Cracked Head - Need Help

I bought my second Porsche this year, a 2000 996 in October for $18K. I have spent some time and money updating plugs/coils and new coolant reservoir tank, as I had been battling a "Misfire Cylinder 1" check engine light code, in addition to leaking coolant. Those fixes still did not solve the problem, and the car began running rough upon start up. It had run rough once in a while before, but now it does it every time. I brought it to a local Porsche indy last week and he gave me bad news. Coolant is leaking into Cylinder 1. He says it's prob either a head gasket or most likely a cracked cylinder. He'd have to pull the engine to be 100% certain. I'm looking at a bill of between $7K-$10K in my estimation. He has a used engine with roughly 90K miles with IMS done, from one of his customers crashing their 996. He said he's selling it for $4,500. Here's my dilemma.....I have a loan on the car, so I cannot sell it as a roller and pay off the loan immediately. I don't have $10K laying around to sink into this vehicle. I planned on budgeting $1500-$2000/annually for this car and i've spent close to that already on tools and parts. The mechanic said there is no temporary fix available. At this point, i'd either have to park it until the loan is down enough to sell it. Or I save up to replace the engine. Or pursue some other option. I've read about products such as "K-Seal Pour and Go" that can repair cracked cylinder heads and stop the leak. Reviews online seem to show positive results, although the product is usually used in cheap beater cars that are on their last leg. I guess mine is on my last leg too, but it's not as cheap. I know something like this is certainly not ideal. But, has anyone used this and had success? If I could get the car to drive for another 10-15K miles, I'd be happy. Are there any other alternatives that I'm missing? I'm so frustrated with this vehicle that I don't even want to spend the money, because i think there's alot of other things lurking. I screwed myself and learned a very valuable lesson by not getting a PPI inspection done, as the car had good history and previous owners appeared to have spent the time and money to address things as they popped up. If anyone has any ideas at all, please send them my way. I'm desperate! Thanks

it was sold as-is with no warranty. Doesn't matter what else the ad said IMO. Those solutions in a bottle will not work, you don't have anything to loose at this point though so you can go ahead and try it for yourself. $4500 for a good motor is a steal, I'd be looking at that for sure.

Sorry to hear about your problems. Head gaskets on our cars are never the problem. So it is either a cracked head or cracked cylinder wall. No chemical product will work and will create huge additional problems. The engine will have to be pulled and the head removed to find out what is the exact physical problem. Why not make the indy a deal...buy the used motor and have it installed, and get a core charge for your engine? Maybe he will throw in a 90 day warranty as well. And BTW, as-is is as-is. Caveat emptor... Heads can be replaced and cylinder wall linings can be installed...it's just going to cost big time. Good luck!

yeah, you can probably get $2000-$2500 for your motor as a core. that could offset the costs of the used motor. Either way, Id be taking advantage of a $4500 motor.

Lesson learned, the hard way. A used Porsche 911 is not a sensible transportation option if your finances are tight and you are purchasing a "cheap" 17 year old, very expensive to maintain vehicle. So now you are stuck, what to do? Do not dump another dollar into this car, cut your losses. You simply can not afford to keep dumping money into a car you can't afford. You will have to pay it off and sell it later for $6,500 - $8,000. If you need transportation to survive lease a KIA Forte for $2,000 down and $140 a month on a 39 month lease. It will be reliable, brand new, and only cost you gas and oil. You have dug a hole for yourself. I have been there. A person can completely transform their life in 3 years if they start making sensible decisions, work extremely hard (day and night), and remain completely focused. No excessive partying, no excessive spending on trips, brand name clothes, electronics, (you know stupid sheet). Get to work, hustle, it's going to take years. Accept that. Don't buy another Porsche until you can easily afford one less than 5 years old with less than 40,000 miles.

$4,500 for a M96 motor is a steal. Keep the old one and learn to tear it down.

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yeah. as much as your situation stings. You shouldn't pass up a 4500$ motor if it really is in good running condition. Swallow the pill and get your car back up and running. Then decide to keep it or sell it even you do take a bit of a bath on it. Sell some other toys if you have (motorcycles, guitars, boats?).. i know i have wayyyy too many toys and sometimes sell on to pay for another. the wife and i call it "moving play money around" :-)

Take the used engine at 4500. Sell the core. Drive happy and enjoy the car as you originally intended.

Do a search here. A cracked head can be repaired. If your indy thinks it's a head gasket, he doesn't have much experience with 996's.

