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THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHBACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN, INTERMIX IS FIXED
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finding where the source of the issue is
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Reported cause
The hardest part of repairing an intermix issue is finding where the source of the issue is...
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Disconnect with one main wire harness in the engine bay
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
All the electronics were disconnected with one main wire harness in the engine bay.
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Suspected cause · Original poster
The expansion plugs on these proved to be a major challenge, but should never be a problem again.
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Suggestion
So your "mechanic" dismantled the entire engine and had the entire block magnafluxed to check for cracks and found nothing.
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Waiting is the hardest part...I know the feeling but can imagine how clean your engine will be when done.
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I have been following your progress through your multiple threads and you have provided a great service by exposing the issue and it's solution to many of us in the 996 world possibly saving quite a few future people from having to replace their motors.
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53 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
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Well about 11 months after I first discovered the intermix on my 2000 996 C4 Cab, and 2 � months after starting to drop the engine I took the first real drive today. Put about 50 miles on the car and everything seems fine. Total cost was about $2,000 in parts and repair of the cracked head (this included some misc parts unrelated to the cracked head) and a lot of hours of labor (but these days I am working pretty cheap).
I guess I will feel better after I put a couple of thousand miles on the car, but I am thrilled to be back in the driver’s seat of my 996 again. I had forgotten how much fun it is to drive this car, especially with the top down. The whole process of tearing down the engine, finding the problem and fixing it was quite an adventure, with a lot of side roads taken. But the final outcome seems to be good.
So those of you who have an intermix problem, TAKE HEART! When mine first happened I was told by many sources, on the boards and mechanics that the only fix was a new/reman engine. Well that is really not the case. I will do a longer post later recapping the whole process, but just wanted to let people know that the car is fixed and back on the road.
I also want to thank several people who helped and consulted on the project.
First, thanks to Doug Donsbach, who has a “twin” crack in the head of his car. We commiserated and he gave me help in fabricating tools, and the picture of his crack helped me find mine.
Thanks to Jake Raby at Flat 6. Jake is an incredibly nice guy, who has an unbelievable knowledge of these engines, and was extremely generous with his time and advice. I can’t say enough nice about Jake.
Also, a big thanks to 99firehawk, a tech with a lot of knowledge who was helpful in many ways. His time and help were really appreciated.
And thanks to Jeff Clark at Sunset Porsche. I have been getting my parts from Jeff/Sunset for several years and they are great.
Thanks to John Edwards/Costa Mesa R&D. They did the head repair and valve job on the 1-3 head. John knows the problem with the heads and has experience in fixing them. He was quick and very well priced to do the work.
Also thank to Rick and Ron at Valley Tool & Mold in Gilberts, IL who did the tapping and plugging of the cams. The expansion plugs on these proved to be a major challenge, but should never be a problem again.
There were a lot of others who helped and commented but I can’t name all of them.
So
I AM ON THE ROAD AGAIN
. If anyone else needs some help with their intermix problem I would be glad to help as much as possible, I have developed a little bit of expertise in this over the last few months.
Thanks for sharing your project. It has been exceptional helpful to the forum. I hope I never need to worry about this problem, but it is great that you shared a great fix.
Congratulations, Dharn! It must feel really good to have gone thru' all this hands-on, and finally be rewarded for all the patience and determination. Hope it will last you a loooong time and many miles of smiles!
A shop should be able to drop and reinstall an engine in 10-12 hours or less. Add 3-4 hours to take off a head, and another 3-4 hours to put it back on, so about 20 hurs or so in labor. I spent more hours becuase I did it on jackstands, with limited tools, and had problems with a sensor and the expansion plugs in the cams, so I dropped the engine several times. If the shop has the Porsche tools and experience I would say 20-30 hours tops. Add $500 for the head repair and another $750 or so for parts ( this is at Sunset prices, a shop may charge retail for them which adds alot). But $5,000 should do it, and if they are effecient on the labor, maybe less.
Dharn, thanks for sharing your experience with us. I'm sure it will benefit others in the future. Congratulations on a job well done. "First, thanks to Doug Donsbach, who has a “twin” crack in the head of his car. We commiserated and he gave me help in fabricating tools, and the picture of his crack helped me find mine." Sometimes we all need a little help.
Great story, way to work through the trials and tribulations that can affect you during repairs for anything, not just a P-car. Pretty cool that you didn't go with the old adage of "gotta reman the engine" You ended up saving a bunch and now you're back in action!
Have fun!
So are you the first shade-tree mechanic to fix the intermix? If so, you are the hero of the 966 world right now.
Well, you may have made some guys
after knowing you only spent $2000 to fix your engine......
Good job!
Is this true... the first intermix home repair.... I have never heard of it being done.
a true mile stone in Porsche History....
I think that gives some special rights....aside from bragging rights form now till forever !!
Congrats on the completed project.
remember these things.
