My 718 Cayman Blew Its Engine and I Still Don t Know Why - Page 5 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

This has taken me six months to write, not just because life has been busy but because I’m genuinely gutted. I’m also still a bit lost on what to do next. Over Christmas, my beloved 2017 Cayman 718 suffered what Porsche called a “catastrophic engine failure.” No warning signs, no aggressive driving, no track time. Just gone. And to this day, we still don’t know why. I bought it in March 2024, my first Porsche, from REDSPEED, a private reseller. 34k miles, fully serviced each year at Porsche. It was in beautiful condition and drove like an absolute dream. I live in Reading and used it semi regularly for trips to family in the southeast or up to Manchester for work. I work remote so it wasn’t heavily used. It lived in private parking and was treated with genuine love and care. Then one evening in December I took it a couple of miles to a friend’s birthday. On the way back I got a warning: “Oil pressure issue.” In hindsight, yes, I made a bad call. I figured I’d limp the mile or two home and look at it there. But the car didn’t make it. It cut out and refused to restart. It was towed the remaining stretch. A Mobile Porsche Specialist came out when they had availability and fitted a brand new battery. Still no luck. So I had it taken to Porsche Reading. They spent a short while on it and told me what no owner wants to hear. The engine’s done for. Complete failure. They didn’t strip it, just said it was beyond saving and quoted a frankly absurd amount to replace the engine. And they still couldn’t say why it happened. And I’ll be honest, I made one other grave error. I hadn’t realised the MOT had expired in the short time I’d had the car. First time in 15 years of driving I’ve slipped up on something like that, and of course it had to be with this car. As a result, the warranty refused to pay out. REDSPEED, to their credit, think that’s ridiculous and have been supportive throughout, but it’s a dead end. So I searched around and found a well reviewed Porsche specialist in Hitchin who offered to source and fit a new engine for about half what Porsche quoted. I agreed and had the car towed there. Then, heartbreakingly, the owner of the garage passed away unexpectedly. Work hadn’t yet started and understandably the business came to a halt. Eventually they decided to close and sell the garage. I had the car brought back to me. It’s now been sitting untouched for the last month. In the meantime, life’s moved on. I proposed to my girlfriend and we’re now planning a wedding and thinking about moving. In my head, the Porsche was going to be part of the wedding. Realistically, I’m not sure it will be. And that’s tough to admit. I love that car. Everyone who’s seen it says the same thing. It’s stunning. Still is. But the engine’s gone and no one can explain why. So PistonHeads, what would you do? • Pay someone to strip the engine and find out what actually happened • Go straight to replacing the engine with a specialist • Sell it as is to someone who wants to take on the project themselves Any advice, especially from those who’ve been through similar, would mean a lot. I just want to do right by the car. It deserves more than being left to gather dust.

I d be after a definitive diagnosis, or as near as possible without going all in, before making a decision. As we all know, dealers can be real idiots sometimes and if they re not interested they can be really difficult. Sorry to hear your woes though, sounds like you cherish your car.

Sorry to hear this. I would get it in somewhere quick so you at least know the options. It’s worth a few quid to see if it can be saved. Would Hartech be a good option for this?

I rang Hartech when it was returned to me to see what they can do and they implied they can only strip not replace. Have you any experience with them? I have a house and a wedding to organise so looking for somebody who I can trust as I think you are both right; I should have somebody take a look before committing to anything. There’s also Northway Porsche in Reading. I don’t mind having it towed far, the garage quality, trust and price is most important. Thanks to you both

I’m not a Porsche expert I’m afraid but I have heard good things with Paragon?

It probably makes sense to investigate as best you can the likely value of the car sold as is along with cost of replacing the engine with a used unit. Then you can compare the cost of repairing the car to the net cost of selling as is and buying another 718 (if you want to stay with a 718). If the repair option isn't very clearly and fairly dramatically cheaper, I'd go with selling and replacing. There's substantial hassle factor of getting it repaired if you're not in the trade and don't already have a good relationship with a service provider who is keen to do the work, some risk (repair could go wrong to a greater or lesser degree) and even if no hitches at all then you're left with a fairly modern Porsche with a replacement engine, which the market doesn't tend to love in terms of resale value. Exceptions to that might be extraordinary emotional attachment to that particular car, or if it's a hugely exceptional example spec wise. The latter seems unlikely and the former is obvs all about emotions, not practical advice!

I’d be comfortable taking it to any of Northway, Paragon, Hartech, RPM or 9e (Nine Excellence). The decision between them I think you have to make based on speaking to each of them and getting a feel for who you prefer, because it’s not realistic to hawk it round for provisional views and estimates. I’d want someone to look at the engine properly and assess whether it is really dead or can be fixed and if so at what cost compared to a new engine. Convenience says Northway.

Some good advice given so far. Low oil pressure warning is never good, possibly related to crank bearings failure. I had an issue with my 718S regarding a serious oil leak which turned out to be the two blanking plugs on the back of the engine working loose. They can come out completely which would result in a catastrophic loss of oil and potentially causing engine damage. Luckily I caught mine early. I m wondering if this has happened at some point with a previous owner and the car has been run too long before diagnosis ( it can lose most of the oil very quickly ). The blanking plugs problem is a known issue. Edited by hooch500 on Sunday 15th June 14:18

Anything oil pressure related is a stop now on any vehicle. Unfortunately if it was down / out of oil pressure at that point from a blocked pickup, failed oil pump, collapsed oil filter or any of the other reasons it could lose oil pressure then every crank revolution from that point was sealing its fate. Trying to drive it will mean most bearings in the bottom end are done. The bit about a new battery rather implies it was making low battery starter motor clunk types noises but in reality this is because it was seized. The motor could be rebuilt but realistically it's a series production motor and not worth the hassle as the labour to do it properly (flush every orifice etc.) and parts required (oil lines, oil cooler etc. etc. as none of this can be risked going again) means swapping it out for another is the best course of action. The engine is super easy to drop in a 718 so the best bet is to source a decent one from a crashed car. There are plenty that have gone in the hedge by this point that are perfectly good and can likely be heard running. Chances are if you stick your seized one on e-bay with an honest description you'll likely see a few grand back too as the heads are probably still good amongst some other bits or if it's a 4 cyl turbo one someone will want to build a 500beans one. Fix it and enjoy it and if you ever see an oil pressure warning again (in anything!) clutch in, neutral and key off.... or if it's PDK neutral and key off.

If it’s true that the engine wouldn’t crank it’s highly likely the mains are done which would also mean swarf circulating in the rest of the motor. As someone has pointed out there will be plenty of engines out there and more as time goes on which will mean they should get cheaper. No doubt there will be a lot to be salvaged on yours which will help paying for the swap. Or just sell it as a unit with honest description. At this point you are just going to incur more costs if you have it stripped..

Just a cursory look shows a 2019 engine with less than 5000 miles on E Bay. £6000.00

PorscheBC said: I rang Hartech when it was returned to me to see what they can do and they implied they can only strip not replace. Have you any experience with them? I have a house and a wedding to organise so looking for somebody who I can trust as I think you are both right; I should have somebody take a look before committing to anything. There s also Northway Porsche in Reading. I don t mind having it towed far, the garage quality, trust and price is most important. Thanks to you both Hartech are very well known for rebuilding Porsche engines and have a very good reputation. Some people send their perfectly good Porsche engines to them for rebuilding as they offer power upgrades via enlarged capacity pistons and cylinders among other things. Sending the car to them would be as good as sending it to Porsche in my opinion, with the benefit that it will be much cheaper than a replacement engine. That's assuming that the major components are salvageable. There will be a supply of crash-damaged cars with a perfectly usable engine, so you might be able to find a replacement engine cheaper. Which engine was it by the way? the 2.0, the 2.5 or the 4.0?

