996 Motorsport AOS install on 987.1 Cayman S

Hi all - I tracked my 2006 Cayman S for the first time at Laguna Seca this past weekend and ran into serious issues. At turn 2 (tight double apex left hander) I saw a huge puff of white smoke from the exhaust and immediately got a check engine light. I limped the car back into the paddock, pulled the code through OBD2 and saw that cylinders 1/2/5/6 all misfired. I cleared the CEL and let the engine idle for 5-10 min and nothing seemed out of the ordinary (no CEL recurrence or rough idle) other than a moderate amount of white smoke. Oil level was set to 1 bar from full and was now at the bottom line. Multiple Porsche owners told me my OEM AOS definitely failed, even though it was replaced 9 months ago. Since the 987-specific Motorsport AOS is $1800(!) while the 996 version is only $750 and apparently can be modified to fit, what is the recommended course of action? Not sure what the 996 AOS modification entails since the Planet-9 DIY link no longer loads. I'd share the link here but this is my first post - Googling "p183-with- porsche -motorsports-oil-seperator" returns the link. Guidance would be much appreciated!

My Motorsport AOS failed at Sears Point - pumped a bunch of oil in the intake and proceeded to hydro my #4 cylinder, resulting a crack and loss of compression. My point is the Motorsport AOS can fail too.

Wow, even the Motorsport AOS isn't safe... Was it a sudden failure with a puff of white smoke? And did you immediately get a check engine light?

IIRC the 987 air pump bracket interferes with the 996 Motorsports AOS . The 987 Motorsports AOS has a lower corner carved out of it for clearance. Two documented approaches are used to fit the 996 variant into a 987. One requires cutting away part of the 996 AOS , and fabricating a closure plate to mimic the 987 part. The other requires modifying the air pump bracket to remove the portion interfering with the 996 AOS . Both are hacks, IMO, and I chose to pony up the big bucks for the preciou$ 987 part. But others have traded off time to perform the requisite modifications, and reliability IMO, in order to save some $. "You can pay me now, or pay me later"... Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

This is EXACTLY the information I was looking for, thank you! I stared at photos of the 996 Motorsport vs 987 AOS this morning until I noticed the 987 part has a tapered canister. But you just confirmed it for me. Do you know anyone who has documented either "hack"? I haven't been able to find anything other than "it can be done"...

Since the new format, much has been lost to posterity. Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Articles - Unless it was posted to Google as well as P9. I found the 996 oil/water heat exchanger article and re attached it to P9 from the original post on Google. Seems to me that the 987.1 Motorsports AOS is slightly different internally from the 996 Motorsports version with a redesigned membrane that can also break, but not as often. This info from Cantrell MotorSports. You get what you pay for. GT says he has gone through 3-4 or the 987.1 MotorSports AOS , but not many of us use our cars like that. I'm sure he pulls well above 1.5 G's with that large high wing. I have not toasted mine yet. - Sorry to hear about your head damage, rastta. Goes to show that the smoke/oil can lead to big problems.

I had the 996 Motorsport AOS installed in my 06 CS. I know it was difficult and it took my tech 10 hours to do it but it worked out fine for me other than the labor bill. He only charged $75/hr. as he did the work at home after hours side work but you would end up spending the same with added labor. Probably a lot more if you are paying a shop $150/hr. or more. Sorry I don't have pics or video on it and I never saw what was done; only that it was done. It was bracket fabrication and fitting. If I was doing it again I would spend the 987.1 dollars for that AOS and save the labor cost.

Porsche spent time re engineering this 987.1 MotorSports version from all of the OEM failure complaints. Its not perfect as rastta mentions in post #2, but better than the 996 Motorsports version and especially the OEM AOS . You get what you pay for in this situation. Better gripping tires upping the G forces are a factor in these AOS failures by pushing the oil up the inside sump walls and into the AOS vent hole at the top of the sump.