I have a set of heads for a 3.4. However, I would also go for the $4500 engine....make sure you put your IMS into it since they will both be out. Just make sure the engine is truly good....I bought a roller Boxster and a used engine that ended up having issues, in the end I bought a rebuilt engine and the the car cost me more than 2X what it is worth. So make sure you see the engine running before they pull it and check leakdown.

OP doesn't seem to know whether its a cracked head or cylinder. This seems important, as some Rennlisters have had success repairing the head, while the cylinder is un-repairable. I would take it to an indy that knows a little bit more about these cars and locate exactly where the coolant/oil is leaking before making any decisions. Or just buy the used engine. Most guys would be happy to get away with a ~$4,500 repair having the same issues.

repairing the heads will be close to the price of that $4500 engine. If its the cylinders, it will be a lot more than the cost of that used engine.

Put a deposit on the used motor and try to work out a payment plan that works for you and the seller. Once your done get the old motor properly diagnosed and fixed. Id bet you could sell it for more than what you payed for the used motor. Good luck with your decision but, do not pour some miracle juice into your motor to try and fix a cracked head or cylinder!

Jaycote, my advice would be to park it and pay off that loan, first. You'll have to do some soul-searching to determine where you have to sacrifice - I'm assuming you will need to sacrifice based on your comments - and really get aggressive towards getting the title for that car. At this point, despite the attractive engine offer, you're not in a position to make this hole any deeper. Not to mention, the $4,500 engine is not a guarantee - it's a cheap engine. If you were in less of a bind, you may want to take the gamble, but I wouldn't, and I'm from Vegas. When you're squared away with the bank, then you can come back to the unenviable position of what you want to do with the car, which will also result in further financial loss. At least, in this case, with your own money and not the bank's.

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Do you have any advice to offer the OP? Or just slumming? At least I tried to offer some practical solutions. It appears (I can't know for sure) the OP can't afford an expensive repair. Most are saying "take the $4,500 engine and install" which will really cost at least $5,500 - $6,000 with installation. $6,000 will pay for the down payment AND two and a half years of leased vehicle while he gets his finances together.

put no big money into it try the parts in a can route and sell it.......on you to inform see if the shop wants to go partners in fix n sell see if shop will buy if for bank pay off amount is it fully insured

Not that it is super wise financial advice, but I say throw that new engine on a credit card, install the engine, try to pay the card down quickly, and enjoy the car. You might be able to sell off the old engine as a core or part out portions of it, i.e. the alternator, starter, throttle body, manifolds, exhaust, etc. If my engine goes I would probably do something similar, as much as I would like an upgraded rebuild that some folks here have, I just could not pour that ,icy money into my car. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Based on what I have read, if it's a 2000 MY, it's most likely a cracked head. They are reparable, and not quite as expensive as some other failures since you don't have to split the case. Since you have to remove the heads (I would send both of them off to get checked and refurbished), there will be additional costs for parts, such as head gaskets, bolts, sealants, and other "while you are in there" items, you will spend more than the cost of refurbishment of the heads. There is no cheap way out. The used engine does seem to be a good deal at $4500. That may be the way to go.

Very sorry to hear about your trouble, how long after purchase did you start having this issue? To make the right decision about the car some details like overall condition of the car?, how many miles on the car? how much of the work can you do yourself? would be helpful I have a 2000 c2 as well and have asked myself what would I do if I had a major engine issue - my gut reaction would be to get a used replacement motor if I could verify that it was in good running condition. But cracked heads are repairable and there are detailed threads on this forum for you to research. Its all about $$$ - its worth looking into weather its cheaper to repair the heads, but as others have said $4500 is very cheap for a 3.4 M96 motor - if you could get some history and documentation on that 80K motor that might be the way to go I have seen many threads of new owners having major problem soon after purchase and it is likely that who ever sold the car knew of the issue and passed their trouble on to the next guy - totally unethical and slimy, it also adds to the online reputation of the M96 engine being prone to failure due to the effect of a new owner posting about their nightmare. I have had great luck buying used cars but have made a few bad buys as well - back in the early eighties I bought VW bug from a girl I went to high school with and the next day it was spewing oil out from a cracked case,I paid more to fix it than the $600 price of the car, - I had a PPI done on the last two 911s I have purchased and both inspections missed more than a few items that should have been addressed - Buyer beware

If you can wait a day or two, I would wait for people who have been-there-done-that to chime here in before making a decision.

rule #1: never ever finance an 18k dollar toy.

