Porsche Boxster 986 - engine swap project
Discussion
Johnymd said:
Superb thread. I had considered a 993 engine swap (fast and load style) as they are relatively cheap and have potential engine issues.
Are you sure you didn't mean a 996? 993 are neither cheap nor have their Mezger engines potential issues, non that I'm aware off at least.Would be a shame IMHO to swap the engine in a 993.
This project on the other hand ist just pure genius!! Keep the good work up and thanks for an interesting read!
I think i've been a bit premature getting the mapping booked for the 7th. I've run into some teething problems which I guess are inevitable.
I took it to Kwikfit for a wheel alignment. I was in the waiting room, when it was lifted in the air, the guy doing the alignment noticed the turbo and everyone stopped what they were doing and came over for a look and to take photos. Whilst it was up in the air I took the opportunity to take one myself.
Unfortunately this is where the problems start. The toe on the drivers side rear wheel won't adjust enough so I need to look into that. There is an oil leak on the crank seal (known as the RMS in the Porsche world). I didn't replace it as it wasn't leaking when it came out of the Audi A6. It's such a common issue on the flat 6 engines, I think my V6 must know i've put it in a Porsche so it's decided to leak so I don't miss out on a genuine Porsche ownership experience.
I also found out it's burning oil, when i'm driving and come to a stop. I assume it'll be something to do with the oil return from the turbo. I'm running AN10 lines which are bigger than the pump is designed for, i'm thinking perhaps it's struggling to pull the oil as there is too much volume in the pipes. If anyone has any experience with scavenge pumps on low mounted turbo's i'd appreciate any input.
I took a little video to show the oil burning, while making it I gave it a few short sharp rev's and the engine must rock more than it has while i've been driving it and so i've got a clearance issue. It'll probably be the external wastegate as that's tight.
https://youtu.be/JSlFxZuJlRA
And last but not least, I think there is a problem with the canbus extension port on the ECU so I need to send it back to EcuMaster in Poland for them to check it out.
I took it to Kwikfit for a wheel alignment. I was in the waiting room, when it was lifted in the air, the guy doing the alignment noticed the turbo and everyone stopped what they were doing and came over for a look and to take photos. Whilst it was up in the air I took the opportunity to take one myself.
Unfortunately this is where the problems start. The toe on the drivers side rear wheel won't adjust enough so I need to look into that. There is an oil leak on the crank seal (known as the RMS in the Porsche world). I didn't replace it as it wasn't leaking when it came out of the Audi A6. It's such a common issue on the flat 6 engines, I think my V6 must know i've put it in a Porsche so it's decided to leak so I don't miss out on a genuine Porsche ownership experience.
I also found out it's burning oil, when i'm driving and come to a stop. I assume it'll be something to do with the oil return from the turbo. I'm running AN10 lines which are bigger than the pump is designed for, i'm thinking perhaps it's struggling to pull the oil as there is too much volume in the pipes. If anyone has any experience with scavenge pumps on low mounted turbo's i'd appreciate any input.
I took a little video to show the oil burning, while making it I gave it a few short sharp rev's and the engine must rock more than it has while i've been driving it and so i've got a clearance issue. It'll probably be the external wastegate as that's tight.
https://youtu.be/JSlFxZuJlRA
And last but not least, I think there is a problem with the canbus extension port on the ECU so I need to send it back to EcuMaster in Poland for them to check it out.
On Sunday I looked into the burning oil issue. I tested the turbo scavenge pump operation to see if it was doing what it should. I removed the oil drain so it would drain into a container and I could see if the pump was drawing it up quick enough.
Considering the problem seemed to be too much oil and leaking past the seals I was horrified to see that there was no oil at all coming through the turbo. I quickly worked out the cause. I'd read on a BMW forum where there was a discussion about low mounted turbo's that if you didn't have a small sump under the turbo (which I don't), the oil from the feed could slowly drip from the feed when the car isn't running and fill up the turbo core and start leaking out and you'd be smoking on cold starts. The solution was to use a one way valve in the oil feed as this would stop the drips. I thought it makes sense so put one in, can't do any harm can it? Yes it can, it jammed closed and the turbo has run with hardly any oil (and so has the scavenge pump). I removed the one way valve and binned it.
