Is this bore scoring? Possible lokasil shavings in oil

Hi! I recently obtained my first 2006 Cayman S . I've already driven a bit, and I'm in love with this car. Just want to add that if it is indeed having bore scoring issues, I will happily rebuild it, I already decided, because I love this car. Context Unfortunately I did not do my research very well before buying, so I didn't know to get a PPI until after I paid for the car. Oh well. Yes, I know I'm stupid. It's done now, and I accepted it. Moving on... I am doing my first oil change since I got the car. I've driven 1,100 miles (1,770 km) since I got the car from a dealership, and presumably the oil was changed there (can't be sure though). I plan to get a post-purchase inspection from the local Porsche dealership soon, and will try bore scoping through the sump next oil change myself probably. Also, I'll get an oil sample analysis done after the next change. In the meantime, I wanted to get this forum's opinion. Observation I cut open the filter to see what goodies I've got waiting for me in there. Unfortunately, I found engine in my oil. Dime coin for scale: In my opinion, there are two different materials here: the one circled in red, and the one in blue. Here are some close up shots of the red material: And here's a closeup of the blue material (I only found one piece of it): All pieces seem to be slightly magnetic. Or, they are sticking to my tool because of the oil film — I'm not sure. The lines on the blue material pieces are interesting. All of the pieces have the lines on one side, and are that black texture on the other side. I'm not sure what that's about. No bore scoring sounds that I hear, no visible smoke, and oil consumption seemed normal since I obtained it a few days ago. My questions Any idea if this is lokasil, or what this material might be? Do I have a bore scoring issue? Thank you!

What about IMS ? Can these be from IMS ? Very interested in insight from folks here

Those are fairly large pieces. I would do the following. Scope for bore scoring from the sump. You will also be able to check for debris there. I don’t think I would wait. Certainly not a full oil change interval. If you don’t find bore scoring, then I would take it to an indie Porsche shop along with the debris. Indie Porsche shops are likely far more experienced in these types of problems than dealers. In fact, in our area at least one Porsche dealer sends engines for rebuild to an indie shop.

Sorry to hear you got bit by issues... glad to hear you love the car, at least! I totally understand that feeling, at least! I don't have any answers either, but the other suggestions make sense. I also agree NOT to wait for the next OCI, and to get this looked at soon instead. You may want to grab an oil sample and send it out as well, just for additional data.

Today I pulled the oil pan off. I'm pleasantly surprised that there was a deep dump and baffles installed: There was no debris in the oil pan that I saw. I see some debris stuck on whatever this is (is this the oil pickup?) though: Next I stuck my bore scope up. First, let me show you a couple weird things I noticed. I don't know what this component is, but there's a weird yellow mark on it that doesn't seem like it belongs. Could this be the source of the metal pieces? I don't know what this component is either, but it seems to be scratched up too Next I looked at the cylinders. I'm not sure if I was looking at cylinder 5 or 6, but it's the bank on the driver side. When I stick the scope up, I only see two cylinders. So I stuck it to the one toward the rear of the car which I believe is either 5 or 6 (I've read bore scoring starts at 6, so hitting that was my goal). Really quickly, this is what I mean by I only see two cylinders on this bank: So in cylinder 6 or 5... Bad news! I've got some scoring. It doesn't look too bad and is only on the bottom of that one cylinder (that I saw): Interestingly you can see some horizontal scoring, which I've never heard of: The other cylinder (5 or 4, closer to the front of the car) seems to have very, very light scratching in comparison. In fact, I can't really tell in the photo I took lol: Finally, I got a nice drop of motor oil in my eye so I called it a day. I'll do more poking around in a couple days. I still don't know where those metal shavings are from. And I don't know whether the bore scoring is actively getting worse, or whether it is from an abusive previous owner. And I have two new mysteries: what is the yellow thing, and what are the scratches from on the other thing. Haha

I ended up confirming I have bore scoring, but I'm not convinced these shavings from from the cylinder. I'm not sure an oil sample would be useful either since I now know my bores are scored :/ But I will do it next oil change so I can see if it's an ongoing problem or if it has been fixed. Thanks for the encouragement though

Flat 6 Innovations says they will not rebuild it because of the TPC turbocharger. Too risky and their reputation is on the line. When I asked if I could remove the turbocharger and have them rebuild, they said "no". Just a word of warning that if you get the TPC turbocharger, your options when bore scoring happens are limited.

