Help, another oil starvation story

I’ve tracked my "06" TPC turbo Cayman S for about a year with no problems. On my way home, from the last track day, I started to hear a very quiet noise, as I pulled off the road the noise got more noticeable and was followed by a low oil pressure warning before I could get it off the road and shut down. I got the car home and striped the engine to find the #2 lower rod bearing completely disintegrated causing damage to the crank and rod. Everything else looks in good condition. I’ve read the other similar posts here and never took preventative measures and wish I had. What I never realized is how expensive it is to have motor work done for this car or how hard it is to find a suitable pull-out engine. I spoke to L&N who said he hears these stories all the time and expect $15K to get the motor back running in stock condition and $20K+ if you want the do their strengthening mods. So am I missing something or is this just Porsche life. I can’t believe there are not crate engines or long blocks available, or are there…. So from those of you that have been there done that what’s my best option. I’ve found a pull-out for $10K with a $2K core. Can I get more for the core selling it myself or is there a market for parting-out the good pieces? Right now the plan is to purchase the pull-out to get the car back on the road as my daily driver. However I need to decide if I’m going to sell the car or keep it after its back on the road. If I sell is it worth more with the turbo or without, and if I keep it is it going back on the track again. I would appreciate some input and opinions. What are the Cayman Spec guys doing to their cars? For those of you who track their cars, think seriously about oil starvation and power steering coolers. Unless you have a large budget, these are things you can’t afford to wait till failure.

When I replaced mine the factory rebuild was ~12k. I voided the warantee from mile zero with a TTp oilsafe kit. You are a rebel with #2 going. Mine and just about all the others I know about have been #6. Mike will build you a bullet proof one cabable of lots more power for ~$16k. I'd add a accusump or TTp if I where you

Something to consider since it sounds like you're mechanically apt, drop a 3.6 in it for ~$8K, repair the crank/rods/bearings on your engine (~$2K) and sell it for ~$8K, put ~$3K into the oiling system on the 3.6 for the track and get a flash from TPC. ~ $5-6K out of pocket for a 3.6 Turbo engine with upgraded oiling. Most of these are probably babied engines that have never seen g's. Notice his engines are or best offer so both could be less. Porsche 911 996 Carrera 3.6 Liter Complete Engine Motor | eBay Porsche 911 997 3.6 Carrera C2 Engine Motor Low Mile | eBay

first off, so sorry to hear about your engine failure. did you do any of the reliabilty mods? deep sump? aos? also curious how many track days you have done? sucks to keep hearing about these engines going. it would be different if there was some consistency but it seems they happen to various cars on any tire, some after many many hours and others dont last long at all. im really considering doing a mild engine build after this season if i continue to do manh track days. im on pace for about 2 days a month.

Los Angeles Dismantlers is a popular place to buy used engines. LA Porsche Salvage Yard and their ebay store Used Porsche Engines Vision Motorsports, Laguna Hills CA knows how to re-build engines so they last on the track. Vision Motorsports Notwithstanding all of the useful posts about anti oil starvation mods here at P9, I have been wondering what the Spec Boxer guys are doing to keep their cars running laps. Please keep us updated. ... very much appreciated.

Kermit, sorry to hear about the engine! MOre details of the exact point you heard the noise and what you saw inside teh engine once it was opened up. Just a bearing? Con rod bolts all OK? 15k sounds like a lot for a rebuild!! In the UK companies (Autofarm and Hartech) seem to offer rebuilds at half that price with improvements made, which seems more reasonable to me. I'd love to know how $15k is justified in a labour and parts breakdown.

Sorry to hear about your engine failure. Did you have the TPC oiling kit on your car with the turbo or not? Is this the first TPC Turbo car that has had a rod/bearing failure? I'd say if you have the ability/capability to tear the motor down yourself, why not do the repairs yourself? Would make for a great article here!