I made a little video showing my tests.
https://youtu.be/HtPlDZLAw1o
Tonight I pulled the turbo to check it out. The good news is, it's easy to remove the turbo, took me 30 minutes to get it off. That would be an engine out job in the Audi.
The bad news is it's f
ked. The wheels have touched the housings (housings are ok), the shaft is fked. Because it was a hybrid I can't get an off the shelf replacement CHRA from it so i'm going to have to mess about trying to source all the correct bits. I can't really replace the turbo with something else, i'd have to change too many things.
Considering the problem seemed to be too much oil and leaking past the seals I was horrified to see that there was no oil at all coming through the turbo. I quickly worked out the cause. I'd read on a BMW forum where there was a discussion about low mounted turbo's that if you didn't have a small sump under the turbo (which I don't), the oil from the feed could slowly drip from the feed when the car isn't running and fill up the turbo core and start leaking out and you'd be smoking on cold starts. The solution was to use a one way valve in the oil feed as this would stop the drips. I thought it makes sense so put one in, can't do any harm can it? Yes it can, it jammed closed and the turbo has run with hardly any oil (and so has the scavenge pump). I removed the one way valve and binned it.
I made a little video showing my tests.
https://youtu.be/HtPlDZLAw1o
Tonight I pulled the turbo to check it out. The good news is, it's easy to remove the turbo, took me 30 minutes to get it off. That would be an engine out job in the Audi.
The bad news is it's f
ked. The wheels have touched the housings (housings are ok), the shaft is fked. Because it was a hybrid I can't get an off the shelf replacement CHRA from it so i'm going to have to mess about trying to source all the correct bits. I can't really replace the turbo with something else, i'd have to change too many things. Escy said:
Yeah, I expected a few issues. At least i've discovered it now and not when it went bang on the rolling road.
At least it didn't go pop at all! Wouldn't be fun changing a broken engine if it'd ingested bits of turbo.Bad luck, but projects always need a bit of fettling. Fantastic shot from underneath, I imagine that'll be a regular occurrence when fitting tyres/MOT etc.
Thanks for the comments. Hopefully i'll have a replacement sorted out quickly.
olly22n said:
You'll need adjustable rear toe arms. You can't get enough on the standard arms esp if lowered.
Yeah, i'm not liking the prices for adjustable arms. I'm going to see if I can come up with something different.Thanks, I've contacted him. Hopefully he can find the bits I need.
Since the car isn't going anywhere any time soon I turned my attention to the old engine. When I initially bought the car, I decided the I was better off getting myself a runner as the engines sell for about 2k. My thinking was it'd work out the same sort of money as buying a spares or repairs car but i'd have more choice over the car I went for.
I MOT'd the car in the morning and removed it in the afternoon after doing a compression test which was perfect. I was shocked when I removed a coolant hose and it was full of mayo. I probably did about 250 miles in it after buying, not sure if the previous owner punted in on knowing about the problem or if I just got stung by the Porsche engine curse. I've got to hold my hands up, I didn't even check the coolant when I bought it.
I was excited to start the project so just put the engine in the corner and forgot about it for over a year. I decided to take it apart to find the cause.
I started with the easiest thing, pressure testing the heat exchanger. It was fine.
It's still bleeding...
It's a nicely packaged engine
Cylinder heads off
Found me a crack
Close up
Since the car isn't going anywhere any time soon I turned my attention to the old engine. When I initially bought the car, I decided the I was better off getting myself a runner as the engines sell for about 2k. My thinking was it'd work out the same sort of money as buying a spares or repairs car but i'd have more choice over the car I went for.
I MOT'd the car in the morning and removed it in the afternoon after doing a compression test which was perfect. I was shocked when I removed a coolant hose and it was full of mayo. I probably did about 250 miles in it after buying, not sure if the previous owner punted in on knowing about the problem or if I just got stung by the Porsche engine curse. I've got to hold my hands up, I didn't even check the coolant when I bought it.
I was excited to start the project so just put the engine in the corner and forgot about it for over a year. I decided to take it apart to find the cause.
I started with the easiest thing, pressure testing the heat exchanger. It was fine.
It's still bleeding...
It's a nicely packaged engine
Cylinder heads off
Found me a crack
Close up
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