Need advice on blown motor
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2007
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From: Wa
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again, best advice is to go with reman new motor from porsche. bulletproof. 2 year porsche backed warranty. drive the snot out of it with peace of mind. all this buying from vendor strasse, motorcoach whatever the heck you call them does not buy you peace of mind and would actually hurt resale whereas a reman.... makes it all good. so you save a few thousand... you'll lose that much in resale if not more.
i would never buy a 996 with an aftermarket rebuild. i would prefer a reman engine over the original 10 times out of 10.
and don't think the Turbos don't have issues. they have tranny 2nd gear pop out issues. even in my small circle of porsche friends, a buddy with a 996TT had to spend $7K (covered by aftermarket warranty luckily) to get rid of leaks and all this other crap in his engine that was babied.
grass is greener....
i would never buy a 996 with an aftermarket rebuild. i would prefer a reman engine over the original 10 times out of 10.
and don't think the Turbos don't have issues. they have tranny 2nd gear pop out issues. even in my small circle of porsche friends, a buddy with a 996TT had to spend $7K (covered by aftermarket warranty luckily) to get rid of leaks and all this other crap in his engine that was babied.
grass is greener....
THis ^^^^^ is the best advise you will get...PERIOD
Sorry to hear of your troubles
GL
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Joined: Jun 2008
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From: Los Angeles
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$11,500- 12,000 is cool if you have it lying around 
, plan on refinancing the car or you are planning to keep the car for a few years to recover the costs; realistically that is almost 50% of the TMV(True market value) of the car right now for a '99 Coupe wtih 90K miles on the clock. The rebuilt swaps are more in line with the current resale value of the car without digging yourself into a deep unrecoverable hole. Selling it as is you will take a hit as well, but not as bad as you might think overall. Another option if you plan on getting out of it and want a low cost way to get some value back might be this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MEWA:IT&ih=016
Not necessarily the best solution by ANY means, but a workable one if you plan on selling the car and the other motor is viable otherwise. Still tell ANY potential buyers the deal so they are going into with both eyes open thought. Food for thought.
, plan on refinancing the car or you are planning to keep the car for a few years to recover the costs; realistically that is almost 50% of the TMV(True market value) of the car right now for a '99 Coupe wtih 90K miles on the clock. The rebuilt swaps are more in line with the current resale value of the car without digging yourself into a deep unrecoverable hole. Selling it as is you will take a hit as well, but not as bad as you might think overall. Another option if you plan on getting out of it and want a low cost way to get some value back might be this:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MEWA:IT&ih=016
Not necessarily the best solution by ANY means, but a workable one if you plan on selling the car and the other motor is viable otherwise. Still tell ANY potential buyers the deal so they are going into with both eyes open thought. Food for thought.
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Joined: Jun 2008
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From: Los Angeles
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Okay scratch the used motor thing, but make sure whatever route you chose aligns with your ultimate costs/ benefits and the realistic resale for the '99 with 90K+ on the clock. My modified $.02
HC
HC
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From: Carson City, NV
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I would still like to unload as is for the right price to not have to hassle with, but interest doesn't seem to be there so a reman from Sunset is probably the direction I'm headed! Thanks to all for the good advice as usual from the 6 too!
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Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Atlanta
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I feel bad for you, buddy......I am not sure what a 99 with no motor would go for but I am inclined to say buy the Sunset motor, install it and sell it.
As a 2nd owner of a 99 with 30k miles on it,(my dad had it as the 1st owner) I am especially alarmed by these blown motor threads. At first, and for a long time I have been in denial that there is a problem to all 99 3.4liter 996s. Then, last week, I had a oil sending unit failure out of the blue that sent my oil pressure dropping. Fortunately, it was repairable for 250.00 but lets just say I was completely unnerved about this and the thought that this car could cost me an additional 11 -15k to fix to replace a motor. Especially, while I was at the dealer, the service manager let me know very strongly to consider selling my car. Apparently like it or not, to the Porsche Dealer, 1999 996 motors are considered time bombs. This really sux as I enjoy the car, have a bunch of mod $$ in it as well as a new exhaust that just arrived today. Not to mention the money I have spent in the past 2yrs is well over 4500.00 for (maint and replacing failed parts)
....the joy of a low mileage 1999...
