Dave Diamond wrote: Would you really buy an engine like that off ebay?
Well, remanufactured M96 engines from Porsche are well over $10k now, and
used engines are normally in this price range (and independent rebuilds are more), so yeah, after a quick trip to Newport Beach to verify that it's really a new engine purchased from Porsche (~including receipt~), I
would buy it.
As far as power steering (melted return line fitting), water pump (worn shaft seal), and alternator (worn VR brushes), these three issues are all helped with the use of a crankshaft underdrive pulley, as sustained periods of high rpm cause the stress on the accessories (discovered by Cayman racers, who apparently experience the most power steering overheating; a cooler for the power steering is also a good idea). We (already) figured these things out the hard(er) way.
Ironically, the oil starvation problem is
due to tire, suspension, and brake upgrades getting the cornering and braking forces up around 1G. The classic problem scenario for M96/M97 engines is very hard braking followed by a hard left turn (a.k.a. Fontana Turn 3) or sustained high-G left turns (Spring Mountain Turn 2, Fontana Turn 5). This is because the right head's oil pump is at the back of the engine (the left head's oil pump is at the front), so when oil pools in the front of the right head, the level in the main pan drops right at the time when the oil is starting to climb the side of the main sump, allowing the main oil pump to suck air. Not feasible to convert these engines to dry sump (although Porsche already calls them "Integrated Dry-Sump" engines). Some increase the pan depth and oil capacity or use a competition baffled X-51 oil pan. My next engine is going to get the pan and an Accusump, which injects oil into the system when the pressure from the oil pump drops...
p.s. Guess how many oil pumps the latest (2009 -) direct-injected Porsche 997/987 engines have? Answer: FIVE (two in each head). And the latest GT3 engines? SEVEN.
p.p.s Apparently there are also "opportunities" for 944/944T and air-cooled 911 track drivers to fix/buy engines...(they just seem less
surprised)