Thanks for the input. I bought my car ( 2006 Cayman S ) about 18 months ago with 38,000 miles. I immediately installed the TPC turbo kit and have about 15 days on the track (mostly at Texas World Speedway). I also added the TPC “track kit” which adds an additional oil separator so I get a little oil ingestion but only light smoke, no big blinding clouds like I see from other Porsches. Other mods include TPC sway bars, Rennline camber plates, Nitton NT01 tires, Sachs performance clutch, and Pagid Yellow pads. The car is a daily driver so it dose not have a radical setup. At the last track day the car felt and sounded great. About half way through the day I noticed the car would turn over slightly slower on startup like possibly a weak battery but everything still felt and sounded great with no oil loss, no CEL. When I left for the day I noticed that when I held the throttle at a constant position on the freeway I hear a very faint rattle that sounded more like a loose heat shield. If you accelerate or decelerate the noise would disappear. I decide to pull off at the next exit to take a look. As I pulled off the exit the noise got louder and it was obvious something was wrong. I pushed in the clutch and the low oil pressure warning came on and the engine shut off. Luckily we travel in packs to the track so one of the other guys had a trailer to get my car home with relative inconvenience. When I drained the oil I noticed a few metallic flakes in the oil. When I removed the filter there was a fair amount of metallic dust and flakes stuck in the filter. Your oil filter should never glitter and sparkle. I removed the engine for my first time with relative ease and started stripping it down. I removed the cam covers, everything looked good clean and debris free. I removed the heads and the cylinders all look good. I opened the main gear oil pump on the engine and that looked good but I did not open the scavenging pumps. When I removed the oil pan cover it had a big pile of metal flakes sitting in the center of the baffle. One connecting rod was very loose on the crank. I removed that rod and the bearing was completely gone and the crank is badly scuffed. I did not remove the other rods yet but they feel good. All the rod bolts were tight and the crank was discolored at the bad rod like it had seen lots of heat. From the looking I’ve done Crank $4000, set of rods $1600, set of crank bearings $500, set of lower rod bearings $100. That’s the bare minimum parts cost. When I spoke to L&N Engineering he said there is almost always more collateral damage so I think the $15K estimate was based on the assumption the motor would require more work since he has not seen the engine. He said it’s much cheaper to strengthen a running engine than rebuilding a bad one. I hear these guys do a lot of good work so I think this was just a “worse case” estimate so I did not get started then get over my head in repair bills.

Diverdog, Did your engine go with the TTP oil safe kit on it or did you put that on the rebuilt engine. K-Man S, You guys almost have me convinced to rebuild myself. I’ve never really done any engine work so I’m a little worried I would put all this money into it, over look something, then have it go down again prematurely. I’m just not sure what I want to do with the car now. I was planning on an engine from LA Auto Dismantlers but I’m definitely not tracking the car again without engine mods so I would have to rebuild my motor anyway or open this new one up. I guess the question is make it a track car, daily driver, or sell and move on to something else. This whole situation is pushing me more towards making a dedicated track car but the Cayman might be a little two expensive for my budget.

Good job doing the stuff yourself Kermit :cheers: I can understand what LN say, but based on your description it sounds like maybe new bearings and a crank would do the job. Obviously it goes without saying that imporved con rod bolts would be a good idea while it's open. I can't recall any reports of #2 big end going before and is not the typical failure reported of conrod bolts being loose or oil starvation. Keep us apdated on any progress and hope all goes well in the repair process nd costs are kept at a minimum for you...I always see what I can gain when I have a failure. Clutch went, time for a performance clutch and LWFW....spring broke on my BMW so time for some AC Schnitzer springs instead.....interiors damaged so time for a painted console me thinks

OK, sorry but this is why I am so skeptical of all this "blown engine" histeria going on recently. I have to assume that at TWS, you are driving on the roval with very long, left hand, high speed, high banked corners............. Absolutely the ultimate worst case senario for Cayman /Boxsters. And, the worst case senario for any car - I would never do a DE on a roval. If you talk to anyone that has set up a race car for Daytona, they hate it - that set up is so different than any other track because of the roval and the unbelevable strains on the car. So what do you think it does to a street car? About 5 or so years ago, one tire company had to pull one of their R comps off the market because the tread was separating from the carcass on rovals at DEs.......... And I know that $10-$15k sounds expensive to replace an engine, but that is the "rebuld" cost of an air cooled car. One of the "advantages" of the water cooled car is that a full replacement is actually cheaper than an air cooled rebuild. And of course LN is saying that strenthing an existing engine is more cost effective than fixing a broken one - that is how they make thier money. Sure it is true, but the cost / benefit / frequency of failures is a whole other equation you have to consider. By the way, through various conversation I have had on this, connecting rod bolt "stretch" is caused by extreme over revs on down shifts................. not oiling, not hitting the rev limiter (not good, but it is not going to cause the bolts to stretch unless you are really doing something outlandish), not due to directly due to bearing failure. Again, sorry to maybe sound a bit non chalant about this, because I understand that it could happen to me at the next DE, but I could also miss a shift and blow it up that way too, or even worse. And I am taking the basic steps to address this on my car - sump extension, baffle, and swirl pots.

