[Schumi]

I believe those odd marks on the aluminum are weld spots, from the factory. Many of the early motors had porosity issues / inherent cracks that were welded at the factory.

I see nothing else majorly wrong with that motor. It maybe overheated a bit due to the failed waterpump.

I would care to bet that a good cleaning, flushing, new seals and a new pump and AOS and it would be back to normal. Or, as normal as a pre-2000 motor can be.

This is a major problem n the Boxster/996 community- a general lack of knowledge by many owners on anything engine related whatsoever, paired with a relatively modern (at the time) and complex engine design that many small town mechanics don't know jack about. People read about the slipped sleeves or D-chunk issues on the early cars and that is assumed to be the problem. I wonder how many cars bad mechanics 'wrote off' thinking that the sleeves slipped or the IMS failed when in reality, the AOS just died, which is a relatively inexpensive fix as long as the car is not driven long.