txhokie4life

sorry to hear ur troubles. sadly u r not alone 10 hours to pull and replace is not that far off .. esp if it is a tiptronic however 50 hours to rebuild is about 2x to much. u do not need to replace the tranny to get ur engine fixed. why do that .. ur next mechanic would have to pull it again. $2500 plus no labor to this point is not that bad of a cash offer. tops might be 3500 depending on condition and mileage realistically a 97 is worth less thna 10k .. mileage and condition dependant. now how they can tell ir main bearing is shot is another story. if u have intermix with a water pump failure ... you'll likely want a complete rebuild .. in that the antifrreze can hurt your engine internals. that doesn't have to be as bad as it sounds .... but even so that is probably a start if 4-5 grand at an indy like ours... if there is any damage internally it can climb from there good luck with it. mike in austin rebuilding these is a hobby for me .. so i'm not totally shooting from the hip. good luck .. and please pm or post if u want more help/guidance. mike

check fuel pump, check for spark, jumper fuel pump relay and check for fuel pressure flow if you know where the fuel lines are. check for any codes even with out a cel. check the battery voltage when you do crank -- should be above 12V. m

If it is your IMS it would be unlikely to run at all -- not that it couldn't but unlikey -- especially for any length of time.. Mike

That is totally different than what i am referring to. Someone with a bit more transmission knowledge will have to chime in. thanks, mike

Just a guess -- but could this just be motor/transmission mounts? I've got a stick the needs them. When I start or stop -- more so on start. I "feel" a clunk and sometimes here it ever so slightly. I think I can even feel it when I brake. Most obvious on a standing start. There is no grinding sound -- more like clunk or thunk. I've got so many projects going on, I just haven't gotten around to addressing it yet. (my car is always last :-( ) Your CEL could be something else entirely. You could goto autozone, etc and they can usually read the codes for you. a lot of CEL issues are emissions and they generally flag the cel is they see it fail twice in a row under checking conditions -- which are different depending on when they are checked. However, esp emissions, will clear them selves if they no longer detect the fault after a couple tries. some of the emissions can be as simple as the gas cap was loose. without checking the codes -- you won't know. Mike

My take -- if you are in there for anything else replace it. If you are going to lose sleep over it and you can afford it - replace it. Otherwise drive it until one of the above occurs :-) mike

I second Sunset -- as well as OKF. Not all parts that you can get used are even reasonably priced new. For example -- try to buy a wiring harness -- it'll be 5-10x new. Mike

yes -- 2 crank revolutions is 1 cam revolution. mike

At TDC -- both sides exhaust should be in line with the cylinder head/valve cover line. One side is at 12 oclock, the other at 6 oclock. Once around the horn on the crank and you'll be at 6 oclock / 12 oclock-- note the slot is actually slightly off center relative to the case and this is how you can tell 12 oclock from 6 oclock. I can never remember which side is which -- on the Boxsters I have a tool which shows the alignment -- and I'll note that the other side is either horizontally in or out relative to the cylinder head/valve cover line. One more full turn and you will be back at 12 oclock/ 6 oclock.. The plugs dry fit with a solid tap of a rubber mallot. m

Thinking about how it should work -- you want to lock the crankshaft at TDC, then do as best you can to prevent any of the chains from changing their relative position. I don't know that removing the hub cover has actually moved anything. I think the concern is that if you do pull the bearing and one chain is taunt will it somehow cause some imbalance which cause some "spin". Frankly I don't know.... I'm seriously considering building two cam locking tools -- putting one on each side locking the cams in place, then locking the crankshaft in place -- then arguably there is no way anything can move unless you jolt the chains with the IMS. And in that case the chains would be under tension and less likely to move. I maybe have to bounce this thought off of Jake and Charles and see what they think. Would be a whole lot easier than getting to that #4-6 -- especially on the 996 engines. I think the real issue is -- nobody has enough experience/knowledge to know for sure what exactly is the best thing to do. So in lieu of that -- take every precaution you can. Mike