1 Nothing feels better then that first engine you fix.
2 The 2nd 3rd and 4th will not go any smoother, each will have their own unique set of problems
3 The butterfkys never go away, even after you have done 30.
So drive it and forget about it
Dharn, My first thought "more guts then brains" but glad to see you have both. From what I have seen your work was well thought out and did not skimp to get it done properly. I hope you get over any strange noises syndrome after doing the work. Great job.
way to go, truly inspirational for the entire 996 community! In a way, I'm glad to see that major issues are fixable by mere mortals - well, maybe 'super' mortals. And I thought changing all twelve plugs in a 993 was a pain!
Another great example of the help and info. available on the Rennlist forum. Glad to hear how one individual fought the odds and persevered to accomplish the fix without tossing his engine in the process. Well done Dharn!
Dharn,
Congrats!
How long would you say it would take you now to drop your engine? Do all the electonics get disconnected via one main wire harness?
I used to drrop my old 83 911 in 2 hours, but there were no radiators fluids & hoses to deal with. There were the oil lines, two motor mounts and two transmission mounts, the axle hook-ups and the trans linkage. All the electronics were disconnected with one main wire harness in the engine bay.
The hardest part was jacking it up and then bringing down the engine/trans unit on my wobbly jack.
If you have a C4 it probably is a little more complicated than a C2, but I hear you can remove the trans first in the 996 without having to remove engine along with it.
Can you give me some insight on the challenges, like how you jacked the car up far enough, how you physically dropped the engine down? You must have some self-made engine or trans dollies, etc.?
Best,
Todd
Congratulations! It's been a long and winding road but your up and running again. Thanks you to and all those who helped you along the way.
I have been following your progress through your multiple threads and you have provided a great service by exposing the issue and it's solution to many of us in the 996 world possibly saving quite a few future people from having to replace their motors.
Cheers!
great job. this is legendary stuff!
also, i hope some shops look at this. if intermix can be fixed for $5k - $8k, i'd say there'd be a ready market for this service. if i owned a shop, i'd certainly be paying you some consulting fees and getting your experience properly documented and then i'd sell the crap out of it.
again, congrats!
Congrats! Your cost into this is cheaper than some people who have taken their car in for major service at a dealership.
Dharn55 should get a new nickname above his avatar.
Congrats!! Glad to have been of assistance!!
The hardest part of repairing an intermix issue is finding where the source of the issue is... Cracks can be hard to find!
Congratulations, you've even got readers from Holland on this post. This subject interests me for a long time. I'm very intersted in a DIY explanation on the job. Did you make photo's. It would be really great for the 996 community(I own a 964 at the moment, however in the future you never know) to explain the process. I even bet you can start a great business based on your knowledge :P since most 996's uptill 2001 are building up miles now...
Keep up the good work. Would be great to read your full DIY..
Congrats on a job well done.
I also have intermix - 8 months into it.
My engine is out, transmission off, and I will be going down same road, if I have the same problem. With luck and your help I may have a chance at similar repair!
All the best!
Tim
I actually ended up dropping the engine five times. The first to find the problem. Second when the pulse sendor turned out to be bad and I could not get it out. Third when the first expansion plug blew out of the camshaft. Fourth when the replacement expansion plug blew out, Fifth when the replacement camshaft had its expansion plug blow out. Got it down to a science now. Also, after the first time i only put it back together far enough to start the engine.
More details on this later, right now i am having too much fun driving the darn thing.
Hi,
I found your posting here, and I desperately need your advice for my 1999 Porsche Carrera which has an intermix problem. What is the dust step to look for ? My mechanic could not find crack on the engine block. The coolant is going into the engine oil and the Temperature goes high after about 10-15 minutes. My email address is :
[email removed]
I thank you for your time.
Thanks
James Kim
The crack is likely in the head, not the block and it usually occurs on bank one. Dharn is the expert on this issue and he'll probably chime in. It's fixable.
Wow....James. A thread that died 12 years ago brought back to life. What are your expectations on this? Your mechanic is an idiot and apparently knows nothing about a Porsche 996. So your "mechanic" dismantled the entire engine and had the entire block magnafluxed to check for cracks and found nothing. Wow...that is impressive. Coolant is going into the engine oil...huh. Try cracked head on Bank 2, broken AOS or leaks in the oil/coolant heat exchanger. Have your "mechanic" do a compression check and leak down test on all cylinders. Remember, oil pressure is much greater than coolant pressure, so there are specific limits to how coolant gets in the oil.
Wow, good to see that this thread is still alive. So Jake knows more that I do about this but the first crack in the head I would look for is at the inner exhaust valve spring seat on cylinder #1. This seems to be the most common. Here are some pics of these cracks, some of which are from owners that have posted on this thread and I worked with. The heads do crack on other areas but I think this is the most common area. Ironically I don't have the pictures of my crack here but you could not tell the difference.
