I'm looking for some advice from those of you who are much more experienced with Porsche engines. I have a 2005 997.1 C2S and have kept it well maintained. I had the IMS bearing work done last summer and about a month ago had her in for a water pump replacement.

I was having a great track day, and the car was running great. But on the main straight I felt a sudden loss of power, a simultaneous low oil warning and a massive plume of white smoke from the rear.

She was leaking oil and coolant from underneath the engine. It wasn't pretty.

My mechanic says he suspects a d-chunk failure. From what I've read, these are very rare for 997s. But it's hard to tell from a lot of the noise on the Internet.

He could only remove sparkplugs #4 to #6. One couldn't come out at all and 1 was destroyed. I've attached a picture.

Any advice as to what I should be looking for to determine exactly what happened? I trust my mechanic but I don't think he's had a lot of time to investigate. He's told me a new Porsche engine is $26k installed. Ouch.

I have to say I'm disappointed by this. One of the reasons I bought the 997 was its reputation for being a great DD and track car. Basically indestructible if you look after it.

I'm out of warranty but wonder if there's any hope that Porsche will do anything because this failure is so rare. Any advice from those who've been down this road before, or have a relationship with Porsche NA/Canada would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

 

Sorry to hear about this. Your chances of getting Porsche to do anything about the problem is slim to done. Your car was apparently damaged during track use, and the engine had been modified with the IMS mod. I know the IMS bearing mod is supposed to be an improvement, but nonetheless, it is a mod that Porsche can use as an excuse.

 

That's not great news. If I buy a new Porsche and lose an engine under warranty on a track, I'd be genuinely surprised if Porsche wouldn't stand behind it. The brand impact of "Porsche, not for the track" would be significant. For out of warranty cars, they are obviously under no obligation.

As for the IMS bearing, I was told (and some research backed this up) that NOT doing this mod would bring with it a significant risk of a total engine loss at some point.

It's all academic now. I bought a Porsche because it was a car built for the road and the track.

Mark

 

I would talk to your Local Porsche Dealer, in most cases Porsche does a "Good Will" means they will give you a New Reman Engine but you pay for Install. Sorry to hear but this is one of the Known Issues. But again since you did change your IMS to sort of avoid this issue im not sure if Porsche will help you. Maybe dont mention it...

 

Hi Zook,
By known issue, you mean the D-chunk issue?

 

997I was still M96.
Anyway....I'd say the best advise you've recieved so far is....."Maybe don't mention it."

And, if I could make a suggestion along the same lines.....a prefered account of the events might be...."it happened out of the blue, last Wednesday when my wife was driving home.....she's a careful driver.

It's way out of warranty but PCNA may still help w/a price on a Reman.....save a few thou......still going to be expensive but more like $10-15K. This is one of the reasons it's wise to keep some relationship w/your dealership/it's staff.....even if much of your work is done elsewhere.


Sorry to hear of your bad luck.....hope you can get her back on the street.

 

Wait fellas....
FCW said it was c C2S so it should be a 3.8 litre M97 engine.
Regular C2 has the 3.6 litre M96.
And what the heck is a "D-chunk" issue?
Is this a new term for the IMS failure?

 

For what it's worth....all 996 and 997.1 Carrera's have M96 based engines......some do call the later model versions M97's....they were still M96 based. And.....I think all have IMS's through 08 and the later ones got the upgraded IMS bearing that helped the issue a bit.

d-chunk was one of M96 issues....cylinder fails and a good sized D-shaped chunk busts away.

 

yes, please see this for info http://www.flat6innovations.com/inde...es-illustrated

 

Again, we're talking the 3.6 C2 that's the M96 with the more problematic IMS bearing as seen in 996 models.
The "S" has the 3.8 M97 which is what FCW has.
My Certificate of Authenticity says my motor is an M97.

Thanks for the link Zook.

 

Very informative Zook.
I've seen various pics from that compilation but never the whole shootin match.

Don't you just love that expression......"Remember: Breaking components is part of making something better, to an Engine Developer there is no negative failure! Each has it's own personality and is beneficial!!

And the Porsche Mktg. by-line for the 996....."Everything we know so far".

 

I'm getting old so I don't remember things well (so apologize if I'm wrong), but my recollection is that only the GT's and TT's had the GT1 based motors.....they did not make three(regardless of size)......everything else may have been called '7', but was M96 based.
2006 and later engines got the upgraded single row IMS bearing....improved the IMS bearing situation.

I got my wife's engine replaced (just off warranty) at great expence and with warranty.....waited for 997II......gave her that as anniversary gift. The 997II just went off warranty (but I bought an extended this time ).

 

Thanks i (We Rennlist Canada) had the pleasure of meeting the Flat6 Crew when they were in Toronto about a Month back. They did a Free Info Seminar for us Rennlist Canada Members. It was really informative. To which they concluded if my IMS on my 996 C4S at 185km of Daily Abuse is not gone by now, it probably will not go since it sees the Right RPM's and Clean Oil

 

Just want to caution you about not telling the "whole" truth. Porsche can and likely will look at the DME readout. That readout might not agree with your description of what happened.
Not trying to be negative, just don't want you to overlook something and get yourself in even more trouble (meaning a definite NO assistance from Porsche).
Good luck with your troubles. That spark plug looks like something has been loose inside the cylinder (understatement).

 

If the OP's engine hasn't made frequent trips into the over rev ranges there is most likely not much PCNA will gain from the DME. On the flip side it could help the OP.