Engine fails on 996. Why?

Recently purchased a 1998 996. Well pleased bought private so thought I would have full service and local Porsche garage to go through the vehicle �head to tail� as car has done 78k. The work carried out was Disc and pads all round. Wheel bearings and general replacement of body and running gear items. The engine work carried out was Engine Flush, Synthetic engine oil, Oil filter, Replacement of ignition pack and Antifreeze. I picked the car up with a higher and expected bill, but I thought it�s all done now and would be able to enjoy my dream car. Two hundred miles from garage in slow moving traffic, engine cuts out. After much turning of engine, she restarts but sounds like the exhaust is trailing whilst stationary. All this noise is from the engine. I�m in tears now. Engine out and covers off, found that a bearing on the bottom input / auxiliary shaft has collapsed and has ruined the casings and sent metal fragments around the engine. There is no sight of over heating or blueing of the bearings. Now awaiting a new engine and an even more than hefty bill than the last one. Can somebody please shed some light on what has possible gone wrong. Out of garage and this to happen, I just can�t believe my luck.

What did you pay for your 98 996 w/ 78k miles?

First post, another liar..............

Thats what happened you dick head. who the f*** are you.. to say that

Relax, all. Maybe true, maybe not. Anyway, if true, the bottom line is that you got a bad car, probably even an abused car. That's the risk you take when you buy a second hand car, particularly a high mileage one. Who knows what the previous owner did to the car? Porsche's are tough cars. But even the toughest car will grenade if abused.

I assume you are not in the US?

This post has the same phraseology as the other blown engine post...I sense a trend here. Anyway, whats the VIN number of your car, I'll look up the service history for you. I'm also interested to see what your 98 996 looks like.....

Not to cut into this post in anyway................but.........Carbon_00, how are you going to look up the service history. Do you work for Porsche? Cheers and safe driving.

You used to be able to call Porsche Customer Service and they would give you the history. If they no longer do that, a dealer can do it... Roy ps. That would be the in warranty service history...

Carbon 00, you see this the same way I do.... I drive my 996 hard, where did you buy this car and what price did you pay for it? Cheers!

Sorry for the insensitive remarks, I just wont read these first time posts that seem a little peculiar........sorry for your bad luck. If you would have researched this forum before buying you would have learned that the 996 is the worst P-car ever made and that the engine is a piece of junk that is more likely to fail than last long. Hope your luck changes after you next engine. R

Hahahahahahaha.........

sorry, but 996 driven hard doesn't not blow up. bad luck and poor driving does. or course, racing is another story all together.

The 996 is far from the worst 911 ever made. It is the most successful 911 ever made with thousands sold worldwide. I have tracked my 40th this year without a problem as has John. The 996 motor is much better than its competition. As a matter of fact, I just received a letter from BMW NA that my previous 2003.5 e46 M3 motor had defective connecting rods which could result in engine failure. Another S54 self destruction history. Thankfully this the M3 was traded in for my current very reliable 996.

Here we go again, try not to be so harsh guys, maybe his first post is on here is because he needs help and like the last thread, this too is totally in the realm of posibility with these cars and the intermediate shaft is a common failure. Trust me, all of you, your 996's will prove to be less reliable then you think, they are by FAR the most problem plauqed porsche ever built, and their shop records, pissed of owners and resale values mean "Denial is not just a river in Egypt." "i drive my 996 hard" , PM me your VIN and I will run it through the DCS tomorrow for you, and yes you could get a 98 996, in europe they were actually 98 M.Y. cars but were released here in spring of 98 as 99 M.Y. cars.

964 had self disintegrating flywheel. 993 has CEL and steering rack leaks. 996 had porous motor early on and cont. to have rms prob. if i wanted a reliable car, i would buy a honda.