LunarOne said: Which engine was it by the way? the 2.0, the 2.5 or the 4.0? He said 2017 so presumably not the 4.0?

LunarOne said: Hartech are very well known for rebuilding Porsche engines and have a very good reputation. Some people send their perfectly good Porsche engines to them for rebuilding as they offer power upgrades via enlarged capacity pistons and cylinders among other things. Sending the car to them would be as good as sending it to Porsche in my opinion, with the benefit that it will be much cheaper than a replacement engine. That's assuming that the major components are salvageable. There will be a supply of crash-damaged cars with a perfectly usable engine, so you might be able to find a replacement engine cheaper. Which engine was it by the way? the 2.0, the 2.5 or the 4.0? Except, Hartech probably don't rebuild the F4T, currently. They don't rebuild literally every Porsche engine ever. They specialise in M96/7 and latterly 9A1/MA1. Rebuild is probably off the table. There will be plenty of good used engines available.

If you have proper OPC service history surely with only 34k on the clock it must be worth having a word with an OPC to see if there is any “goodwill” that can be negotiated? It would have to be spot on, no gaps etc - just because you have not been offered it doesn’t mean it could not be negotiated. If you don’t ask you don’t get etc

poppopbangbang said: Anything oil pressure related is a stop now on any vehicle. ^^ Simple as. "Still don't know why?" It blew because it had no oil pressure.

981Boxess said: It would have to be spot on, no gaps etc - just because you have not been offered it doesn t mean it could not be negotiated. If you don t ask you don t get etc Definitely worth a try, although at that age and not Approved Used it might be tricky. I'm aware that, for instance, OPCs look at cars to see if they've have any over-revs and if there are too many they won't go near. (I'm not suggesting this is an over-rev issue, but it shows how they approach things.)

Panamax said: 981Boxess said: It would have to be spot on, no gaps etc - just because you have not been offered it doesn t mean it could not be negotiated. If you don t ask you don t get etc Definitely worth a try, although at that age and not Approved Used it might be tricky. I'm aware that, for instance, OPCs look at cars to see if they've have any over-revs and if there are too many they won't go near. (I'm not suggesting this is an over-rev issue, but it shows how they approach things.) I think that is more than reasonable, if a car has been ragged to death (not accusing) why should they give when they don’t have to. The other side of that coin is with a faultless service history and well driven it should not have imploded at 34k so I would say the OP has nothing to lose by trying, hence the suggestion.

981Boxess said: Panamax said: 981Boxess said: It would have to be spot on, no gaps etc - just because you have not been offered it doesn t mean it could not be negotiated. If you don t ask you don t get etc Definitely worth a try, although at that age and not Approved Used it might be tricky. I'm aware that, for instance, OPCs look at cars to see if they've have any over-revs and if there are too many they won't go near. (I'm not suggesting this is an over-rev issue, but it shows how they approach things.) I think that is more than reasonable, if a car has been ragged to death (not accusing) why should they give when they don t have to. The other side of that coin is with a faultless service history and well driven it should not have imploded at 34k so I would say the OP has nothing to lose by trying, hence the suggestion. i would say at best they'd contribute a % towards a full rebuild - or a full new engine - by Porsche. Thats going to be wildly more expensive than an indy in the first place, and any % off is still going to make it still crazy expensive. AND they might insist on a strip down of the engine first, at the O/Ps expense.

I would try and find a known good engine and get someone to slot it in. It might be worth getting it looked at outside Porsche just to check it's actually knackered. They just quoted someone I know over 40k for repairs to a car that there was actually very little wrong with!

Panamax said: poppopbangbang said: Anything oil pressure related is a stop now on any vehicle. ^^ Simple as. "Still don't know why?" It blew because it had no oil pressure. Which would mean to me that the oil isnt as much as it needed to be. Where did it go? Did you check the oil?

Unless you have the large amounts of time and energy required to solve this with a new engine or another solution I’d move on It’ll obviously affect resale price, and there’s all the BS even several years down the line if you hang on to it with “yes, it’s running great, but it’s had a new engine etc.”

williamp said: Which would mean to me that the oil isnt as much as it needed to be. Where did it go? Did you check the oil? There is a low oil warning on 718’s as I’m sure most if not all modern Porches have. OP had a low oil pressure which is another issue altogether…

If I could find another sensible mileage engine with warranty, I'd have it fitted and get the car back. I wouldn't initially throw money at exploring the reasons a low oil pressure engine has expired, because I suspect it's mullered beyond economical repair if it just expired. That said, once I had the car up and running again, and my finances were back in hand, I'd like as not have the original engine torn down to try and understand the source of the problem, observe the damage, and assimilate the possibilities of a rebuild to get the original engine back in the car. If that was doable, I'd have it rebuilt, refitted, and sell the replacement engine. Probably. Would depend on finances and the likely time I would keep the car afterwards.

I’d probably want to get rid rather than have it fixed. Maybe put it on eBay classified with a realistic price with “submit best offer” feature added and see what you get and go from there. Will only take £20 to find out.

Heaveho said: If I could find another sensible mileage engine with warranty, I'd have it fitted and get the car back. I wouldn't initially throw money at exploring the reasons a low oil pressure engine has expired, because I suspect it's mullered beyond economical repair if it just expired. That said, once I had the car up and running again, and my finances were back in hand, I'd like as not have the original engine torn down to try and understand the source of the problem, observe the damage, and assimilate the possibilities of a rebuild to get the original engine back in the car. If that was doable, I'd have it rebuilt, refitted, and sell the replacement engine. Probably. Would depend on finances and the likely time I would keep the car afterwards. Sorry, I really don’t think this is a realistic strategy unless you’re very good with spanners so can mitigate the cost of two engine changes and cut through BS with garages re what’s absolutely essential vs nice to have

Personally I’d get a second hand engine from somewhere and get a local Indy to replace . Even if it cost 10k at least you won’t loose the total value of the car

If I was in your position I'd call back Northway and have a good discussion with Ray. Very knowledgeable guy.

I would pursue the warranty firm a lot stronger, first via a direct letter, then via the Insurance Ombudsmen (assuming the warranty has a sufficient limit to be worth claiming on). Firstly check if the warranty policy specifically states that the car must have a current MOT. If it doesn't then the fact that the MOT had accidentally expired is irrelevant, as the MOT will not have checked or maintained the engine internals. I had a work colleague who had a crash and wrote-off their car, only to find that their MOT had expired the day before. The insurance company declined to pay saying that the car wasn't legal. There is however several cases where this scenario has gone to the Ombudsmen who has ruled that the MOT status was irrelevant to the crash, since the crash was not as a result of a mechanical fault on their car. When this was pointed out to the insurer and it was made clear to them that it would be pursued with the Ombudsmen, they gave in and paid the claim. Insurers often rely on rejecting claims and hoping people won't challenge them. A warranty is an insurance product, so they are bound by the same rules and duties of care/fairness. Unless it clearly states that the MOT must be in force for a claim, then I'd say you have a good chance of winning a claim with the Ombudsmen. It would certainly be worth pursuing.

