what is an 'early' 3.4 996?
Discussion
CocoUK said:
It feels a touch underpriced considering the history and spec, unless the scoring is worse than detailed or other issues lurk?
Edit; just realised it's a Carrera4 so arguably slightly less desirable.
2 or 4, it's expensive.Edit; just realised it's a Carrera4 so arguably slightly less desirable.
Edited by CocoUK on Thursday 19th December 19:43
ATM said:
Why am I the only one who thinks its over priced because we know the engine is scored?
Absolutely. It's way over. It's the kind of thing you'd look for to go and get a full 3.7 Hartech build on and look to pay accordingly.Fast Bug said:
Seems expensive to me, why only get a partial rebuild as well? If you're paying £5k you may as well go the whole hog for peace of mind. Would've worked out cheaper in the long run!
Its not even been done yet it's just booked in. I was toying with the idea of getting mine seviced at Hartech but I've read they seem a bit busy and it's hard to get a slot. They must be doing a roaring trade.My ‘00 has well over 170k on the clock. Had the bores scoped a couple of years ago when it was on mid 160’s and in for a chunk of work, inc. RMS and plug change.
They were clean as a whistle according to my Indy.
They also checked the IMS whilst the ‘box was out. Seal was long gone... we discussed the various options and decided just to leave everything well alone.
I just drive it... before moving to Spain this included commuting short distances, long runs, and plenty of heavy right foot whenever possible. Looking forward to giving it s good run over the 10 days I’m back in the UK over Christmas.
They were clean as a whistle according to my Indy.
They also checked the IMS whilst the ‘box was out. Seal was long gone... we discussed the various options and decided just to leave everything well alone.
I just drive it... before moving to Spain this included commuting short distances, long runs, and plenty of heavy right foot whenever possible. Looking forward to giving it s good run over the 10 days I’m back in the UK over Christmas.
Chris Stott said:
My ‘00 has well over 170k on the clock. Had the bores scoped a couple of years ago when it was on mid 160’s and in for a chunk of work, inc. RMS and plug change.
They were clean as a whistle according to my Indy.
They also checked the IMS whilst the ‘box was out. Seal was long gone... we discussed the various options and decided just to leave everything well alone.
I just drive it... before moving to Spain this included commuting short distances, long runs, and plenty of heavy right foot whenever possible. Looking forward to giving it s good run over the 10 days I’m back in the UK over Christmas.
I hope it doesn't deteriorate too much due to less use and you still get many happy years from it.They were clean as a whistle according to my Indy.
They also checked the IMS whilst the ‘box was out. Seal was long gone... we discussed the various options and decided just to leave everything well alone.
I just drive it... before moving to Spain this included commuting short distances, long runs, and plenty of heavy right foot whenever possible. Looking forward to giving it s good run over the 10 days I’m back in the UK over Christmas.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Assuming it isn't drinking excessive oil, the engine is quiet and the exhaust isn't black it would be tempting just to drive it as is. I am certainly not actively looking for problems on mine as long as the oil filter is clear of debris at each service I will just try to enjoy owning it instead of fearing for the impending bork that may never come... roca1976 said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Assuming it isn't drinking excessive oil, the engine is quiet and the exhaust isn't black it would be tempting just to drive it as is. I am certainly not actively looking for problems on mine as long as the oil filter is clear of debris at each service I will just try to enjoy owning it instead of fearing for the impending bork that may never come... If preventative maintenance gives you a hard on dont buy a 20 year old 911 unless you can spanner. If you go looking for problems you will find them for sure. OCD types who want everything perfect should just not get involved.
ATM said:
Its shattered my belief that the earlier piston coating prevents scoring.
Although this is a 2001 car so remind us again Moo please does this have the same mythical coating?
There was a changeover.Although this is a 2001 car so remind us again Moo please does this have the same mythical coating?
The very last 3.4 got plastic piston coatings and single row IMS bearing.
Only pre 2000 you can be sure it has ferrous coated pistons and dual row IMS bearing, 2000+ is a grey area.
I'd fully expect this to have plastic piston coating and hence suffer the same issues as a 3.6.
Other caveat is if your early car has ever had a replacement/refurb engine from Porsche, then it will be whatever the spec was at the time of build.
was8v said:
ATM said:
Its shattered my belief that the earlier piston coating prevents scoring.
Although this is a 2001 car so remind us again Moo please does this have the same mythical coating?
There was a changeover.Although this is a 2001 car so remind us again Moo please does this have the same mythical coating?
The very last 3.4 got plastic piston coatings and single row IMS bearing.
Only pre 2000 you can be sure it has ferrous coated pistons and dual row IMS bearing, 2000+ is a grey area.
