73K miles, traveling at 65 mph, dry conditions, slight incline. A huge plume of mixed coolant/oil spewed of the tailpipes. Check engine light came on and the car ground to a halt. Flatbedded to a Porsche dealership, whose inspection found "Cataclysmic engine failure. Scoring to #5 cylinder, valve hit piston, metal debris in oil filter. No repairs possible. Needs engine replacement." So, that's the result. But what was the cause? The dealership declined to comment.

Over one year beyond CPO warranty. Porsche NA refuses to acknowledge the problems with these MY97 engines. From my recent and exhaustive reading of site forums it's not if a 2006-2008 3.4 engine will blow, it's when. You've done all the correct things right - LN Engineering IMS bearing retrofit, 2-litre deep sump with baffle, Accusump, etc. Seems like it's all you can do and you're still not sure...

I am having a reputable motorsports company put together a build sheet for another 3.4 - the stories they shared about quality control from Porsche of these engines is horrifying!

Anyway, off to blab about my story on other sites and hopefully give Porsche the black eye they deserve. Hopefully this (and the many other peoples' posts) forewarn potential buyers of these cars.

Sincerely,

Dan

 

Dan,

Sorry for your loss. OUCH. Once they get serious miles on them [to say nothing of MY2006] you are supposed to not have to worry about awful things like this.

Please do advise us how this works out. I suspect your shop may be able to give an educated guess. I suspect the dealer wants no part of explaining the cause when they know PCNA will have deaf ears on it. It is ironic that the company that builds the cars I love is so terrible about their design faults. I haven't owned one example of these cars that didn't have a serious flaw that any respectable Japanese car company would have fixed on their own. The only time the German companies do the right thing is when they are hurting for customer [or get sued or NTSA]. A shame.

Good luck

JR