So I am also contemplating selling my 99 very very soon for either a 2002+ 996 TT or a 997 something.....both of which do not have the engine plagued issues that the 1999 3.4liter motor apparently has. At least I can try to maximize the selling price while the damn thing runs. Now I am thinking of whether to take off all or most aftermkt parts to sell or just liquidate it all with the car
any advice?
As a 2nd owner of a 99 with 30k miles on it,(my dad had it as the 1st owner) I am especially alarmed by these blown motor threads. At first, and for a long time I have been in denial that there is a problem to all 99 3.4liter 996s. Then, last week, I had a oil sending unit failure out of the blue that sent my oil pressure dropping. Fortunately, it was repairable for 250.00 but lets just say I was completely unnerved about this and the thought that this car could cost me an additional 11 -15k to fix to replace a motor. Especially, while I was at the dealer, the service manager let me know very strongly to consider selling my car. Apparently like it or not, to the Porsche Dealer, 1999 996 motors are considered time bombs. This really sux as I enjoy the car, have a bunch of mod $$ in it as well as a new exhaust that just arrived today. Not to mention the money I have spent in the past 2yrs is well over 4500.00 for (maint and replacing failed parts)
....the joy of a low mileage 1999...So I am also contemplating selling my 99 very very soon for either a 2002+ 996 TT or a 997 something.....both of which do not have the engine plagued issues that the 1999 3.4liter motor apparently has. At least I can try to maximize the selling price while the damn thing runs. Now I am thinking of whether to take off all or most aftermkt parts to sell or just liquidate it all with the car
any advice?
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Joined: Dec 2006
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From: pasadena, CA
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drive it to South Central and leave it there with the keys in the ignition...presto, total loss and a check from the insurance company. Just kidding. I'd go with a factory motor as well--terrible situation, sorry your car went south on you so quickly. good luck.
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Joined: Feb 2008
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From: California
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Don't know if you have looked into this or not but it'd probably cost you $500 to ship it to Sunset and they could do the labor too. If Boardwalk here in Dallas could do it for $11,500 Sunset can at least match that. Then drive it back and bam there are your 500 miles for the oil change/break in!
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Joined: Feb 2008
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From: California
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Hey Neil - you got one for about $40k??? LOL
Actually I spoke to Neil during my fiasco and he gave me about 30 min of his time just to talk. No question if you guys are in the SE he's the man to take your car to
Actually I spoke to Neil during my fiasco and he gave me about 30 min of his time just to talk. No question if you guys are in the SE he's the man to take your car to
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Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Cincinnati
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Yoops,
This is the first time I've ever heard this about the 996 motor, and I've probably read over 100 accounts of engine reliability from other owners. (However, I also have read two accounts of engine failure on 6-speed.) The most common analogy I've read about the motor is that it is "bullet proof." Even another poster in this thread refers to the motor as such.
Do you have any stats to support the claim?
If this is true, it looks as though I will "have to" upgrade to a TT before my 996 gets too many miles!
This is the first time I've ever heard this about the 996 motor, and I've probably read over 100 accounts of engine reliability from other owners. (However, I also have read two accounts of engine failure on 6-speed.) The most common analogy I've read about the motor is that it is "bullet proof." Even another poster in this thread refers to the motor as such.
Do you have any stats to support the claim?
If this is true, it looks as though I will "have to" upgrade to a TT before my 996 gets too many miles!
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Joined: Apr 2007
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From: minnesooota
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i have the same issue with my '99 996. i've been told the following by an equal number of fairly reliable sources (porsche shops, car owners, track day drivers, etc).
