Engine failure

[moosey]

Hi guys i just had an engine failure . It started out with white smoke and coolant coming out of the exhaust . Checked coolant tank and it was empty. Before this i had codes p2189-p2187 which were cleared after replacing AOS. After 3 miles new code for misfire cylinder 6. I did quick search and one dealer site had replacement motor for 2008 Cayman S at $43k is this correct ? Is an engine rebuild an option with this issue of coolant in oil tank ? Anyone have any luck with LA porsche dismantled motors? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated 

[Loren]

A Porsche exchange (rebuilt) engine is about $25,500 - then add in labor for removal and install.

I would stay (very far) away from LA Dismantlers - too many horror stories.

 

Lots of amateur Cayman racers so you might check around for 3rd party shops that rebuild Cayman engines.

PCA might be a good start for local recommendations.

[moosey]

On 12/10/2017 at 1:23 PM, Loren said:

A Porsche exchange (rebuilt) engine is about $25,500 - then add in labor for removal and install.

I would stay (very far) away from LA Dismantlers - too many horror stories.

 

Lots of amateur Cayman racers so you might check around for 3rd party shops that rebuild Cayman engines.

PCA might be a good start for local recommendations.

 

Porsche said they no longer provide crate motors. I’m clueless as who I can trust for re build .

[Loren]

5 hours ago, moosey said:

Porsche said they no longer provide crate motors. I’m clueless as who I can trust for re build .

 

Was this just one dealer that said that?

And, were they just talking about Cayman engines?

[moosey]

On 12/13/2017 at 6:36 AM, Loren said:

 

Was this just one dealer that said that?

And, were they just talking about Cayman engines?

 

Hi Loren yes , they said there’s none in US or Germany. I would have to either do a full rebuild buying individual parts or just find a decent motor to drop one in from a salvage yard or eBay . Thanks and i will not use LA dis. 

[Ahsai]

You may want to invest a little on diagnosing it a bit more because if it's just a cracked head, you may be able to repair the head (contact Len at info@hamheads.com He's THE expert in US http://hamheads.com/aboutus.php)

[Jeff Rosen]

From what I understand head failures are very rare in the M97 engines.  I also had an engine failure in a 2008 Cayman S this past summer.  I'm in the process of planning to rebuild the engine.  In my case the engine failed on track and upon disassembly a large D-chunk failure was found in cylinder 6.  There was significant internal engine damage yielding that engine not rebuildable.  Among the destroyed components were the crankshaft, carrier, both case halves, and the IMS.  The heads have bent valves in cylinder 6, but I believe they are rebuildable.  From my research D-chunk failures are not uncommon and one of the first typical symptoms would be coolant in the combustion chamber of the cracked cylinders.  

 

One of the reasons my engine had so much damage is because it failed at high rpm - if you're lucky you won't have suffered so much collateral damage.  Since rebuilding my original engine wasn't an option, I have acquired a salvage engine and am in the process or rebuilding it.  Good luck getting your CS back up and running.

[Silver_TT]

+1 to what Loren says about avoiding LA Dismantlers in this case......but they are great and will save you a fortune on certain things.  For example, I bought a clean, good as new OEM headliner from them (something crazy like $1,000+ from Porsche) for less than $100 shipped.  Not sure they are a bad company so much as it's just a bit of a shady business by nature and extremely risky to acquire something like a motor from a salvage/dismantler for obvious reasons. 

 

Ahsai has a good suggestion that you should first make sure you can't fix what you have, because if you can it will be a fraction of the cost.  I wish you the best of luck.

[moosey]

Thanks all for the replies. A Porsche tech recommend me a place called Autosrasse Corp in Costa Mesa ca for rebuild. Having car towed there ina couple of weeks. 

[moosey]

On 12/21/2017 at 10:24 AM, Silver_TT said:

+1 to what Loren says about avoiding LA Dismantlers in this case......but they are great and will save you a fortune on certain things.  For example, I bought a clean, good as new OEM headliner from them (something crazy like $1,000+ from Porsche) for less than $100 shipped.  Not sure they are a bad company so much as it's just a bit of a shady business by nature and extremely risky to acquire something like a motor from a salvage/dismantler for obvious reasons. 

 

Ahsai has a good suggestion that you should first make sure you can't fix what you have, because if you can it will be a fraction of the cost.  I wish you the best of luck.

 

Hi Silver tt, I’m no engine expert but if my coolant drains straight to the oil tank what does that seem most likely it could be? Do you think the motor can still be rebuilt ? The person i was referred to said it could most likely be rebuilt but then after reading what you had to say with cylinder 6 same with my case having misfire I️ want to make sure if all possible before paying all the labor to dismantle to find out motor is not able to be rebuilt . ThAnks !!

[JFP in PA]

49 minutes ago, moosey said:

Hi Silver tt, I’m no engine expert but if my coolant drains straight to the oil tank what does that seem most likely it could be? Do you think the motor can still be rebuilt ? The person i was referred to said it could most likely be rebuilt but then after reading what you had to say with cylinder 6 same with my case having misfire I️ want to make sure if all possible before paying all the labor to dismantle to find out motor is not able to be rebuilt . ThAnks !!

