Motor Swap (searched)

[BAT A4]

First off, let me introduce myself. I have driven a number of cars and this Porsche (2003 Boxster Automatic) is new to the family. I have done alot of cool projects on a number of cars and I am just looking for someone to point me in the right direction.

My brother was driving the Boxster on I-93, when he described it as a "loud thud and a lot of metal clanking around". He had just had the oil changed, and at first I though the shop didn't put the drain plug back in or didnt tighten the filter and it ran out of oil. Turns out the car spun the main bearing (Should have had the oil change shop, or me for that is, check the filter for Metal shavings. :cursing:

I have worked on a lot of cars (motor swap in Land Rover Disco, Larger turbos on 2000 S4 (motor pull) Built a Subaru WRX, And a nice size turbo on my A4 (Rods, Pistons, The whole 9 yards). My grandfather has every tool under the sun, lift and all (very nice place to work on a car).

After digging in and doing a good amount of research, I have found that I will not have to remap the DME, which motors (3.6) and the stock motors will fit without too much fabrication. I am going to be swapping the motor with a stock one even though I will not have to deal with the traction control.

Can these motors with a spun bearing be salvaged? Are they worth anything? Where is a creditable place to buy one?

I have searched this forum and others for that matter, for a more detailed DIY for swapping the motor? If anyone here has a good link please post. The motor should be pulled by the end of next weekend. If I can not find anything, I guess I will have to make one.

Thank you for your time.

Best regards,

Sean.

Edited January 4, 2011 by BAT A4

[N41EF]

If you are a PCA member, Panorama magazine just did the first part of a three part series that answers this question. If you are new to Boxsters, I'm guessing it didn't spin a main bearing but had a IMS bearing failure. Search here for IMS, it will scare you at how many fail. Take a look at LN Engineering and Flat 6 for ideas on rebuilt engines. There are several places selling used engines, LA Porsche sells engines on eBay, you'll need the DME for the new engine. There are several engine swap threads on here, most of the choices depend on how much you want to do. Getting the engine in and wired doesn't seem to be the hard part, getting it to run correctly is the problem. Find a friend with a PTS2 to get the computers to talk to each other.

[BAT A4]

Thank you for your response.

I have looked more into the IMS bearing and that seems to be the culprit. As far as bolting it in and wiring it up I have found conflicting answers from what you have replied with. Quoted from Pelican Parts, I found this:

"You can swap in any replacement engine of the same displacement from 2003-08 without having to remap the DME. (I.E. a 2003 Boxster 2.7L with a blown motor can accept a 2005 2.7L engine with no remapping needed)."

Cited: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/11-ENGINE-911_Engine_Swap/11-ENGINE-911_Engine_Swap.htm

As far as the remapping, I have seen mainly the same answers around the board. Please send any links telling me otherwise. As far as any performance upgrades(larger motor), I am going to pass on for now as I have too many quick cars. I would just like this car to be up and running as it is a Texas car (Very clean both inside and out) and I will be giving it to my sister for her graduation gift. (This is her dream car for some reason. I can not afford to give her a 911 Turbo.. Although, I wish I could.)

I have looked into the motors, and they all seem to be in the same price range. Thank you for the recomendations.

Cliff notes:

Same motor.

DME remapping (conflicted answers)

Sister graduation gift :cheers:

I don't have enough money for a 911 Turbo..

Many good rebuilt motors for sale in the same price range.

Best regards,

Sean.

[catmanluge]

Thank you for your response.

Check out Pelican Part they have several articles on engine swaps. Look up Todd he is the expert in swaps as far as DME are concerned. The machanical part is easy the electronic can be a problem. The air intake and exhaust is another area you should consider as these can restrict power..

I have looked more into the IMS bearing and that seems to be the culprit. As far as bolting it in and wiring it up I have found conflicting answers from what you have replied with. Quoted from Pelican Parts, I found this:

"You can swap in any replacement engine of the same displacement from 2003-08 without having to remap the DME. (I.E. a 2003 Boxster 2.7L with a blown motor can accept a 2005 2.7L engine with no remapping needed)."

Cited: http://www.pelicanpa...Engine_Swap.htm

As far as the remapping, I have seen mainly the same answers around the board. Please send any links telling me otherwise. As far as any performance upgrades(larger motor), I am going to pass on for now as I have too many quick cars. I would just like this car to be up and running as it is a Texas car (Very clean both inside and out) and I will be giving it to my sister for her graduation gift. (This is her dream car for some reason. I can not afford to give her a 911 Turbo.. Although, I wish I could.)

