During an oil change on my 997.1 turbo a local shop drained the oil tank but not the crankcase then proceeded to add 8.5 quarts of oil. The car was driven to the edge of the parking lot where smoke was noticed so I idled back to the shop (probably 200 yards). The oil was drained (10.5 quarts) and the correct amount was added. Car was started and was still smoking so they called the Porsche dealership and was told that the engine was probably toast but we might be lucky and to idle car for several minutes to see if it would quit smoking. After several minutes the smoke seemed to be diminishing so I thought i would drive it around the block to see if it would clean up. As I was pulling out of the parking lot there was tons of smoke and some very bad sounding noises. The car was hauled to the dealership 120 mile away and the diagnosis was that the motor was trashed. After almost 2 weeks I just found out that the local shops insurance is covering 100% of the cost to install a brand new engine (approx. $35,000) and car will be done this week. Lesson learned dealership service only on all 3 porsches from now on.

 

Does this Indy specialized in Porsches? Or were they they some Indy that does every make and model? Glad you have it taken care of at no expense to you.

 

Unfortunate story, glad it worked out. Make sure you have PCNA and your dealership document WHY the engine was replaced (is it new or "refurbished"), so that you don't take a significant hit if you ever sell your car.

On another note, are you at all handy? The oil change for a 997TT is quite easy:

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-m97-70-a.html

 

Glad it worked out for you. If the crankcase was full, how did they possibly get 8.5 quarts in the tank? Does it have 2 quarts of expansion room? Worrisome too that the electronic gauge would have just shown all the bars full - gauge doesn't tell you how much it is overfilled.

 

My motor ran only a couple of seconds while puffing out white smoke when I over filled. I had my local shop pull the motor, change all my sensors, spark plugs, intercoolers, turbos and she runs great ever since...

 

I thought white smoke indicated water in the cylinder?

 

oil probly overflowed into the intake side, causing excessive smoking. you could have cleaned it up before restarting. guess it was one bad move after another. glad insurance covered the job.

 

wow that sucks

 

It was an oil change place that has done the maintenance for several porsche owners over the past few years (the closest dealership is 120 miles away). The manager is an ASE certified master mechanic I have known for 5 years. They have serviced all 3 of my porsches prior to this with no issues so I didn't pay that much attention to what was going on during this one. This was their last time on anything exotic, back to goob and lube only from now on.

 

I will get the documentation.
The engine is a brand new in the box porsche piece.
When I take the car back to my other home where I have a lift etc. I think thats the way I'll go.

 

Well, I'm glad it worked out.

On a lighter note, with the engine out, now is the time to add some mods!

 

what precisely is the failure mode that requires an entirely new engine? I don't know tt engines (TPC services mine), but I know race bikes and I've blown more than one engine on the track, but its always parts that get replaced, not an entire engine.

 

thats scary - thankfully you arent walking away with your tail between your legs

 

That 997.1 engine to fill in all blanks on dash monitor handles easily 9.0 qts of oil. Only 8.5 quarts leaves the top space "not lit." One dealer I have puts in 9.0 qts and another dealer 8.5, with the latter I always add another quart of 0-40 to fill in all the dash guage blanks. Not sure, but what you are saying above, there is a fine line between normal fill and overfill causing real problems. I've been told more than once that replacement engines are always refurbished ones.

 

Here is the information published by Porsche from the service manual: