hobdayd Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Hi everyone. Having fully researched available cars on the market 996, 997 & 987 and reading about all known issues I have decided to buy a Cayman S 3.4 registered in September 2006. One owner from new with 47,000 miles and FPSH. I know these cars are capable of high mileage. The price difference to a gen 2 2.9 was £8,000+. A 3.4 £12,000...(Sensible mileages). If I enjoy owning this car I am thinking of going for a gen 2 in a couple of years when they have depreciated a little further. Possibly PX so fingers crossed my early 3.4 has no major issues in that timeframe. I would like to hear from any owner that has a high mileage early 3.4 without bore scoring or IMSB issues just to relax my over thinking brain a little. Also, what do you think will need replacing around this age mileage? Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trickle Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 Hi and welcome! My gen1 car required brake discs and a clutch at about that mileage, it depends how it’s driven of course but it’s worth knowing. Also have a check of the suspension components, bushes etc, it may be worth thinking of having a refresh there along with a geo too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Tom Posted December 15, 2017 Administrators Share Posted December 15, 2017 Welcome to the OC Don! I'll let the experts answer your questions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted December 15, 2017 Founder Share Posted December 15, 2017 Welcome! Clutch and discs is a good shout! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodhouse Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 At that age, coolant pipes, AC condensers and coolant rads may also need attention soon. Coil packs too if they haven't been changed. The exhaust studs at the manifold to system joints will likely be heavily corroded and may lead to exhaust leaks. Exhaust band clamps may be cracked. TPMS sensors will have been replaced at least once and may need doing again, if it has them. Suspension springs are prone to snapping, as are window regulator cables. All the above, plus clutch, flywheel, rear main seal, IMS seal, suspension arms/bushes, disks and pads have needed doing over the last 6 years on the two Gen 1 Cayman S in the family. One is now on 77k and one on 95k. Both going well, though they do need looking after properly. Most of the issues are straightforward to DIY if you are handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted December 16, 2017 Founder Share Posted December 16, 2017 9 hours ago, Woodhouse said: All the above, plus clutch, flywheel, rear main seal, IMS seal, suspension arms/bushes, disks and pads have needed doing over the last 6 years on the two Gen 1 Cayman S in the family. One is now on 77k and one on 95k. Both going well, though they do need looking after properly. Most of the issues are straightforward to DIY if you are handy. I’m assuming you had RMS and IMS replaced as routine maintenance when clutch/fw were changed rather than either of them being catastrophic failures (IMS)/leaking oil everywhere (RMS) - because neither are associated with being common issues on a Cayman, but are well documented on other Porsche’s of different flavours.... Just to avoid putting the fear of god into the poor guy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobdayd Posted December 16, 2017 Author Share Posted December 16, 2017 Thanks for the comments so far. It has already had some of the above done recently...and I considered a new clutch etc. in the purchase price. I also noticed a comment on the health check about A.C. roads so I plan to whip off the front bumper and start there. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushman Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 my little 06 3.4s is just about to top 120,000 miles and runs like a well oiled sewing machine. touch wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobdayd Posted December 17, 2017 Author Share Posted December 17, 2017 Just what I wanted to hear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodhouse Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 (edited) 23 hours ago, Beanoir said: I’m assuming you had RMS and IMS replaced as routine maintenance when clutch/fw were changed rather than either of them being catastrophic failures (IMS)/leaking oil everywhere (RMS) - because neither are associated with being common issues on a Cayman, but are well documented on other Porsche’s of different flavours.... Just to avoid putting the fear of god into the poor guy! I changed the RMS on one of the cars myself. It wasn't a catastrophic leak but it was weeping and for about £20 (my OPC lent me the factory insertion tool) it was a no-brainer. I didn't fancy having to deal with the coroded exhaust studs again when our other car needed a clutch this year so I got the OPC to do it (quoted 6.4 hrs labour including sorting the exhaust studs, at our TIPEC rate of £60/hr + VAT, and I supplied the clutch kit and exhaust clamps). However they found the IMS end cover seal was leaking once the gearbox was off. I didn't see how bad it was but had them do it. It was an additional 1 hour labour (which considering it involves flywheel removal and locking the cams, I thought was very reasonable) plus the new IMS cover with integral seal which was around £90 IIRC. They didn't recommend changing the flywheel, even though the car had over 90k miles, which was encouraging. I had changed it on the other car at around 55k as it failed the rotation test spec limit in the factory manual but there had been no other symptoms and no improvement in drivetrain characteristics afterwards. So I suspect the rotation spec limit is a bit OTT and it didn't actually need doing. The 95k car has a wonderfully smooth drive train despite the mileage so hopefully has many years left in it! Edited December 17, 2017 by Woodhouse Editorial 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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