New to 996.... Need members' advise please.

[eso1968]

Dear members of Porsche forum.

Although I have been a fan of Porsche cars since I was a teenager, yet only until no long ago I managed to buy a 1998 996 C2 from a friend which has low mileage and excellent condition. However, after my purchase, I have noticed from a few forums mentioning about the design fault of this 3.4L engine. How, I started worrying about if something might go wrong with mine.

Is it true that this is a major design problem that will happen to all early 996 3.4L engine? If so, will there be any early sign? Also, I have heard from friends who know about Porsche that Porsche factory will replace this engine if problem occur, of course not for free.

Really need some advises from anyone who would like to share their experience.

P.S. : According to one of the buyers' guild, it says the inner engine oil cap will tell how the engine has been, is this true? If so, here is a photo of mine. Besides, I have noticed on the 1st day of driving the car that after running for 1/2 hour, when I open the oil cap, there was very slight smoke coming out, is this normal?

Thank you

Regards

ERIC

[judgejon]

there's whole section of the forum devoted to this issue.... and numerous posts on this exact point all the time. use the search engine, take a look around. If you like P-cars you will get "lost in 'this' space" all the time. welcome on...

[therock88]

Dear members of Porsche forum.

Although I have been a fan of Porsche cars since I was a teenager, yet only until no long ago I managed to buy a 1998 996 C2 from a friend which has low mileage and excellent condition. However, after my purchase, I have noticed from a few forums mentioning about the design fault of this 3.4L engine. How, I started worrying about if something might go wrong with mine.

Is it true that this is a major design problem that will happen to all early 996 3.4L engine? If so, will there be any early sign? Also, I have heard from friends who know about Porsche that Porsche factory will replace this engine if problem occur, of course not for free.

Really need some advises from anyone who would like to share their experience.

P.S. : According to one of the buyers' guild, it says the inner engine oil cap will tell how the engine has been, is this true? If so, here is a photo of mine. Besides, I have noticed on the 1st day of driving the car that after running for 1/2 hour, when I open the oil cap, there was very slight smoke coming out, is this normal?

Thank you

Regards

ERIC

The oil cap in the photo looks normal. The issue you are likely referring to is the Rear Main Seal, and/or Intermediate Shaft Seal. Common problem with these engines and you can find lots of info about that by searching this site, so I won't cover it again here, just search for RMS or IMS. The issue is repairable with a new design and the engine is not destroyed, you just need to get it repaired if it starts leaking or seeping. I would say that Porsche will not offer any help with any of these issues....especially on a car that is 12 years old.

A little smoke/vapor coming out of the oil cap after running is normal.

If you have no oil drips on your floor, you may have no issues with this car. You should stop worrying so much about it, and drive it and enjoy it. They are overall great and fun cars.

Good luck!

DC

[roadsession]

Eric,

This 3.4 L engine design was used by both the Boxster and 911 from 1998 - 2001, and then carried over from 2002 all the way to 2008, with some displacement changes and such.

That's 10 years.

In those 10 years, some engines have failed.

But MOST have been running happily and well.

Enjoy your car.

Don't let the forums detract you from enjoying your car.

Your oil cap looks fine.

Edited October 12, 2010 by roadsession

[phillipj]

Do a search here.. Lots of informartion on the M96 engine. Change the oil frequently and drive the hell out of it, You shouldn't have any problems..

Edited October 12, 2010 by phillipj

[tanny02996]

+1 to phillipj on driving the car and frequent oil changes. there does seem to be informal evidence/consensus that the cars that are driven tend to have fewer problems, and garage queens seem to have more maintenance issues. I feel that frequent oil changes are cheap risk mitigation against the catastrophic failures you have heard about and regular driving (at least once a week for me) seems to keep everything well lubricated. good luck and enjoy your new car - its about the most fun you can have without a partner!

also, browse the site here and you will learn plenty and save yourself a ton of money should you decide to perform any maintenance or repairs yourself - then please become a contributing member so we can keep the knowledge and information flowing.

-tanny02

[eso1968]

Thx guys for your great advise. I will spend more time studying the articles from now.

Besides, just realized that its time for me to change both the engine mount and the gearbox mount, hope its not going to cost too much....

Thx

Eric

[goldenwarrior1]

Ditto with Phillip!

I have 94K with no leaks and runs like when it was new! Many others on here with the same story. Unfortunately all you hear about is the bad stuff! Drive it, enjoy it and don't worry about the "what ifs"

Cheers!

[eso1968]

Thx everyone, I now feel much better with the car.

As a Porsche lover myself since I was a kid, I always wanted to drive or own a Porsche. However, this could only came true quite recently as I am a father of 2 kids, I need a safe 7-seater more, that's why my daily ride has been a Volvo. I have driven my friends' Porsche 944 Turbo and 964 Carrera 4 3.8L before and always fond of having my own. For the past 10 years, I have been into more on classic Mercedes as I do enjoy restoring them from poor condition but the major problem has been once they have been restored, you don't feel like driving them because of rain, because of heavy traffic, etc. Then about 1/2 year ago, I started selling them and wanting to exchange for a Porsche. I was originally looking for a 993 Carrera 2 or even Turbo but here in Hong Kong where I am, these models are very hard to find and expensive. A good condition C2 will cost somewhere around USD40,000 and the Turbo cost close to USD100,000.... Besides, the 993 air-cond never perform well as well with the oil leaking problem which really hold me back from getting one. Then I started looking into some more current model, and it seems that the 996 is my only choice.

Some said, the 996 is not really a Porsche, this I did agree at the 1st place mostly because of the headlight design. However, after owning one and I started looking into its design from every angle and realized that the outlines are rather pretty actually. The shape is more aerodynamic, the interior has a much better layout design, the car actually handle much better. Therefore, my conclusion is that it is actually a completely new generation Porsche which one day everyone will agree.

Besides, the previous owner is a good friend of mine and I know exactly how he took care of the car over these years. Most importantly, the car has no accident record and relatively low mileage (55000KM), with full factory service history. Plus, I agree that the original car design has a few spots that made the car ugly, that is the front and rear bumper which my friend has already replaced with a set of GEMBALLE along with a set of 19in wheels.

Anyway, its nice to be able to share with all 996 lovers here. Thx

Edited October 17, 2010 by eso1968