For what it's worth I recall that there are several Boxster owners with 120,000 miles plus that have been trouble free. Conversely, their discussion frequently is centered around the Rear Main Seal failures which leads me to think that it is more common in the 2.5L and 2.7L displacements. The Boxster S guys have been way less vocal about the RMS issue. And I think the average Boxster owner is a few years younger than the 996 owner, so the abuse rate should be higher. Another observation is that the 993 owners run their cars much harder than a typical 996. I know I did. When I was looking at used 996's I was amazed to find 20% or more of the cars in "poor" condition. I looked at a lot of private party cars, whereas a dealer will detail a car to the nines' to cover up any abuses.

I'm just wondering..what is the reason for these posters to make up these stories? To maintain pressure on Porsche that engine failure is more common with the 996 than thought? Josh

Actually, the 964 had a 'self-disintegrating' flywheel....not clutch. No offence intended, but it would be best to quote accurate faults when talking about these things. Now for example, I am also doubting your claim that the 997 has a 'porous' motor.....BTW, the flywheel issue was fixed in the earlyish nineties with a different design flywheel. In any case, the 964/993's are the cars to own second-hand - the quality is excellent compared to the modern cars...especially if you also prefer the looks I would be pretty worried about owning a 996 out of warranty.... 'I drive my 996 hard' - it would be a sign of community spirit if you completed your user details so we could see where you are from and how to contact you offline if need be. To me, it sounds like you are from the UK, with phrases susch as 'well pleased' and '********'. Obviously this hasn't been a good start for you on this board and one existing non-member has to take responsibility for that. However, you did react badly but if you are genuine this board can give you as much help and support as you put in.

Gents, If you look at the data collected by J. D. Power and Associates the least reliable Porsche is the Cayenne for initial quality and I believe vehicle dependability... there have been lots of problems with it. All 911 (996) models and Boxters rate very high for quality and dependability based on studies. Just my .02 cents. It's a beautiful day out there and my '99 996 is ready to tear up some asphalt! Mark

PAG is a master at stroking. When properly stroked a car owner will give a great service recommendation to JD Powers (they feel guilty - because they got a "favor"). As a former owner of a Boxater that PAG had to swallow, no one can sell me on Boxster reliability. The Cayenne problems are getting to be less and less. Mine had small issues the largest was alignment. It shouldn't surprize anyone a new chassis, new motor & new electronics (built in a new factory in Bratslavia by Skoda employees) would have some problems. I thought it was a bold move for PAG with high risks, that proved to be ingenius. My 996 doesn't have an rms leak @ 36K, but I'm running scared (out of warranty). I would like to know more about a "porous" 997 engine, I have an interest in one.

Josh, Not saying this is the case but...hypothetically... You want to buy a 996 but find that the prices are a little higher than you expected. You can almost afford a 98/99 model, but not quite and you are not in a tearing hurry. Well, an easy way to hopefully bring the price down would be to go to a very public board, create a post or two about how unreliable they are - even the ones with carfax OK and dealer inspection done. Hopefully it will also generate a few bona-fide posts from people that have had real problems. At the very best a ****-storm starts and the prices take a beating. At the very worse you can take along copies of these posts to a dealer as a bargaining chip to show that you are nervous and ready to walk away from a deal. Of course, that would only happen if the poster were unscrupulous and the people on the board were gullible and didn't know their own vehicles.

Any used car is a gamble but there are ways to tilt the odds in your favor. PPI, carfax, warranty and know the type of car and its reliability. I purchased a 99 996 in July with 28k on it. Before purchasing I did a lot of research on web sites etc. I had a carfax and dealer repair search done on the car and then drove 6 hours to look it over and test drive it after the PPI was done. Now none of this was a guarantee and the porsche warranty was a must have for me. The car turned out to be great and I couldn't be happier. Porsche makes a solid car are there problems with some? Sure. But bob from the earlier post on his third motor and I drive my 996 hard can only blame themselves. I wonder how much hard/bad driving like an overrevved down shift caused that bearing to fail.

