Cayman S 3.4 engine reliability

[Aaron]

As have I.  It doesn't change my stance on the matter, and I've rebuilt a rotary engine!

 

It's about balance and, at the end of it all, it is your money to part with and your choice to make.

 

I think there's plenty of food for thought in this thread! 

[Sidepod]

Are we not talking mainly early Gen 1 stuff? £10k? You’re not about to spend the same again paying someone to rebuild the engine?

[Banners]

Some great info there guys. I really appreciate it. Great forum. I'll be taken mine in to Hartech for scoping and have plenty contingency to have them Nicosil lined should they need it. 

An second hand motor is a risk but only worth the risk you can afford. 

As one post says we don't buy these things for economy eh or we would all be driving 1.6 VW Golfs. And I think we should leave that idea there. Lol.

[Woodhouse]

The cost differential between a gen 1 and 2 Cayman S is similar to the cost of a decent engine rebuild.  Then take into account there are a lot less gen 2 cars than gen 1, which makes it harder to find a gen 2 car that ticks all the boxes, especially if you are (like me) fussy about colour and want a well optioned car.  On top of that, a well maintained gen 1 with average miles (70k?) will have had a significant amount of expenditure on issues that the average gen 2 will probably be needing soon (suspension/clutch/flywheel/coolant pipes/etc etc).

 

So factor all that in and I would definitely not rule out a gen 1, providing you take care (borescope check or better still try to establish the oil consumption and trend with confidence before you buy).  Having found a good car, look after it properly in terms of maintenance and how you drive it, and you will have a good chance of coming out significantly ahead in terms of outlay.  Even if you are unlucky and do need an engine rebuild, you'll have cash in the bank compared to the gen 2 option to pay for it, especially when you consider the potential additional costs the average gen 2 is likely to need in the next few years.  

 

 

 

 

[Banners]

My kind of thinking WOODHOUSE! 

Thats is exactly my train of thought although I fully appreciate the Gen2 risk over price opinion as it is equally as valid an argument.

its always going to be an affordability v risk issue! 

When I collect tomorrow and get her checked out in the next couple of weeks I will give a 100% genuine feedback post! 

 

Once again a superb thread thread on a great forum.

[Opposer]

987 Gen2 costs about 28 grand in russia, too expensive for me. 

So looks like 986 s boxster is the safest variant- no bore scoring, and if it still dies i'll save enough money to fix it.

 

Am i right?

 

[Aaron]

Well, if you don't actually want a 986 Boxster then it's absolutely the wrong car to buy, is it not?

 

Personally, I would rather plot to get the car I want rather than settle for something below my expectations for the sake of a possibility of faults.  

[banjo]

i had a 986 boxster s before the cayman and it gave me sleepless night worrying about the ims bearing.

 

as i mentioned earlier i would recommend having a good read on hartechs website re the engine issues on the 987 engines.

 

bore score is mainly caused by the left bank(cyl 4,5,6) getting to hot/not being cooled properly due to the thermostat fitted,a change in headgasket design and other flaws in the coolant flow,plus the open deck design.

 

fitting a low temp thermostat can help and i would of thought fitting the centre radiator would also be usefull after all it was fitted to the 986 boxster s yet omitted from the cayman s.

 

 

 

 

[Banners]

Banjo, What is the cost of fitting the low temp Gauge you mention?

what cooling down process are you using? Is it similar to a turbo cool down process? 

Cheers Banners

[banjo]

9 hours ago, Banners said:

Banjo, What is the cost of fitting the low temp Gauge you mention?

what cooling down process are you using? Is it similar to a turbo cool down process? 

Cheers Banners

do you mean the low temp thermostat? i payed £37 for mine but they seem to have gone up in price.i bought mine from frazerpart.

part number is 99610601357

 

 

 

 

 

[Banners]

Cheers Banjo. That is what I meant. 

[Opposer]

Are there any cases of bore scoring on cayman 2.7 in this forum? Didn't find any when searching

[SidneySe7en]

On ‎06‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 20:34, banjo said:

fitting a low temp thermostat can help and i would of thought fitting the centre radiator would also be usefull after all it was fitted to the 986 boxster s yet omitted from the cayman s.

Hi guys, Newbie here. I'm looking for a nice Gen 1, 3.4S and have been standing at the back of a lot of started from cold Caymans watching exhaust fumes and not being much the wiser. So following on from  Banjo's comments, IF I find a currently unscored engine how do I keep it that way ? Presumably these engines were not abused to get them to score ? Is it therefore just a case of fitting a low temp thermostat ? And is fitting a centre radiator (whatever that is) also a standard fix ? What's the SOP on this ?

