Just curious about symptoms of scored cylinders...

[KNS]

Brando -

Any updates on your Cayman..?

[manbridge 74]

Brando, You said you changed the oil filter. If you did the work, was there debris in the filter cup?

[Brando]

Ah, update. I ended up taking the car to Hergesheimer's where Mark and Eric looked it over.

They tested intake for leaks - none. Hooked up the Porsche System Tester (or Durametric) and the MAF tested OK. They ran the car and saw that it started to run really rich when it began to stumble/idle rough. They think it is attributed to a leaky/stuck injector.

Aside from that, they think the Brad Penn may not be ideal for the car, so I'll be switching to Mobile 1. When they pulled the filter - no debris at all.

I have a set of coils & plugs to put in next weekend - hopefully that will help. I will do a full oil change at the same time.

I am also going to source a set of injectors (used) and send them off to Witchhunter Performance to get cleaned & flow-matched, put those in there.

At 125k miles I was worried it would be something worse. Driving it a few times this week (and today) there are still occasional stumbles/misfires.

Getting tired of this sh**. A car less than 10 years old should not have these problems.

F-it. Starting November I'll be setting money aside every month towards that LS3 conversion.

[Jeff Alton]

The issue with the V8 swaps are getting the electronics to work properly, the switch to electric power steering and the axle shaft angles.... wheel bearings and cv joints pay the price with the positioning of the transmission... How much torque do you want to put through the stock gearbox? They aren't cheap to repair either...

I'm not against the V8 swap, but these are issues that will need to be addressed for it to work reliably.

Then there is the resale aspect of it...

As for your current woes. Brad Penn is not the correct oil for it. Find a good 5/40 (Motul, Total, DT40 etc) and use that. What codes is the car showing?

For fuel injectors, they can clean them, and they should match very closely, but they can't adjust the flow to make them match. They can mix and match to get 6 with the closest flow, but generally clean injectors with the same part number/spec flow that spec.

Cheers

[Jeff Alton]

Here is another 2006 Cayman S 3.4 we pulled apart today. Car has about 40K miles on it. Significant scoring in #6, pretty good scoring in #5 and just starting in #4...









Cheers

[KNS]

Those pictures are enough to make one sick...

[Jeff Alton]

The repair bill may be more sickening. Thankfully for this owner, he had purchased an aftermarket warranty that covers damage such as this.

Cheers

[afterburn 549]

Brando-
I would have a very hard time convincing myself a oil caused that.....perhaps no oil , but not oil..
and I am truly sorry about your problems

Jeff- Every time I get close to buying a Cayman something like this comes along and scares the crap out of me!
Will this be another class action against Porsche I have to wonder ?
SO - my Q is the aftermarket warranty ..I have mostly heard they are a waste of good money.
Is there anyway to recommend one that works for Porsche ( here on the states? )

[porsche4life]

I don't think I'd attempt an engine swap in a CA car. Will make emissions suck even more!

[Jeff Alton]

Afterburn,

I am not aware of the different companies offering warranty protection in the US. Up here there are good ones and not so good ones. But we have had them cover some very expensive repairs such as complete GT3 gearbox rebuild and motors. It is important to find one that does not have a ceiling on the repair.

They do have a couple of options when it comes to paying for repairs. They can find a similar used product, replace only a short block, or pay for a complete rebuild. Not sure how this particular one will play out, but will be speaking with the adjuster today.

Cheers

[KNS]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

Every time I get close to buying a Cayman something like this comes along and scares the crap out of me!

My thoughts exactly. I'd really like to pick up a 997 or Cayman someday - and I'm not interested in the later DFI cars. I suppose you could buy one and then start setting aside a "potential rebuild" fund, just in case...

[VincentVega]

My thoughts exactly. I'd really like to pick up a 997 or Cayman someday - and I'm not interested in the later DFI cars. I suppose you could buy one and then start setting aside a "potential rebuild" fund, just in case...

Same here. I can almost justify the rebuild/just in case fund but... is the replacement really any better? IMS issue is still there, is there really a fix for the cylinder scoring issue? Sure, you could get lucky and have a great experience. If my history is any indication, I'm usually not in that camp.

[afterburn 549]

Looks like I side tracked the thread..my fault sorry.
If anyone ever figures out what exactly is going wrong I truly want to know...it can only be a couple of things.
Why why why ?
Over time something is changing, Bad castings?

[GothingNC]

I think only the Cayman S with the 2.9 has the piston scoring issues.

The base with the 2.7 rarely has any issues.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by GothingNC

I think only the Cayman S with the 2.9 has the piston scoring issues.

The base with the 2.7 rarely has any issues.

Well that is encouraging. However the 2.7 can have other issues.....

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

Looks like I side tracked the thread..my fault sorry.

Not in a bad way, this is very interesting.

[GothingNC]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

Well that is encouraging. However the 2.7 can have other issues.....

All cars have issues, Hyundai just had a massive recall of their 2.0 liter motors failing, class action lawsuit was filed against GM for valve guide issues on the new Vette, etc.

Meanwhile MINI is in the top-ten for reliable cars

My friend just picked up a low mileage 2000 Boxster with 45,000 miles for $8K, replaced the clutch, IMS and some brake/suspension work for $3K.

So if it last 4 years and the motor goes kaboom, she could probably get about $4K as a roller so the cost of ownership is about $3K per year plus normal maintenance.

Much better then buying a new MINI for $30K and selling it for $12K in 4 years...

[Jeff Alton]

Originally Posted by GothingNC

I think only the Cayman S with the 2.9 has the piston scoring issues.

The base with the 2.7 rarely has any issues.

The 996 3.4/3.6 , 997 3.6/3.8 and 987 3.4 are the motors we have seen this issue in. Not sure if there are issues with the smaller displacement motors, but it there have been cases of this in Cayennes.

If you got a short block from Porsche you could be susceptible to the same issue. I have not heard of it occurring with LN Engineering sleeves or Ductile Iron sleeves.

Cheers

[Brando]

Afterburner - I agree on the oil part. That is why I am changing out coils, plugs, and will get the injectors cleaned. I really dont like "shotgun" approaches, but I have limited options at the moment. I cant throw cubic dollars into diagnosis without resolution.

Jeff, you keep posting these pics of scored cylinders. I feel like i'm staring at my future. I just need this car to last another 2 years before any catastrophic failure. Any time before that will be impossible without taking a bath and switching to hondas.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Brando, not sure why you are jumping to worst case with yours. More often than not, misfires are due to old coil packs. Do a basic tune-up, including coil packs, and see where you stand. Threads like this are scary if you take them out of context and jump to the conclusion that "they all do that".