Hello everyone.

First thread. Just recently bought my dream car, a Cayman S.
Had it for just 13 days and in that short space of time, lost every bar on my electronic dipstick.

Went back to the garage I bought the car from only to be informed two days later that it would require a full engine rebuild.

Car is in Bolton at a specialists called Hartech. Just wanted to know a couple of things. Is this a common fault with the Cayman S and does anyone know this companies reputation?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as I am in two minds to demand my money back and buy something else.

Best regards,

Big dog mc.

 

get your money back! it looks like you bought a lemon!

 

It's hard to say. We don't know what year the car is, how many km's, the over-rev history. How do you give useful advice without any history to go by?
In general, the cars that are taken care of don't burn oil.
Would the engine be replaced under warranty?

 

Good evening.

Sorry about the missing details earlier.

Car is on a 2007 plate. Has done 43,000 miles. Full service history.

Looks as though it has been well looked after. I'm not a dummy when it comes to buying cars. 16 years as an employee at McLaren Automotive in England does rub off after a while!

Apparently Hartech say that this is not uncommon with the 3.4S. All to do with the way the engine is ported. One bank of cylinders gets enough coolant, the other doesn't!!

Anyway, the garage I bought the car off is footing the £3500 bill for the engine rebuild. Has been 7 weeks now and I'm stuck with a 1.2 Polo.

Not quite the same performance???

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

 

Terrible news. Hope you get it all sorted out...

 

From reading some of the other porsche related forums, this seems to be an isolated instance. What exactly went wrong on your engine?
I read only about the primarily tracked caymans who blow their engine. There is some debate whether the cause is an oiling problem (#6 con rod seems to go often) or a stretched bearing cap bolt. Some people recommend if your engine is out, to replace the con rod bolt with a stronger aftermarket. Others are going with deeper sump, better AOS, accusump, and/or the TTPS (I think) oil scavenging system.

 

Good evening Bigwong.

If you visit the Hartech website (UK) go to section 5, the owner Barry Hart goes into great detail about the Cayman S and 996 engine issues. Very informative and knowledgeable guy.

Hope the British summer isn't over before I get it back!

Regards,

Big dog mc.

 

I'm sorry to hear it. At least the shop is paying for the rebuild - I hope they do a fine job and you get to enjoy your Cayman again soon.

The only issue I know of is a failed air/oil separator can cause large amounts of oil to be sucked through the intake. If that occurs there will be lots of smoke coming from the exhaust.

 

Thanks for the tip to the Hartech website. I didn't realize the possible problems for the 3.4 CS engine. As i understand it, a lot of problems are related to the uneven cooling of the engine. The fact that the temperature gauge in the car is not accurate makes one worry more. It seems the best thing to do for most motors would be to replace the thermostat with a lower temperature one. At least that is what I interpret the article as saying.
It was an informative read.
On the porsche forums I read, it doesn't seem to be a major problem though.