'02 996 - Valves damaged

Hi, I wanted some opinions of others out there on what I am facing with my engine...its a 2002 996 coupe. I took it in initially for a CEL that indicated a misfire on cylinder 6...broken coil was fixed and all was good. Then the CEL came back again...shop suspected a lifter was sticking in the cylinder. So they replaced the lifters...when they put it all back together something was wrong...and they indicated "due to the timing being off it has damaged some of the valves internally". They indicated that "The technician who had worked on your vehicle failed to set the timing correctly and there was some interference with the valves on 1 of the cylinders". They ordered new parts. Anyway...bad situation for sure. Should I be worried that more damage has been done to the engine then what they imply? Bad timing tear up 1 cylinder but not hurt anything else...I am really concerned more has been damaged than is being said. Thanks!

Sorry to hear your problem. Hopefully the damage is contained within bank 2. If timing is compromised, I would imagine it will affect all cylinders on that bank equally Hope they didn't find valve piston contact in other cylinders.

Good point...I will ask them to make sure they are looking at all banks/Cylinders...thanks!

How much do you know how engines work?

@Imo000 Somewhat, why?

Sorry to hear. Which shop was this ? Really bad service for them to miss this Also in previous cars sticking lifters have been cured with 2 oil changes a couple thousand miles apart but in your case it may have been beyond that

Believe it or not it was the local Porsche dealer. I am most worried that more damage than is seen so far...I suppose that with all the electronic monitoring in these engines that something will show pretty quickly...I hope.

Was this ever tracked that you know of? I would make sure they inspect the pistons/liner/rod caps in addition to the top end, especially on cylinder 6 as that is the one that gets the least amount of lubrication under most track conditions.

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Yes, a bad situation to be sure. The odds are the valve/piston interference occurred at low engine RPMs, maybe at engine start. That only one cylinder appears to have been affected helps me make this assumption. So collateral damage is (probably) non-existent. Thus with the damaged valves and possibly lifters replaced the engine will be ok. You must insist on giving the car and the engine a thorough test drive before you accept the car back. This test drive must be very much like you would give a car/engine about which you know nothing about. What you are seeking to do is give time for any collateral damage to make itself known. Also, you have to be very clear on what warranty against further problems you get. Remember like gratitude, remorse has a short half life. Now is the best time to get some written commitment from the dealer regarding what warranty or whatever it is called you will be entitled to say if a cam lobe flattens out, or another cylinder develops a misfire that proves to be valve related, etc.

If feels like you are at a "who do you trust" moment. Is this the shop where you regularly have your car serviced? If not, why are your there now? If this shop is your regular wrench then you need a long heart to heart talk with them about the level of their work on this issue. Your shop/mechanic is like your personal doctor. When trust breaks down you need to seriously look at alternatives.

@alpine003 - no, car was never tracked...street driver only. I will ask them how deep they inspected, they indicated that he put his "Goldmeisters to work on your vehicle"...I am guessing a Goldmeister is a master tech. thanks for your inputs. @Macster - Yah, I am guessing they started the car and the engine was probably sounding like it was eating itself. I will indeed test drive the heck out of it before I officially "accept it". Great idea about insisting on written commitment on the engine surrounding the issues...I was thinking that I ask them to purchase a 3rd party extended warranty for the power train (with zero deductible)...just in case.

@johnireland - I have been to 2 shops...the dealership and this other shop that specializes in Porsche. I took it to the dealer this time because the misfire came back after the other shop thought they resolved it with the broken coil (they swapped coils around to see if the issue remained at cylinder #6, and it did)...they weren't sure what else to do honestly except check the continuity in the wiring (they are very honest). I like the non-dealership shop as they are very friendly and have great communication...I just figured the dealer would be able to dig deeper into the engine and resolve this - not damage it unfortunately.

I believe any Porsche parts installed by a Porsche dealer have at least a 2 year warranty along with the labor. The fact that they confessed what had gone wrong is a big positive in my opinion. Insure that you get paperwork that shows what happened & resonable warranty, along with a hi rpm test drive & everything should be OK.

@Byprodriver - I think your right about 2 years...I have done EVERYTHING via email so it is documented what happened, etc. Verbal never works of course that is why I always corresponded via email only...documentation. I will ask them for the warranty conditions for documentation purposes. And yes, I will test drive it and drive it hard to make sure it purrs like a kitten again.

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I wasn't sure this applied to all Porsche dealers but if that is the case, this may be the key to your salvation and well being.