I'd fully expect this to have plastic piston coating and hence suffer the same issues as a 3.6.
Other caveat is if your early car has ever had a replacement/refurb engine from Porsche, then it will be whatever the spec was at the time of build.
My belief that the coating on me pistons is the major differentiator has now been restored.
was8v said:
ATM said:
Its shattered my belief that the earlier piston coating prevents scoring.
Although this is a 2001 car so remind us again Moo please does this have the same mythical coating?
There was a changeover.Although this is a 2001 car so remind us again Moo please does this have the same mythical coating?
The very last 3.4 got plastic piston coatings and single row IMS bearing.
Only pre 2000 you can be sure it has ferrous coated pistons and dual row IMS bearing, 2000+ is a grey area.
I'd fully expect this to have plastic piston coating and hence suffer the same issues as a 3.6.
Other caveat is if your early car has ever had a replacement/refurb engine from Porsche, then it will be whatever the spec was at the time of build.
Doing the labour myself I’ve calculated a Hartech rebore, 6 pistons, new chains, gaskets etc would cost roughly £5k. Guessing it’d be fine up until the oil usage was high and failed to start due to lack of compression?
I’d be keen to do something like this but think the price would have to start with an 8 for me to consider it worth my time.
There’s a Cayman S nearby on 67k with “slight bore score but oil usage within spec” on the ad. That’s £12k for a silver/cocoa 2006 car!
I’d be keen to do something like this but think the price would have to start with an 8 for me to consider it worth my time.
There’s a Cayman S nearby on 67k with “slight bore score but oil usage within spec” on the ad. That’s £12k for a silver/cocoa 2006 car!
was8v said:
There was a changeover.
The very last 3.4 got plastic piston coatings and single row IMS bearing.
Only pre 2000 you can be sure it has ferrous coated pistons and dual row IMS bearing, 2000+ is a grey area.
I'd fully expect this to have plastic piston coating and hence suffer the same issues as a 3.6.
Other caveat is if your early car has ever had a replacement/refurb engine from Porsche, then it will be whatever the spec was at the time of build.
In May this year my early 2001 3.4’s IMS bearing started to fail at 35k miles so it was replaced. It had a dual row bearing. No obvious signs of any other issues though......yet. The very last 3.4 got plastic piston coatings and single row IMS bearing.
Only pre 2000 you can be sure it has ferrous coated pistons and dual row IMS bearing, 2000+ is a grey area.
I'd fully expect this to have plastic piston coating and hence suffer the same issues as a 3.6.
Other caveat is if your early car has ever had a replacement/refurb engine from Porsche, then it will be whatever the spec was at the time of build.
Smollet said:
In May this year my early 2001 3.4’s IMS bearing started to fail at 35k miles so it was replaced. It had a dual row bearing. No obvious signs of any other issues though......yet.
What were the symptoms?They do say that low mileage cars that don't get used much seem to suffer more than cars used regularly.
I've been lurking around here a few months whilst looking at a potential early 996 purchase and done my due diligence by reading all 226 pages of this thread...
I'm (obviously
) looking for a manual coupe with reasonable miles. It'll be a car for occasional use, dry stored and probably a long term ownership proposition. It's not an investment per se, but I want to buy another toy for some fun whilst they're still, I believe, chronically undervalued for what they are. It seemed to work for my 308 purchase 15 years ago 
I've been looking at a few cars online, but keep coming back to this one as it seems to tick lots of boxes - M030, sports seats, LSD, not silver and has had lots spent renewing DMF, clutch, RMS, starter motor, water pump and lots of other bits.
Yes, I know the M030 wont be what it was 20 years ago and the LSD may be less effective, but it looked to me like a good starting point. It's not the cheapest and, although the ebay ad has experired, hasn't sold as I understand it. Any thoughts from the early 3.4 gurus?
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
I'm (obviously
) looking for a manual coupe with reasonable miles. It'll be a car for occasional use, dry stored and probably a long term ownership proposition. It's not an investment per se, but I want to buy another toy for some fun whilst they're still, I believe, chronically undervalued for what they are. It seemed to work for my 308 purchase 15 years ago I've been looking at a few cars online, but keep coming back to this one as it seems to tick lots of boxes - M030, sports seats, LSD, not silver and has had lots spent renewing DMF, clutch, RMS, starter motor, water pump and lots of other bits.
Yes, I know the M030 wont be what it was 20 years ago and the LSD may be less effective, but it looked to me like a good starting point. It's not the cheapest and, although the ebay ad has experired, hasn't sold as I understand it. Any thoughts from the early 3.4 gurus?
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
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