Maintaining my 996 4s

Had my 911 couple of years and enjoyed every second of it. Every morning I turn the key it puts a smile to my face as if I only bought it yesterday. Since a kid always dreamed of a 911. Mine ain't no garage queen. It's driven 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Full PORSCHE history from previous owner and continued maintaining it at the same dealer myself. Oil change every 6k using ONLY genuine parts and the highest quality. My question is I'm now on 119k. Been trouble free for 30,000 miles. Do I need to look into a engine refresh ie bearings, big end shells etc. Engine pulls strong, no signs of any leaks or strange noises. I want it to last for another 119k.

:stay: Nice to hear this... :thumb:

Thanks buddy :thumb:

As for the engine wear parts of which there will be a few but it all depend on differing factors. Your regular oil changes will help but it also depends on how it was maintained in its early years, was it changed every 6000 all of its life? I would think the chains guides have worn a nice couple of grooves in them and your crankshafts mains and big end bearing could possibly be worn but without an internal inspection it is always hard to know. A refresh isn't really too expensive, most of it will be labour but to refresh the engine you would be looking at the previously mentioned probably with the addition of new chains tensioners, IMSB, gasket/seal set etc all not too expensive but you could go mad and future proof the engine for an additional outlay. This is when the costs start to mount but if you are in there anyway and the majority of the cost is labour, its the best time to go the whole hog.

Morning Nick Mine went through its 87 thousand miles yesterday and she's just sound as a bell. I'm hoping she's going to be good for 150k miles or more. She'll just get a big dose of Miller's every year till she stops - I'll then get Sid at Porsche Torque to rebuild the engine and start all over again... :thumb: Osh

Great thread! Similar situation to mine, on 112k. No funny noises or untoward oil usage, strong as an ox. My inclination is to leave it alone and see what happens, but niggling in my mind is the chance of a catastrophic failure from a chain snapping, or crankshaft movement from worn bearing, thus increasing the cost of a rebuild. Maybe for the paranoid get the oil analysed for traces of any metals etc? http://www.millersoils.co.uk/services/oil-analysis If you are going to take the engine to bits, you might as well do the works i.e. chains, bearings, new liners etc. So it depends how much you want to spend £10-12k or so (unless you are very handy with DIY). Then it would almost be rude not to get an increase to 3.8 or 3.9... My view is that there is no car that would give me the pleasure that my 4S does, for what it would owe me even with the rebuild. Either way its a reminder that for all the talk of bore score, IMS implosions etc, there are plenty of these cars chuntering away on high miles giving no trouble at all. :thumbs:

Well said Rob :thumb: For me, unless there is fire/flood/total disaster in my life somewhere, I intend to keep this car till I die. At some point, if/when the engine gives out on me, i'll take her off the road while Sid does a full rebuild, then just go again. No other car comes near. Smile per miles with my C4S. :grin: Osh

Hi Nick, As your 996 is intended to be a keeper, you may wish to consider Haretch's experiences with higher mileage engines and the potential cost savings by catching your crankshaft before it gets too worn. On pg 2. http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=118835&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=crankshaft&start=20

Nico, Good to hear your engine regime is working well. I'd get it borescoped and listened to by one of the big engine rebuild company names. Take a recommendation based on that. Your driving style and fastidiousness is obviously looking after her... I bought my C4s late last summer with 49k mikes... am following the same schedule as a precaution. Mines done 55k miles now and had a minor service last week (last service was a major job including IMS, RMs, clutch etc etc by previous owner) Fresh Mobil 1 Oil and Filter, New Mobil 1 Coolant and a Low Temperature Thermostat fitted... We need to follow your example!!! Out of interest can I ask what sort of driving you do? Town or rural.. Is your car manual? Speeds? Do you use full Rev range? How long on each journey? Cheers, BK :thumb:

My c4s is a tiptronic. Every morning I check oil and Coolant. Let it idle for 2 mins before I set off. I do an anything between an hour to an hour / half driving each. morning. Both traffic driving and dual carriageway driving at 50-60mph. Driving back home I'm on 70-80 mph.

Don't let it idle- best to drive off gently straight away as the car will warm up quicker, with better oil circulation and less time spent with rich fuel mixture washing the bores.

I agree totally with Robertb on this. He has pointed out the main effects of idling a cold engine. In addition, with varying engine speeds there are surges of oil and water distribution which protects the engine. Quite a lot on this site and on the web about idling a cold engine.

Totaly agree with Rob, Only just bought it, but after a short inspection I knew she would be mine. On 81,OOO but sounds as sweet as a nut. But if the gods are displeased and it goes pear shaped I will rebuild with a capacity increase.

At a 100k they're just run in! Look at this one... daft advert text, but 222k miles, only RMS/IMS done... apparently borescoped fine. https://www.pistonheads.com/classif...iptronic-s-2003-1-previous-owner-fpsh/8539157