Definitely the first thing to do. The MOT is a total irrelevance in this case.

I'd be talking to Northway or alternatively Wrightune in Wallingford if you want to stay local, otherwise I can also recommend Porschacare in Stevenage. As suggested by others, I would be looking for a brief diagnosis to confirm that the engine is beyond economical repair and then I'd be looking to fit a good used engine.

Deep Thought said: 981Boxess said: Panamax said: 981Boxess said: It would have to be spot on, no gaps etc - just because you have not been offered it doesn t mean it could not be negotiated. If you don t ask you don t get etc Definitely worth a try, although at that age and not Approved Used it might be tricky. I'm aware that, for instance, OPCs look at cars to see if they've have any over-revs and if there are too many they won't go near. (I'm not suggesting this is an over-rev issue, but it shows how they approach things.) I think that is more than reasonable, if a car has been ragged to death (not accusing) why should they give when they don t have to. The other side of that coin is with a faultless service history and well driven it should not have imploded at 34k so I would say the OP has nothing to lose by trying, hence the suggestion. i would say at best they'd contribute a % towards a full rebuild - or a full new engine - by Porsche. Thats going to be wildly more expensive than an indy in the first place, and any % off is still going to make it still crazy expensive. AND they might insist on a strip down of the engine first, at the O/Ps expense. The OP asked what others would do, this would be the first thing I would look into before exposing my wallet. You may well be right, but I prefer to not give up with something before I have even made the effort to try it, especially in these circumstances. A mate of mine got a replacement engine for his Audi A8 when that gave up in spectacular fashion, FOC, no contribution, nada, he even got a loan car to keep him mobile whilst they had the car in. That car was similar age/mileage to the OPs, it had been maintained by an Audi dealership from day one and his argument was that a car that cost that money at that age/mileage maintained exactly as required should not have needed a new engine. A reasonable argument and being someone who isn't fobbed off easily, that is exactly what he got done. I realise it wasn't a Porsche, only an Audi V8 and a few years back but the bottom line was the bill would have been frightening and it didn't cost him a penny. Caveat - if the car has holes all over the service history then forget it.

Batfoy said: I d be after a definitive diagnosis, or as near as possible without going all in, before making a decision. As we all know, dealers can be real idiots sometimes and if they re not interested they can be really difficult. This is what I'd do, I'd take it to my trusty mech who used to work on Porches but is now a mainly Lotus man. He'd delve into it and find out what's up in no time.

Guyr said: I would pursue the warranty firm a lot stronger, first via a direct letter, then via the Insurance Ombudsmen (assuming the warranty has a sufficient limit to be worth claiming on). Firstly check if the warranty policy specifically states that the car must have a current MOT. If it doesn't then the fact that the MOT had accidentally expired is irrelevant, as the MOT will not have checked or maintained the engine internals. I had a work colleague who had a crash and wrote-off their car, only to find that their MOT had expired the day before. The insurance company declined to pay saying that the car wasn't legal. There is however several cases where this scenario has gone to the Ombudsmen who has ruled that the MOT status was irrelevant to the crash, since the crash was not as a result of a mechanical fault on their car. When this was pointed out to the insurer and it was made clear to them that it would be pursued with the Ombudsmen, they gave in and paid the claim. Insurers often rely on rejecting claims and hoping people won't challenge them. A warranty is an insurance product, so they are bound by the same rules and duties of care/fairness. Unless it clearly states that the MOT must be in force for a claim, then I'd say you have a good chance of winning a claim with the Ombudsmen. It would certainly be worth pursuing. +1 do what Guyr advises ASAP

Who was the specialist in Hitchin that you had the car taken to?

IMI A said: Guyr said: I would pursue the warranty firm a lot stronger, first via a direct letter, then via the Insurance Ombudsmen (assuming the warranty has a sufficient limit to be worth claiming on). Firstly check if the warranty policy specifically states that the car must have a current MOT. If it doesn't then the fact that the MOT had accidentally expired is irrelevant, as the MOT will not have checked or maintained the engine internals. I had a work colleague who had a crash and wrote-off their car, only to find that their MOT had expired the day before. The insurance company declined to pay saying that the car wasn't legal. There is however several cases where this scenario has gone to the Ombudsmen who has ruled that the MOT status was irrelevant to the crash, since the crash was not as a result of a mechanical fault on their car. When this was pointed out to the insurer and it was made clear to them that it would be pursued with the Ombudsmen, they gave in and paid the claim. Insurers often rely on rejecting claims and hoping people won't challenge them. A warranty is an insurance product, so they are bound by the same rules and duties of care/fairness. Unless it clearly states that the MOT must be in force for a claim, then I'd say you have a good chance of winning a claim with the Ombudsmen. It would certainly be worth pursuing. +1 do what Guyr advises ASAP This ^ and edit your original post to remove the fact you drove the car for 1-2 miles to get it home, an act of gross stupidity if ever there were one. As others have said, ANY warnings for low oil or low oil pressure need investigation immediately, not when it suits you. *** Edit to anyone reading this thread/post and wishing to comment, please do NOT quote this post, as if the OP sees fit to edit his original post (and he should) I'll delete this post. ***

That’s a sad story. When you buy a car SoR does the buyer get a Warranty from the selling dealer? Did you contact the warranty company or the dealer, Redspeed? Best to challenge the warranty company but your ducks will need to be in a row. Driving the car with low or no oil pressure - the engine is fubar. No point wasting cash finding out why, it’s not coming back. What would I do? The warranty company - if you have one that covered you for the period in question. I’d put all of my energy into it, even if it had to go to an Ombudsman, Court or whatever. Once exhausted - if you don’t get anywhere with it, sell as is and move on.

Slippydiff said: This ^ and edit your original post to remove the fact you drove the car for 1-2 miles to get it home, an act of gross stupidity if ever there were one. As others have said, ANY warnings for low oil or low oil pressure need investigation immediately, not when it suits you. *** Edit to anyone reading this thread/post and wishing to comment, please do NOT quote this post, as if the OP sees fit to edit his original post (and he should) I'll delete this post. *** Sorry, but strongly disagree so quoting. If you lie, you lose. At least in my book. Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 16th June 15:21

Having had a wrestling match with the warranty company and the dealer over my aforementioned oil leak I would doubt very much in any success with that, but worth a go. Even with all ducks lined up ( service history etc ) I had to resort to putting up bad reviews for the dealer ( well deserved ) before calls were obviously made. That was for a circa £ 1000.00 claim… Expired MOT is exactly what they would be rubbing their hands to..

Discombobulate said: Sorry, but strongly disagree so quoting. If you lie, you lose. At least in my book. Edited by Discombobulate on Monday 16th June 15:21 If getting a warranty company to pay out was a level playing field then perhaps so. However it rarely is.

Johnson897210 said: If getting a warranty company to pay out was a level playing field then perhaps so. However it rarely is. Yet people still keep buying them “ for piece of mind”.