Slakker Racing Development may help you out. Google their number in Oklahoma City. They have a great shop and do good work. You may have to sell the turbo as they are a 4,1 liter Harteck shop. Or ask TPC what to do?

Looking at what you found in that cylinder - - if it was me - I'd be inclined to replace the piston in that cylinder and then keep an eye on it. Bore scoring is caused by cylinder-wall/piston interference. The pistons come with a plastic coating on the skirts that are supposed to stop that sort of thing happening. Once the plastic coating is damaged you end up with metal to metal contact resulting in bore scoring. I believe besides working as just a barrier to contact that the plastic coating also retains some oil to prevent even plastic-to-metal contact. That would be if it was the only issue - unfortunately I don't think it is.. I have absolutely no idea what the fuzzy stuff is, and that roundish metallic piece? Maybe part of a ball-bearing (like the IMS bearing )? I'm guessing you have no idea what's been done to this engine in the past? I'd have to think since it has the sump baffles that it has been gone into at some time in the past - and that it may have suffered an IMS bearing failure, and the people who decided to rebuild it rather than scrap it didn't get all the bits of the bad bearing out of the oil passages and perhaps a bit worked itself out, perhaps by route of that part with the chip out of it. Maybe the fuzzy bits are remnants of rags being pushed through oil passages to try to get all the bearing chips out of them.. and some rag was left behind. I think you're looking at a minimum of getting a really good mechanic involved and perhaps facing a tear-down and evaluation of what you have there. Without a tear-down we're all just guessing here (which isn't actually doing you much good, but we certainly sympathize with you.. The modifications that have been made to the car are ones which typically would indicate it was setup for track use - and that's different from everyday use.. I imagine the dealer is going to wash his hands of it - it's more than 1,000 miles (many states in the US have an implied warranty on a car of 30 days/1,000 miles unless an explicit "SOLD AS IS" is on the sales title)... Sorry.. I hope we're all wrong and it's just fine.

BTW - where are you located? People may have a mechanic local to you they could recommend..

South Austin in Texas, USA Thank you for the replies!

The cylinder walls are definitely scored, but I don't know if it is an active problem or if the root cause has been fixed already. Either way, I don't think the chunks are from the cylinder walls either since they're not thin. I would be sad if a previous owner put in the effort to rebuild it without honing and resleeving hahaha. But you could be right. Here's my current plan: Put the oil pan back on, and fill with Driven Racing's FR50 (5w-50) oil. Keep treating it like I have been (not idling when the engine is cold, using top tier fuels, using fuel injector cleaner, not gunning the throttle when it's cold). After about 500 - 1,000 miles, do an oil change, and get a sample analysis done to check if the bore scoring is an active or past problem. In the meantime, find a local indie mechanic who can help identify the debris if possible. I'll need a mechanic for major maintenance too anyway. Start thinking of a long term solution for the bore scoring — will I rebuild? Then I need to find a shop willing to do it. Maybe drop a new engine in? Then I have to deal with the exhaust/turbo setup. Or take the loss, sell it, and buy another Cayman? (I really hope not) I appreciate the moral support

Im in Denver and think that I saw the car...the turbo kit is really cool! I really wanted an S but ended up with a base due to this issue. keep us posted.

Hahaha understandable. I think in the ideal world I'd want a 2006 Cayman S with a built motor (3.8 or 4.0 L) and no turbo This model would be perfect if it weren't for the bore scoring and IMS issues... Was is the Stevinson Toyota East you saw selling the car? You dodged a bullet heh Not sure if you saw the other thread I posted: https://www.planet-9.com/threads/2006-cayman-s-987-1-mt-my-first-porsche-austin-tx-usa.255726/

Here is a video of a Slakker 4.1 Brandon Clark's Racing Development 987.1 car. Randy Pobst is cutting some great laps at VIR. So if you are talking about a roller, then give Brandon a call. He certainly can help. But no turbo.

