What is the research done to say 99 is the worst of the 996s? Some of the flaws the 996 had have been revealed in all n/a 996s and the 997 as well (until 2009 model when the eliminated the IMS shaft). And Turbo's and GT2s and 3s have their "quirks" too. Just not IMS or RMS.

How is the 3.4 platform horrible compared to the larger, more recent platforms? Specifically? Cracked cylinders, RMS, IMS are not exclusive to one year or one engine size. (Friends 997 had an engine failure on a 07 997 with 8K miles).

To say that the more modern Porsches (from the 1996 993s to present) are not bulletproof like their predecessors is a comment I would agree with wholeheartedly, but since you singled out a certain year, I am looking forward to your responses.

 

Well I think saying the "prior" Porsches were bulletproof is misleading, 993s had their fair share of problems, including clogged ports, wiring issues, etc.

Let me preface this by saying that in my opinion the 996 is a fantastic car, and my experience (including tens of thousands of miles in more than one 99 car) has been outstanding;

The MK2 (2002+) models of the 996 motor have two extra oil scavenge pumps, more advanced variocam (which is both far more reliable, and have actuators that are replace-able w/out taking the heads apart), 3 timing chains vs. 5 (and the lack of extra tensioners that come with that), along with many other improvements. The porous blocks, and slipping sleeves were exclusive to the earlier motors also, not to mention fewer reported occurrences of IMS failure (seemingly, as there is no hard data to support this)...

 

I would like to buy your old engine for parts & can pick it up in person since I am in O.C. also. Please PM me if interested.

 

Study the flat6innovations.com website for answers & solutions you are blessed to be a couple hours drive from their shop!

 

Tips for early 996 owners to avoid engine failures:

- Always properly warm up your car before running high revs (over 4000 rpm)
- Avoid repetitive short drives that do not allow the engine to warm up properly
- Avoid excessive cruising under 2000 rpm. These engines were made to run on high revs. I am not sure but I think this is an oil pressure issue.
- Do not neglect the service program
- Do no over rev the engine. This easily happens when shifting down to low gears on high speed.

This is what I have summarized from numerous 996 forums.

 

Interesting. Although I'm discouraged

 

If you are discouraged, and scared about this - DON'T BUY it.
Get a nice, very stable, reliable Honda or Toyota

They have the sexiness of a sewing machine but they're really reliable and they can be made to go fast too.

 

You're probably right, all these problems with these Porsches, I thought the engineering would have been a bit more favorable. All the cars I own(ed), I don't have to worry about engine replacement making power, was really expecting something a bit more.


Good to hear the success stories, I'll continue my research. It still seems that this problem is the minority of the bunch

 

hehe.... I have a friend that had a Honda Accord (2dr V6 model). Him and I went to the track.... He tried to hang with me and he blew his engine (oil starvation). At the track is where the 996 shines.... Its one of the few cars that you can drive to the track for the weekend.... wind it up... and drive back home and take it to work the next day.

 

I just bought mine and i have a huge issue, every few days i run out of gas and have to fill up again

 

Do you have a baffled pan on yours?

 

Very timely post for me. I knew the 2002+ motors were improved, but not this detail. I am very close to making an offer on a 99 myself. I had a 2000 Boxster S motor disintegrate on me two years ago at only 33k. The post mortem was "slipped sleave". Anyway, car had been mostly babied, meticulously maintained, a week after a by the book Major service. After that nightmare, I learned there was a virtual epidemic of early engine failures with these cars up to 2002. I spoke to a Porsche service manager who told me they were surprised at the time Porsche did not recall the cars. It sounds like the first gen 996 motors are subject to a rash of failures as well.

So my thinking around the early 996's was to find one with a replaced factory motor. Quite common as it turns out, which speaks volumes. There are several on our local Craigslist right now. Does anyone know whether it is safe to assume that a new factory motor installed after say 2005, is an upgraded motor? Maybe not the MK2 described above, but at least addressing the EMS failures?

 

New factory motors have all the updates done to date yes. This makes them theoretically more reliable. I almost went in that route but ultimately I got it rebuilt by somebody that know what he was doing and he upgraded all upgradeable parts anyway.

 

Thanks Tarz. Very encouraging. For those of you who doubt these early engine failures are real, I would invite you to look at eBay or Craigslist. The % of relatively low mileage Porsches of the 996 era, with replaced factory engines is amazingly high. You don't see this with any other marque that I am aware of.

 

Another thing that people dismiss is that it is a 15 year old car, as they came up with the 996 in 1997. It costs very little up front, it still holds modern performance standards, and is relatively inexpensive to maintain. - don,t think there is any other car that meet such qualifications. Old beemers don't, audis don't, maseratis don't etc. Ferraris do! But they fail much more (they call it "temperament"), services in pre-modenas require engine out at the tune of 5k each time, aftermarket pieces are much more overpriced, and they are hard to drive everyday.

There is nothing like a Porsche even if it comes with some strong potential drawbacks.