Hartech engine rebuild

Just picked up my Gen 1 996 C4 from Hartech after a full engine rebuild. A pre-emptive strike at 120K miles which made no economic sense but I didn't buy it as an investment, I bought it to drive it and enjoy the experience. Having done a fair bit of research on the project and looked at various rebuild providers I opted for Hartech given their great reputation. A special mention should go to Chris Wright here of Wrightune who said that I was probably riding my luck at this level of mileage despite RMS/IMS been done (crank bearing failures though give no warning and that was on my mind)and the car had also undergone a full gearbox rebuild within the last 4 years. Chris recommended Hartech given the set up they have and the reputation. When I dropped the car off at the Hartech workshop the welcome was very friendly and Tobias showed me round the various sections of their facility explaining the whole process - it was really uplifting to see some great engineering going there, I have to say. I even met Baz who was on his way out but stopped for a chat about what they do there. Having made my way home Grant phoned a week later me to say the engine was out, stripped and what they had found. Given the car was 25 years old there were obviously going to to be things that were badly corroded and needed changing. Fortunately, the water pump, AOS and starter and harness had been changed within the last 2 years so those were kept off the list of things to do. I got the car back in 6 weeks and I can't be more delighted. The crispness of the engine, the note from the new Topgear exhaust and the whole experience is incredible - a new lease of life and practically a new car!! I would definitely recommend them, it was a great experience (except the payment part!!! LOl). The Last Drop Hotel in Bromley Cross is worth a stay if you need to stop over. It's a 10 minute ride from there in a cab. Happy motoring!

Out of interest, what were the deciding factors in making this decision..? My 99 C4 is just about to hit 113k and runs beautifully, has just had a full service including all liquids and plugs at MLR and is, and i quote, " immaculate ". What are the noticeable differences after the rebuild? Si.

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Hi Si, My car had the RMS/IMS done less than 30K ago plus most of the ancillaries since and the car was running very well. My biggest concern to be honest was a big end bearing failure (where you get no warning). Having spoken to a few specialists the consensus seemed to be if there was going to be trouble after everything that I'd had done it was the big end bearingswith that sort of mileage. I then learned that Hartech were seeing more and more of these incidents since a lot more cars now are over 100K. I know there are plenty of cars out there that are running perfectly well with higher mileage than mine that haven't had a rebuild but I didn't want to roll the dice and find out as it were. Had I tried to sell it with 120K on the clock with no rebuild it would be almost like giving the car away given where prices are at the mo. Like I said above, it didn't make economic sense but I'm keeping it anyway. The engine seems more responsive and crisp and sounds throatier, courtesy of the new Topgear exhaust they fitted (I had Dansk on previous but had corroded sadly and could not be saved). Other engine rebuilders are obviously available and it's down to individual choice and I'm very pleased with the one I made. These C4's are great little cars aren't they!

Sorry to resurrect an old post, just wondering now you've had the car back for a couple of seasons, how you're fining it? Did yo stay 3.4 or did you take the opportunity to increase the capacity?

Not at all. Glad to share my experience. I stayed with the 3.4 and am still absolutely delighted with having made the decision. The engine is so sweet. Comes into its own above 4K+ RPM. Not the fastest 911's these cars but fast enough for UK roads but its not all about speed I guess!

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I’ve had the opportunity to drive a friend’s 3.4 C2 in stock form and thought it a wonderful thing. As a car to enjoy on a British B road, throughly rewarding to have to rev the engine out to enjoy its power. Does the engine and its performance feel any different pre and post rebuild?

The best way to describe it is the engine feels crisper and more responsive. In terms of speed and BHP there's no discernible difference. Just the peace of mind knowing that its had a quality rebuild and the benefits that come with that. In terms of 'Man maths' of course it makes no sense but I'm glad I did it.

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I have owned my 996.1 C4 now for 21 years, and have done 102,000 miles, and have had no bearing change and had the RMS seal done years ago. My car has new oil every year and they check the filter at the same time. So i am interested to read your post ref having the engine rebuilt despite it not causing an issue. I plan to keep my car now for many years so an engine rebuild will have to be done at some point like most engines that are used and do high mileages, so good to hear that Hartech gave such a good service. Maybe a question i should not ask but what sort of money did it cost for a rebuild like this? No problem if you don't want to answer this question. Enjoy your car they are great machines !!

