35 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHCracked head on 996 ( 1-3 )
Leading reported evidence
Use 996 3.4 heads
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Leading evidence: 'Use 996 3.4 heads' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'other may fail eventually' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check cracks and have the seats, valves, guides, springs, etc' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that suspect a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suspected cause
If one failed more than likely the other may fail eventually.
Check cracks and have the seats, valves, guides, springs, etc
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
The "good" head would also be checked for cracks and have the seats, valves, guides, springs, etc checked and replaced as necessary.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
I was right at $1100 door to door for my repair although each case varies depending on the condition of the head/valves.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
any idea on the costs for Hoffman to repair the crack ?
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
35 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T222516Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Hello Folks
My first post on the 996 forum ever so be gentle. I am helping a buddy tear down his 996 due to intermix. After pulling the cooler and testing it successfully we went immediately to the 1-3 head and sure enough it is cracked as we suspected it would be ( classic crack , top side spark plug hole to valve. )
The good news is all bearings looked in great shape so no coolant damage so I would say a relatively simple repair overall.
The question I have is could someone point me to list of places that do head repair of this nature, does a list even exist ? . I did some searching and came up with costa mesa but many people looking for other places , so I was wondering if anyone ever put a list together.
I think the odds of finding a place in Canada are slim to none so it looks like we probably will be shipping to the US for repair.
Anyway thanks for any recommendations you guys can provide.
oh just for a data point this car has 160K Kilometers or 100,000 Miles, very good shape otherwise and looks like it wasn't even winter driven.
any idea on the costs for Hoffman to repair the crack ?
Thanks to all for their offer to sell heads and matching covers. I will be forwarding it all on to my buddy and have asked him to reach out to you guys as its really his deal , I'm just helping do a bit of research . its been amazing what I have learned in the past few days.
Thanks for the help and support guys.
Boys, it's kinda weird having some of the best Porsche shops sandwiched between me in Georgia. Jake Raby north of me and Len Hoffman to the south. Two of the best Porsche shops on the planet. You think in the middle of the muscle car center of the south, you wouldn't see such a thang.
Check out Hoffman's website....
https://newsite.hamheads.com
Len has been doing my head work to our specs, since 2003.
Thats around 1,500 sets of heads, from aircooled, to watercooled Porsche, and anything odd and crazy I take on from Ferrari to Lotus, to Pinzgauer..
Ed (my buddy ) is on rennlist so please reach out to him directly if you have parts for sale ( heads with matching valve cover ) I am absolutely sure he is interested. I just don't want to get involved in that piece.
Hiss rennlist name is porsche41
Thanks all
I just bought a 1999 Carrera 4 for a low price with an oil water intermix. I am hoping it's a cracked head and not a cracked liner. The threads concerning this issue are giving me a warm fuzzy that I may be able to fix this issue without taking out a loan...
If there is more oil in the water than there is water in the oil, then you are probably looking at either a failed oil cooler or a cracked head, IF there is more water in the oil than there is oil in the water, you are probably looking at a failed AOS, cracked cylinder or the begining of the D-chunk.
Bob @ BV engines in ottawa did the headwork on mine. But it was now here as extensive as what you are looking for. He does most machine work for the Ottawa Porsche/Audi dealer.
https://411.ca/business/profile/12672897
Man this Forum is great! I didn't see any mix of water with the oil but when the car was started up and put on the trailer it billowed smoke and chocolate milk poured out of the exhaust and coolant reservoir (no top). Seems to indicate a cracked head
A new head for about the same cost as getting one rebuilt looks like the way to go to me.
Your head may be repairable, but some head cracks and damage cannot be economically repaired.
I should add that you will need to get the 4-6 head rebuilt, or replaced with a new one too.
The heads are basically worthless if you don’t have the matching cam cover and bearing caps. They are machined together as a unit and cannot be swapped. I have a brand new 3.4 1-3 head if anyone is interested.
3.6 heads will not fit on a 3.4. They might bolt on but they will never work as the chains (3.4 is a five chain engine and the 3.6 is a three chain engine) and the cam advance systems are entirely different.
It's a good idea to have them both rebuilt. The "good" head would also be checked for cracks and have the seats, valves, guides, springs, etc checked and replaced as necessary.
When I responded to the original post, there were several new heads that were offered by members or in the classifieds that were inexpensive enough that it would have made sense to buy new ones as opposed to having the originals rebuilt.
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.
