Hello all! Thank you for letting me join your community!
I have an issue with my
2008 Cayman S
, that happened shortly after purchasing the vehicle. The motor has an intermittent knock noise. I haven't looked at the motor much, but had it taken to two mechanics and they both say that the motor is shot as it has metal flakes in the oil. I have attempted to purchase a used motor, but have been burned a few times from the couple of motors I've attempted to purchase. I am hoping to get to the bottom of why the motor failed and see about rebuilding it at this point only due to my short comings before. I was thinking of performing a compression test, but didn't know if there were any other tests I can perform to help diagnose the motor to aid in the decision of attempting to rebuild, or to keep on trying for another motor. I have a local machine shop that would take the motor to getting redone as I have taken other motors there and have came out amazing, but again the question I want to try to see about getting answered is if the motor could be rebuilt. Has anyone come across the issue of their motor having an intermittent knock during initial idle, and metal flakes in the oil? I'm sure this question has been answered in the past, and I'd be happy to take on the
next
similar question the
next
person is asking, ( too bad this site does not have the right emoji for this lol).
Looking forward to any answers or follow up questions!
Thank you all for your time.
Matt
Can it be rebuilt? There are few things in the world that cannot be resolved with the proper application of coin. If you buy a used engine it's an unknown, if you have yours rebuilt then it's a "known". Of course the cost will be a factor in your decision along with how long you plan on keeping the vehicle. You stated that you have experience with the machine shop and know their work to be excellent, unless it's cost prohibitive I'd let them build it, just my two cents.
The metal flakes in the oil = IMS bearing failure. The problem is - by the time the metal flakes are caught, typically some have circulated to parts of the engine and damaged those parts. Most IMS failure engines are deemed as not rebuildable because of that. I suppose you could have the engine pulled and send it to that shop and ask that they decide if it can be rebuilt. If things like the main bearings, or cam-bearings are scored from metal in the oil, chances are it wouldn't be economically practical to rebuild it.
As
@Boristhespyder
said - there are few things that can't be done IF you want to throw enough money at them, but in the case of IMS failure damaged engines - that can be a whole lot of money with very little of the old engine being salvaged.
BTW - I noticed you said this happened soon after purchasing it. I'm guessing you didn't have a PPI done before buying it? Chances are excellent that the former owner dumped it because he'd/she'd heard the rattle/knock of doom at some point and wanted out of it while the engine still turned. A good PPI on these engines typically includes dropping the oil filter and directing it looking for metal particles - that would have caught this instantly.
If the IMS bearing is gone, the motor would have most likely imploded by now. More likely you have bottom-end damage like rod bearings. M96/97 engines are notorious for oiling issues on the #6 piston, especially in high-G left hand corners.
Whether rebuilding or buying new/used budget about $20k-$25k. The best deal I ever saw on rebuilds was from a place in Long Beach, CA that would rebuild a M96 for about $8k not including any new hard parts required.
Call Vision in Irvine and see if Dwayne has any deals on his engines. I got an excellent deal on a rebuilt
M96 engine
- and it still cost me almost $20k for everything.
Matt,
I'm sorry to hear about your engines knocking noise. So, the fork in the road is fast approaching for you. What to do? You can get your hands dirty changing the oil and filter right now. Buy some 10W50 Castrol, a new filter and a magnetic drain plug. Then keep a log of when you hear the noise on startup. Crawl under the motor and look for oil dripping from the IMS bearing. You cannot see the bearing, its in a housing behind the flywheel, but many times, they tend to start leaking oil. If that is not the cause of your noise, good fresh heavy weight oil is a good start preventing piston slap noise or rod bearing knock. Until you figure out where the noise is coming from its a crapshoot. Jake Raby has a series of videos on diagnosing these issues. Even to a point of telling you exactly where to put a listing tool to hear a rod knock vs piston slap. So my suggestion is to become much more involved in finding out where the knock is coming from. Change the oil every 1500 miles and open each oil filter with heavy duty shears to cut off the ends and spread out the billows under high intensive light. Use a magnet to distinguish iron from aluminum/plastic. You may be lucky and create a happy spot when the heavy wt oil and frequent changes minimize the damage. I hope for the best in your situation.
@deilenberger
Thanks for the advise. I am crossing my fingers and hoping that nothing to much was damaged 😅.
And not the ppi was not done, as I now regret.
I'll keep you updated as things come along 😁.
Matt
