CAMSHAFT SNAPPED IN HALF ON A 2002 911 - 996 !!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello there, I dont know if you can help me, I really am upset to discover my Porsche 911 - 996 2002 model broke down on me last Saturday - The Rac couldnt fix it , so it was towed to my Local Porsche dealer, it has been with them since Monday and today I was told it is serious ' Camshaft has snapped in half, and the car now requires either a complete engine build or a new engine ... It really upsets me so much , because i bought this car for just over 30 K exactly 12 months ago, now to find it need an absolute fortune spending on it really drives me insane.... The car has been very well looked after by me, had its usual servises by porsche dealerships and has just hit 71,000 mile... any advise would be much appreciated as I really wouldnt expect something like this to happen to a car like this. I assumed that by paying that kind of money iwould have a reliable car that would drive me for MANY more miles to come , I hope someone can advise me... thankyou

Sorry to hear about your problems, 1st question Do you have an official Porsche warranty with the car ?

Don't think I've ever heard of that one before... If you have a Porsche warranty then don't worry, camshafts are covered. However, I suspect you haven't as a Porsche dealer should have known that and wouldn't have told you you will have to pay. Is the service history and everything fully up to date? If so, and the engine hasn't run out of oil or anything, I would think you would be in a good position for at least a goodwill gesture, as that really shouldn't happen if the car has been maintained correctly.

Hi Deborah, Unfortunately anything can go wrong with a car and in your case you've had a one in a million failure. This isn't AFAIK a common issue with the engine. It has either been caused by a bad casting, or the other way you can snap a cam is if a cam guide caps comes loose. For this to happen you normally require more than one to come loose and normally starting from the end, not likely however I've had exactly this happen on a Mitsubishi engine years ago so not impossible but also highly unlikely. It will probably cost you a rebuild as more than likely you'll have had valve to piston collision. While this won't require a new engine it will require new valves, valve guides, rockers etc.... it will be expensive.... Sorry, no good news ........... Jeff

Hi There, Thankyou for all your replies , unfortunate for me I dont have a warranty with Porsche, I bought the car from a private dealer , with a 6 months warranty . The Porsche dealership where the car is now, is ' Totalling ' the cost of a rebuild / or new engine. Should find out tomorrow, but have had hints at 10 K plus :nooo: I have also spoken with Porsche customer care who have advised me i probably wont be entitled to any Goodwill gesture because the car has not been within the Porsche circle so to speak .. It has been serviced by Porsche dealerships and the service book states this , It was actually due for one, the 1st with me, since it was serviced 12 months ago when i bought it... ( 15,000 ) Miles . Ive never had much look with Porsche, having had a Silver beauty, just like the one in the photos with the Dogs, I hit water and lost it, on the M6 year last January , after hitting the central reservation and then pirouette several times coming to a stand still in a farmers field, with half the fence though the car , fortunately we were okay, but the car wasnt, that was a on a 1998 plate , full GT kit, i was smitten with that car, anyways it was written off as the cost to repair exceeded the value... Insurance paid me out and I purchased this one Some how i feel this will be the last one for me

Hi Deborah, Sorry to hear about this. £10k Porsche Centre pricing can be extremely worrying but they are not the only ones that can do the work, many of the independents out there can undertake the work for considerably less. Whereabouts are you from? We might be able to recommend an alternative. Damian

Hi Damian Im in morecambe, Lancashire - The car at present is in Kendal, my nearest specialist , and as far as im aware the engine is out, If i was to find someone else I would still have to pay the huge labour charge that has probably already been incurred for just finding the fault and totalling the cost then if i had an independant fit it, would i have a porsche warranty, its so confusing ! I have to take my Service book tomorrow for them, as I believe they have faxed photos and details down to Reading, ( presumably to see if they will contribute towards the costs, which seem unlikely ..

Hi, Try contacting Autofarm in Oxford, they do great rebuilt exchange engines for about £5.5k Good luck Tony.

I also wouldn't give up too easily - at 71,000 miles this really shouldn't happen. The only maintenance issue that I can think of that could possibly cause this fault would be running out of oil. If it has been serviced regularly and topped up in between a camshaft should not break... Once the cam covers are bolted on at the factory, there is no routine checking of them as a routine maintenance item ever again. So, if you can prove regular servicing (specifically oil-changes) using correct lubricants, and there was plenty of oil in the engine when it failed, the fault must be the result of a manufacturing defect. Good luck

Hello again, have just had a call from Parkers and Parkers , they have quoted me 8250 for a rebuild or 8450 for a new engine, with 2 years parts a labour warranty. ... Apparently Porsche in reading are not willing to contribute , this will definatly be the last Porsche I buy , not really got any faith in them now... I still dont know the reasons as to why this happened, he simply said , they dont really know.... :bye:

Deborah Parkers and Parkers are an excellent family run Porsche business, not one of the big boys. This is a really good price for a new engine from Porsche with 2 years warranty. Definately go for the new engine because even without your car having a Porsche warranty your engine will be covered for the full 2 years warranty. Like I said that is an excellent price. I had a 2005 911 C4S with just 13,000 miles on it when it went pop, intermediate shaft went. Porsche Bolton replaced the engine FOC but they said the cost would have been in excess of 12k if I had to pay. You could go to the independants and pay from 3k upwards for a good engine rebuild with RMS issues updated and solved. Like someone else mentioned Autofarm are an excellent rebuilder for around 5.5k. All the best, Marcus

Definitely go for the new engine... At least that way you will get some of your money back when you sell it again - brand new factory engine has to add a few thousand to the value of a 71,000 mile car. Up to you, but if it was me, I would want to know why it failed - a metallurgist should be able to tell you that from the damaged components. Might be worth spending a few quid if it turns out it was a material defect and putting a bit of pressure on Porsche (I'm sure they won't want this to be your last Porsche?) I wouldn't accept "don't really know" as an explanation of the failure.

Nightmare... Porsche customer service really is the pits; I can't blame you for losing faith. Not wishing to rub it in, but by way of contrast we had an engine fault with our '03 Audi A8 that was a year at least out of wty, and they replaced the engine without charge as a goodwill gesture. Whatever the outcome, I'd write to Porsche Great Britain with your disatisfaction. £8450 for a new engine sounds like a good deal; Porsche are certainly subsidising that. I'm not a lawyer, but surely a consumer should expect to be able to get 71k miles out of a £30k car which has been serviced to manufacturers' spec? Sale of goods act?

It might be worth writing a letter to head of Porsche GB (Andy something? search on this forum for Porsche+Andy and see if it comes up) explaining what happened and why you think Porsche should contribute to the repair (always OPC serviced etc). I had a fight over a (minor) warranty item and wrote to him. The head of Porsche UK customer services (Angela something) called me, wasnt apologetic, blamed Porsche Germany (who determine the warranty) but the main thing is she agreed to pay on my claim, and also did another £250 of non-warranty work as a goodwill gesture. I know a new engine is a different cup of tea, but you still have a fair and just point. Good luck. edit - just found my thread with names - see page 5 of: http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=29279

Exactly... You can hide behind extended warranties a bit, but if something is definitely a manufacturing / assembly fault you would be very silly not to a) make a goodwill gesture that takes into account 71,000 miles of perfectly satisfactory performance, and b) want to investigate exactly what happened to try and prevent a recurrence. OK, so that engine is not made the same any more, but not wanting to know what caused it is shows a rather casual attitude towards customer care - or that it is a 'known' issue and they are avoiding admitting liability!