This morning I started my low milege (65K) 99 C2. It started just fine, and ran like a sewing machine. As I backed out of my garage, it suddenly started to sputter. I rolled it back in, and turned it off. Then, I turned the key, not starting the engine, and noticed my battery read 12V as opposed to 14V as it usually reads. Starting the car, the sputtering returned, the battery range slowly made it way to 14V. And, the rpms slowly climbed to 750-800 range, which is normal, and held. Yet, the sputtering continued. Then, finally the dreaded CEL began to flash. Arghhh!! Before I hand it over to my Porsche independent shop, I would appreciate any thoughts on this issue. Thanks in advance.

 

I'm gonna go with cracked coil(s). Are they still original?

What's the cel code? That will tell for sure.

 

My initial thought. The coils are original. I just ordered an obd2 scanner. A code would help. Thank you alpine003. Anyone else?

 

Got to agree with alpine003. Coils. Coils unless the active or pending codes indicate something else.

Read the error codes, all of them (sometimes, and misfires is a good example, there can be several: I've read 3: P0300, P0303, P0306) and write them down. Check for any pending codes too.

 

UPDATE: My scanner arrived today. P0300 P0304 P0306 Off to see my indy. Wish me luck.

 

Quick question: My independent shop is less than 0.5 miles away...less than 5 minutes. Would it hurt the engine to drive there as opposed to be towed there?

 

Glad you were able to pull the codes and it seems to be pointing to the coils.

Now as to driving it like that, you'll get differing opinions. Mine is that you'll be fine. If you keep the revs up, it may run better if the 4,6 coils have been running intermittently. If they are totally shot, which is rare, then one could argue you'll have unburnt fuel washing down the cylinder walls which has a potential to cause accelerated wear or at worst, scoring of some kind.

If it were me, I'd feel ok driving it 1/2 mile. There's been many with same situation while on the road and a lot if them drove it to nearest station before. To minimize the situation, I'd do it on a warm and dry day. Avoid driving it in humid or damp conditions.

 

Flashing CEL is a signal of a condition that is harmful to the converters. Price a new converter, or two then get a quote on a 0.5 mile tow.

A flashing CEL is generally a rich misfire which means not only is raw fuel being routed to the converters it has to pass through the cylinder/combustion chamber first. This raw fuel can wash oil from the cylinder walls and result in cylinder/ring/piston damage.

My philospy over the years when a problem arises in my Boxster -- no flashing CEL but a noisy water pump for example and several times (3 to be exact) a bad AOS -- to err on the side of caution and have the car flat bedded to the dealer for repairs rather than risk driving it and possibly causing damage.

 

Had the Pcar towed to my indy. Pulled same codes: P0300 P0304 P306. Replaced ignition coils, spark plugs, and tubes. Issue still present. Compression test revealed no compression in cylinder four which equates to cylinder, piston, and/or ring repair. I am at a loss for words. I didn't even ask how much to repair. Certainly, in the thousands. Looking for thoughts, opinions or advice. ie: Repair it or sell it as a mechanic special? 99 C2 with a low 65K on the clock. I am so bummed right now.

 

That really sucks. You should make 100% sure though on what you're actually dealing with as a baseline before making any decisions.

Also, did the codes go away after the coil replacement? Did they try to swap coils even though they might've used a new one?

Was the compression test done correctly? Leakdown test should reveal whether the issue lies in the heads or block. After that I would borescope the cylinder for any D chunk issues. Also drop the pan and inspect both oil pan and oil filter.

What you do next should partially be determined by what's actually at fault.

Keeping fingers crossed for you

 

Don't make any decisions under pressure. Tow it back to the house if its a half mile tow its not that much $$. Sleep on it, the car does not deteriorate in your garage you can always sell it as mechanic special. Don't do it now cause you think you have no other chance. There are options, take some time and think about what your going to do. Don't make any decisions under pressure.


When my cylinder cracked I took almost a whole week to make a decision on what to do. The waiting time made the shop so impatient that they let me finance the rebuild with no interest just so they can free up the space. It cost me $7500 from begging to end with a new clutch. This is just my personal experience might or might not work for your situation. Just saying you have options. Maybe you can go to an LS swap. Same money, more power dirt cheap maintenance.

 

Thank you for your thoughts alpine003. P0304 reappeared after codes were erased. I had the oil changed as well. He found no particles: plastic or metal. The compression test was done correctly. My indy is one of the best in Marin County. I refused the leak down test (more wasted labor $$$). Be it the heads or the block, the bottom line is that I have reached the threshold of dumping thousands of $$$ for repairs. The cost of maintaining my Pcar (present and future) vs. the value of my Pcar no longer makes sense. I will probably sell "as is", and cut my losses (present and future).

 

I appreciate your thoughts nottoshabi. She is back in my garage. I am obviously upset. But for now, it appears that I will sell "as is". Then again, who knows what the future holds. I'll keep you all posted. But, it appears that I need to calm down first.

 

This sounds like a good idea. As long as the car is tucked away at your place, take as long as you need to, to explore all options and don't rush to any decisions.

There are deals/options/opportunities out there if you have the time and patience. However, desperation always seems to bring on the worst options so hang in there.

If you are even halfway mechanically inclined, I would take this opportunity to explore what the current state is, say on a boring rainy day. Pull the oil pan from underneath to see if there is any debris. Second, get yourself one of those $15 borescope and poke it through the #4 spark plug hole. It's a lot easier if you remove the bumper and muffler. You can't make it worse than it already is.

There's a fairly sizeable difference price wise between having to repair/replace cylinder head vs having to replace the block. You can find good used heads for around $1.5k/side. I believe there was a local member selling his new head for under that IIRC.

I hope at least you got to drive it for many miles prior.

 

Not to get your hopes up or anything, BUT the no compression COULD be from a broken valve spring. I have seen quite a few broken valve springs in M/96 engines. I have never seen a burnt valve, blown head gasket, or hole in the piston/rings without catastrophic failure. A cylinder crack or D chunk will have symptoms of coolant loss, hydrolock, intermix. A cracked head will have intermix, misfire, but not a "no compression" symptom. You should go back and have the leak down test done,if it's leaking from one of the valves, pull the valve cover and see if the valve is closing ,and check the springs. If the spring is broken it can be replaced without removing the head. I have done this many times.