Gotcha. I am actually leaning towards not replacing the tensioners as well, price and lead time being the biggest issues for me. I read some other posts where people have replaced their IMS bearing by only removing the two easily accessible tensioners. At this point since I've removed my ims cover after only removing 1-3 (drivers) and the main tensioner (passenger) and leaving 4-6 intact (top of head) - for anyone who has done this procedure before - do you think I need to a.) retime at this point (I'm now leaning toward pulling the caps to check timing before firing up), b.) should I proceed to try to remove the third tensioner for 4-6, or c.) just leave 4-6 in place and proceed with pulling the bearing (as I've seen others have had success doing this). For what it's worth I didn't hear any suspicious chain skipping noises during removal and the ims bearing cover came off with ease and I can also easily slide it back on, although I see the ims tube might be slightly off center towards the drivers side and up slightly. We always pull each one as well as the caps. But on a 996 that upper one is a royal PITA. Not only did you have to remove the AC, but the power steering line as well. On an 02 I just finished -- the tensioner had an inset hex head --- and not the normal 32mm like the rest. Cheap piece of mind to insure the cams are still in time. We also like to prefill the tensioners with oil by compressing them immersed in oil, and releasing. I'd like to figure if there was a way to lock the cams in place -- and then not have to remove that 4-6 tensioner -- but I haven't convinced myself it would work. the downside is pretty high. mike

I pulled these off a 50K mile 2.5L. m

Bingo - glad you figured it out -- cheap $20 worth of plastic I think -- if they are that much. How hard was it to do with the engine in the car? I've always had it on an engine stand when I am doing this kind of work thanks, Mike

We;; don't I feel stupid -- I thought as soon as you entered the code it would work. turns out you have to hit tuner up to "enter" the code However Loren -- your code did not work, but another member's code did. thanks to all. Mike

Adv Auto has a $50 coupon on future purchase if you buy $100 now. Picked up 20qts of M1 for 109.95, when the coupon comes I'll get 12 more for $16. so thats 32qts for 126 or just under $4/qt m

Lets assume it is the IMMOB: 1) With an IMMOB issue does the engine even crank? I don't think so. 2) Will it be able to be push started? I think I read somewhere it can. So if I am wrong on #1, than you might be on to something. If you pull the drivers seat -- you can see the Immob -- you could check to see if it has ever been wet and if the connections are good and not corroded. mike

thanks Loren -- I was born as Murphy as my wingman -- he strikes again :-) I'm sure you bar is full -- but I owe you a beer, Mike

If the Starter turned the engine over -- than it is probably fine (well until the dealership smoked it if that was what the smoke was) but it may still be ok. Can you jump start the car? If not -- it is not the battery. On other cars I have seen the starter be fine, the battery be fine, and even the starter solenoid be good (these I believe are embedded into the boxster starter) - but the wiring be bad. however the symptom is no cranking at all. The thing I find interesting is that cranking works, but does not start, however push starting works -- this implies you are getting fuel and spark (eventually) Is there something different between the initial crank and actually running..... maybe some sensor bad? But I would have expected other codes. Someone more knowledgable will have to chime in here. m

Ok tried it again -- the S/N is definitely WS0 - 12008 Does the Radio have to talk to the DME through the body harness to qualify the code? The reason I ask is that this car had its engine replaced (due to an IMS failure) and is a 99 car with a 97 engine (and a 97 Engine Wiring Harness). I had to rewire the engine wire harness to connect the Tank Pressure Sensor to the DME since the 97 had a different pin out. Could I be dealing with a similar issue? thanks, Mike

I'm surprised the dealership didn't run codes.... The smoke might have been your starter motor burning up. Like Loren said == get some diagnostic codes and lets see what it might be complaining about. mike

thank you -- but it didn't seem to work. I just need to type the 4 digits in -- and it will auto start nothing after that right? It just jumps back to the first digit blinking. Used codes 8867 8865 tried 8869 8863 Model CR-210 WS0 12008 R3297 I have checked the S/N several times -- I have not looked at it physically by pulling the radio thoughts? mike Try 8867 or 8865

Do know anyone local that can fascilitate the transaction for you -- or at least prove the car is real? Can you have the seller do a PPI at a dealership near him -- at least you get some eyes on the vehicle and a little piece of mind. I'd be a little nervous. Heck for the price your probably paying -- flying out there, inspecting it, and handing over a cashiers check wouldn't be a bad idea. Then you can either drive it home -- or have it transported. just me, and I've bought 5 cars site unseen -- but this smells a little fishy. m

210 == the one with the cassette R3297 WS0 12008 thanks, mike

Lost Radio Code: R3297 WS0 12008 thank you, Mike

Yeah be careful with that -- You might be fine at idle (maybe?) but if you hit the RPMs to do the timing advance it might put you to far out and cause some damage. I've seen chain tensioner guides that break off, and this could cause a change in the relative cam angles. If you have a duramatic -- it will report how far off you are. It's also possible you jumped a tooth on one of the chains. Doesn't happen often, but is possible. sounds like you know enough to come out okay -- just might have to be patient and check all the possible scenarios. mike