Hi Philippe, glad you're another 'high mileage' aficionado. Hartech do a variety of rebuilds. I had the full fat one (see link below). Mine is a daily drive with 127K on it now. The previous owner had spent a lot of money doing a gearbox rebuild and replacing brake lines, powers steering lines and retro-fitting the MO30 suspension and had the IMS and RMS done and there was no bore scoring so the car was in relatively good condition for age. What made me consider a pre-emptive strike was attending a talk by Hartech at an event last summer and listening to their experience of what they were seeing at the workshop - and generally it was bearing failure on cars over 100K miles and then when the car was at specialist Wrightune (would highly recommend) for some repairs I discussed the matter with those guys and felt that a pre-emptive strike would be better than trying to deal with a potential bearing failure after( especially since it was a lean time for Porsche). Wrightune recommended Hartech to me (other rebuilders are available!) . Obviously, not all cars will suffer bearing failure (ditto for the RMS,IMS, Bore scoring issues) but I want to keep the car as I love driving it so took the plunge despite the 'man maths' issue making no financial sense at all. If you watch 9Werks TV on Youtube, Lee Sibley's channel, his 996 C2 of similar vintage to mine has done over 160K miles (from memory) on the same engine with IMS/RMS all done and he just changes the oil every 5K miles. The car has been driven hard too and has had various mods to suspension etc (it's a great channel by the way) so they can take it. Would love to know if there are any 200K plus milers out there on the original engine. Lastly, when I visited Hartech, I was hugely impressed with the engineering set-up there, absolutely first class operation and was shown around the workshop and each process the engine would go through and got to speak to the various team members involved in the stripping and rebuilding. Quite an operation. Porsche Engine Rebuild Prices - Hartech Porsche Boxster Engine Problem Costs/Porsche 911 Engine Problem Prices/Porsche Cayman Engine Fault Costs: No two re-builds are exactly the same. www.hartech.org

Hartech's Gen 1 C4 3.7 demo car was my friend's old car (before it became a 3.7). He owned it up to ~185k miles on the original engine, did track days, we did the NC500 in it together and the only reason it failed was that the header tank split, unfortunately he was driving it hard at the time. It lost pressure, but didn't dump all the fluid. So no warning light and by the time he noticed it wasn't feeling right he'd overheated the engine and cracked a head Up to that point it was running beautifully and to my backside dyno it felt as strong as any 3.4 I've ever known! This is not to say I disagree with anyone rebuilding their engine to Hartech spec. My current and last 996 both have Hartech engines. Even after over 50k miles I found my C4S didn't use any oil, did slightly better MPG (can't explain) and had noticeably better throttle response than my factory C2 3.6 car. Plus there's something lovely about knowing you have an M96+ with a closed deck block, stronger IMS and Nikasil liners. It's got that fire and forget quality, so you never have to think about it again. Just jump in and drive it as Porsche intended.

That's fantastic, What a great story. 185K, what an innings - the highest mileage one I know of to date! Thinking of doing the NC500 next year myself. Any tips of places to defo stay and defo avoid would be gratefully received!

There are a few on RennTech in the US with well over 200,000 miles, and after a quick look today, found one with 319, 000. No history detail though. https://www.renntech.org/topic/14151-high-mile-role-call/?page=14#findComment-323958

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Sure. Will PM you rather than tangent the thread.

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Thanks for all the info, i can see where you are coming from. I also know Lee Sibley as have been a follower of him for a long time, and also am a member of the 9werks community, really great gang of people, like most Porsche owners. I have also seen some real high milage cars, seems the ones that are looked after well, such as serviced on a regular bases, warmed up correctly etc seem to go on but i guess if you want piece of mind then good to get a rebuild done so you can do many more miles. The pricing that Hartech have listed for different engine rebuilds all seem fair for the quality of work something I will certainly take into account for the future. I have just seen a C4S in silver come past me, still such a good looking car.

Hi My 996.1 C4 had a engine strip down by Hartech in 2013. No cylinder work but everything else was swopped. Out of interest what IMS did they use. On the invoice on mine it just says Uprated IMS and Stronger Spindle. Would that be a non serviceable ims as I'm going to need a clutch in distant future and the Specialist i use asked me if i wanted them to check the IMS. Can you can tell it's a non serviceable without taking IMS cover off ?

Just give Hartech a call, I'm sure they will give you advice on the type they were fitting back in 2013.