 

It is always worthwhile to do a preliminary tear down to find out what failed and why as quite often intermix issues can be something as simple as a failed o-ring on the oil cooler.  And even if it is something more serious, I would want to know what went south.

[Silver_TT]

On 12/30/2017 at 9:21 AM, moosey said:

Hi Silver tt, I’m no engine expert but if my coolant drains straight to the oil tank what does that seem most likely it could be? Do you think the motor can still be rebuilt ? The person i was referred to said it could most likely be rebuilt but then after reading what you had to say with cylinder 6 same with my case having misfire I️ want to make sure if all possible before paying all the labor to dismantle to find out motor is not able to be rebuilt . ThAnks !!

 

These folks above are all giving good advice.  I know it's painful and you don't want to sink more money into it but, yes, not knowing much about the specific situation I do still think it's at least possible it could be repaired rather than being scrapped.  Like others say, I think it's important to see what happened and then it will be easier for you to decide what your options are.  I think that no one will be able to definitely tell you what your options are (and quote you the associated costs and such) until they actually physically get into it.  But Loren is saying it's around $30k for a new engine installed from Porsche (if you can get one) so at that cost it certainly makes sense to dig a little further even if it feels like you're in a hole.

[moosey]

On 12/30/2017 at 8:14 AM, JFP in PA said:

 

It is always worthwhile to do a preliminary tear down to find out what failed and why as quite often intermix issues can be something as simple as a failed o-ring on the oil cooler.  And even if it is something more serious, I would want to know what went south.

 

Hi JFP, so a simple O ring on oil cooler can drain all coolant into oil tank? So my situation is this: AOS full of oil and that was replaced codes gone. started car was fine after about 3 miles white smoke from exhaust engine losing a bit of power drove it straight home which I was only driving in neighborhood. intermix coming out of exhaust in large amounts. pure coolant leaking from O2 sensors and cats and sport exhaust baffle all on driver side. only cel code is for misfire on cylinder 6. took out all spark plugs and they all look good except a small micro pin drop of coolant on spark plug cylinder 6. No signs of leaks anywhere else except intermix from oil tank , coolant from driver side areas mention above. Coolant tank has no oil in it would that be somewhat of a good sign? I can take out oil cooler if you think that will help?

[moosey]

On 1/5/2018 at 6:47 AM, moosey said:

Hi JFP, so a simple O ring on oil cooler can drain all coolant into oil tank? So my situation is this: AOS full of oil and that was replaced codes gone. started car was fine after about 3 miles white smoke from exhaust engine losing a bit of power drove it straight home which I was only driving in neighborhood. intermix coming out of exhaust in large amounts. pure coolant leaking from O2 sensors and cats and sport exhaust baffle all on driver side. only cel code is for misfire on cylinder 6. took out all spark plugs and they all look good except a small micro pin drop of coolant on spark plug cylinder 6. No signs of leaks anywhere else except intermix from oil tank , coolant from driver side areas mention above. Coolant tank has no oil in it would that be somewhat of a good sign? I can take out oil cooler if you think that will help?

 

Oh I forgot to mention I poured a whole gallon of coolant and it all came out of oil tank too? Thanks

[JFP in PA]

Did you try a coolant system pressure test before tearing everything apart?  I'm a little concerned about finding coolant in the exhaust system.......

 

The O-rings on the oil cooler are all that separate the oil from the coolant, assuming that the cooler itself has not failed internally, which is another possibility.  There are four openings in the bottom of the cooler, two oil, two coolant, the simplest way to test the cooler is to plug three openings and pull a vacuum on the fourth. 

[moosey]

On 1/1/2018 at 8:53 AM, Silver_TT said:

 

These folks above are all giving good advice.  I know it's painful and you don't want to sink more money into it but, yes, not knowing much about the specific situation I do still think it's at least possible it could be repaired rather than being scrapped.  Like others say, I think it's important to see what happened and then it will be easier for you to decide what your options are.  I think that no one will be able to definitely tell you what your options are (and quote you the associated costs and such) until they actually physically get into it.  But Loren is saying it's around $30k for a new engine installed from Porsche (if you can get one) so at that cost it certainly makes sense to dig a little further even if it feels like you're in a hole.

 

Hi all thanks for the feedback. I finally got a call from the shop and the engine failure was caused by a cracked cylinder . The shop said they can repair and rebuild motor.

[moosey]

On 1/5/2018 at 7:21 AM, JFP in PA said:

Did you try a coolant system pressure test before tearing everything apart?  I'm a little concerned about finding coolant in the exhaust system.......

 

The O-rings on the oil cooler are all that separate the oil from the coolant, assuming that the cooler itself has not failed internally, which is another possibility.  There are four openings in the bottom of the cooler, two oil, two coolant, the simplest way to test the cooler is to plug three openings and pull a vacuum on the fourth. 

 

JFP, just got the cayman back after complete engine overhaul. The cracked cylinder was resleeved and I was told all main components were replaced . Just after two days of getting the car back and 250miles the car suddenly started losing power on the highway and a flashing check engine light came on. Had the car towed back to independent service where it’s stil there. I’m told it’s misfire on cylinder 5. Cylinder 6 was re sleeved during the overhaul . After reading some posts could a crankshaft position sensor cause a misfire along with flashing cel ? 

[JFP in PA]

No, the CPS would totally shut down the engine if it failed.