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Disclaimer: I am not giving anyone any financial advice I disagree with that statement without knowing the OP's financial situation. If I have 18k cash in 2017, I would still finance the 18k toy. Even if you have to pay 5% interest but put the rest in S&P500 would have given you a healthy 18-20% increase over that year. End of the day, do you have 18k at your disposal for the toy is the more important decision factor, not whether you finance or not. AVG S&P500 return 9.8% over the last 90 years...

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well aside from throwing salt in the wound here for the OP, I don�t think that your response is all that fair. My car is financed, I know, silly stupid me. The same thing with my Boxster before it. If something horrible happens to the engine, which I know is a real possibility with these cars, I know I�ll have to suck it up and sink more money into it as much as that would suck and I don�t even want to contemplate it. Just because someone doesn�t have twenty grand laying around doesn�t mean they shouldn�t try and get their dream car. Is it unwise? Definitely! But honestly buying a sports car in general isn�t a �smart� thing. My car is my DD, as was my Boxster before, and horror of horrors it gets driven every day, rain, sun, or snow. If the engine explodes for glory, I know I�m stuck with it, and will buy a used engine, and keep driving the damn thing. But sure, be pretentious and unhelpful when someone who probably dreamed of having a 911 got one and something went wrong and now they�re in a pickle.

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Yes, Financing may not have been the best option. If I were you I would do two things. 1. Rebuild your engine. If its your dream car and you love it and youre happy with it fix it and enjoy it for the long term. Life is too short to not be happy and an 18K mistake will not completly ruin your life especialy if you live in a first world country. 2. Read Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Richest man in babylon, and think and grow rich. to start. These books will help you get on a path of financial stability so you wont have to ever be in debt. From there on you can read other books. Even easier you can listen to them on audio book on youtube. I also recommend listening to Jim Rhon.

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Some of the best advice you will hear on this board when it comes to Porsche 996 ownership.

I guess I just crossed over from stupid to smart as I received the title for my 996 last month, paid it off early by 2 years! I did borrow $15K on it when I got it. I am on year 6 of putting 2 kids through college, which is significantly more than a 996, but for that, I paid for cash. No cash left over after that, so sell one car and get a $15K loan. Doesn't seem like a bad idea to me. I don't know why everyone thinks you are crazy, poor or stupid to finance a 996. Do what you want, what do you care what others do?

You gotta love the internet. The OP isn't looking for fatherly financial advise. He has a problem and is looking for cost-effective technical recommendations.

^ True, but when you bring up strained financials on a Porsche forum you're *technically asking for it. OP's motor is saying "sayonara" and I think a number of us would like to see him keep the car.

yall can hate on my post if you want to but you know im right. If you cant afford to have a 10k loss when/if the engine bricks, you cant afford the car.

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in which he got.

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That I agree. This is the 2nd porsche OP got this year. At the end of the day, if the 4500 engine is in good shape and they willing to provide warranty it for a year or 2 that's the best option. 18k car back on the road consider 4500 in losses OR sell the roller at 8k and that's 10k losses. Repair the head is going to cost close to 4500 and cylinder will surely be more than that. Splitting the case to find out will cost money that you will then have to add on the 4500 if you find out to be the cylinder... Money no object, call FSI and put a nice bulletproof engine in there. Given the option 4500 motor is as good as it gets if it is a good engine with some kind of guarantee.