[Woodhouse]

My approach for what it's worth includes:

-  Always (without fail!) warm it up properly - keep the revs under load between 2-3k RPM and use light throttle application, until about twice as long as it takes for the temp gauge to hit 80;

-  Never labour the engine (i.e. large throttle application below about 2k RPM) even when warm 

-  Take extra care when setting off with a hot engine (e.g. sat at lights after a spirited drive) - avoid large throttle application until coolant flow and any local hot spotting in the block has improved;

-  Regular oil changes (I'm doing 6k/annual changes)  

 

I haven't gone for a low temp thermostat or centre radiator.

[workaverse]

Interesting you say this as I laboured the engine and it made a horrific noise (mechanical grinding basically in 3 at low speed /revs) the other day, immediately put clutch in - have I fvcked it!

 

also how do you tell if you bore scoring issues? Doesn’t seem to use a lot of oil etc

[PDK THE ONLY WAY]

I agree that you should buy the best car you can afford,

however “ common known faults” tend to dictate buyers perception,

even if the fault is over stated, people still believe it to be a bigger issue,

this is true with early 996  cars, which compared to the later 997 are 25% cheaper, the same applies to the gen 1 cayman, ie, possible problems, therefore it cheaper then gen 2, ( newer cars more expensive  as a given)

best thing buy a good looked after cayman , drive it everyday if you can, enjoy the car  to its full potential, and smile just like the rest of us!

['57Oval]

Hi all,

I have owned a 2005 Cayman S for the last year, 60,000 miles when purchased with Porsche and Specialist history, I researched all the usual problems known with this engine, enough rubbish on the net to choke up my front rads, but some good information about the very few problems that do occur. My deductions from research, Oil should be changed every 5000 miles, the oil filter element should be opened up and inspected for metal particles, potential sign of IMS failure. High oil consumption or smoking signs of scoring or ovality. Car should be revved past variocam actuation regularly to help lube IMS if seals on the bearing have failed. 

 10,000 miles this year, 1/2 litre of oil between changes, no bits in the filter, fantastic car to drive, great fun, it's what Porsches should be about. My tuppence worth.

[Craiglm68]

On 06/02/2019 at 20:28, '57Oval said:

Hi all,

I have owned a 2005 Cayman S for the last year, 60,000 miles when purchased with Porsche and Specialist history, I researched all the usual problems known with this engine, enough rubbish on the net to choke up my front rads, but some good information about the very few problems that do occur. My deductions from research, Oil should be changed every 5000 miles, the oil filter element should be opened up and inspected for metal particles, potential sign of IMS failure. High oil consumption or smoking signs of scoring or ovality. Car should be revved past variocam actuation regularly to help lube IMS if seals on the bearing have failed. 

 10,000 miles this year, 1/2 litre of oil between changes, no bits in the filter, fantastic car to drive, great fun, it's what Porsches should be about. My tuppence worth.

 

Nicely said. Incidentally, I was mooching the PCGB forums and saw a string on IMS failure and  recommendations for an engine rebuild for a 2005 Boxster S....I'm pretty sure that's the 1st post I've seen on PCGB of an actual  event happening  (IMS or Bore Score)  to someone on one of these forums since I joined them (rather than an anecdotal "I know a bloke who knows a bloke who had it happen to him twice" etc etc)

[morghen]

Here is my input on these cars"

 

Amazing value for money, proper sports car experience, sounds amazing. Does not really perform unless you keep the revs up but it feels like you're driving something fast and thats what matters.

My car smoked quite a bit and ate 1.1L of oil in 1000km, i replaced the AOS and i reduced the smoking considerably, and maybe the oil consumption a bit.

Two spark plugs are always oily, so oil gets in those cylinders somehow.

This summer i got a check engine sign because the catalysators were getting too much oil and were loosing efficiency.

replaced the AOS and did not get that error anymore.

 

Still, there is something like either broken oil rings or oval cyls or scored walls that makes the car burn oil.

I need to fix this soon and aldough i have extensive experience with cars, engines and engine rebuilds, i am not keen to do this myself or together with my mechanic buddies.

Reason is: car is unique, all sorts of custom tools are needed, all sorts of procedures need to be met to have a successful rebuild. So fixing this will cost quite some bit as it can be only done at the dealer or Porsche specialist.

So far the car is great but if you have a problem, its surely going to be expensive.