Dead engine

[bnewport]

My 99 3.4L tip just blew up. It was ok when it seemed to lose power and get rough, then out the rear view mirror, a puff of black smoke and then the sky filled with white smoke, a huge amount of it. I pulled over to the side of the road and it shut down after every light on the dash came on. The smoke cleared once it stopped but white smoke came out of the right exhaust for a while. The engine oil looks to have coolant in it. The engine looks fine visually. I didn't try to restart it. Towed it home.

I'm bringing it to the dealer later this week when I get time. Chances are that it's a dropped sleeve. Anyone got ideas for what to do besides give Porsche 12-14k for a replacement engine?

Will any e-gas 3.4L engine work or is tip a special one? Would a 3.6L cost much more?

[ScottArizona]

Wow. Really sorry to hear that. Rather than shelling out for a new motor, you could always shop for one used (ebay typically has engines for around 6k). Of course, that is always risky as you will never really know what you are getting. Another option I've heard kicked around is sending your engine to a UK outfit (I think it is called Autofarm...try a google search) that has this process called silsleeve or sile sleeve something like that. They will basically bore out your engine, increase displacement if you desire, and then sleeve it (supposedly good as new). I'm not sure how the cost would compare to a used engine or new replacment engine, but it might be cool to take the opportunity to add some horesepower. I also think they have a good warranty on there sleeved engines. It might be worth a check.

If I might ask, how many miles on your car (I've got a 99 3.4 C2 tip with 60k). Good luck and keep us posted. Scott.

[bhussung]

Did you buy the car new, or CPO by chance? If you contact the dealership where you purchased the p-car, they may be able to help you out with some of the cost of a rebuilt engine. I had 42k miles on mine, and my dealership decide to cover part (most) of the cost for the rebuild. If you have a good relationship with your dealer, it is worth a try!

Good luck...

Edited August 10, 2006 by bhussung

[bnewport]

It was bought from dealer without CPO but with 3rd party warranty with 17k miles on clock in 2003. Car has 42k now.

[bhussung]

I also bought from a dealer without CPO. It did happen to be the same dealer that imported/sold it originally. It is definitly worth a try. I have heard alot of stories about porsche paying for 50-90% of the total cost. My total bill was around $1,200 out the door.

[Cesarfl]

There is an outfit in California named Motormeister, they have a website and they do full rebuilt on 996 engines, turn key process and the price seems reasonavble. do a google and see. Good luck

Motormeister website is www.motormeister.com

[jicko]

It was bought from dealer without CPO but with 3rd party warranty with 17k miles on clock in 2003. Car has 42k now.

As you have 3rd party warranty, shouldn't that cover the engine?

[bnewport]

So, dealer says, cylinder sleeve broke and bad things happened from there.

Porsche dealer says probadly 15k for a replacement. They are calling the warranty company now.

If they won't pay then Motormeister can fix it for 15k also by boring it to 4.0L and putting steel jackets, forged everything etc and this gives a 'better' engine.

Roy from Motormeister basically says all 996 engines are flawed because of alu sleeves in an alu block with slightly different expansion rates which causes the break when anything funny happens.

Anyone any experience doing this?

www.motormeister.com

[jicko]

So, dealer says, cylinder sleeve broke and bad things happened from there.

Porsche dealer says probadly 15k for a replacement. They are calling the warranty company now.

Which warranty company are you with? Most of the warranty contract I have seen do cover engine break down(and actually one of the big reason to buy extended warranty is to cover these big ticket items). You may still have to pay a small amount for the little parts that the warranty company are not covering, but it would be in the matter of hundreds rather than thousands...

[Alan C.]

I know of two people that used Motormeister, I would go elsewhere.

[Richard Hamilton]

Maybe you could find out if this company has a distributor in the US. They manufacture new blocks and have a 4.0L kit.

http://www.perfectbore.com/

[rcg412]

Bnewport: What happened with the warranty company... are they covering it?

