Porsche 997 C4S (2005) engine rebuild!!! - Page 1 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

I bought a 997 C4S (55 plate) back in 2013 because I was told on good authority the engines lasted forever. It had 88k miles on the clock but mostly motorway miles which was fine. Recently I noticed a knocking noise in the engine as well as the engine warning light which came on. Before I could take it to a garage to be looked at, the car wouldn't turn over. The AA came out and hooked it up to the computer. It was misfiring and cylinder 6 was to blame. It also said the coil was faulty. I got it towed the next day and I've been told the Pistons damaged the cylinder walls. I've been quoted for an engine rebuild and it's going to cost £7-£8k for the work including parts and vat. I either pay for the work and sell it on straight away or sell it as is to someone willing to take it on themselves. Despite having a lot of fun with the car, it's become such a headache for me that I want to move on from it asap. I don't want to risk something else going wrong with the car. Can anyone recommend an alternative to this? Maybe a cheaper option that doesn't require a rebuild? If the garage diagnosed the problem, should I take their word for it? Thanks

Thanks Rawhide. I have contacted a few companies already. I emailed Hartech with the relevant details (including the video of inside the engine) this evening. Hopefully I'll find someone willing to buy it at an acceptable price.

It depends how many miles it's now done along with the spec, colour, recent maintenance and state of brakes, radiators, tyres etc. anyone that is prepared to buy it ill be factoring in £8k rebuild cost plus an additional margin to allow for the hassle as well as the fact other things cannot be tested such as clutch (or Tiptronic gearbox), suspension etc. A 100,000 mile decent, serviceable running 55reg is circa £14-15k in the trade so work back from there and you'll see that its value "as is" is never going to get to five figures. If it's still running at all, even if noisy, that may make it easier to sell via eBay and it may make more money. Some people will fit a used engine for £5k or less, but the risk is that the replacement engine could fail too (and more catastrophically if the IMS bearing fails instead of the bores scoring). If you enjoy the car there's a lot of wisdom in having Hartech rebuild and future-proof it with their modifications to alleviate all the known weak spots (by the way, whoever told you the engines in these go on for ever is not, in actual fact, a good authority on them at all) and then keep and enjoy the car, in the knowledge you have a decent engine in it, whereas most on the road are effectively a potential time bomb (as yours was).

Is yours a Tiptronic 997 C4S ? I've read that the tiptronics are the most vulnerable due to gearing and strain placed on the engine at low revs? I have a C4S 997 (55 plate) manual with 65k on the clock purchased in summer 2013 and without wanting to rub it in, it's been great! Did have a coil pack fail but replaced and all is good, in fact great. Sorry to hear your experience is not good but would be interesting to know if a tiptronic.

Who the hell told you on 'good authority' those engines lasted forever????? The gen 1 (non turbo/GT) 997 and 996 have a clear reputation for numerous catastrophic engine failures which are very well documented. I suspect your good authority got mixed up with the Turbo Mezger engine, which on the whole (with a couple of exceptions) are bullet proof. I agree with the above, if the car is a good one and you plan to keep it - get a proper job done at Hartech and continue to enjoy the car with some peace of mind. Ultimately, with a Hartech rebuild the car is likely to be worth more in the market when you do come to move it on. Edited by MrTickle on Tuesday 3rd March 14:46

Maybe you could sell the car to Hartech? They seem to sell some. There are also 5k engine replacements on eBay but of unknown provenance. Edited by Rawhide on Tuesday 3rd March 16:45