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Oh, goodness. I remember your story. This is the car that started throwing codes like 3 days after you purchased it from small independent dealership. Seller claimed that it needed "nothing mechanically". Now here we are... a indy shop has examined the cylinder and more than likely a cracked cylinder or faulty gasket? (I agree with others... the M96 engines usually don't experience gasket issues - more than likely a crack in the cylinder) Big question to answer - How much do you *love* this car? Do you love it enough to put another $10,000 into it? $28,000 is a lot of money for a little joy in life isn't it brotha? I feel your pain. You purchased what you thought would be a great deal to get back into another Porsche 911 only to get butt raped by someone that sold you a car that "needed NOTHING mechanically". Now, you're in it for $28,000. Why do you think many people set them on fire to claim the insurance? Ever had those thoughts? (Don't do it unless you enjoy jail time with bubba!) Ok... here's my best advice... take a deep breath and repair the vehicle properly and don't look back! Of course, I wouldn't advise putting the $10K service on a high interest credit card or other high interest loan method. You might want to contact your local bank and request to consolidate the current loan that includes the cost of repair with a *new* low interest loan. Make sense? Don't put it on a 22% interest credit card! That's $$$ suicide! Now regarding the indy shop... ONLY service the car with this shop if and only if they'll provide a service guarantee/warranty on the 90K used motor AND installation. You may also want a written guarantee that other known wear issues with the used 90K M96 motor have been addressed. Remember, you want to protect your investment. You have $28,000 invested in this vehicle and can't take anymore risks. If they won't provide any type of written warranty agreement, then DON'T do the service, walk away regardless of the savings on the used motor. Remember, just because the IMS was replaced on the 90K motor, that doesn't protect you from the other 28 modes of M96 failure! Think it about it!!!! What if the 90K motor had a poor service history and this indy shop just removed the motor, installed just an IMS bearing and that's it... nothing more. How does that make you feel about it now? Could very well repeat history! Waiting it out may also be a wise option until the dust settles. Don't give into the pressure. Sometimes these shops like to dangle carrots in front of our faces to see if we'll bite. The shop owner is like, "Oh sir... it's Porsche motor for ONLY $4500 sir! These motors cost more than $20,000 brand new! It's a great deal. I can't guarantee it will be here next week. We got lots of calls for a used Porsche M96 motors." Remember, a fool and a sucker is born every minute in this world. All the best! I wish you well.

I am going to chime in. How big is the loan on the car now? How much money can you put down towards the payoff? If I was you, I would dump the car AS-IS for $5k-$7k, pay off the loan and try again later. Take the L in this situation and walk away. You are in a pickle, and there are no easy solutions here. With bargain basement prices of the 996s, they seem like an amazing bargain. Some people end up getting lucky with awesome car for little money, some end up in a doo-doo. You didn't get lucky, so best option is to cut your losses and walk away.

Agree with Kalash. They say the most expensive car you can get is a cheap German one. Trying not to sound snarky, but I think owning this car is a stretch for you. The repair & maintenance on these cars is too unpredictable. You might be able to work this one, but that doesn't mean it's not going to happen again. Maybe you can look into borrowing some money from family, sell this one as a roller, and move on. If you've got a credit card with a decent limit, maybe look into a balance transfer - it should get you a year or more interest free to pay it down.

OP, when was the last time you checked your coolant and engine oil and did you see any intermix? Any smoke and/or coolant out of the tail pipes?

I'm not sure he's that interested in any advice. He hasn't even logged in since his original post. Lol.

I will say from having to do this repair on my car, it does not cost 4500 or whatever per bank to repair a cracked head and also not every cracked head is repairable. It all matters where it is cracked at. When my head cracked I found places that would do it at 1500. Although my head wasn't repairable do to the crack location. so I bought a used one. Also for people saying I wouldn't put a engine in w/o knowing that it has perfect health means nothing when it comes to a m96 engine. At any time things can go south with no warning. I am going to assume you're not mechanically inclined so I would advise putting a used engine in from a recycler that has some sort of warranty if installed by a business. If you can do the repair just buy a used head and replace it. No point in having a flawed head 'fixed' and to be put back on. These heads crack due to the manufacture process.If the head is tainted with poor processes then toss it. Now if it is a cracked cylinder by all means replace it with the 4500 dollar engine. Also since the shop that is doing the work is selling you the engine there should be a warranty behind it. Probably a 12k, 1yr. If the shop can't stand behind that guarantee then go somewhere else. Bc that is saying they can't trust their own work or product they're selling you. GOOD LUCK!

After following this thread and the more I think about it.... Any rebuild project I have embarked on has always cost me more than I thought by a whole bunch...so maybe the best advice is money is a problem is walk away....my boss once gave me great advice...."when you are in a hole, stop digging"

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Got a better one that would apply - "Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment."

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Just checking in to see if the OP has any updates. Hope we haven't scared you off Jay! Let us know how it turns out.

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Hey, I resemble that remark !! lol

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Ha! Now, post it on your shop's wall. hahahaha

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<< retired...I'll have a sign made and either put in my Man-Cave or Garage

We have a core bank of good cylinder heads, should you choose to replace the cracked head, rather than repair it.

