Helios

I've been thinking about P-cars lately but boy, their forums are full of scary stories.

Seems any of the water-cooled non-turbo engines are fair game, and Rear Main Seal leaks are just the tip of the iceberg.

Intermediate shaft failures, oil porosity issues - there are just so many stories of engines dying without warning. Porsche NA seems to have replaced many, many of these engines, but if you're out of warranty, watch out.

Do you feel this issue is overblown - as often happens in car forums - and would you ever own a '99 and up Carrera, Boxster, or Cayman without a warranty?

I hope this doesn't sound like a troll question, because it's not. I really like Porsches but this all makes me wonder...

Ted H

I do own one... and the RMS is a problem. BUT... it can be done at your Porsche dealer for $1200, or a good independent for... ~ $800 or less. Have an extra ~1k around to cover that (and you should if you're planning on buying one of these cars).

I had a HUGE problem with my car other than that, but it was caused by mechanic error, rather than an inherent problem with the car.

I think your main concern should be the RMS, other than that they're pretty sturdy cars.

st4rk

I have a 996 and have replaced the engine twice. The transmission is on it's way out. The doors leak when it rains. The speakers have blown out several times. I have a stack of clutches in my garage ready to be installed when the current one goes.

Other than that it's great!

Cthemall123

Vik2000

^

Ted H

How's it going?

rwheelz

Ouch. Sorry to hear that. That is exactly the kind of info I would want to know before purchasing a 996. I assume you do the labor yourself? Regular clutch replacements can't be cheap!

poorshoeless

Before purchasing my S2000, I did an extensive research on the 987 but due to the engine issues I did not get one. Didn't want to take a chance of having to replacing an engine after the warranty expired. It costs around $12K to replace one if I remember it correctly. Porsche redesign their engine for 09 models but I did not want to carry a loan on a weekend toy.

hkspwrsche

I was told by a Porsche tech that the RMS issues were actually a bigger issue than the rear main seal and that the crank and intermediate shafts were walking in the weaker engine case. He said that the Casting process changed for the water cooled customer engine program and prior to that the aircooled engines were cast the same way as the race engine in the stronger process. This was a cost saving measure.
He also said that the later models were adding more bracing inside the engine case and to get the newest one you can if your getting a water cooled 911 or boxster.
Please feel free to only count this as second hand info and disregard it if you feel you see evidence to the contrary. I was a PCA member and I had 6 Porsches before my s2000. I happened to be at a tech event around 2006 with one 911 and was talking about getting a water cooled 911 and thats when I got this info relayed. Again, I'm not saying it's gospel but, it made enough sense to me that I avoided a seal gray 2002 water cooled 911 even though I liked the look.

2007 Zx-10

[QUOTE=st4rk,Mar 19 2009, 11:30 AM] I have a 996 and have replaced the engine twice.