997 bore scoring found..
Discussion
Hi Guys,
I was just looking for some opinions and advice on a discovery I made over the weekend. With all this internet talk of 997 M97 engines eating themselves, starting at cylinder 6, I thought I'd get myself a camera and have a look.
I did discover what I was hoping I wouldn't..
Just some history.. I have owned the car for nearly 6 months having purchased it from a 911 specialist. It came with a generic warranty which I have now discovered doesn't actually cover cylinder liners for engines over 3000cc... Worthwhile for porsches then.
Anyway, as part of trying to prevent an internet horror story happening to me, straight after purchsing the car I fitted a 3rd radiator, low temp thermostat and changed the oil. The car has now only covered 27k miles, 1200 of which are mine. I let it warm up, cool down, I do drive it hard but always give it a cool down run where oil temp returns to 90degrees before shut down..
Now I have found this, I don't know what to think or feel about the car, I don't want to spend out on a rebuild, nor do I want to sell. I am hoping the damage occured before my ownership and can now be kept as it is through my caution.
According to posts I have found from specialists in this area, performing the radiator and low temp thermo upgrades along with regular oil changes can help.. I have done these, I am now thinking that my only option is to put thicker oil into the engine in an attempt to maximise my precautions. Currently it has 0/40 Mobil 1 but if I go for 5/50, or 10/60 as per my M3.. I am just not too sure or knowledgeable in this area.
If anyone can offer any genuine advice, that would be most appreciated.. I am just stunned that Porsche have not done anything about this!! It is ridiculous that such a problem exists on such a car, years of development and evolution were obviously spent doing other things!
Some pics via my camera below.. I think the pictures here make the scores look worse than they are due to the angle of the light, mainly is the last 2 pics. A video with better lighting showed the scores "in a better light".. I'll try and host that. Just to add, the scores were only found in cylinder 6 and look very light, they are on the bottom of the bore, 6 o clock. At the point of getting the images, the engine had not been started for 2 weeks, I'm not sure why the piston appears oily toward the edges in the 1st picture..
Thanks,
Bill
I was just looking for some opinions and advice on a discovery I made over the weekend. With all this internet talk of 997 M97 engines eating themselves, starting at cylinder 6, I thought I'd get myself a camera and have a look.
I did discover what I was hoping I wouldn't..
Just some history.. I have owned the car for nearly 6 months having purchased it from a 911 specialist. It came with a generic warranty which I have now discovered doesn't actually cover cylinder liners for engines over 3000cc... Worthwhile for porsches then.
Anyway, as part of trying to prevent an internet horror story happening to me, straight after purchsing the car I fitted a 3rd radiator, low temp thermostat and changed the oil. The car has now only covered 27k miles, 1200 of which are mine. I let it warm up, cool down, I do drive it hard but always give it a cool down run where oil temp returns to 90degrees before shut down..
Now I have found this, I don't know what to think or feel about the car, I don't want to spend out on a rebuild, nor do I want to sell. I am hoping the damage occured before my ownership and can now be kept as it is through my caution.
According to posts I have found from specialists in this area, performing the radiator and low temp thermo upgrades along with regular oil changes can help.. I have done these, I am now thinking that my only option is to put thicker oil into the engine in an attempt to maximise my precautions. Currently it has 0/40 Mobil 1 but if I go for 5/50, or 10/60 as per my M3.. I am just not too sure or knowledgeable in this area.
If anyone can offer any genuine advice, that would be most appreciated.. I am just stunned that Porsche have not done anything about this!! It is ridiculous that such a problem exists on such a car, years of development and evolution were obviously spent doing other things!
Some pics via my camera below.. I think the pictures here make the scores look worse than they are due to the angle of the light, mainly is the last 2 pics. A video with better lighting showed the scores "in a better light".. I'll try and host that. Just to add, the scores were only found in cylinder 6 and look very light, they are on the bottom of the bore, 6 o clock. At the point of getting the images, the engine had not been started for 2 weeks, I'm not sure why the piston appears oily toward the edges in the 1st picture..
Thanks,
Bill
Edited by 911Bill on Thursday 23 October 15:06
Thanks for your reply. 
Just to add, on 2 occasions, I have noticed a small puff of white smoke on start up after a hard run which I think is normal as a friend with a 996 turbo and 997 carrera also do the same. I have not had to put any oil into the car within 1200 miles, I did an oil change 100 miles ago. Zero smoke at any other points (That I have noticed). The tailpipes become sooty at an expected rate and both evenly.
I wish Hartech were local, I may book it in with PARR or maybe even an OPC to have a professional opinion as you say.
Thanks again
Just to add, on 2 occasions, I have noticed a small puff of white smoke on start up after a hard run which I think is normal as a friend with a 996 turbo and 997 carrera also do the same. I have not had to put any oil into the car within 1200 miles, I did an oil change 100 miles ago. Zero smoke at any other points (That I have noticed). The tailpipes become sooty at an expected rate and both evenly.
I wish Hartech were local, I may book it in with PARR or maybe even an OPC to have a professional opinion as you say.
Thanks again
Thank you for all of your replies, it's reassuring to hear your thoughts.
Ethanol is an interesting point, wasn't this an issue a few years back with Nikasil lined BMW engines? I always used Shell V power, I just tried a google search to find out it's enthanol content but I just came across mixed values. <0 - 5%..
I will contact Hartech and see if they recommend a visit, if not I will pop in somewhere local like 9E or PARR..
I am void a Porsche warranty as my car has some modifications, springs and an exhaust system, maybe I could reverse these to OEM and take out a warranty with an OPC. My car is a 2005, do they offer warranties to cars 10 years+ when that time comes? I tend to only do 2-3000 miles a year in the weekend car (this 997) so I am hoping I could get another 2-3 years use out of it before I sell, unless good 997 turbos hit £35k before then..The car does have a full OPC history.
I have since checked cylinder 5 and did see some lines but they were barely visible and look totally normal to me. The light on the camera tends to magnify the scores when it captures a still image.
Thanks again for your comments. I will contact Hartech and try and arrange a moment to visit a specialist.
Ethanol is an interesting point, wasn't this an issue a few years back with Nikasil lined BMW engines? I always used Shell V power, I just tried a google search to find out it's enthanol content but I just came across mixed values. <0 - 5%..
I will contact Hartech and see if they recommend a visit, if not I will pop in somewhere local like 9E or PARR..
I am void a Porsche warranty as my car has some modifications, springs and an exhaust system, maybe I could reverse these to OEM and take out a warranty with an OPC. My car is a 2005, do they offer warranties to cars 10 years+ when that time comes? I tend to only do 2-3000 miles a year in the weekend car (this 997) so I am hoping I could get another 2-3 years use out of it before I sell, unless good 997 turbos hit £35k before then..The car does have a full OPC history.
I have since checked cylinder 5 and did see some lines but they were barely visible and look totally normal to me. The light on the camera tends to magnify the scores when it captures a still image.
Thanks again for your comments. I will contact Hartech and try and arrange a moment to visit a specialist.
Edited by 911Bill on Friday 24th October 13:04
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