Porsche Boxster Second Life (after engie rebuild) - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I assume there are loads of Boxster (mainly 986) owners out there, who had the engine partially or fully rebuilt after a while due to the obvious reasons like IMS or other issues. I was wondering what is the maximum mileage out there so far and if there is any other issues? Considering the prices on the internet, the engine rebuild does not cost that much anymore (4-6k range depending on the damage). I have talked to two owners so far, whom had rebuilt the engine. One of them is still driving without any problem (27k miles since the rebuilt) and the other one has already sold it.

Like most things in life you get what you pay for, and engine rebuilds are no different. There are plenty of people out there who will take your money and replace worn or damaged engine components with exactly the same poorly designed ones which will fail again in time. I have no connection with Hartech, but suggest you read up on the advice they give on their website in relation to doing the job right the first time.

Depends on what the condition of the engine was before the rebuild attempt, how much was budgeted for the replacement, the source of the parts, how many parts were upgraded, the quality of the mechanic, etc. The foremost rebuilder and modifier in the states will only take on engines that have not suffered an internal failure with the resulting contamination of all the oil passages and parts. No multiple flushes aren't good enough. No matter how much you spend and how high the quality of the parts, if your engine isn't clean of microscopic debris before you do the rebuild, the new parts will only grind themselves to death. That is why you'll occasionally see on the forums a rebuilt engine fail soon after the rebuild and often soon after the rebuilder sold it on thinking all was well only to have the buyer suffer from overpaying for the supposedly better car and then suffer the total engine loss. If your engine has been contaminated, better to buy an engine from a wreck that you can prove by dropping the filter and pan that it has suffered no contamination. http://www.porsch-apart.co.uk/ in the UK www.douglasvalley.co.uk in the UK

A properly rebuilt engine should be good for another design life, ~150k miles. There are not as many cars out there with rebuilt engines as the Internet might have you believe. I recently spoke to one independent Porache specialist and they claim they have only even seen one IMS failure. And a few bore scores.

Thanks for all the responses. I agree with you and understand your points about specifics. However, one should not forget that, even though with the quality engineering of porsche technicians, these brand new cars have failed the engines mainly in the range of 20-70k miles.. (Some even earlier!) So my point is to learn from people who has rebuilt their engines (properly or not!) and share their experiences afterwards? to see if this model has any other major design issues. Apart from the second life, I agree with megaflow, there are currently 3 different boxsters in my building (986,981,987) and they have been used almost daily by my neighbours without any problem so far. Would be good to learn the unlucky owners experiences.

Apart from the consequences of perhaps a failed radiator or water pump resulting in coolant loss there are no problems with bore scoring on the Boxster S 3.2 models because the pistons are ferrous coated. The cylinders are also much thicker than all subsequent models (around 3mm thicker) and that reduces bore ovality creep significantly. With less power (and therefore adequate radiator cooling area) and lighter pistons there is less loads on cylinder walls and crankshaft bearings and overall it is really only the IMS bearing that can usually stop these running. The 3.4 models have plastic coated pistons and this can result in bore scoring but most owners that choose a Boxster over a Cayman seem to drive less aggressively so few are failing anyway. Not much to worry about then! Baz

Megaflow said: A properly rebuilt engine should be good for another design life, ~150k miles. There are not as many cars out there with rebuilt engines as the Internet might have you believe. I recently spoke to one independent Porache specialist and they claim they have only even seen one IMS failure. And a few bore scores. Really? They weren't trying to sell you a car by any chance? mine grenaded itself a few months back. An IMS failure. On 90k with full history. I put a low mileage engine from a damaged car in, because I didn't think the car is valuable enough to rebuild it. I've seen/heard of plenty more while I worked for a Porsche independent. We sent a fair few to Hartech, who do a fabulous job on them. Judging by how busy those guys permanently are I'd suggest we weren't the only company sending plenty for rebuild either.....

hartech said: Apart from the consequences of perhaps a failed radiator or water pump resulting in coolant loss there are no problems with bore scoring on the Boxster S 3.2 models because the pistons are ferrous coated. Baz Does that apply to the 987 3.2 as well? I assumed they'd moved to plastic coating by the time the 987 was introduced.

Cerberaherts said: Really? They weren't trying to sell you a car by any chance? mine grenaded itself a few months back. An IMS failure. On 90k with full history. I put a low mileage engine from a damaged car in, because I didn't think the car is valuable enough to rebuild it. I've seen/heard of plenty more while I worked for a Porsche independent. We sent a fair few to Hartech, who do a fabulous job on them. Judging by how busy those guys permanently are I'd suggest we weren't the only company sending plenty for rebuild either..... They were. But, they were trying to sell me a gen 2 Cayman with no IMS shaft, so they have been better telling me there see no bore scores and lots of IMS issues.

Yes all 3.2's have ferrous coated pistons, 3.4's do not. Baz

Thanks Baz, even more reason why the 3.2 seems to be the sweet spot in the Boxster range

How easy would it be to fit a gen 2 engine to a 986 or 987.2? Obviously losses some originality but would a used gen 2 engine cost similar money to a full rebuild and be less likely to cause problems going forward.