996 carrera 2 engine serious problems - Page 1 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

I have 2004 996 carrera 2 convertible with 57k miles . The engine oil has water in it . The garage has said between 7k to 15k + vat to rebuild engine dependent on what they find when stripping it down. My question is it worth doing or try to sell as is , but what roughly would it be worth as is . Is there a market for the car in its current not running state What do you think it would be worth when done. Thanks in advance for any advise. Regards

Annoying. £5k as is (if you can find a buyer!)? £17k rebuilt? If you go down the rebuild route, I'd probably not sell it for another few years to get my money's worth. The engine is going to be one of the more expensive bits. Is the gearbox and suspension fine? They could need redoing I suppose.

Try finding a different garage. Usually water in the oil or vice versa indicates either a head gasket failure or a crack in a cylinder head. If it runs roughly, checking plugs can isolate the issue to one head.

Would think a sub 60k mile car would be worth north of 20 with a rebuild if the other mechanicals are good… Assuming manual in a decent colour combo.

It’s a automatic tiptronic which was my preference when I bought 15 years ago. It’s good condition with additional hardtop .

Let me get this right - you’ve owned a 19 year old car for 15 years of its life and the car has covered 57k miles, yet you’re thinking of selling as is to avoid a hefty repair bill. I’d suggest getting a second opinion and try and get it fixed and enjoy for another 15 years - finance permitting of course. Has the car been regularly serviced? Water pump replaced etc?

“Oil in coolant” is a pretty vague diagnosis, could have a number of causes. I would need to be very sure of the specific fault before stripping down a 60,000 mile 911 engine. My first thought was oil cooler seals, I think many German designed cars use the same style oil to water heat exchangers bolted to the engine. Various models of BMW, MINI, Opel/Vauxhall use this style Porsche too probably, their seals are prone to hardening and leaking after a decade or so, usually showing up as a bad oil leak on the outside of the engine but potentially pushing oil into the coolant. Head gaskets can fail of course, especially if the rubbish quality water-pump has lost its vanes. Were there any other signs of trouble, how much oil in the coolant? When was this noticed? Is this your regular trusted garage ?

There's a hartech rebuilt, slightly older cab, but manual, on autotrader, with more than double the mileage than yours. It's advertised at £16999 from a "specialist" garage. There's also a 2005 997 coupe manual with a rebuild, again significantly more miles advertised from a private seller for £27-28k. A cursory look but just using those two data points you'd hope for somewhere in between. There's value in a car with a reputable rebuild, think I'd be tempted to get it done as it gives you options in the future. Sell on the cheap now and it's gone. Rebuild and you might keep it, or sell it straight away or keep for a bit then sell, etc.

Intermix issues seem more common on the earlier 3.4 engines (and contemporary Boxster engines) than the facelift 3.6, but the cause on those is often cracks in cylinder heads. Head gaskets very rarely seems a problem on these engines. Replacing the faulty head would be the solution. If you are very lucky, it could just be a failed oil cooler, as suggested. Is the garage a Porsche specialist? I wouldn’t let anyone else rebuild one. Tiptronic convertibles are the least valuable 996’s, and still break for good money which might sway the ‘is it worth it‘ question should it need a full rebuild, but a replacement head (perhaps a good used one) would seem worthwhile if that is all it needs. I’ve been through this with a Boxster and decided to fix it. Car runs beautifully now.

Certainly worth checking the oil cooler first, spending 12k on an auto cab is pretty borderline imo unless the rest of the car is in nigh on perfect condition. Unfortunately it's amongst the least desirable specs as far as the second hand market goes. I bought my 996 at 60k odd miles and it needed a lot of work to bring it up to decent condition (and the paint is still knackered)

Who is the garage?

maz8062 said: Let me get this right - you’ve owned a 19 year old car for 15 years of its life and the car has covered 57k miles, yet you’re thinking of selling as is to avoid a hefty repair bill. I’d suggest getting a second opinion and try and get it fixed and enjoy for another 15 years - finance permitting of course. Has the car been regularly serviced? Water pump replaced etc? Yes you are right I had it 15 years and it has just below 57k mileage . I hardly ever use it and was thinking about selling it before this happened. . It was fully serviced even when between service and mot it had only a covered a few hundred miles. I didn’t want to spent more money than it would be worth when done but I’ve decided to give the garage the go ahead to repair on Monday.

IMI A said: Who is the garage? The garage is Porschtek from Leeds . They have a very good reputation .

kev b said: “Oil in coolant” is a pretty vague diagnosis, could have a number of causes. I would need to be very sure of the specific fault before stripping down a 60,000 mile 911 engine. My first thought was oil cooler seals, I think many German designed cars use the same style oil to water heat exchangers bolted to the engine. Various models of BMW, MINI, Opel/Vauxhall use this style Porsche too probably, their seals are prone to hardening and leaking after a decade or so, usually showing up as a bad oil leak on the outside of the engine but potentially pushing oil into the coolant. Head gaskets can fail of course, especially if the rubbish quality water-pump has lost its vanes. Were there any other signs of trouble, how much oil in the coolant? When was this noticed? Is this your regular trusted garage ? It is the oil which has water in it and appears to be a lot . To be honest it wasn’t noticed but it has done no more than move out of the garage and back in again since September last year. I suppose I had just lost a bit of interest .

Are you sure it's not just condensation from you not using the car properly?

M A C said: I have 2004 996 carrera 2 convertible with 57k miles . The engine oil has water in it . The garage has said between 7k to 15k + vat to rebuild engine dependent on what they find when stripping it down. My question is it worth doing or try to sell as is , but what roughly would it be worth as is . Is there a market for the car in its current not running state What do you think it would be worth when done. Thanks in advance for any advise. Regards As other have already said, you need a better specialist who can give you a more accurate diagnosis. Coolant in the engine oil can be caused by a variety of reasons, and there are various tests you can perform to ascertain exactly what. Tearing an engine down may be unnecessary at this stage.

You're based in the north. No brainer to have the car flat bedded to Hartech for £300. As others have said does not mean an engine build.

kev b said: “Oil in coolant” is a pretty vague diagnosis, could have a number of causes. I Well, the OP says "The engine oil has water in it". Oil cooler is failure is possible but if OP is really lucky! Head gaskets do not blow up on these cars. There is a chap on reader forums, his newly purchased 986 has the same issue big thread. I've had this many years ago on my old 986, literally around 60k as well. I went for a full build, it was much cheaper though and drove a few years more. I would also suggest getting a second opinion than decide, tip gearbox with cab on these cars have never been so desirable, unfortunately.