1 engines are bulletproof, but anything can break
2 only problem with this motor is cooling issue which will take out the top end
3 3.4L has oil starvation issues and will fail at certain road courses which takes out the bottom end
at failure, it was leaking coolant thru a cracked t fitting in the coolant lines. it ran on 1 bank of cylinders.
the opinions are many, but the most accurate explanation came from Gilbert at Vertex who recently told me that these engines only have cooling issues and he went on to describe what actually happened to my car. which is better than an oil starvation issue, i guess.
suggestions have ranged from: sell as is, to put in a PCNA rebuild, to put in a aftermarket rebuild (vertex, einmalig, etc)
i bought the car and only drove it for two track days after buying it, that's it. and i put in new GT3 seats, removable wheel, harnesses, GT3 roll bar, and pulled the air bags. $25k for car + $7k for interior bits + engine failure =
at the moment, i am recalling how fun the car was to drive and balancing the cost of repair against dumping it and buying a 1980-83 911 SC which is fun in a more purist way and probably a less expensive track day car.
sorry of this sounds like Stuart Smalley
1 engines are bulletproof, but anything can break
2 only problem with this motor is cooling issue which will take out the top end
3 3.4L has oil starvation issues and will fail at certain road courses which takes out the bottom end
at failure, it was leaking coolant thru a cracked t fitting in the coolant lines. it ran on 1 bank of cylinders.
the opinions are many, but the most accurate explanation came from Gilbert at Vertex who recently told me that these engines only have cooling issues and he went on to describe what actually happened to my car. which is better than an oil starvation issue, i guess.
suggestions have ranged from: sell as is, to put in a PCNA rebuild, to put in a aftermarket rebuild (vertex, einmalig, etc)
i bought the car and only drove it for two track days after buying it, that's it. and i put in new GT3 seats, removable wheel, harnesses, GT3 roll bar, and pulled the air bags. $25k for car + $7k for interior bits + engine failure =
at the moment, i am recalling how fun the car was to drive and balancing the cost of repair against dumping it and buying a 1980-83 911 SC which is fun in a more purist way and probably a less expensive track day car.
sorry of this sounds like Stuart Smalley
Last edited by waydeki; Aug 8, 2008 at 09:06 AM.
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when I was researching the 996 I was told by a Porsche dealer that those motors are bulletproof as well. Mine grenaded at 70 mph and $12,xxx later I assure you they are FAR from bulletproof. Just read renntech or 6speed...they seem to be a ticking time bomb. Porsche knew it or else they wouldn't have gone to the 3.6 so fast. Rumor has it the 3.8 was in the works but they needed something quicker because the 3.4 was starting to get a bad reputation - enter the 3.6
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Joined: Mar 2008
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From: Carson City, NV
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Well, I might have a couple of Rennlisters interested in it as is so we'll see what happens this weekend. I'm curious if the 3.6's are actually better motors or not??? And has anyone put many miles on the reman motors, past their warrentys, like 30k-40k miles???
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From: Cincinnati
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Talked to the service manager at my dealer today about the reliability of the 1999 996 engine. It appears the cars they are getting in for engine work are cars that have had "deferred maintenance."
The engines perform well, but they are susceptible to failure if the owner does not strictly adhere to servicing the car at recommended intervals. Tracking the car (obviously) can stress or prematurely age the engine.
The best insurance plan we have is to make sure our oil is changed at 7500 miles religiously.
This is stuff we already know, but something some of us have to watch. Mine has almost 50K on the clock. So far, so good.
The engines perform well, but they are susceptible to failure if the owner does not strictly adhere to servicing the car at recommended intervals. Tracking the car (obviously) can stress or prematurely age the engine.
The best insurance plan we have is to make sure our oil is changed at 7500 miles religiously.
This is stuff we already know, but something some of us have to watch. Mine has almost 50K on the clock. So far, so good.