At TWS they are only using the banked front straight which is basically straight, I don’t see why it would cause any extra stress. I also do not believe I had any rod bolt stretch. I understand that production cars are not track ready and all of them have various “problems” that should be addressed. The purpose of this thread is more to encourage others to address some of the known (alleged) weaknesses of the Gen 1 Caymans before they have a costly problem with their car. I knew the potential risk but did not realize the cost associated with the risk and want others to be aware and make an informed decision about what they think is best for their car. These forums do create a bit of hysteria about various issues because people normally only post their problems which is why I didn’t know if the oiling issue was legitimate and serious or not.

I've rebuilt several engines. Albeit they were V8s but the same procedure applies. Here's my thoughts... Since you shut it down right away your crank may be salvageable. A machine shop can measure the grooves in the spun rod journal. If they're not too deep they can machine it down. Since the diameter would then be smaller you'll need an oversize bearing on that journal. Oversize bearings are common on V8's but I don't know if they're available for this engine. You'll still need a new rod as those aren't worth salvaging. The good news is that the modern engines have such tight tolerances on the rod weight that you don't need to replace the other five rods, just the bad one. Of course while you are in there you'll be replacing all the other bearings. If you get luck twice -- a machinable rod journal and the availability of an oversize bearing -- and can do the dis-assembly and reassembly yourself then your cost should be in the $1000-$2000 range, plus a lot of your time. It's "good" time though; very satisfying work.

TPC said the crank is fixable, depending on ammount of dammage, L&N Engineering said they are not. I'm not sure what to believe, but maybe I should look into it. I'm almost talked into not getting the engine from LA Auto Dismantalers and rebuilding mine. This forum can always use so more articles. I wish There had been one on engine removal. Luckily its not that difficult and I was able to get ahold of some reference material as a checklist.

Nobody can tell whether the crank is fixable over the phone. The journal needs to be measured. I'll surmise that since TPC said it may be fixable then oversize bearings are available. That's good news. The fact that you pulled the motor and removed the heads says that you're capable of the rebuild. Do it! I find it's fun as long as you're not in a hurry and have a good place to work. I built a 383 for my truck and posted pictures on a forum as I went. It was fun and with an enthusiasts forum like this it always garners lot of attention as well as help if you find something you don't understand or aren't comfortable with proceeding. Make a few phone calls and find an auto machine shop near you. There's always one or two in any decent size city. Or you could ship the crank to TPC for measuring since it sounds like they could do the machining.

Go for it! There is a series of YouTube videos mentioned in another post that are pretty interesting if you want to rebuild. I must say it's the most complicated engine I've seen and Ive rebuilt more than a few. I particulary like the wrist pin installation method! YouTube - ‪Porsche Boxster S engine rebuild 08‬‏ I added a Mantis deep sump on mine before I took it to TWS based on what I was reading. It's expensive but cheap insurance. I have also added an oil pressure logger just to make sure and got some good data at both TWS and MSR. These are at TWS running CW. The vertical bars are at the start/finish line (I missed a few in the first one). In the first I was down shifting twice heading into 15/14/13 In this one I was trying a 5-3 downshift while braking hard and was letting the revs drop too low. I was too scared of a 5-1 downshift instead! The pressure never dropped below 40 unless I let the revs drop too low. I'd recommend anyone tracking their car should at least get a deep sump with a baffle like the Mantis.

Kermit, Where are you located? Ive got a lift if you want to bring your car to my place I will lend you a hand in rebuilding the engine. There are a couple of problems I forsee: 1 If crank is damaged, I was told by Porsche that there are no oversized bearings that you must replace the crank, cost is about $2k for that hunk of metal. Let's hope yours isn't damaged or bad enough to warrant replacement. 2 - a special tool is required to get the second set of piston pins into the rods. I've seen video on how to do it, don't know if the tool is available though. Happy to help you document the process and assist in turning wrenches, etc. I have air tools, heck we can do another live streaming over the web broadcast, that would be cool!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk which means I'm probably traveling at the moment so please excuse any brief or hurried replies, spelling errors, etc. Etc.

