I would have posted this in the related thread that's running now but I didn't want my experience to be lost amongst the rest of the speculative and factual posts.

I was driving down the freeway when a sudden lean situation in the number 6 cylinder caused the spark to melt a groove at the edge of the piston and into the cylinder wall. There were masses of white smoke (coolant) from both exhausts for several minutes after I pulled over and shut down the engine. It was quite a spectacle for those passing by on that Sunday morning.

I had the car towed to my dealer and they found the damage but couldn't pinpoint the cause. They sent the photos (I saw them) to Porsche and they really wanted to get that engine back to inspect it I was told.

To my surprise they had a new engine in my car within the week, all under full warranty. I picked up the car the following Thursday or Friday.

What was apparent was that this was a much smoother running engine than the one it replaced as evidenced by me and the service people at the dealership. We also agreed that it seemed to spin up a bit quicker as well.

I had mentioned to my service guy that I always felt that the original engine always sounded like it had a bit of a rattle and I was suspecting that the new one would not be like that. He mentioned to me that he has frequently found replacement engines to feel and sound better running that the ones they replaced - not just old ones.

To the person who is considering a new engine replacement, I would think that the wait shouldn't be too long. However, since the car is so new I don't know if the replacement engine would be an improvement over the original one. I had 21k miles on mine. I have about 3k on my new engine at this time.

 

Sounds like your dealership was pretty efficient and easy to work with. Did you have any mods to the car, ie exhaust, etc?

 

Do you have any mods on your car? If so I am surprised they replace the motor under warranty.

 

That must have been rather scary and disappointing! Glad they took care of it for you? Which dealership was this? Nice to pass on good service dealers for us all. good luck with the new engine.

 

I had the EVO 690R kit installed. The dealership was in Northern California.

I was told that they didn't expect to have the ok to replace the engine under warranty. I was also told that mine was the first engine to have a problem like that so Porsche was anxious to inspect the engine.

I was so surprised that they would have an engine available so soon which is the main point of this thread.

 

Turned out good, nice to hear.

 

21K miles is a big difference than 80 miles . You did well considering the problem and mileage of the car .

In short --you had less leverage with mods and miles . I'm glad Porsche came through .

Question s--
1) are you a repeat Porsche owner ? If so do you think the wait time was in any way related ?

2) Did you convert to stock or did a rep approve the engine on a modded car?

Lastly --I think if you really want to thank the one who made this so smooth for you it would probably be whoever pleaded your case from that shop (service manager/shop foreman/etc) because if Porsche handed out 50K engines to everyone at 21K who faced a big issue -- company earnings may go timberrrrrrrrr .

 

Questions--
1) are you a repeat Porsche owner ? If so do you think the wait time was in any way related?

2) Did you convert to stock or did a rep approve the engine on a modded car?

Lastly --I think if you really want to thank the one who made this so smooth for you it would probably be whoever pleaded your case from that shop (service manager/shop foreman/etc) because if Porsche handed out 50K engines to everyone at 21K who faced a big issue -- company earnings may go timberrrrrrrrr .[/quote]

1. I am a first time owner.

2. I set the mapping to stock while waiting for the tow truck.

3. I was trying to gage how far the service manager went to bat for me at the time. He was on my side but he didn't have a lot of leverage. I don't know if he mentioned the software (higher boost parameters) to PNA. He already knew I had mods because of the exhaust sound and I knew he'd figure it out anyway once he/they drove it. So I thought it best to be a straight shooter. I figure the more they respect me and appreciate the setup on my car, they'd want to do what was fair and to perhaps feel some pride for being a part of the car's maintenance (nativity?). I told the few guys that take care of my car that it's ok to get on it a bit if they like when they drive me to my other car a few exits up the freeway. That way they get to really know the car and can tell when somethings off. Today the service manager told the technician to remember my car well because he would be the only one who would be working on it. (My Techart swaybars loosened up from the tight and twisty coastal roads that the car had been driven hard on lately) Note to self: dial in more negative camber.

In short, He said that he didn't expect Porsche to warranty the engine but it seemed that they really wanted to get there hands on it to inspect it.

I had a new but good relationship with the service person before hand as he is trying to become known as the dealership that caters to high performance TT ownership. I'm sure he knows his limitations as an entity under the Porsche factory umbrella but he was suggesting that I look into some Champion after market products (he handed me their brochure and ultimately installed the Werks One airbox in my car).

He also mentioned, and I was surprised to find out, that through Champion, they offer a GIAC software upgrade that I guess is 'kosher' with the dealership. I don't recall asking definitively if my warranty would still be in effect but I came away with the sense that is was. I knew that I was eventually going further than that with the new engine so it was not a relevant point for me to ponder too much. There's no going back after one has experienced the pull of well-modded TT. The new stock engine was wonderful to run around with (I have the headers and Miltek exhaust along with the Techart PASM setup as well) but when I started to get on the gal a bit after 2k of relatively easy driving I began to miss the outrageous acceleration that I had before. It's now EVO 700 and the new turbos are a huge improvement. The guys at the dealer wholeheartedly agree. My technician appreciated me letting him get on it on the way back to the dealership to drop him off - I came in my other car to pick up the TT.

I don't expect Porsche to warranty my engine again if something happens but I can take that risk. Plus if something were to happen then it would be a chance to build up the internals - since there's just no going back.

 

Great reply . Thanks.


Just a note to keep in mind : The dealership and motorsport departments are separate entities yet fused together . A succesful motorsport shop would honor whatever Porsche doesn't if a repair arose.

For instance --if the air conditioner breaks . There's no question that it's a Porsche warranty item . A broken axle on modded car may point otherwise .

I have the Werks 1 BTW and am very happy with it.

 

Thanks.

Have you had any issues with the the top portion unseating from the bottom?

The clearance arround the intake manifold is minimal. I understand that they are going to a screw-type system to better secure the top portion to the bottom.

 

I have had no issues at all with the Werks1 . It's been flawless .

 

Wow. What a positive experience. Are you able to say which Nor Cal dealership? I need to develop a relationship with one of them soon. I am gonna assume it's either Stead or Carlsen?

 

Yrralis1: Glad to hear that the box has been good.

Flash68: I sent you a PM

 

Its situations like this that make me feel good about owning my Porsche. No matter the what the performance is compared to the GTR, you will never get service like this from a Nissan dealer. You get what you pay for.

 

They gave you a new replacement engine or a rebuilt one? Considering how old the 997 line is I wouldn’t expect anything other then new. Having felt old troubled engines, and their new replacements I know the feeling. The new engines always seem to be confidence inspiring with how crisp they run. Have they told you what caused the lean issue yet? I would be thinking it had something to do with #6 injector being either faulty or plugged. Seeing that happen to your car with just one cylinder, imagine how bad it is if you run the car lean on the dyno and do that to all 6 under full load.