Hey all,
Long story short, I recently obtained a
2006 Cayman S
with 94k miles from a family member. things seem to be in decent condition, the car drives great, however, maintenance throughout the years has maybe not been 100% up to Porsche standard/well documented (outside of belts, routine oil changes and a few others)
I’m interested in keeping the car around for as long as possible as it has some sentimental value and of course is a blast to drive, however, I’m looking for some guidance on where to start.
I had planned to get the transmission inspected, however, I was told that might not be necessary and should opt for a transmission fluid change first.
I have been told everything from sending the oil to get tested for bore scoring, changing,
spark plugs
, changing engine, coolant, clutch replacement, synchros, and so on.
At this mileage, where should I start? What can be expected? How long can I expect her to stay alive?
Any insight is greatly appreciated!
What I have done since getting a 2005 around 75K (but the previous owner did
spark plugs
, water pump, etc. in the past per CarFax):
1. Changed the transmission fluids (Redline 75W90 NS) - the PO may have changed in the past but no records and the old fluid looked good / transparent
2. Cut open the oil filter to check any metal shavings (more for
IMS
as I am not worried about bore scoring) and sent the analysis to Blackstone (I posted the results
here
)
3. My bump stops were non-existent so took a short cut to replace them (
here
)
4. No issues with the clutch at all but had to realign the shifter
5. Check the belt and looked good
If you take care of her, she should last for a long time...
Welcome to Planet-9, the Home for Porsche Owners who Inherited one..
SInce you have no service records on the car - I'd do a complete service to make sure it's going to be reliable AFTER getting the undoubtedly fine Blackstone report back.. (if Blackstone says the engine is on it's last legs then you may want to rethink this..)
At 100k miles - I'd suggest dong a "baseline" service:
Oil/filter
Water pump, belt idlers (there are 2) and a new serpentine belt (use the Porsche one.. )
Plugs, coils - FCPEuro sells a kit
Transmission oil (automatic or stick? It makes a difference, the automatic - aka Tiptronic - also has a filter that should be changed.)
Air filter
Cabin air filter
Brake fluid flush
Antifreeze since you'll be losing a bit doing the water pump (and you'll want a vacuum lift system to refill the cooling system).
Time up on the lift looking for any wet spots, shiny metal spots, soft looking bushings - address these as needed
DIY - this is going to cost about $700 in parts and take a lot of hours.
Independent shop - I'd expect it to come in at around $2,400 total, maybe less depending on the going rate in your area.
Dealership - more than the car is worth - really - they'll get this up to $5,000 without even breathing hard.
The end result will be a reliable fun car to drive for at least another 40,000 without any major expenses popping up. Hard to beat that return on investment.
Or you can go cheap and just change the oil and wait for something to break - which it will.. the idea of the items above are to address what might break before it breaks so your outings in the car are fun and not filled with dread.
Thank you!
I do know all pullys and belts were just replaced. Also it is a manual.
To add, if your going through the trouble of replacing some cooling system components I'd go all in and replace all the rubber hoses including the plastic water guide housing mounted to the engine. My housing started leaking right around 100,000 miles. Regarding the front hoses on a manual, I don't think you have to remove the front bumper cover but if you have the inclination and the budget that would be a good time to clean the radiators and add a third radiator and a GT3 top bumper cover vent for improved cooling. I don't think the stock radiator setup is quite adequate for our cars especially if you'd ever track it in hot weather.
Have you done the bumper cover vent on your 987? Was it fairly involved? Did it help with cooling?
I’m having some cooling issues on hot days at the track. Considering an oil cooler as well at better radiator venting.
I have a 2 year old center radiator as well as almost new CSF side radiators. My thermostat and water pump are also fairly new. Still getting oil temps up to 270 when tracking on a hot day. If ambient temps are lower 80’s then the oil temp stays below 260. Still a bit hotter than I would like.
I’ve seen some things related to getting the “smile” on the front bumper for better airflow. I might try that before the oil cooler since it’s also supposed to improve downforce.
When you replaced a “grill”, was that a Porsche part you put in? A GT3 one?
Not sure about oil temps, but I added the 997? or 996? Motorsports? oil/coolant heat exchanger years ago which has a much better capacity to cool the oil from the circulating and cooled liquid radiator coolant. The 987 version is IMO woefully inadequate for track use. You may be limited there but for the center radiator to really work you need that upper grill/vent allowing the heat to escape, otherwise it's just kinda basking with little circulation and thats probably not good for the plastic bumper cover either to be expose to and retaining all that heat.
This document really helped me out when i got my car. I was on the same page you are now. I pretty much went down the list and did the tasks according to mileage. Mine was at 109K. I think this is a good place to start and if you are a DIY guy this is a fun project. It took me about a month to get thru everything. If you can get yourself a Porche manual. I use two. 101 Projects for Your Porche Baxter and Porche Baxter Service Manual from Bentley Manuals, and of course You Tube. Academy. Good luck man and enjoy!