I'd take the engine out and strip it down. Got nothing to lose at this point.

hooch500 said: Having had a wrestling match with the warranty company and the dealer over my aforementioned oil leak I would doubt very much in any success with that, but worth a go. Even with all ducks lined up ( service history etc ) I had to resort to putting up bad reviews for the dealer ( well deserved ) before calls were obviously made. That was for a circa £ 1000.00 claim Expired MOT is exactly what they would be rubbing their hands to.. Look on the bright side, had your engine seized up and caused you to skid off the road and hit a queue of people waiting at a bus stop and you'd wiped several of them out, THEN you'd discovered your MOT had expired and your insurance policy specifically stated that claims will be refused if the vehicle didn't have a valid MOT and VED at the time of the accident, then you'd be in the brown, smelly stuff ... Automotive insurers can (and do) state that a vehicle has to be taxed and MOT'd as part of their T&C's, I know, because I found out after reading the small print in my policy documents after my car had been stolen ... those T&C's weren't provided with the insurance certificate, I had to specifically ask that they be emailed to me. Automotive warranty providers are known to be more slippery than a slippery thing when it comes to honouring claims, often the products they offer are so full of caveats that the policy isn't worth the paper they're printed on. M16 levels of obfuscation aren't uncommon, and rest assured I've witnessed the conversations with their "call handlers" first hand. If there's a loophole, they'll go out of their way to find it. The labour rates they pay are laughable, and whilst their claims limits may be fine for a Ford Mondeo, they won't get close to covering the labour rates charged by a good Porsche independent. Used car dealers have to provide a warranty with cars they sell, unfortunately most will choose the most basic, cheapest product they can find. Good dealers self-warrant their cars... Whilst car insurance companies have gotten increasingly wise to claims fraud, I've always found them more than reasonable IF you put a compelling case to them, and that's even when the claims figure are "chunky". Unfortunately the same can't be said for automotive warranty providers. If I were the OP I'd be doing a deep dive into 4 pot 718 engine failures on the interwebz, and talking to severa well established and well regarded Porsche independents to see if this failure is a more common occurrence than is appreciated.

Slippydiff said: Look on the bright side, had your engine seized up and caused you to skid off the road and hit a queue of people waiting at a bus stop and you'd wiped several of them out, THEN you'd discovered your MOT had expired and your insurance policy specifically stated that claims will be refused if the vehicle didn't have a valid MOT and VED at the time of the accident, then you'd be in the brown, smelly stuff ... Automotive insurers can (and do) state that a vehicle has to be taxed and MOT'd as part of their T&C's, I know, because I found out after reading the small print in my policy documents after my car had been stolen ... those T&C's weren't provided with the insurance certificate, I had to specifically ask that they be emailed to me. So what happens if you drive to a pre booked MOT without tax or MOT? You can still do this legally and the insurance is still valid, no? OK, it's not the ops situation but...

Oilchange said: Slippydiff said: Look on the bright side, had your engine seized up and caused you to skid off the road and hit a queue of people waiting at a bus stop and you'd wiped several of them out, THEN you'd discovered your MOT had expired and your insurance policy specifically stated that claims will be refused if the vehicle didn't have a valid MOT and VED at the time of the accident, then you'd be in the brown, smelly stuff ... Automotive insurers can (and do) state that a vehicle has to be taxed and MOT'd as part of their T&C's, I know, because I found out after reading the small print in my policy documents after my car had been stolen ... those T&C's weren't provided with the insurance certificate, I had to specifically ask that they be emailed to me. So what happens if you drive to a pre booked MOT without tax or MOT? You can still do this legally and the insurance is still valid, no? OK, it's not the ops situation but... Driving to a pre-booked MOT appointment, to allow you to get an MOT, to allow you to car tax is allowed and not considered illegal. Driving around with no MOT because you have forgotten or are too busy to do it is not allowed and is considered illegal. Two different situations. I am sure insurance companies will use whatever they can to get out of paying any claim, the bigger the claim, the harder they will look, but it is much easier to argue something out when you have not done anything wrong/not allowed in the first place. More to the point, the car was bought in March and packed up in December, what decent reputable car reseller would sell a £30k(?) car without a new MOT in the first place. So based on that who knows what sort of past this car really has.

Slippydiff said: <snip>Automotive insurers can (and do) state that a vehicle has to be taxed and MOT'd as part of their T&C's, <snip> They do, and it has been many years since I have had to put it to the test. Alternative legal opinion can be that while lack of MOT might be reason not to pay out on an accident claim, refusing to pay out because a vehicle isn't taxed doesn't always go so well for them. In my case it was theft, then arson. I argued that those terms in the policy just weren't pertinent to the loss I had suffered. They rolled over in the first phone call and paid out in full. Liam

981Boxess said: Oilchange said: Slippydiff said: Look on the bright side, had your engine seized up and caused you to skid off the road and hit a queue of people waiting at a bus stop and you'd wiped several of them out, THEN you'd discovered your MOT had expired and your insurance policy specifically stated that claims will be refused if the vehicle didn't have a valid MOT and VED at the time of the accident, then you'd be in the brown, smelly stuff ... Automotive insurers can (and do) state that a vehicle has to be taxed and MOT'd as part of their T&C's, I know, because I found out after reading the small print in my policy documents after my car had been stolen ... those T&C's weren't provided with the insurance certificate, I had to specifically ask that they be emailed to me. So what happens if you drive to a pre booked MOT without tax or MOT? You can still do this legally and the insurance is still valid, no? OK, it's not the ops situation but... Driving to a pre-booked MOT appointment, to allow you to get an MOT, to allow you to car tax is allowed and not considered illegal. Driving around with no MOT because you have forgotten or are too busy to do it is not allowed and is considered illegal. Two different situations. Absolutely 2 different situations, my post aluded to this. The point made originally was that T&Cs will exclude insurance from an untaxed and un MOT'd car. Not the case. Edited by Oilchange on Tuesday 17th June 08:40

It is possible to insure a SORN',do car with not tax or MOT

981Boxess said: Driving to a pre-booked MOT appointment, to allow you to get an MOT, to allow you to car tax is allowed and not considered illegal. Driving around with no MOT because you have forgotten or are too busy to do it is not allowed and is considered illegal. Two different situations. I am sure insurance companies will use whatever they can to get out of paying any claim, the bigger the claim, the harder they will look, but it is much easier to argue something out when you have not done anything wrong/not allowed in the first place. More to the point, the car was bought in March and packed up in December, what decent reputable car reseller would sell a £30k(?) car without a new MOT in the first place. So based on that who knows what sort of past this car really has. Well, the OP said, "34k miles, fully serviced each year at Porsche", but doesn't mention the MOT history. Unfortunately, we know that he didn't check the MOT history. That's something I always do when looking at cars; it's amazing what you can find out, or deduce, from the full history compared with what some sellers tell you.

Oilchange said: So what happens if you drive to a pre booked MOT without tax or MOT? You can still do this legally and the insurance is still valid, no? OK, it's not the ops situation but... The wording says something like if the car legally needs an MoT the exclusion kicks in if it doesn't have one. So driving to a pre-booked MoT is fine. As is driving around for the first 3 years of a new car's life! I've not encountered that clause in insurance in a while. Never seen the vehicle tax one. There's lots to debate about mowing down a bus queue with that clause in place - but let's not!

CanAm said: 981Boxess said: Driving to a pre-booked MOT appointment, to allow you to get an MOT, to allow you to car tax is allowed and not considered illegal. Driving around with no MOT because you have forgotten or are too busy to do it is not allowed and is considered illegal. Two different situations. I am sure insurance companies will use whatever they can to get out of paying any claim, the bigger the claim, the harder they will look, but it is much easier to argue something out when you have not done anything wrong/not allowed in the first place. More to the point, the car was bought in March and packed up in December, what decent reputable car reseller would sell a £30k(?) car without a new MOT in the first place. So based on that who knows what sort of past this car really has. Well, the OP said, "34k miles, fully serviced each year at Porsche", but doesn't mention the MOT history. Unfortunately, we know that he didn't check the MOT history. That's something I always do when looking at cars; it's amazing what you can find out, or deduce, from the full history compared with what some sellers tell you. How do we know he didn't check the MOT history, he may well have done, all we know is that it had expired at the point the engine failed.

