My friends 997 engine failed after 80000kms 4 years old so no warranty The cilinder walls cracked 15.000 euro for a refurbished engine from the factory Any body here with similar problems??
Sorry to hear that. On the plus side, he can certainly find a replacement engine for much less than $15K euro. I've seen very low mileage 997 motors listed for $12-14K USD.
Yes : http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=256852 My car had the same problem but fortunately it was still under warranty. I am still pissed at this however.
My Cayenne had a similar problem. My 996 didn't but there was always an elevated chance that it may happen (136K miles without engine issues). I'm somewhat bummed about it happening on a 997. This has me thinking about my next Porsche daily driver, which was going to be a 997 PDK or newer Cayenne. Are you able to share the circumstances on your friend's 997? Was it well-maintained? How was the car driven?
Here's is the best article I've read on the topic (long....you can probably skip to sect. 5) http://www.hartech.org/docs/buyers%20guide%20web%20format%20Dec%202010%20part%205.pdf (short verson...not enough cooling on one side of certain cylinder walls in 3.6 and 3.8 engines) One wonders if this problem will become more apparent as these cars accumulate more milages. (If so, expect values to plummet, much the same as the IMS risk did to the value of early boxters)
this is one reason I sold my '06 997S when it came out of warranty this year. Don't need that kind of financial risk in my life for a toy.
Too bad for Porsche. A black eye (again). Porsche should have its act togeather. Its the one quality that seperates them from the "exotics" at the expense of bling. Thats why I would stick to the 996 tt/Gt3/Gt2 bulletproof Gt1 blocked cars. Even the 996 had its problems.
Yea, if this starts to become more prevalent and the word gets around, people aren't going to want to take the risk of owning one. I instinctively dumped my '05 S when the warranty was nearing the end as it just seemed like too many things could add up if things started going wrong. In Europe the warranty is one year less than the US too.
As I just read all 28 pages I'll save some of you the fuss......so here's the aforementioned HARTECH article in summary.........which is very good I must say........... 1 - Change your oil much more frequently than Porsche says. 2 - Use a heavier oil. 3 - Change your coolant every 2-3 years, rather than NEVER (as Porsche marketing says) or 5 years, as Porsche service recommends. 4 - Install a 20 degree cooler thermostat. 5 - Let your car warm 2-3 minutes before driving off and don't beat on it until it's fully up to operating temps. Dooouuuhhh........this is all basic "car guy" stuff I have been practicing for 3 decades now on pretty much every "enthusiast" car I have ever owned. But in today's world in order to sell more cars, manufacturer's are looking for ways to market them as having lower maintenance costs, amongst other things, so early engine failures in the case of the subject here are the end result of those efforts once out of warranty.
Was it the 996 motor where a half moon shaped fracture would develop at the base of the cylinder wall always on n.2 and n.4 cylinders? Someone like the Goat Farm figured out a way to salvage these 996 blocks after they cracked I believe but it wasn't cheap. To have the problem continue on the 997 is disappointing... CH
The Cayenne (non-turbo 4.5) issue was due to insufficient oiling at the cylinders. The turbo motors, and all of the 4.8 motors have oil squirters at the cylinders to prevent this issue. I haven't seen any engine problems with the newer Cayenne motors.
CH....... Don't know to be honest. All air cooled 911's have their own problems too. Too suggest otherwise is uneducated.
All cars have their specific problems. None is perfect (But some prefer old cars with less electronic elements susceptible to failure)
yes they do, but the issues are WIDLEY known before you drop your cash into them. I am not uneducated in air cooled 911s. The key points are 1.) if I dropped $100k on a new car, and it had this type of issue 3-4 years later "out of the blue", I would be real pissed and PCNA would find they would not like me, 2.) they depreciate like crazy, 3.) i can't work/tinker on them as this is major hobby for me.