Hi I have checked the coolant and oil frequently. I've seen no intermix of either one, and the shop confirmed there is no intermix in the oil. Originally, there was no smoke/coolant out of tail pipes, but that did develop fairly quickly.

haha thanks for the check in! I subscribed to the thread and hadn't seen any email notifications and logged in today and see a bunch of replies, which I'm glad to see. I respect everyone's opinion, and always think through a problem through different sets of eyes and brains, so whether I agree with someone or not is irrelevant. I want to know if I'm missing any angles.

Thanks for all the comments guys! I am very familiar with finance and what's the "smart" thing to do. The "smart" thing to do would be to buy a $4,500 Honda and drive it until the wheels fall off, no matter if you're a millionaire or you're a broke college student. I do have an Acura TL as a daily driver, so this car is not my only means of transportation. I 100% understand I didn't make the smartest decision in buying this car, and I could've done more to mitigate my risk. Driving a Porsche is one of my favorite things to do in life. So if it costs $250/month and is my ultimate hobby, i'm OK with that decision. The car was orig. $21K. I bought it for $18K. I believed it was a good running car and knew there'd be things to fix, and i budgeted for that. The IMS was updated, so that was not a concern of mine. I had not read any issues about cracked heads before. I thought, worse case scenario, if I had to spend $3-4K fixing various parts over the next year or two, I'd have a 2000 996, that I sunk $21-22K into, and it'd be worth close to that amount. I had no idea that the engine would destruct in ways other than a failed bearing, or at least it wouldn't happen within a couple months of my purchase. I'm sure there's many of us on here that would be embarrassed about the amount of money we spend on our cars throughout our life, and possibly hide it from our significant others, myself included. Most 996 guys say the car is very reliable if you replace the IMS, drive it, and stay up to date on maintenance, and that's what my plan was. From what I understand, to fully diagnose the issue on my car, it'll cost $5K at a minimum to repair a head, and get the engine back in place. I am not very mechanically inclined, but I can read and follow directions pretty well and have enjoyed learning how to fix things on my car. I'm up to replace many things on the vehicle, and there's a place near my house that allows you to rent a lift in their garage. If i had a friend or person to guide me through engine removal, and how to diagnose and repair a head, i'd take that challenge on. However, I do not have anyone in my life that could help, and i also do not have a garage to tinker with the car anytime I desire. So far, i think i'm going to get the used engine. It has the IMS replaced by the shop I'm purchasing it from. He said its from a car that he sold to a customer, and the customer took a corner too fast and hit a guardrail. Again, I'm taking this guys word for that, but I believe his reputation is important and I don't see a need to lie about that. I would replace the clutch at the same time. My hesitation here is that I have a bad taste in my mouth about any used Porsche now. I'm afraid to drive it. Can lightening strike twice, and give me another cracked cylinder? Will another catastrophe happen? It sucks because I want to enjoy it and drive it, without having knots in my stomach and my eyes glued to the dash, waiting for coolant light or check engine light to flash. If i could purchase the motor and drive it for a couple years/20K miles, I'd be very happy with that. At that point, I could sell it, or continue driving it and feel very comfortable with it. I think i'd rather spend the $7K to get the used engine, and have a $20K car that I spent $25K on, than parking a car for three years, owning a $5K roller with a loan on it. I can't bear to do that. Also, if i can keep my engine and sell the core or whatever I can, and make another $1-2K, that'd be even better!

If you do go with the replacement engine make sure you have a written warranty that covers parts and labor should anything go wrong. I don't care what the reputation of the shop is, I don't care if Ferdinand Porsche himself rises from the dead and guarantees that used motor, If the shop won't stand behind their parts and work in writing RUN RUN RUN.

I want to clarify the engine situation......My mechanic sold a 996 to a customer, and the mechanic had serviced it and did the IMS. The customer continued to get the car serviced with this mechanic. Recently, the customer swiped a guardrail and the car is totaled, but the engine is still good. The mechanic is not currently in possession of the engine and is not necessarily selling it. He just offered me a way to get a used engine. He said he could get it from his customer for $4,500. I'd think that the customer doesn't want to deal with selling it for parts or doing any of this himself. Now, I don't know if all of those details are accurate, but that's what he told me. With that being said, I wouldn't think it's reasonable to demand a warranty on the engine in this instance. It has not been re-built and is not a product the mechanic is keeping in his inventory. I don't think the mechanic can warranty an engine in that situation, but maybe I'm wrong. I would, however, want some type of guarantee that the engine is in good order. Leak down tests and anything else that would help prove it's a good running engine. What do you guys think about that? If he was offering a warranty and was doing this as part of his inventory, i think the price of the engine would be quite higher.