So about the no MOT……..

years ago (about 20!!) a pal of mine was rear ended at a roundabout, writing his car off. It turned out his MOT had expired a day or so before. The at faults insurance tried to claim the lapsed MOT was a reason not to pay out. After arguments, they paid out, as the lack of MOT was not relevant to the accident. It might have been a different story had they been the at fault driver. I'm pretty sure an insurance firm cannot cancel third party insurance (e.g. In the case of drink or drug driving) they will void the insurance, pay third party claims and then pursue the person whose insurance they cancelled in the civil courts for their uninsured loss

In the case of my claim, it was clearly stated in the T&C's that having a valid MOT was a prerequisite of cover. Having valid VED on the car was not, but some insurers do state it is.

wyson said: Take it to an engine rebuild specialist? Quite a few about if you Google. Just because its a Porsche, doesn t mean its made of unobtanium magic dust. No, but it does mean that a rebuild could be very expensive. Let's say your Golf engine needs a crank. Not a huge problem, probably. If your Porsche engine does, that part alone could cost as much as a whole second hand engine before you've even paid for any labour taking the engine out, stripping it and rebuilding it. Etc. It's highly unlikely rebuilding the engine is going to be cost effective in this case. Replacement F4Ts aren't sufficiently expensive to make a rebuild viable.

cayster said: wyson said: Take it to an engine rebuild specialist? Quite a few about if you Google. Just because its a Porsche, doesn t mean its made of unobtanium magic dust. No, but it does mean that a rebuild could be very expensive. Let's say your Golf engine needs a crank. Not a huge problem, probably. If your Porsche engine does, that part alone could cost as much as a whole second hand engine before you've even paid for any labour taking the engine out, stripping it and rebuilding it. Etc. It's highly unlikely rebuilding the engine is going to be cost effective in this case. Replacement F4Ts aren't sufficiently expensive to make a rebuild viable. This ^ Porsche don't want individuals rebuilding engines, in much the same way they don't want individuals rebuilding PDK gearboxes, it's much easier for them just to sell a new complete engine or gearbox, rather than have to carry numerous parts in stock for the odd occasion when an engine fails completely. As said above, by the time you've stripped the engine, assessed it, tried to order a crank, or get it reground, in which case oversized big end and main bearing shells will be needed (good luck getting hold of those off Porsche btw) although I'd be surprised if they'll stock or indeed supply standard bearings, and if they did, my guess is they'll be eye-wateringly expensive. The engine would need completely stripping and many hours spent stripping and cleaning every internal component to ensure any swarf is removed prior to assembly. Then you'll no doubt need special tools for assembly and timing of the engine, add in the numerous gaskets, O rings, single use bolts, an oil pump, oil cooler/heat exchanger etc. Porsche parts are expensive enough, but the real cost-killer in modern Britain is labour charges. Removing, stripping, cleaning, reassembling and refitting such an engine would be an absolute minimum of 40-50 hours, and that's assuming a workshop manual is available to guide any individual through the process, and supply all the necessary torque settings for the myriad single use fasteners modern engines utilise. Four words : Simply not worth it. Buy a used engine off a reputable source (with a guarantee)

As others have said, i would be looking at used engines on eBay or elsewhere and getting someone like 9e or GCS to fit it.

elan362 said: It is possible to insure a SORN',do car with not tax or MOT Yes, but often it is required to take out a specialist policy

If the OP forgot to MOT it, didn't immediately stop for a bold, red, low oil pressure sign, and Porsche didn't even bother to strip the engine before declaring it suitable for coffee table use only, you can assume that the engine is totally knackered. Porsche stock short blocks for their engines, so something must have been visible on PIWIS for them to write it off with a shrug and a wince. No point stripping for investigation - whip it out and whack a GTS 4.0 in there, or put it on eBay, £.99 start and hope for the best.

Selling to a youtuber as is, might be a good route to pursue for more value. A few like Saving salvage, shifting metal etc seem to like a rebuild/project on something that doesn’t always come up regularly to get more views etc and may pay a bit more for it.

How can anyone say an engine is "done for" and not say why? Until you know exactly what's wrong with it you can't know if it's worth repairing. (All a bit irrelevant as the OP was a new poster has disappeared)

AMS has reopened under ownership.

Easternlight said: How can anyone say an engine is "done for" and not say why? Until you know exactly what's wrong with it you can't know if it's worth repairing. (All a bit irrelevant as the OP was a new poster has disappeared) There are so many bits missing from this story, I doubt very much the OPC wrote off an engine without knowing why it was “done for”

981Boxess said: How do we know he didn't check the MOT history, he may well have done, all we know is that it had expired at the point the engine failed. If he'd checked the history he'd have seen it was due to expire shortly after the purchase date.

CanAm said: 981Boxess said: How do we know he didn't check the MOT history, he may well have done, all we know is that it had expired at the point the engine failed. If he'd checked the history he'd have seen it was due to expire shortly after the purchase date. And how have you deduced it expired shortly after the purchase date? There were 9 months between purchase and failure, in which of those 9 months did it expire? How long was it driven without an MOT? So again, based on what has been posted, we have not got a clue whether the OP checked the history or not. There are too many holes in this story to make any real sense of it.

981Boxess said: CanAm said: 981Boxess said: How do we know he didn't check the MOT history, he may well have done, all we know is that it had expired at the point the engine failed. If he'd checked the history he'd have seen it was due to expire shortly after the purchase date. And how have you deduced it expired shortly after the purchase date? There were 9 months between purchase and failure, in which of those 9 months did it expire? How long was it driven without an MOT? So again, based on what has been posted, we have not got a clue whether the OP checked the history or not. There are too many holes in this story to make any real sense of it. PorscheBC said: And I ll be honest, I made one other grave error. I hadn t realised the MOT had expired in the short time I d had the car.

981Boxess said: Driving to a pre-booked MOT appointment, to allow you to get an MOT, to allow you to car tax is allowed and not considered illegal. Driving around with no MOT because you have forgotten or are too busy to do it is not allowed and is considered illegal. Two different situations. Not in all parts of the uk. Where I live waiting time for a mot is excessive, so police have said as long as the car is road worthy and a test is booked no further action will be taken. And insurance companies must not compromise cover. https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/psni-update-mot... Op doesn’t live here, and this doesn’t help him. I hope he gets sorted. Rubbish situation. Edited by irish boy on Wednesday 18th June 09:23

CanAm said: 981Boxess said: CanAm said: 981Boxess said: How do we know he didn't check the MOT history, he may well have done, all we know is that it had expired at the point the engine failed. If he'd checked the history he'd have seen it was due to expire shortly after the purchase date. And how have you deduced it expired shortly after the purchase date? There were 9 months between purchase and failure, in which of those 9 months did it expire? How long was it driven without an MOT? So again, based on what has been posted, we have not got a clue whether the OP checked the history or not. There are too many holes in this story to make any real sense of it. PorscheBC said: And I ll be honest, I made one other grave error. I hadn t realised the MOT had expired in the short time I d had the car. You have a valid point and I didn't get it, but to be honest for me none of this story adds up

981Boxess said: You have a valid point and I didn't get it, but to be honest for me none of this story adds up I have to agree with you. And nothing more posted by the OP ( a first time poster) since Sunday. A familiar story on PH.

