Just curious on peoples thoughts....

I've been looking for an '02+ 996 and have seen a few with ads stating

"xx, xxx miles but only xxK on dealer installed, factory replacement engine.".

Is there a "main" reason for the number of replaced engines, or just not due diligence by owner.
IE) RMS leaking, but not regularly checking the oil, etc

Would you be concerned with a replaced engine or take it as a good thing due to lower miles....

thanks for your comments

 

When Porsche installs their "replacement engine" it's probably better than the original that came in the car...Why...because replacement engines have been remanufactured
and probably get more scrutiny than when new.....

 

That, and all new updates are given to the new engine....like new cam tensioners, or things like that...so the internals are of the latest design.

 

so thinking this thru... if an '02 got a new engine in '03... but if an '04 has RMS issues... is the replacement engine in '03 "better" or more updated than the original engine in the '04?

 

OK...think it through....the 04 engine was made in 04 right....but the 03 engine was made in 03....Here is a good example....

An 02 gets a new engine in 05. an 03 has original engine...The 02 with the new engine has all internal updates up to 05....the 03 does not...just up to 03. Here is an even better one...a 99 has a new engine in 05, an 03 has original engine. The 99 has all internal updates up to 05, the 03 does not. The 99 still has a 3.4L, but all internal parts are updated to the latest generation...It will not have variocam plus, or the software updates, but it will have all the mechanical updates. Thats the way it was explained to me.

This is why there is NO downside to having a new engine.

 

Hi, Most of the 3.4l and 3.6l n/a motors that fail is do to cylinder cracking. That then lets the coolant into the cylinder and then you know the rest. This is not do to lack of due diligence. Hope this helps, Tim

 

How much for a replacement engine (crate and re manufactured)?

 

I agree with cdaniels.

One of the main reasons for replacement engines was due to RMS. This problem is well documented. Early on, when a customer brought in a car with a leaking seal, the Porsche mechanic used a special tool to measure the concentricity of the RMS bore with the crankshaft journal. If the tool would not fit into the bore with it piloted over the crankshaft, the engine was replaced. Soon, Porsche found that the fit of the tool was too tight into the RMS crankcase bore and added a small hole to let trapped air pass which resulted in a lower engine replacement rate. That said, engine replacements due to RMS were fairly common on 3.4's but they seem less common now, probably due to improvements in seal design which make the seal more tolerant of concentricity issues.

I would be comfortable with a car with a replacement engine. Basically, you are getting a car with an engine that is much newer (and lower mileage) than the car, which should yield a longer engine service life. Also, the engine comes with all new accessories installed, which is another bonus.

If I recall, it seems that the price of the engine, including core, was about $11K with about 8 hours labor for dropping the original and replacing it. I know this because the original engine on my 2001 996 was replaced in 2004 with a remanufactured one at 24K miles. Of course, that didn't stop the RMS from leaking as it was replaced twice since. The last replacement was the improved design seal mentioned above. This seal was installed in October 2005 and is still going strong.

Randy

 

Suncoast is around $8500 exchange minus shipping.

 

Don't the 3.4L and 3.6L engines have IMS failures?

I thought the cylinders cracking was only an issue on early 3.4L engines?