Hey all -- although this is a question about Porsche engines, I am posting in OT because 1) it applies to 986, 996, 987, and 997 engines, and 2) the Cayman forum doesn't really get a whole lot of traffic.
My car has developed an unpleasant engine noise that is currently being diagnosed by experts. If it ends up being worst-case-scenario (imminent cylinder failure), I would be unlikely to dump a lot of money into an engine rebuild for a variety of reasons.
Anyhow, in chatting with a local Porsche specialist, he mentioned the "blue paint" engines that mark some sort of defect that was addressed at the factory level; I'd never heard of the "blue paint" engines, but did a little digging here and elsewhere and have found that a disproportionate percentage of m96 and m97 engines that have the blue paint markers end up experiencing complete engine failures of one sort or another (cylinder, D-chunk, IMSicon, bore-scoring, etc.).
Sure enough, in my correspondence with a very well-known Porsche engine-builder, the bombshell "that's the death warrant" was dropped with regard to the "blue paint" splotch on the side of an engine; according to this engine-builder EVERY SINGLE m96/m97 engine that's come into his shop with a tough-to-diagnose issue has ended up being an engine failure.
First of all, I'm shocked and dismayed at the irresponsibility and negligence of the Porsche company from the late 1990s right up to the Dieselgate scandal of a couple years ago; the more info I uncover, the more clear it is that Porsche -- a company known for its quality and craftsmanship -- systematically employed practices that they knew weren't up to the standards suggested by its reputation.
Secondly, I want to make sure that my car is indeed a "blue paint" engine. Are the marks in the pictures below the type of blue splotches that others have mentioned as marking a "blue paint" engine?
Thanks in advance.