CanAm said: 981Boxess said: You have a valid point and I didn't get it, but to be honest for me none of this story adds up I have to agree with you. And nothing more posted by the OP ( a first time poster) since Sunday. A familiar story on PH. OP might be genuine - I think there were restrictions put in place on how many posts a new poster can make in a short space of time to block those Indian callgirl spammers.

LunarOne said: OP might be genuine - I think there were restrictions put in place on how many posts a new poster can make in a short space of time to block those Indian callgirl spammers. Thanks for that info.

I would be looking towards the adaptive oil pump with the cause of the failure. There has been a few similar to yours.

LunarOne said: CanAm said: 981Boxess said: You have a valid point and I didn't get it, but to be honest for me none of this story adds up I have to agree with you. And nothing more posted by the OP ( a first time poster) since Sunday. A familiar story on PH. OP might be genuine - I think there were restrictions put in place on how many posts a new poster can make in a short space of time to block those Indian callgirl spammers. Am sure that's the problem, and he'll be along any minute as soon as he sorts the above out. No chance of him abandoning this thread I'm sure

First Sea Lord said: Unless you have the large amounts of time and energy required to solve this with a new engine or another solution I d move on It ll obviously affect resale price, and there s all the BS even several years down the line if you hang on to it with yes, it s running great, but it s had a new engine etc. couldn't agree more. OP, you are not in a hurry I guess, just sell it to the best bidder and move on and enjoy your marriage. If you have funds again, go for Lotus Evora like most of us did ( ), Toyota v6 engine would never let you down or a proper Porsche which means any 911 but not water*cooled. If you are really into modern porks, than never ever try another one without official porsche warranty. + do not forget your MOT MAN, FFS

Yes, get a more reliable Lotus and never get another water cooled Porsche in case of engine failure.

Oilchange said: Yes, get a more reliable Lotus and never get another water cooled Porsche in case of engine failure. If you sell 10 cars a year worldwide you are also less likely to have an engine failure

First Sea Lord said: Am sure that's the problem, and he'll be along any minute as soon as he sorts the above out. No chance of him abandoning this thread I'm sure Give him chance. He stated that it took him 6 months to write his opening post!

Slippydiff said: ... the fact you drove the car for 1-2 miles to get it home, an act of gross stupidity if ever there were one. As others have said, ANY warnings for low oil or low oil pressure need investigation immediately, not when it suits you. That's a bit harsh, I'd say the vast majority of UK motorists would do the same as the OP and not realise an immediate neutral-and-switch-off is what is required. I don't think there is any other warning light / message from a car which needs to be reacted to so quickly (I'm not including speed camera warnings in that )

If there isn't a hole in the side of the block clearly visible I'd get the engine out for a thorough inspection. Often garages will tell you it's beyond repair only to sell you parts (an engine) you didn't really need. It would also help if you accepted emails

braddo said: That's a bit harsh, I'd say the vast majority of UK motorists would do the same as the OP and not realise an immediate neutral-and-switch-off is what is required. I don't think there is any other warning light / message from a car which needs to be reacted to so quickly (I'm not including speed camera warnings in that ) Modern automotive diagnostics reveal more than you give them credit for. A low oil level/low/zero oil pressure warning event will almost certainly be logged in the car's OBD, as will the car being switched off immediately after the event (if the engine hadn't already partially seized), if you then decide to restart the engine and drive home for 1-2 miles, with no oil added and the car telling you the oil pressure is low, that too will be logged. If the low oil pressure event happened at 70mph on the motorway, the damage is probably already critical, if however it happened at 30mph or less, quick action could avoid a complete engine failure. Having avoided that scenario by stopping quickly and switching the engine off, driving home a couple of miles (no matter how slowly) won't look good on a warranty claim, especially if it's clear to see on the diagnostics that the failure could have been avoided. I presume this V f*ckwittery would be your advice in such a scenario ? "If your car’s oil warning light has come on, how long can you continue driving it? If your car’s oil warning light comes on, get it checked right away. But going for a little drive won’t do any harm . A dashboard oil warning light doesn’t necessarily cause immediate action; you can usually keep driving safely for another two weeks . When things have progressed to this point, further mechanical harm is possible. Before the problem gets worse, calling in a skilled mechanic is your best bet" Not 7 days, not 3 weeks or a month, 2 weeks. From this website : https://pocketturbo.com/oil-light-comes-on-when-tu...

I'm not giving advice, all I'm saying is that what a PHer calls 'gross stupidity' and 'f kwittery' is just normal action for most people (i.e. non-car-nerds). The further confusion for motorists is that there are two oil warnings: - low oil level - "Ah, I'd better top up the oil when I get home" - low oil pressure - "MAYDAY, SWITCH OFF NOW OR YOU'LL KILL THE ENGINE!!!" It reminds me of seeing a historic race car some years ago and the owner had put a trailer tail light on the dash as his oil pressure warning light.

braddo said: I'm not giving advice, all I'm saying is that what a PHer calls 'gross stupidity' and 'f kwittery' is just normal action for most people (i.e. non-car-nerds). One would hope the majority of individuals buying a reasonably contemporary 911, Boxster or Cayman would have some insight as to what they should do if they get a low oil pressure or low oil level warning on the dash ... Of course NO purchaser/owner of a Porsche takes to the road without first reading and understanding the owner's/operator manual do they ..... ????? This tells all

You’d think that a fairly good use of the screen real-estate in a modern car would be an additional piece of information to tell the driver to absolutely not drive the car if low oil pressure has been detected.

DMZ said: You d think that a fairly good use of the screen real-estate in a modern car would be an additional piece of information to tell the driver to absolutely not drive the car if low oil pressure has been detected. Wouldnt be difficult.

Of course the above presumably applies if you don’t have warranty. If you do, just carry on as you would get a new engine?

Slippydiff said: braddo said: I'm not giving advice, all I'm saying is that what a PHer calls 'gross stupidity' and 'f kwittery' is just normal action for most people (i.e. non-car-nerds). One would hope the majority of individuals buying a reasonably contemporary 911, Boxster or Cayman would have some insight as to what they should do if they get a low oil pressure or low oil level warning on the dash ... You are right that would be a reasonable expectation, however, based on some of the posters on PH Porsche forums many seem to be more interested in driving the badge than the car, and if not driving it at least telling people how many they have owned every single opportunity they get. So no, I wouldn't assume all Porsche owners know what engine oil pressure is or why we need to have it. But if I wanted to ask which driving gloves/boots to buy for a track day this would definitely be my first port of call.

Question for Poop and Slippy, Out of interest, why there is no electronic system to switch the engine off immediately when the engine oil pressure too low, rather than leaving it to the driver? Can't be difficult to implement that ?

ooid said: Question for Poop and Slippy, Out of interest, why there is no electronic system to switch the engine off immediately when the engine oil pressure too low, rather than leaving it to the driver? Can't be difficult to implement that ? It could cause your car to come to a stop, or your brakes to stop working while in the fast lane of the motorway.