[viper501]

No experience with this but found it while reading the perfectbore site. http://www.autofarm.co.uk/new.php3/silsleevepricing.html

[bnewport]

Bnewport: What happened with the warranty company... are they covering it?

I'll know on Monday, the inspector came out on Friday and he's seen plenty of these failures. He took the dealer service records and we're waiting for the call.

[Dharn55]

If they won't cover it here is an alternative. 3.4 L w/28,000 mi. on Ebay for $5,800, buy it now for $6,200. Just thought you might to know.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-Eng...1QQcmdZViewItem

[bnewport]

Bnewport: What happened with the warranty company... are they covering it?

Warrentech or Repairmaster are the company and yep, they paid, 9970US for a replacement engine from Porsche with 2 years from the factory. The dealer said the warranty don't do Porsches anymore because of the losses covering the cars.

So far, they paid about 22k for my cars repairs over 3 years. It's covered until 2009 or 72k miles. The most they will pay is the value paid for the car or 46k in my case. Porsche are now covering the transmission or engine for the next two years.

[rcg412]

Bnewport: What happened with the warranty company... are they covering it?

Warrentech or Repairmaster are the company and yep, they paid, 9970US for a replacement engine from Porsche with 2 years from the factory. The dealer said the warranty don't do Porsches anymore because of the losses covering the cars.

So far, they paid about 22k for my cars repairs over 3 years. It's covered until 2009 or 72k miles. The most they will pay is the value paid for the car or 46k in my case. Porsche are now covering the transmission or engine for the next two years.

thats awesome... congrats.

[bnewport]

Photos of the dead engine

http://www.trackpedia.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8379

[jicko]

Photos of the dead engine

http://www.trackpedia.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8379

Do you RACE your car? If you do, do warranty STILL cover that??

Also, "they paid about 22k for my cars repairs over 3 years" <- what ELSE had been wrong with your car that cost a total of $22k!?!?!

Edited August 15, 2006 by jicko

[bnewport]

Photos of the dead engine

http://www.trackpedia.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8379

Do you RACE your car? If you do, do warranty STILL cover that??

Also, "they paid about 22k for my cars repairs over 3 years" <- what ELSE had been wrong with your car that cost a total of $22k!?!?!

No racing for me, havent entered any competitive, timed or race events with the car. If you race or do competitive driving then they won't cover you.

[bnewport]

Final cost was 13592USD. I need to keep RPMs under 4.5k for 2000 miles. Engine was 8200, core was 2300 and then 2400 in labor.

[J.Seven]

Comun 996 engine failure.

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/show...ad.php?t=205310

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4501

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/show...ad.php?t=196506

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/show...ad.php?t=196800

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/show...ad.php?t=204183

And many more thrue out the net.

[x5rap]

Warrantech covered the replacement of the engine in my US '99 tip coupe (Feb-98 build date). Oil and water inter-mixed at 42,700 miles. It took 35 days, partly since the dealer shipped a manual spec'd engine to the shop doing the swap and mine is a tip. The engine for a manual vs. a tip are different part numbers: blah, blah BX for a tip and blah, blah CX for a manual. Without that foul-up the change-out still would have taken a solid 25 days by the time Warrantech agreed to cover and everything got shipped and installed. 35 days was a drag and Warrantech gives you a whole three (3) days of credit toward a rental car.

Advice to take or leave: Change every rubber hose in the coolant system you can since many will now be easily accessible. The hoses are not that expensive and labor will be minimal. FYI, some of the rigid piping for coolant also will be changed by necessity to adapt to the later engine case. Your car, probably built in '98, is now 8 years old. Change oil/ATF and filter in the trans. If that hasn't been done the oil/ATF is also 8 years old and it's now time. Change mufflers, they'll be just about the only thing old back there. Oxygen sensors may fail post-replacement. I've replaced all 4 now after fault codes came up within three months of the swap. I couldn't be happier with my new engine and the tip in my car shifts as smooth as silk. I love this car.

[bnewport]

I have a new tip, that failed 200 miles before the engine went.