New to Forum : Questions about a 06' Cayman S purchase

[sunburn731]

Hi Guys,

I am new to the forum and had a few questions about a 2006 Porsche Cayman S.

There is one I am interested in 200 miles away from me at a ford dealership. The car appears to be in great condition with only 15k miles on it.

1) What are the major issues with the 06'? Can some one give me a quick brief on reliability. I have never owned a Porsche.

2) Since it is at a Ford dealership should I have it Privately inspected by a Porsche mechanic even though the car fax is clean and they said they inspected themselves?

3) The car is in Granbury Texas, (Near Dallas) Can anyone recommend a place near by to have it inspected.

Thanks, any feedback will help!

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by sunburn731

Hi Guys,

I am new to the forum and had a few questions about a 2006 Porsche Cayman S.

There is one I am interested in 200 miles away from me at a ford dealership. The car appears to be in great condition with only 15k miles on it.

1) What are the major issues with the 06'? Can some one give me a quick brief on reliability. I have never owned a Porsche.

2) Since it is at a Ford dealership should I have it Privately inspected by a Porsche mechanic even though the car fax is clean and they said they inspected themselves?

3) The car is in Granbury Texas, (Near Dallas) Can anyone recommend a place near by to have it inspected.

Thanks, any feedback will help!

1) Search the internet for as much info as you can stand
2) YES
3) Try RAC performance in Dallas

[stealthn]

As stated get it inspected, maybe a local here can go look at it for you. How many miles? Oil leaks/IMS and maybe water pump are the only things I know of that can be problematic. The carfax and pictures should give you a good idea of how the car was cared for.
I bought mine from a fellow pelican about 2500 miles away, but turned out just as advertised.

Good luck

[Wayne 962]

If you're adventurous, then you might get away without a PPI. Other than an accident, there's not too much that can go wrong with the car in a mere 15,000 miles. Heck, that's only one oil change, according to Porsche's own guidelines.

-Wayne

[sunburn731]

So I'm still talking to the ford dealership where the 06 CS is being sold at. But I am concerned about IMS failure. Is there away to find out if it has a M96 or M97 engine?

And even if it had a m96 engine, is it that prone to failure? Can I mod it with a beefier part to prevent it from ever happening?

Sorry I have no idea what really happens during IMS failure can some one explain to me? Thanks.

[JFP in PA]

If it is an 06, it is an M97 which means to replace the IMS you would need to totally rebuild the engine rather than just refit the rear IMS bearing as you would in an M96 engine.

As for what the failure is all about, do a search, you will see some gruesome pictures......

[sunburn731]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

If it is an 06, it is an M97 which means to replace the IMS you would need to totally rebuild the engine rather than just refit the rear IMS bearing as you would in an M96 engine.

As for what the failure is all about, do a search, you will see some gruesome pictures......

Sorry, didn't quite understand your answer;

1) So all 06' CS are m97 engines right?

2) When someone's IMS goes bad do people just "refit" it to fix it? Versus replacing it? What does it mean to refit it?

3) And how common is the 06' cayman s to having IMS failure?

Thanks again. Never owned a porsche...

[Wayne 962]

The M96 and M97 engines both suffer from the same problem. The larger bearing of the M97 doesn't seem to have fixed the problem. Frequent (3000 miles) oil changes seem to really work well to avoid it. With 15,000 miles on the car, if you change the oil ever 3000 miles religiously, you should be okay.

-Wayne

[mikefocke]

I asked the expert about the failure rate of the '06-'08 engines and their Rev 3 IMS design and he said there were very few replacement shafts sold compared to the bearing replacement kits for the '97-05 Rev 1 and 2 designs. Part of that is so many of the cars were still under warranty and so Porsche was replacing the engines. But part of it may be a more successful design. How much of the latter we'll only know as more of the cars are driven longer without warranty and so people are forced to seek solutions outside the dealer network.

All parts that rub together eventually fail. Yes changing the oil frequently, using a good oil, and driving the car properly can statistically lessen the probability say the experts.

[Zeke]

I never been able to understand why changing the oil frequently has anything to do with a sealed bearing where the oil does not reach. Will one of you explain?

[howe00]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I never been able to understand why changing the oil frequently has anything to do with a sealed bearing where the oil does not reach. Will one of you explain?

The seal doen't seal?

[tonythetarga]

Sunburn...the M96 engine is in the 986 (Boxster) and the 996 (911's). From the 1997 to 2004 Boxster and 1999 to 2004 or early 2005 911. The M97 is for the 987 Boxster and Cayman of 2006 to early 2009 and, I believe, the 997 (911) for the same run. From late 2009 the IMS was redesigned and the eliminated so the 987 and 997 series engines do not have that concern.

[mikefocke]

Zeke, as I understand it

Oil contains contaminants which are blowby products of combustion. Thus oil contains, in more simple terms, dirt, unburnt gas, and water vapor that condenses down into the oil.

The inner seal on the bearing eventually allows the oil in the crankcase to penetrate into the area of the bearing and the hot oil eventually drives out the grease that was originally put there by Porsche to lubricate the bearing.

The more contaminated the oil that penetrates the seal, the less effective job it does of lubricating the bearings and the bearings wear faster eventually reaching a point where they wobble and even disintegrate.

Thus the better the oil, the more frequent the oil changes, the longer the trips (to better "cook off" the water valor in the crankcase... the better able the oil is to provide lubrication when the oil gets to the bearing.

[feelyx]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I never been able to understand why changing the oil frequently has anything to do with a sealed bearing where the oil does not reach. Will one of you explain?

Old third grade science experiment........ Heat a sealed can up and let it cool, it will collapse on itself. Same thing with the IMS.. but since it won't collapse the seal caves sucking in oil when cooling. Any sealed bearing will eventually cave under that type of stress.

[tonythetarga]

feelyx, excellent answer and Zeke asked a question that I'm sure many of us had but did not submit. Having said that, is the LN bearing not sealed and therefore oiled but circulating engine oil?

[feelyx]

Originally Posted by tonythetarga

feelyx, excellent answer and Zeke asked a question that I'm sure many of us had but did not submit. Having said that, is the LN bearing not sealed and therefore oiled but circulating engine oil?

Yes, not sealed, with circulated engine oil.

[Miguel Antonett]

Any signs before catastrofic failure?