Deep Thought said: DMZ said: You d think that a fairly good use of the screen real-estate in a modern car would be an additional piece of information to tell the driver to absolutely not drive the car if low oil pressure has been detected. Wouldnt be difficult. I’m amazed this is not already the case. My spoiler is not working correctly at the moment , and when I hit 76mph I get a spoiler malfunction error and an explicit message saying reduce speed (on my 2015 911)

gerlewis said: It could cause your car to come to a stop, or your brakes to stop working while in the fast lane of the motorway. So basically, with the current state, you would have the warning light when you are on M25 at 70mph, and by the time you slow down and try to stop safely and emergency bla bla, the engine is cooked already?

ooid said: Question for Poop and Slippy, Out of interest, why there is no electronic system to switch the engine off immediately when the engine oil pressure too low, rather than leaving it to the driver? Can't be difficult to implement that ? If you see a low oil pressure light, particularly in a modern car, it’s usually too late. It generally means the oil pump has failed or the crank has destroyed bearings ( or both ). Even if he had cut the engine there was very likely terminal damage with the certainty of a full strip down..

gerlewis said: ooid said: Question for Poop and Slippy, Out of interest, why there is no electronic system to switch the engine off immediately when the engine oil pressure too low, rather than leaving it to the driver? Can't be difficult to implement that ? It could cause your car to come to a stop, or your brakes to stop working while in the fast lane of the motorway. Pretty much this ^

ooid said: gerlewis said: It could cause your car to come to a stop, or your brakes to stop working while in the fast lane of the motorway. So basically, with the current state, you would have the warning light when you are on M25 at 70mph, and by the time you slow down and try to stop safely and emergency bla bla, the engine is cooked already? It's not THAT immediate. Every engine runs for a few seconds with zero or low oil pressure when it starts. As long as there's no load on the engine, this is acceptable. Slowing down and pulling onto the hard shoulder within 20-30 seconds will typically be a no-load situation and the engine damage will be minimal. Driving a couple of miles to get home with no or low oil pressure is a compoletely different thing. But I absolutely wouldn't want my engine to stop if the oil pressure is low or goes to zero. What happens if you're crossing railway tracks and you have a dodgy connection on your oil pressure sensor. The wire gets joggled, the engine stops and you have no way of getting your car off the tracks. My Porsche insists on my depressing the clutch to engage the starter, so I wouldn't even be able to use the starter with the car in first gear in such a situation.

hooch500 said: If you see a low oil pressure light, particularly in a modern car, it s usually too late. It generally means the oil pump has failed or the crank has destroyed bearings ( or both ). Even if he had cut the engine there was very likely terminal damage with the certainty of a full strip down.. Yep, modern engines are built to far tighter tolerances than the cars of yesteryear. Lack of oil means a far higher likelihood of overheating (due to increased friction and reduced cooling) Modern oils too are better than their forerunners, but not when they've been in an engine for two years and 20K miles, or kept up to the correct level ...

Where’d the OP go? Poor form.

It's pretty straightforward, dipsticks have disappeared from cars because manufacturers are trying to make life easier for the owners of their cars (hard to believe, I know, but true) : No more fiddling with yellow handled sticks in inaccessible bits of the engine bay, and wiping them down with a piece of kitchen towel. No, just press the right button on the car's on -board computer, and it'll tell you exactly how much oil is in there. But how many people bother to read up in the operator manual HOW to do it, but also bother to check the oil level using it, once a week, once every couple of weeks, or even once a month ? I'd suggest less than 5%, and those 5% will be the enthusiasts on here who understand the ramifications of NOT doing it, either through bitter previous experience, or because they understand the complexities of engines, and they have intrinsic mechanic sympathy. If an engine suffers oil pump failure, a warranty claim most likely won't be an issue, but if an engine's been run low on oil, it's normally evident through an inspection, or the vehicle's diagnostic system. For the majority, a car, especially a toy such as a Porsche, is the second biggest monetary investment after a house, so checking the most expensive component within is kept topped up with its "life blood" should be a given I'd have thought. Edited by Slippydiff on Friday 20th June 10:21

Batfoy said: Where d the OP go? Poor form. Still in tears and putting as much distance between himself and his opening post as possible.

LunarOne said: My Porsche insists on my depressing the clutch to engage the starter, so I wouldn't even be able to use the starter with the car in first gear in such a situation. Like many modern cars unfortunately. I'd like to think I could do the same if stuck on a railway level crossing I have twice managed to start cars in gear following snapped clutch cables and driven home, but not possible on cars like this anymore. Edited by CanAm on Friday 20th June 13:53

Not having a dipstick is one thing. Also requiring the engine to be running to get a digital reading, as per 9x7.2 cars is another. Totally maddening. Not doubt for this reason the 9x7.2 user manuals don't tell you to switch the engine off with the low pressure warning. Because you then can't check the bloody level with the engine off! IIRC, on the 9x1 platform, they returned to engine off measurement, but the engine has to be up to temp. So, you have to run the engine for about 10 minutes to get a reading. One 9x7.1 it was engine off and you could do it from cold. Seems completely obtuse to insist on having the engine either running or up to temp to be able to check if it's got enough of a critical fluid. I realise that the oil pressure warning and oil level warning are meant to cater for situations where the level is too low and the engine is running, but still. A physical dipstick would be a nice, cost effective fallback that your average user could (and would) ignore, but would be handy for people who really want to keep track of what's going on with their cars. An option to run coolant temp gauges in non-buffered mode would be nice, too, and would only need a couple of lines of code added! Anyway, I'm in the camp where I think you can't expect an average owner to know the car must be stopped immediately upon a low oil pressure warning. Modern cars are prone to throwing all kinds of phantom warning lights that I think most people have been conditioned not to assume immediate doom. I also don't think it's realistic to expect the average punter to distinguish between low oil level and low oil pressure warning lights. As suggested above, a very large, clear warning to stop the car immediately should be what the the system should spit out in the event of low oil pressure and would not be at all hard to implement.

It’s worth repeating for anyone with a flat 4 turbo 718. If you spot an oil leak or your low oil warning comes up have a really good look for an oil leak because the loose blanking plugs is a known issue. There have been a few RMS seals replaced unnecessarily because the problem was not spotted the first time. They can both unscrew themselves leaving 2 nice holes in the back of your engine. I was lucky to catch mine as the leak was very heavy and happened in a short period though they had not come right out. It’s a pain as the gearbox has to come out. It made me wonder if the OP’s car has had this issue in the past, been repaired but maybe it was run with very low oil, and the bearings etc were damaged.

hooch500 said: It s worth repeating for anyone with a flat 4 turbo 718. If you spot an oil leak or your low oil warning comes up have a really good look for an oil leak because the loose blanking plugs is a known issue. There have been a few RMS seals replaced unnecessarily because the problem was not spotted the first time. They can both unscrew themselves leaving 2 nice holes in the back of your engine. I was lucky to catch mine as the leak was very heavy and happened in a short period though they had not come right out. It s a pain as the gearbox has to come out. Jesus, RMS. Again? even after 986-996s? Well, I would call it 'Scheiß-Ingenieurwesen' and people would get emotional than, but it is what it is...

ooid said: Jesus, RMS. Again? even after 986-996s? Well, I would call it 'Scheiß-Ingenieurwesen' and people would get emotional than, but it is what it is... Nope, NOT RMS, rather oil gallery blanking plugs that are within the bellhousing, and by the sounds of it weren't tightened properly during manufacture, or no/the wrong sealant/thread lock was used. Very different from RMS leaking.

