for 3 seconds then stopped.I did that one more time and more smoke for 3 seconds, then tried again twice an none.

Temperature gauge remained normal but the red was blinking on the gauge. Only half the time though. I did make a mistake two weeks and again last night, I filled the coolant once two weeks ago with 100% antifreeze no water mix. Then after picking up car it was low again and t was some congealing on the top looking like mustard in color and texture. I filled it again 100% antifreeze. Then this morning it was very low. I understand it needs to be mixed was wondering would this cause it to burn it much quicker or the white smoke. When driving yesterday at times we did smell antifreeze.

Hi guys an gals, I did a search on smoke and came up with alot of people seeing smoke on startup.

My car 01 Boxter S 45k, recently ( 1 month ago) did the white smoke on startup after sitting for 5 days pretty bad. Then mornings after nothing really. This morning it smoked medium to light. On way home ( 18 miles into a 20 mile trip) it smoked so bad you couldnt see behind you.

I pulled over. The exhaust tips has what appears to be oil in them smoking. It smells bad. A kid stopped had an opinion.

First a note : got the oil changed in it two weeks ago Mobil one. After the first initial smoke issue one month ago

The kid and I checked the oil and it appears to be overfull, its above the lines in the dipstick. We didn't observe any water in the oil, it looked clean no white. The car runs good, the water temp light was blinking but never went above 190. The dipstick when pulled was smoking.The oil cap when twisted off did not smoke.

He thought maybe it was burning oil from being overfull but the car has been driven 3-400 miles since its change. Maybe a seal?

The bad part is its PM here and we leave tomorrow very early for the east coast where we are getting married.So its going to sit for 10 days. I will be monitoring this post while there, I have easy INTERNET access.

Should I drain the oil a bit? And then bring to a shop?

I know it should go in but I'm looking for solutions.

I have been told it might be the oil air separator. If so does anyone know what the procedure is to fix this, meaning. I have a shop in my small town that can work on it but cant communicate with the computer. So all he can do is see if the OAS has oil in it etc. Whatever the tell tales are I guess.

Also should it be towed, again it ran fine for two miles to my house and the shop is 2 miles away.

Thanks you

Thanks

If you can't find anything here the Pelican Parts tech site of Porsche Pete's Boxster Board will have how to's with detailed instructions and pictures. It's not a complicated R & R but access is tight at times. Good news is the replacement part has been improved since your model year end is less likely to fail in the same way the older ones did. To be on the safe side I wouldn't drive the car anymore until you've isolated and fixed the problem. Good luck and I hope the OAS turns out to be the problem.

Thanks, I did find a link on a how to with pics to replace this part. This is a very helpful forum. I have only used babblers.

Hi guys an gals, I did a search on smoke and came up with alot of people seeing smoke on startup.

My car 01 Boxter S 45k, recently ( 1 month ago) did the white smoke on startup after sitting for 5 days pretty bad. Then mornings after nothing really. This morning it smoked medium to light. On way home ( 18 miles into a 20 mile trip) it smoked so bad you couldnt see behind you.

I pulled over. The exhaust tips has what appears to be oil in them smoking. It smells bad. A kid stopped had an opinion.

First a note : got the oil changed in it two weeks ago mobil one. After the first initial smoke issue one month ago

The kid and I checked the oil and it appears to be overfull, its above the lines in the dipstick. We didnt observe any water in the oil, it looked clean no white. The car runs good, the water temp light was blinking but never went above 190. The dipstick when pulled was smoking.The oil cap when twisted off did not smoke.

He thought maybe it was burning oil from being overfull but the car has been driven 3-400 miles since its change. Maybe a seal?

The bad part is its 9pm here and we leave tommorrow very early for the east coast where we are getting married.So its going to sit for 10 days. I will be monitoring this post while there, I have easy internet access.

Should I drain the oil a bit? And then bring to a shop?

I know it should go in but im looking for solutions.

I have been told it might be the oil air seperator. If so does anyone know what the procedure is to fix this, meaning. I have a shop in my small town that can work on it but cant communicate with the computer. So all he can do is see if the AOS has oil in it etc. Whatever the tell tales are I guess.

Also should it be towed, again it ran fine for two miles to my house and the shop is 2 miles away.

Thanks you

Thanks