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Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHWhere is engine S/N or VIN located?
Leading reported evidence
Replace from the original
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
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0
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1
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Read evidence and context
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
Well, I'm thinking that anytime an engine is replaced from the original, it devalues the car.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I bought my car with 30,000 miles on the chassis but only 8,000 miles on the engine which was replaced under warranty because the IMS went on the original.
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Suggestion
Face it, these are all mass produced cars, and engines today are R&R items (remove and replace).
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Suggestion
Why would it bother you if they replaced the engine?
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Suggestion · Original poster
Also, is it unreasonable to ask for an engine leak down test during a PPI?
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I bought my car with 30,000 miles on the chassis but only 8,000 miles on the engine which was replaced under warranty because the IMS went on the original.
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I'm doing a PPI real soon. I read horror stories about engines being replaced and the prospective buyer not knowing about it. Does anyone know where the engine serial number / VINI is located so that I can compare it to the chassis VIN number?
Also, is it unreasonable to ask for an engine leak down test during a PPI?
Many thanks in advance!
There is no point is looking at the engine number and comparing it to anything. it won't match or be even close to matching the VIN. Look for it from the left side of the car. On a sort of tab. Use a flashlight. Readable from the left side (right side up)
That's BS. They can give you the warranty/repair history of the car without divulging the prior owner info. I'd move on if somebody was not forthcoming.
Why would it bother you if they replaced the engine? What sort of horror stories did you hear? I would be more concerned with the original engine, at least in early 996s.
A new engine is IMHO, a good thing. I would pay a little more because the problem had already been removed and replaced.
Oh, and it
is
reasonable (and prudent) to ask for a leakdown test. You just have to pay for it.
Belive it or not - but it IS PCNA policy. Not to say you can't have a *friendly* dealer help you out here, but officially (and of course if they don't know you from Adam) they cannot do it. You can go move around to others all you want - but the person refusing to let you see data from another owner, wasn't doing it because he wanted to pizz you off.
I am the third owner of my car. When I showed the complete dealer history of my car to the service managerat my dealer, he said, "how did you get that?" I put it back in my pocket. The 2nd owner asked for it from his dealer and he gave it to me when I purchased the car.
It is policy that they do not provide this info to owners who are not the original and current owner of the car.
I'm glad I have mine though.
Indeed it is, and here is how to decipher it:
- Last 5 digits on from the right are the specific serial number
- 6th digit from the right is the code for the year of production
- 7th and 8th digits from the right are for type of engine (NA or turbo, and for the number of cylinders
Back to the year of production (6th digit from the right end)
W = 1998
X = 1999
Y = 2000
1 = 2001
2 = 2002
3 = 2003
4 = 2004
etc.
On my replacement engine, the stamped (or etched) number appears like this:
M96/3066309588
The 6th digit from the right is a "3", denoting the engine was produced in 2003.
The above comes from page 599 of "Porsche 996 - The Essential Companion"
Hope this is helpful.
...Rickker
That sort of thinking is correct if you're talking about a 356 Carrera. For the 996 and 997 cars, total engine swaps are NBD (no big deal). Face it, these are all mass produced cars, and engines today are R&R items (remove and replace).
Help! I am trying to find the engine # on my car. The description is not clear to me and dang it I can't seem to find it. Should I be looking from underneath the car or from the engine bay. Thanks,
Let's see... My experience is with Boxster/Caymans and these have their serial numbers on the right side of the car which can be viewed if one gets down real low behind the passenger side (USA car) rear tire and with a bright light find the oil sump cover and the seam where it joins to the engine block.
Look left towards the rear of the car and just above the seam there should be a machined surface at a 45 deg. angle from perpendicular with the engine's serial number stamped into the face.
The machined face into which the serial number is stamped may be dirty so you might want to have handy a rag or paper towel and some kind of cleaner -- brake cleaner in an aerosol can -- to use to remove the grime so you can make out the number.
Now a 996 has its engine turned 'round so this would put the serial number on the other side of the car and one would have to look from the driver's side, maybe from just ahead of the rear wheel.
The few times I've been under 996s I never paid any attention -- save I took pics of my Turbo's engine serial number (but the engine is not the same as in the NA 996 cars and the serial number is located in a different place) -- and took pics of my Boxster and Cayman serial numbers as well.
Sincerely,
Macster.
On the drivers side, you dont even have to lift the car.... Look under the car right behind the DS rear wheel. The number will be facing you on the bottom, front corner of the engine on a part of the case casting that has a 45 degree angle to it.
Not true. I bought my car with 30,000 miles on the chassis but only 8,000 miles on the engine which was replaced under warranty because the IMS went on the original. The new engine had all the updated parts so if anything it was more reliable than the original. It was a plus for me.
In my experience if you really want to know, have a dealer perform the PPI, they can pull up the data on the car and tell you if the engine is the same as when the car was delivered. They can also tell you about the warranty and TSB history, which dealer the car was originally delivered at etc.. What they will not tell you is non-warranty work without the owner's permission.
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.