Thank you! I contacted them and they said they are willing to rebuild it and keep the turbo even. It won't be cheap. The estimate I got was $32k USD which is more than I paid for the car haha. Tl;dr: But I am seriously considering it. My reasoning: I don't want to be dishonest and sell the car without disclosing the issue I know it has, so I think I'd get maybe $15k back if I tried to sell it. I don't know if it would be worth selling the turbo kit separately because I don't have stock exhaust system parts to install back etc. And then I'd probably buy another 987 car with, to some extent, the same issue (and less hp). So that route "costs" roughly $15k. If I spend the $32k instead on the "Nickies" 4.1 conversation, I won't have the issue anymore, but will get more hp. To simplify the situation: I can choose to spend $17k more and have the problem fixed, get a little more performance out of it, and have a slightly cooler car The downside is that the money is immediately "lost" in that it has no practical resale value. Also, auto insurance would not cover the amount I spent on the rebuild. But I'll have my dream car with its main problem fixed. Here's a breakdown they gave me: It would be a sweet car. I don't want to wait for inflation to push the rebuild cost higher, but also, I don't think it needs the rebuild quite yet. But in the next 2 years probably I'll do it.

@aaronesau Thanks for the update with all the details. Good to see them support the turbo. I think the 987 is a great platform for more power. And it would be reliable power. While you might not get the money back, if you decide to keep it for 5 years after the rebuild, it’s only about $3k per year in lost funds based upon your calculations. And the core of the car is not likely to depreciate much, if at all. So where can you get a beast of a car which out handles most things on the road for that kind of money?

Slakker is a really good Hartech shop. So, to be told they could give you a even better 4.1 turbo motor, that's a back flip time. Who know's what the HP dial would say, but I'm sure they would dyno it just for marketing purposes. If Brandon Clark's car had that sort of power, Randy Pobst would have had that Porsche Cup car he chased down in the video.

Update: I'm giving Slakker the car for the rebuild on June 22

Please post updates along the way. My new-to-me ' 06 Cayman S really needs nothing, but the siren song of more performance is persistent. Even if it's only for dreaming purposes. Good luck with the build!

Just dropped off the car in Oklahoma City at Slakker Racing Dev. Brandon gave me a tour of the shop, and it was AMAZING. So cool to see all of the equipment and in-progress engines. He answered all of my technical questions which was awesome, and we had a great conversation! Looking forward to returning in a few months to a boosted 4.1L Cayman!

That’s awesome. Did he provide estimates of hp and torque?

Nope, but he said they're working on another boosted 4.1L 987.1S right now. I'll post here when he shares the numbers from that (he said they should have it soon)!

@aaronesau I love the brand of lemonade you're making out of lemons handed off. Am curious if there's any feedback on disassembly now that you're on the recovery path? I know a guy, man my throat is scratchy, who has a piece of 987.1 engine in his oil that strongly resembles the object directly above FDR's head in your earlier picture.

Maybe some of the shavings were piston skirt coating:

I'd have to say that seems plausible. Is that number 6 on the right? Well ahead of its peers. Thanks for the pic. Interesting. Too bad it isn't rare.

Update: All the parts are ready, and they'll start reassembling this week. ETA 2-3 weeks before I can pick it up. Anyone have any recommendations for how I should insure this? It's roughly a 30k car with a 30k engine and another 20k in mods. If I wrecked it I could choose to take the car probably and drop the engine in a new Cayman maybe. Are there any other/better options? Thanks!

I think you could manage that... If you don't plan on driving the car more than a few thousand miles a year go to Hagerty and get a quote on agreed-value insurance. Hagerty's insurance also covers track days which I hope you will be doing with the beast of a FI 4.1L build.