K-Man S, Thanks for the offer to help; it’s great to see we have such a good community here. I live just south east of Houston so coming to your place probably will not work for me. But thanks again for the offer, I think you will probably do your fair share with information alone. Fortunately I do have a lift and most tools excluding the special Porsche ones. The best I’ve seen on the crank is $4K from AutoAtlanta.com but I didn’t check with my dealer, where did you get a price of $2K. The crank has a dark spot like it go hot so it might not be the best idea to reuse it, even if it is repairable. My biggest problem (other than money) is that I have a few other projects on the go right now so this might be a 1-2 month long build. Oh yea, I have another problems, this is my daily driver so I might have to buy another car or spare engine to get me back on the road till its done.

Ah come on Houston isn't far! . I recall that $2k was my share of the crank so yeah $4k total is probably about right. If i can get down to Houston to help i will! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk which means I'm probably traveling at the moment so please excuse any brief or hurried replies, spelling errors, etc. Etc.

I know I will be kicked off or flamed but my 2006 cayman S has been non stop trouble.. The clutch recall, the cat recall, air bag light on several times , it misses at start up and the clutch smells if i drive it hard at all has made me very frustrated with this car. My interior looks like it has scabees from all the peeling and lets not not forget the hatch noise and it sqeeks like a 1970 Ford pick up truck. I have never been a fan of american sports cars but I have an 2008 Viper Gts and a 2006 Corvette Z51 they have run perfect. Nither of them have been at the dealership's shop. The best part is my 2006 speed yellow Cayman s with the sports package at $65,000 has only 18, 500 miles on it. Do not get me started on the dishonest Sarasota Porsche dealership's service department. I ask them to do no out of warrenty service and then they charged me 300 dollars. My favorite part is when they proceded call me a lier. I read this forum at times and I do not believe you guys make excusses for the problems you guys have had. You have to purchase after market items at hundreds of dollars to just turn off the check engine light or keep the engine from failing from oil starvation. My wife has been trying to convince me to dump the Cayman because she can see I am very frustrated with Porsche. This will be my last Porsche. Now bet me up

I'm pratically your neighbor ( in Friendswood South of town). I'd love to see a turbo Cayman up close so let me know if you need help. It would also get me ready for the day when I need to do something major to mine. I've changed a 944 turbo clutch by myself with a floorjack so I know what pain is ! BTW, I don't think you really need all new rods for a DE/DD machine. You could upgrade bolts and get one new rod to save some $$$'s

My last Porsche too, although I'll have this one for quite a while since I have so much money in it now $4k for a crank is rediculous

No one is going to flame you or beat you up for being unhappy with your car, especially if it is having a lot of problems. If your local Sarasota dealer isn't cutting it then I'd recommend going to another dealer or an independent shop, you have a lot of choices in Florida. I might also recommend that you might want to start your own topic on the subject of your car and its issues so it can be tracked separately and not as part of this topic since this topic is about a user's car that has had an oil starvation failure and your car seemingly has not. I understand your frustration, but this topic isn't really the place to discuss it, so again, I encourage you to start your own topic and list out all of the problems you've had, what you've done to try and correct them, what has worked and what hasn't as that type of information is very valuable to other owners.

old info ----

Interesting, I'm in Seabrook. Engine is out and in pieces right now, you are welcome to come take a look now or when its back together. I have only been able to find the rods as a set of 6, have not seen them sold individually yet. I also can only find new OEM crankshafts. Not sure if you want to start down the salvage yard path or not. The lack of aftermaket parts is shocking, I had no idea we have such a limited choice

Rods in sets of six sucks. Have you tried engine builder's supply? Also any luck on oversize bearings?

PM Sent ....

Sorry to hear about the car, Kermit. Hope it's a speedy recovery. I enjoyed reading this thread even though everything was way over my head. No habla Doppelkupplungstriebe. But I just wanted to say how impressed I am over the camaraderie and willingness of fellow members to step up and offer help. Planet 9 is awesome!

Nice, graphs. What are you using to log your Oil pressure? Can the logger be expanded to add multi-axis g-force and RPMs, to the graphs?

I checked and Porsche only sell the rods as a set of six, with no part numbers for an indivdual rod. 4k is crazy for the crank, but I couldn't see it cheaper anywhere For the cost saving I wouldn't go the route of salvage crank and rods, it just isn't worth it. If you need any service manual info let me know and I can sort you out.