Slippydiff said: Nope, NOT RMS, rather oil gallery blanking plugs that are within the bellhousing, and by the sounds of it weren't tightened properly during manufacture, or no/the wrong sealant/thread lock was used. Very different from RMS leaking. ^ This. I was pointing out that RMS seals have been replaced unnecessarily. Then they have had to pull box off again to find the real issue. I guess the word has got around now.

LunarOne said: My Porsche insists on my depressing the clutch to engage the starter, so I wouldn't even be able to use the starter with the car in first gear in such a situation. Why not, surely the engine would only be stopped from running, not from cranking.

981Boxess said: LunarOne said: My Porsche insists on my depressing the clutch to engage the starter, so I wouldn't even be able to use the starter with the car in first gear in such a situation. Why not, surely the engine would only be stopped from running, not from cranking. The engine won’t crank unless the clutch is flat to the floor.

CanAm said: 981Boxess said: LunarOne said: My Porsche insists on my depressing the clutch to engage the starter, so I wouldn't even be able to use the starter with the car in first gear in such a situation. Why not, surely the engine would only be stopped from running, not from cranking. The engine won t crank unless the clutch is flat to the floor. Ok, so could use the starter but not go anywhere. 2 - 0

Hi All, Thanks for all your responses. For key things to note: This website restricts new members from posting during evenings, for those wondering where I was. Yes, that’s a thing. Some people started questioning my story, which I found very strange response. Who and why would join a forum such as this for that? It’s not a YouTube conspiracy. Some have questioned the MOT…yes of course I checked it before purchasing. The MOT expired around 6 months after purchase. Not within a month. Previous MOT failures were for worn tyres and a windscreen washer, nothing to write home about. Yes it was silly of me to drive it, one person went rather overboard with their language. Keep it friendly please. A few things I have discovered on my journey: Porsche rebuild garages are BUSY!!! if you are looking for work I’d advise getting booked in, many of the top locations mentioned have 3 month waiting lists at least. Turns out many a Porsche specialist has done far worse than me. I haven’t for example put Diesel in a petrol car, many have. As are missing MOTs. I felt awful missing it, turns out it’s quite a common mistake by very experienced drivers and car enthusiasts. Many commentators judged me, to be honest I think it’s more common than you think. Warranty companies do put MOT in the small print. It’s there. It’s silly, makes no difference, but it is there. In terms of final outcome. I’m very sad to say I have sold the car. I love it, it’s beautiful. It was supposed to be my forever car. It’s red, it’s a manual, I think it was a good purchase had the engine not gone. I’ve also learnt a lot as part of this experience with regards to taking car of a vehicle. I’m planning to move house next year and I’d like to revisit purchasing a Porsche or something similar again, but only if I have a garage. In terms of the outcome. Many recommended stripping the engine. Two garages, including Hartech, advised against it. Simply put it’s 40-50 hours to discover what you already know. The options became fix and keep (I decided if I fix I’d rather keep than resell) however many places are booked up for months and with my other life events it became head over heart. Option 2 sell as is, which I have done, to somebody in a better position to fix and do what they please with it. I have an outstanding bank loan on the vehicle. I’ll come out about £6/£7k down. I’m not loving this at all with a wedding to pay for. But it became the most realistic option. If I fixed and resold if probably have to make back relatively close to what I paid to make up that gap. Throw in the hassle and time and everything and I decided to take the hit. Everyone has said the same; it’s my first Porsche, doesn’t have to be my last though.

bosshog said: Deep Thought said: DMZ said: You d think that a fairly good use of the screen real-estate in a modern car would be an additional piece of information to tell the driver to absolutely not drive the car if low oil pressure has been detected. Wouldnt be difficult. I m amazed this is not already the case. My spoiler is not working correctly at the moment , and when I hit 76mph I get a spoiler malfunction error and an explicit message saying reduce speed (on my 2015 911) It's already exists.... This was my 2008 mini My passenger took the photo as she happened to have her phone out (before any smart arse comments on it) whilst I looked for somewhere to stop. As it happened it did not matter how long it took me to stop as the reason for the low oil pressure was the lack of oil pump rotation due to the timing chain snapping and the pistons and valves having a small party in cylinder 1.

PorscheBC said: Hi All, Thanks for all your responses. For key things to note: This website restricts new members from posting during evenings, for those wondering where I was. Yes, that s a thing. Some people started questioning my story, which I found very strange response. Who and why would join a forum such as this for that? It s not a YouTube conspiracy. Some have questioned the MOT yes of course I checked it before purchasing. The MOT expired around 6 months after purchase. Not within a month. Previous MOT failures were for worn tyres and a windscreen washer, nothing to write home about. Yes it was silly of me to drive it, one person went rather overboard with their language. Keep it friendly please. A few things I have discovered on my journey: Porsche rebuild garages are BUSY!!! if you are looking for work I d advise getting booked in, many of the top locations mentioned have 3 month waiting lists at least. Turns out many a Porsche specialist has done far worse than me. I haven t for example put Diesel in a petrol car, many have. As are missing MOTs. I felt awful missing it, turns out it s quite a common mistake by very experienced drivers and car enthusiasts. Many commentators judged me, to be honest I think it s more common than you think. Warranty companies do put MOT in the small print. It s there. It s silly, makes no difference, but it is there. In terms of final outcome. I m very sad to say I have sold the car. I love it, it s beautiful. It was supposed to be my forever car. It s red, it s a manual, I think it was a good purchase had the engine not gone. I ve also learnt a lot as part of this experience with regards to taking car of a vehicle. I m planning to move house next year and I d like to revisit purchasing a Porsche or something similar again, but only if I have a garage. In terms of the outcome. Many recommended stripping the engine. Two garages, including Hartech, advised against it. Simply put it s 40-50 hours to discover what you already know. The options became fix and keep (I decided if I fix I d rather keep than resell) however many places are booked up for months and with my other life events it became head over heart. Option 2 sell as is, which I have done, to somebody in a better position to fix and do what they please with it. I have an outstanding bank loan on the vehicle. I ll come out about £6/£7k down. I m not loving this at all with a wedding to pay for. But it became the most realistic option. If I fixed and resold if probably have to make back relatively close to what I paid to make up that gap. Throw in the hassle and time and everything and I decided to take the hit. Everyone has said the same; it s my first Porsche, doesn t have to be my last though. Thanks for the follow up OP. Sorry it didn't work out for you - but congrats on the wedding.

TriumphStag3.0V8 said: Thanks for the follow up OP. Sorry it didn't work out for you - but congrats on the wedding. Same here, sad story but you’re only here once, enjoy your wedding & hopefully be another opportunity to be a Porsche owner.

I assume you ran the engine with no oil pressure and therefore siezed it. Its knackered. I would sell as is and move on.

mollytherocker said: I assume you ran the engine with no oil pressure and therefore siezed it. Its knackered. I would sell as is and move on. Wow, well it seems that the OP is a time traveller who went to the future to wait for you to write that. Then he went back to his own time and followed your advice!

LunarOne said: mollytherocker said: I assume you ran the engine with no oil pressure and therefore siezed it. Its knackered. I would sell as is and move on. Wow, well it seems that the OP is a time traveller who went to the future to wait for you to write that. Then he went back to his own time and followed your advice! lol, was thinking the same, wonder why some bother replying.

mollytherocker said: I assume you ran the engine with no oil pressure and therefore siezed it. Its knackered. I would sell as is and move on.