Just picked up my car with a new engine and clutch

Hi all and Happy Friday. I just picked up my car this morning after coolant oil intermix allowed me to get a new engine under warranty. I asked them to look at the clutch and replace it if it looked necessary. They said it was worn and replaced it - I only had to pay for parts - I never "thought" I needed a new clutch. I wanted to share a couple thoughts on the engine and clutch: 1) The new engine feels great, but not really any different than my previous engine did at 48,000 miles. It really gave me an appreciation for how nicely these engines can pull even into their later years, as long as nothing goes wrong. Unfortunately, things obviously do go wrong. 2) I had a super friendly service advisor at Rusnak Porsche in Pasadena, CA and we talked about how common or uncommon this problem is. He said that even the dealers don't know how common this issue really is. Porsche must know a decent estimate, as the dealers return the bad engines to them. But, consumers and dealers don't seem to know. That said, it's common enough that there is a warehouse in Ontario (a town east of LA) with Porsche engines on hand just to service engine replacements in the southern California market. So ...it's obviously happening enough for Porsche to lease a warehouse to keep customers happy with quick turnaround during an engine replacement. 3) The clutch. I honestly did not think I needed a new clutch. I had driven a number of 993s and 996s during my search and my clutch felt better than most. However, I did have to feather it a little bit in first for a smoothe launch and got used to driving the car without fanfare for me or my passengers. I always heard that Porsches were a little tougher to drive than other cars and I always assumed everything was OK - WRONG. With the new clutch, my car feels like my old Acura. The clutch is light, smoothe, and allows a very clean launch while in low RPMs with no feathering of the clutch. I'm just sharing this because there are a lot of posts from people wondering if there is a problem with their clutches. My opinion: if you think there is a problem, there is likely a problem. I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend.

Nice write-up, and I am glad it did not cost you more than the clutch parts. Now you are worry free for 2 years. Congrats.

Glad to hear it all worked out, and that you plan on keeping your car for a while with a new appreciation.

Oh yes, I'll have it for a while now - I just can't wait to get past the break in period and really have fun with the car. I think I will now spring for the ROW suspension or another aftermarket package - time to do a little thread searching!

Ontario, California is one of two warehouses where Porsche keeps spare parts. it was not just set up for engines. The other is in Atlanta, Ga... and the third is in Germany.

enjoy your new-again car!

Fair correction - I didn't mean to be misleading - I will share that my car was one of three at the dealership going through this procedure - two 996s and one Boxster. Plus, I dropped the car off two weaks ago and they said, "don't worry, this will be fast - there are always engines on hand in Ontario."

Be sure to treat this new motor like it is a new motor, and follow the break-in process, i.e. keep it under 4000 for the first 1-2K miles. And let it fully warm up before you are aggressive withe the 4K power bandwidth you have. I say that because of my experience with a new engine replacement 2 years ago. I was advised to drive it like I stole it, no break-in required. I did that, I did not abuse the engine, just drove it like I did with the old engine. Well, 525 miles later, 2 pistons and a cylinder wall broke, and I got yet another engine. That one, I followed the new car break-in and it has been fantastic. It has a little over 15K miles on it, and it does not burn and oil at all.

Congrats. I never thought Rusnak was that friendly with customers. I always thought they were uptight, etc.

Thanks for the post. Actually I have a clutch-related question. My clutch pedal is really very tight (needs a lot of force to push the pedal in). The salesman told me this is normal, and whilst I do find it drivable (unfortunately my wife is almost not strong enough), I am very suprised that this could be considered 'normal' - it's even tighter than my previous Land Rover Defender, and that drove like a tractor. Are there any adjustments that can be made? What's the best (if any) method to measure how far my pedal varies from 'normal'? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Having that warehouse in Ontario got me back on the road in days rather than weeks with my new engine. It's great to live in the most populated part of the country.

Congratulations. I had Rusnak in Pasadena do mine also. One note about the clutch. They told me I did not need one but I replaced it anyway because of some chatter. I was happy I did because the new clutch is much smoother. It is easier to push and has no chatter at all. Did you deal with Greg at Rusnak? He was excellent for me as he kept me informed the whole way. Brad J.

25% of the American Porsches are in Southern CA. Makes sense to me to have available parts.

As a clutch gets more and more wear on it, it gets harder to push in. There are not any adjustments that can be made to the clutch.

BlackCab - glad you got your baby back! Treat her gently early on, and once she is broken in, ride her hard and put her up wet!

I probably wouldn't ever buy there. They are overpriced and a pain to deal with in negotiations. I also would not take my car there for non warranty work because I like my indy guy for preventative maintenance. I went there because I knew I had a warranty claim and they are closest to my home. If anyone here does have to go there, Mike is the service advisor who was down to earth and helpful.

I will, thanks. I reset the trip odometer when I picked up the car. I'll be good to her and keep things limited to harmless flirting for a while. When that trip odometer hits 1,000 miles, we're going to get down and dirty.

I got my car 30K service and clutch replaced at Rusniak Pasadena and since then I really enjoy the smoothness of the new clutch, I am sure you do too. Now that you have a new car, enjoy it! Congrat... Cheers,