I have looked into the motors, and they all seem to be in the same price range. Thank you for the recomendations.

Cliff notes:

Same motor.

DME remapping (conflicted answers)

Sister graduation gift :cheers:

I don't have enough money for a 911 Turbo..

Many good rebuilt motors for sale in the same price range.

Best regards,

Sean.

[BAT A4]

Does anyone have a good DIY for this swap? Or will I have to make one as I go?

Best regards,

Sean.

[Cloudsurfer]

There is PLENTY of info to be had on this forum with regards to how to go about this. Since you car is an 03, you have a 7.8 DME. You will not have to change DME's to run a 3.6 or 3.8, but you will need to reflash it to the proper 996 software and add 4 wires to your wiring harness to handle the valve lift solenoids. Otherwise, you just need to lower the front and rear mounts a hair and the motor will fit right in. You will need to fabricate up an intake, and run a Cayman exhaust (to take advantage of the larger exhaust ports on the newer motors). The bigger issue I see with your particular situation is that your car is an automatic, and I'm not that you really want to try adding a ton of power to that transmission (to the best of my knowledge, no one has tried this before).

As to your motor, if it had an IMS failure, the motor is junk. The case halves are probably salvageable, but there is probably so much metal in the oil, that to do a rebuild, you'd have to go with a completely new IMS assembly, all new liters, VarioCam vane cells, in addition to the usual bearings, seals, fasteners, etc. which gets expensive in a hurry. As to if the motor is worth anything or not, no one really wants a 2.7, so it's more or less scrap.

[jmatta]

I suggest you visit Pelican Parts, read Wayne's write-up and spend $23 for his 101 Boxster Projects book. It will likely answer all your questions regarding engine swaps.

[Wayne R. Dempsey]

I suggest you visit Pelican Parts, read Wayne's write-up and spend $23 for his 101 Boxster Projects book. It will likely answer all your questions regarding engine swaps.

Link to my Engine Swap Project: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/11-ENGINE-911_Engine_Swap/11-ENGINE-911_Engine_Swap.htm

:)

-Wayne

[catmanluge]

Check out Todd Holyoak's articles he has done several and is real articulate..

Thank you for your response.

Check out Pelican Part they have several articles on engine swaps. Look up Todd he is the expert in swaps as far as DME are concerned. The machanical part is easy the electronic can be a problem. The air intake and exhaust is another area you should consider as these can restrict power..

I have looked more into the IMS bearing and that seems to be the culprit. As far as bolting it in and wiring it up I have found conflicting answers from what you have replied with. Quoted from Pelican Parts, I found this:

"You can swap in any replacement engine of the same displacement from 2003-08 without having to remap the DME. (I.E. a 2003 Boxster 2.7L with a blown motor can accept a 2005 2.7L engine with no remapping needed)."

Cited: http://www.pelicanpa...Engine_Swap.htm

As far as the remapping, I have seen mainly the same answers around the board. Please send any links telling me otherwise. As far as any performance upgrades(larger motor), I am going to pass on for now as I have too many quick cars. I would just like this car to be up and running as it is a Texas car (Very clean both inside and out) and I will be giving it to my sister for her graduation gift. (This is her dream car for some reason. I can not afford to give her a 911 Turbo.. Although, I wish I could.)

I have looked into the motors, and they all seem to be in the same price range. Thank you for the recomendations.

Cliff notes:

Same motor.

DME remapping (conflicted answers)

Sister graduation gift :cheers:

I don't have enough money for a 911 Turbo..

Many good rebuilt motors for sale in the same price range.

Best regards,

Sean.

[easyc]

Since you have an 03, and a 7.8 DME, you will want to get a 7.8 engine 2.7, 3.2, 3.4 (987s), and 3.8 will all fit, some without lowering engine mounts (those out of a 986 or 987)... you should already have those extra wires on your harness. You will also have to reflash your ecu to whatever engine you are using.

I have an orginally 2001 boxster S tiptronic that is now running a 2002 3.6... upgraded to 7.8 electronics... transmission has been holding strong, and has seen five track weekends since this swap. GIAC didn't want to touch the dme for me since it was going into a tip, but everything worked fine. It was a shot in the dark, bc as of then no-one I could find had done it, but its had about 10,000 miles (at right at 300rwhp) on it and is running strong as ever.