Turns out the wastegate springs were on 7 psi this whole time. So here's the dyno for my engine! 534 hp, 480 lb-ft of torque peak. Pickup is scheduled for Thursday 😁 Will post impressions and pics here by next weekend. Edit: pickup got delayed. Will update soon hopefully. Also here's a video of the dyno testing:

I think that's going to please you. Adequate + eh? Amazing. Looking forward to post pickup update!

I got to drive it today, but unfortunately 4 hours into the drive home, the oil return pump for the turbo failed, causing the turbo seal to blow. Absolutely unreal experience driving that car though. Here's a video from the first road test of it: https://youtube.com/shorts/FnnRdayDQfc It's back in the shop for now.

Awesome video/acceleration, the giggling is highly descriptive. I hope it's sorted quickly.

Impressions from the 4 hours of highway driving: Traction: Better than expected. Tires spin in 4th gear at highway speeds around 4K–5K RPMs, but PSM kept things under control. Unexpectedly, rolling launches don't seem to have major traction problems (in a straight line on dry pavement, at least). I'm on Michelin Pilot Sport 4S with just 235 front, 265 rear. But will probably upgrade at some point. Power: Crazy fast. I haven’t gone full throttle yet. But it's more than enough. It's funny, 6th gear feels identical to how 4th gear used to feel. Sound: Tame under 3K RPMs but gets wild at high revs. Between 6K–7K RPMs, to my surprise, it might as well be straight-piped. Very rowdy. When I lift off the throttle, the turbo whistle is much louder than I remember — but I'm not sure if that’s just because my turbo was needing a rebuild before, or what. Streetability: Surprisingly easy to drive. Throttle response is linear and predictable. According to Brandon, it feels like an NA — amazingly, there's absolutely zero turbo lag. The boost is quite literally instant. The lightweight flywheel sounds great revving in neutral (probably doesn't make the car any faster though haha), and doesn’t make it harder to start from a stop or rev-match at all. Clutch feels great. Practicality: I feel safer in traffic because of how quick it is. At one point I pushed the throttle down a bit to escape a truck coming into my lane with no shoulder on the other side of me (presumably they didn't see me). I was out of the way instantly. It feels like riding my sport motorcycle, but it's a Porsche. To be clear about what happened a couple nights ago: the turbo's oil return pump has failed twice now. The f irst failure was before I picked up the car — they suspect the electrical connection wasn't good when they first ran the car. Slakker cleaned oil out of the intake, made sure the pump was working, and noted that amount the smoke greatly decreased. That is, the turbo seal seemed to have partially done its job / resealed. But for a few reasons, I was in a bit of a rush to get the car home that night (couldn't delay), so I tried to drive it even though it wasn't fully finished & was lightly smoking the whole way. According to Brandon before I drove, the car was 90% complete, and we determined the amount of smoke was safe to drive with. Once I got home, I was planning to take the turbo off, ship to them, and have them rebuild it. I was keeping an eye on the rear view mirror, and about 4 hours into the drive, the smoke greatly intensified (when the seal blew fully / a second time). I'm extremely grateful, because Brandon and his partner drove 8 hours round trip in the middle of a night with a trailer to haul my car back to the shop. I Ubered the remaining 2 hours home. Overall, the car is even better than I expected: fast, but somehow extremely streetable. Once they sort out the pump issue and rebuild the turbo, it’ll be perfect.

Point of clarification, in context of TPC kit, oil return pump? I assumed the oil return line was compromised, maybe there's more at play here than I understand. Turbo incoming oil feed and gravity exit aren't the whole story?

My understanding is that since it's a bottom mount turbo, oil can't exit with gravity.

All the 987 TPC kits I've self installed, sample size of one used kit, are gravity feed on the turbo oil return side. TPC's install instructions make mention of careful routing of said oil return. I was re-watching your Slakker dyno video, there does appear to be a pump on the turbo oil return. I know you bought the car with TPC kit in place, I wonder if that pump was added by previous owner? You may be fighting something that isn't part of TPC's design.

Did they check the timing chain guides, those “bits” look like wear from them.