Cayman S engine failure and how Porsche will deal with you.

[EricE]

monamimate said:

My 981s Boxster is up for its 2nd birthday next month.

Is the consensus that one should buy the extended warranty?

Thanks!

(Haven't read all 30 pages of this thread, so apologies if repost, but it seems unclear a to whether these problems are a thing of the past or still worth being worried about)

From what I have read here, most cars with the new 9A1 engine (that is 987.2 onwards) should be safe at the moment but nobody knows what the future holds.

[Trev450]

monamimate said:

My 981s Boxster is up for its 2nd birthday next month.

Is the consensus that one should buy the extended warranty?

Thanks!

(Haven't read all 30 pages of this thread, so apologies if repost, but it seems unclear a to whether these problems are a thing of the past or still worth being worried about)

The 981 is not affected by the issues discussed here, so a less involved decision when it comes to extending the warranty.

[monthefish]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

No you didn't, and still haven't.

[911Gary]

EricE said:

From what I have read here, most cars with the new 9A1 engine (that is 987.2 onwards) should be safe at the moment but nobody knows what the future holds.

I have not inspected any 997 gen 2 cars with any of the traditional failure modes discussed on these forums.

[ilduce]

ilduce said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Now this IS interesting considering there is currently no precise pattern/formula that makes them go bang.
Anyway, not a bore score but a D chunk in my case:
The car had been sat in a garage at below zero (-7 overnight)
for about three weeks as there was snow on the road
so I didn't use it. Then I started it and it blew up.

Anyone care to stop arguing and comment on this?

[drmark]

Only use super unleaded (much lower ethanol content - typically) and NEVER drive your Porsche when it is unusually hot or cold. Simples

Or stop worrying and buy/drive/enjoy it.

Oh, and take much of what you "learn" on PH with a pinch of salt. And I mean that in the nicest way

[matthall]

drmark said:

Only use super unleaded (much lower ethanol content - typically) and NEVER drive your Porsche when it is unusually hot or cold. Simples

Or stop worrying and buy/drive/enjoy it.

Oh, and take much of what you "learn" on PH with a pinch of salt. And I mean that in the nicest way

Just to jump on this thread. I have just sold my much loved 997.1 C2S, 58,000 miles, FSH and a beautiful drive, as it was coming out of 1 yr indie warranty. I simply couldn't risk wasting £12k+ in total depreciation (mended cars are worth no more than originals). There is so much talk on these forums, totally agree, but to me (a non-techie) the bare facts are that more and more cars are needing engine work - check out the dealer sites and see how many are now advertised with new/rebuilt engines.
The catalyst for me to bale out was I recently popped into a top rated indie to discuss a possible upgrade, and when discussing px for mine they told me they had recently made the decision to NO LONGER retail 997.1 C2Ss as they couldn't take the financial risk as they underwrite themselves for 1 yr - they would sell it trade to someone else. That was it for me, if other indies stop selling them who knows where it could end. Over the top maybe, I loved the car but have a sense of relief now she's gone.
Oh and btw, this indie also said, do NOT use Super unleaded, they think this contributes to bore scoring, something about how its stored and etahnol....seriously.

[Trev450]

matthall said:

Oh and btw, this indie also said, do NOT use Super unleaded, they think this contributes to bore scoring, something about how its stored and etahnol....seriously.

That has a certain irony given that Porsche recommend a minimum of 98 RON.

[northernmedia]

matthall said:

The catalyst for me to bale out was I recently popped into a top rated indie to discuss a possible upgrade, and when discussing px for mine they told me they had recently made the decision to NO LONGER retail 997.1 C2Ss as they couldn't take the financial risk

Wow.

Btw, I got shot of mine for pretty much the same reasons as you.

[drmark]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I rest my case
Seriously though, super unleaded is generally max 5% (though not always) while unleaded widely available in new E10 spec (10%). But it seems manufacturers are reluctant to put the record straight either way. Not sure why.

[WindyMiller67]

Tesco does publish the specification of Momentum99:

http://www.tescopfs.com/our-fuel/specifications

Max 5% Ethanol.

[drmark]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

My point is super unleaded is max 5% currently, while unleaded can be E5, E10 and even E15 which is being phased in the States (not sure about here yet). If you want to be stick to the lowest go super unleaded that's all I was trying to say.

But, as mentioned above, super unleaded has been blamed for bore scoring too. I give up

[mollytherocker]

E10 is going to be a BIG problem for a lot of older Porsches, and some newer ones too.

I would expect that we will also start seeing some problems caused by E5 unleaded soon as well, although it may not be realised.

I have no idea whether it has caused or contributed to bore scoring but I am certain that this knowledge is out there.

Porsche know exactly what has caused the numerous issues on the M96/97 family but of course will never share it. They just repair with the same parts (We assume!) under warranty as to issue a 'fix' is to admit liability.

[ilduce]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Hmmm, yes, I'd forgotten about the heat bit.

[monthefish]

drmark said:

Only use super unleaded (much lower ethanol content - typically)

anonymous said:

[redacted]

matthall said:

Oh and btw, this indie also said, do NOT use Super unleaded, they think this contributes to bore scoring, something about how its stored and etahnol....seriously.

OK. Are we all clear?

[northernmedia]

I'm out

[Technomad]

monamimate said:

My 981s Boxster is up for its 2nd birthday next month.

Is the consensus that one should buy the extended warranty?

Thanks!

(Haven't read all 30 pages of this thread, so apologies if repost, but it seems unclear a to whether these problems are a thing of the past or still worth being worried about)

Just been through the same thing with my 997.2 - given the apparently massively better reliability of the DFI engines and how hopeless the local OPC is, I've decided to do without.

[TheAnimal]

Technomad said:

Just been through the same thing with my 997.2 - given the apparently massively better reliability of the DFI engines and how hopeless the local OPC is, I've decided to do without.

I've done the same given the great reliability of my 987.1 non-DFI engine... The money I have saved by not having a warranty in over 5 years ownership is almost half the price of a new engine. If it goes pop I'll just get a new block, or worst case turn it into a coffee table... I have more important things to worry about in life

PS: I have only ever used Shell V Power in the last 57k miles.

[PR36]

TheAnimal said:

... I have more important things to worry about in life

.

Agree, cant get my head round how people on this forum spend so many hours of there lives pointlessly churning over the ins and outs of bore scoring. Its almost a sickness for some, you start an unrelated thread about the 987 and before you know it the same crowd are along to repeat there favourite mantras of 'chocolate engines' and how scoring is 'inevitable' blah blah. It happens, get over it, enjoy the car for what it is and if you can't sleep at night buy a different car.

[Fl0pp3r]

Globs said:

It doesn't matter, it seems the problem of bore scoring is caused by stopping with a hot engine (maybe at traffic lights), then booting it when setting off.

The idle-at-stop fails to cool the engine (flow too low) and when you boot it the feeble coolant system is too hot and too slow to react (the thermostat is on the coolant _entry_ to the engine!), so you get localised coolant boiling, cylinder temps shoot up (you have 300BHP ish to heat it up quickly with) and the soft bore metal scrapes off in clumps - scored bore.

Cylinders 5 and 6 IIRC are the last in the coolant path so they always score first.

There is a thread on here started by Hartech about this. One also has to wonder at Porsche for making these schoolboy errors in not just the coolant system design but also in the IMS bearings, RMS seal and the flexing open-deck 'D chunk' disasters. These are really all simple traps for young players - Porsche should know better.

+1