Is the season for troll-hunting open yet? I'm waiting......

christer, no offense taken and i apologize for my mistakes. i was a BIT annoyed reading the post and just typed without thinking. my 964 had flywheel prob not clutch ;-) i know nothing about 997, it's early 996 that had porous prob.

This has to be the best board going for welcoming new members! Great work.

Bear with me. What does porous problem mean? Is it the rms?

no porous block isn't rms. very early boxster and some 996 has this prob. oil and coolant get mixed and the motor becomes junk. i don't here too many cases of it though. but i do know people who had this prob. on boxster and on 996 as well.

I've seen several and its the head gasket that goes and makes a milkshake dispenser out of your engine. As far as porus cases, Ive seen it on 996's with coolant leaks usually of the 99-00 cars, have not seen or heard about it on a 997 Thats because its a VW and not a Porsche, Lots of people don't know this but VW builds the entire Cayenne body assembly in-house then sends it to Porsche for the drivetrain (which is the most trouble free part so far) I disagree, while I have seen a few Boxsters break the 100K mark, I can count these on one hand, i dont have near enough hands to start counting motors I've replaced, and rear main seals Ive done (one month I did 13) and the motor is essentially the same, just a smaller displacement and is prone to the same failures. I disagree again, the 996 has been a far more abused in real life than a 993. The 993 was still a toy car for the weekend, uncomfortable (by 996 standards), track car at heart, thus they usually got pampered and exercised on the track or weekends. The 996 on the other hand has been subjected in far greater numbers to freeway commutes, everyday wear and tear, coffee stains, kid(s), daily driver detail, they rack up the mileage quicker and come in in far worse shape when I see them, most of them dirty, packed full of stains and trash, I never see a 993 like this.

hahaha... I drive my 996 hard-- Heres a warm welcome . Lets see some pics of your 98' and what you are talking about here. We would give you our honest opinion but as a third post, its hard to take you seriously. And if you were serious, you would answer Robert Santangelo's questions without getting upset. oh yeah, your name kills me.

Exactly, I knew he would not respond...Many years in the CIA has tought me a few things my friends!!!! Robert

People sure know how to yell FIRE and then run. Let's see......create new rennlist id......first post says my 996 blew up......porsche sux.....watch for internet board spontaneous combustion.........

"Thats because its a VW and not a Porsche, Lots of people don't know this but VW builds the entire Cayenne body assembly in-house then sends it to Porsche for the drivetrain (which is the most trouble free part so far)" It is not a VW ... ;-) It's a Skoda. Built in Bratslavia. VW bought the Skoda factory & business including employees. The Treg/Cayenne were built in a new factory.

I started the thread https://rennlist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163777 and because I presume some of my comments was not allowed to post!, maybe the case of �big brother� or was it the CIA. Anyway created a new account and am really only back to say how disappointed I am with some of the members with in this forum and the forum concept as a whole.. When my engine in my 996 blew up in London and had to have the car relayed home and to be told that I needed a new engine, I turned this forum for Help, Support, Advice and reassurance, but all I get is a person trying to disgrace me. If the how forums work? Then I�m out of here. What is his problems? Are all American 911 owners like him? I hope not. It�s like he �gets off �on trying to be-little people. He goes on about �first posting� a �liar� and �sending pictures for proof�. PICTURES? Does he really want to see my 996, 6 feet in there with its HEART ripped out?. Does he �disses� all new members like this? Thanks for my induction to Internet forums but NO THANKS. His closing on his last post was �my friends�. In my eyes he�s got no friends. Think about it? With his attitude and being in the CIA!! (A agent affording a 996 strange), come on. Any way as we speak the reconditioned engine direct from Porsche has been put in I am just waiting for final tuning and tweaking and shes mine again. Lost a bit of love for her, because i not seen her for a week and the new engine costs, but im sure by next month when this whole sad affair is a distant memory, then we will both start to become one again. Any advice for running in or bedding the engine would be appreciated only postings from civil members please. Dean

Troll hunting season is now open.