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IMHO I think you have the correct perspective on this situation. It is reasonable to expect your Mechanic to warranty his work, but not a used part( engine) that he has not rebuilt. Any warranty would be on his workmanship, ie correct installation of the engine.It would be reasonable to expect the engine once installed to show no signs of problems during adequate road test by the Mechanic. If you don't trust your Mechanic then you should not have him working on your car. All engines are headed toward failure while running.For those who say there should be a warranty of up a year or more, I ask how much warranty would you offer me on your wife's $4500 Honda Accord? IF you are not in the car sales business I would think you would not offer any warranty OP .I think you should go for it and sell your core engine, or just keep it for later plans.

Keep the old one and confirm if its a cylinder or head replacement. Fix and sell.

Apologies I jumped to conclusions. At least you kept your daily driver, I wish I had. If insurance totaled it, doesn't the car belong to the insurance company now? I'd confirm he can procure the engine for $4500. You have to make the decision how important it is to you to be able to drive the 911. I flip flop every time something breaks / take it for a spirited drive. If it's not worth your while --> $18K purchase price less $6K roller = $12K loss. Assuming the repair doesn't hit $12K, you would be better off fixing prior to selling. If you can get the used engine as adverstised, I think a good inspection template would be the IMS pre-qualification procedure. http://imsretrofit.com/wp-content/up...lification.pdf Good luck!

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It makes sense that he wouldn't want to stick his neck out guaranteeing a used engine. Get an estimate for an all-in price. If it's just a cracked head, which is a relatively common failure mode for MY2000 996's, look into what it would cost to replace or repair the head. Several people here have gone that route for much less than replacing an engine. I was hoping that they would chime in here but I haven't see it yet. Do a search.

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Can you please explain how that process would work? I'm assuming I'd remove my engine, remove my cylinder heads, and then replace them with a new set? Would that 100% solve my problem? How much would a set of heads from you cost, including shipping? I apologize in advance, but this is one area of the car that I'm not very knowledgeable on and I'm trying to learn exactly how this process works. Thanks in advance!

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What are the actual differences between a cylinder and a head repair? For now, all we know is that coolant is leaking into Cylinder 1. I believe the engine needs to be pulled, and then further analyzed in order to properly diagnose. I'm assuming that's a good amount of money just to do that. Do you know offhand what the differences in costs would be for one or the other? I thought a head needs to be replaces either way.....I'm not sure what a cylinder repair would entail. Thanks for any info you can provide.

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Probably more likely to get your answers with a telephone call. Hope this all turns out well for you. FSI telephone [phone removed]

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I have not read the whole thread but there's a simple visual check from the cylinder #1 spark plug hole to see if there's any crack (most common case when the head is cracked). If you could see that, that's relatively good news as the head can be repaired.

There's 6 common crack prone areas with these heads. Actually, the crack extending down the spark plug tube area is the least common. It is the easiest to spot, and the largest, making it the most talked about. The only way to properly evaluate a cylinder head is with a pressure test. only 2-3 of the common cracks are visible with the naked eye. The worst of all cracks occurs deep within the head, on the backside of the chamber, and these cannot be found easily. They even require a different pressure test to find, as they often bridge the secondary air ports within the cylinder head

Have the mechanic pull the engine - it has to come out anyway. And then inspect. If he just has to swap the head it will be cheaper than the used motor. If the cylinder is shot then put the used motor in. Maybe save yourself a couple grand.

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That's good to learn and thanks for the info. BTW, do you think a cracked cylinder is unlikely given engine is still running with no smoke and intermix?

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There was some smoke, but no intermix

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Thanks...If i'm understanding you correctly, a crack in the head means I can just swap heads or repair the head and be good to go, while a crack in the actual cylinder means that it's in the block, and a new head would not fix that? I'm not sure I understand the difference between a crack that requires a new head, and a crack that means the engine is toast.

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Exactly. The heads (red) are bolted onto the engine block/cylinders (blue). The heads can be removed with the engine in the car (very difficult) or with the engine out (much easier to remove and reinstall).

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SUPER HELPFUL!!!! Thank you!!

A crack in the head can be repaired for a couple grand - give or take. A crack in the block (cylinder wall) will cost north of $15000 to repair. Hence the - if it is in the block (cylinder) have him drop in the used engine - line of thinking And don't feel bad about your expenses. You are still in the minor leagues. I paid $28000 to drive a 996 for 27 months.