I need a little bit of advice, if you please..

I have an opportunity to buy a 3.6. It was in a 993 that was involved in a front end crash about 12-15 months ago. Its been out of the car for about 3 months. I have asked for the compression numbers which the fellow is getting from his mechanic. The seller says it has about 90K miles and is complete from the clutch through to the ECU and harness including the stock exhaust and AC comp. No core needed. I've asked for the VIN of the car it came from (to check to see if the car was stolen, see what else I can learn about the car/engine, etc.).

Realistically, it will be a 2-3 years before I need it (if all goes as planned) but then again, had do you know the true condition or how long any engine has been sitting if you buy one from a dismantler.


My questions are:
1) What has to be done to prep it the right way for continued storage?
2) What sorts of checks can I do or what things should I look for to further verify the condition of the engine?
3) What else should I consider - buy now when I have a chance or wait until I'm closer to the time I need it?

The price is good.....like within a $1000 of what I have seen 3.2s go for.

Its relatively close to me (next state over) so shipping would not be needed (a further savings).

What do you think? Thanks for any input.

leak down test is more revieling that compression test. store away from moisture generating things like a clothes dryer. add lt oil to cylinders, re-install plugs. breathable cover

Good points - good price and you can probably sell for what you paid or a bit more if you don't need it in the future. You own a porsche engine.

Bad - ties up your money for a couple years and doesn't generate income. Engines don't like to sit unused and may need soft parts replaced in the future. If economy continues to decline, it might not look to be a great deal in the future.

I put mine in after a two year storage although it had fewer miles than this one. The injectors were clogged but everything else was fine and there were no leaks. Make sure you're getting the DME and DME harness with it.

1. Check to see if the engine is one that has an engine wiring-harness recall. The insulation on those disintegrates. New ones are very expensive but the recall harness (same part) is many hundreds cheaper. The recall is tied to the VIN, not the engine SN so you'll need that. You don't want a $700 (est) part to make the engine more expensive than you thought.

2. Install new lower valve cover gaskets. Just do it when the motor is out, you'll be very glad later.

3. Get the injectors serviced... if it's stored for that long. ~20 each.

Leakdowns and comp test on a stored engine may not that reliable, but with 90K it's just barely be broken in! You'll want to take the valve covers off to check the valves for side-play. It's a known issue with this motor that the exhaust valve guides are subject to wear.

... wonderful engine for our 914's.

Good luck

Ditto the same for my engine on all accounts.

My 993 3.6 I bought back in 2000 from an add placed thru a PCA club website.

Me and the seller negotiated the price down, eventually buying it with the stipulation it would be a "core" engine. I got mine fully complete w/all wiring & ECU for 4k. Remember, if you're getting a good deal, you most likely won't see any kind of response if you spend the time and $$$ putting everything together and something is wrong with the engine. You'll be on your own. If you go in thinking that way anyway, you won't be shocked with any surprises as you move forward.

My motor sat in a climate controlled environment for 5yrs before I was ready to use it.

When I did get it going, it leaked from what seamed like every seam, and 2 months down the road it started knocking.

I removed the engine, tore it down and did a full rebuild. It had had a spun rod bearing when I got it. So I took it in stride, and did my own full rebuild. Shameless plug. You can see my blog for where I let my grand daughter put the engine back together.

During the rebuild, my engine was as typical. Valve guides were shot. The main engine wiring harness was toast also. All issues were address. The rebuild including new exhaust was about 9k. So now, with 13k into the engine, I know exactly what I have going on behind me as I motor down the road.

Do the following before committing to a transaction price.
1. look into the exhaust ports. If it looks blackened, and oily wet, then the guides are gone, and will need replacing. Valve job at a minimum.

2. Check the Main Engine Wiring harness. Easiest place to check is the fuel injector connectors, and the engine grounding point. If you can see bare wire on the end of the injector plugs, or around the brown wiring on the grounding point, the harness has not been replaced, and will need to be replaced ASAP. Failure to do this turns all your efforts into a fire hazard.

these 2 things alone should give you an idea what you'll be up against as you get into a 3.6l.
Lastly, the injectors will need to go out for service. They'll mostly likely clog from sitting, and will set off a fault code when you start it up. I sent mine off through RockAuto for about 25.00 a piece.


Good Luck,

Ron

Buy now, use later. They won't get any cheaper ...

Mine sat for a good two years as well before we first fired it up. But it had just been gone through by Jerry Woods so i was not concerned about the state of the motor.

I had it tucked away in dry storage with a cover over it. All we did before we fired it up was to change the oil.

Thanks for the info, guys. I'm going to look at it tonight and will keep all of this great advice in mind.

I'll let you know what I find out.

I just fired up a 3.0L that I have been hauling around for 10 years and the person I bought it from had it for 4! It was turned often with oil in the cylinders every other year and kept in a very dry garage the whole time! It was purchased from PartsHeaven and they said the fuel system had been blown out so the injectors shoud be dry!

So far it runs great but I have not had it out on the street yet!

I paid almost nothing for it and it is very low miles so I say go for it like Andy said, "they won't get any cheeper"!

Supposed to go look at it tomorrow, finally. Let you know what I find.

Well, long story short...the guy had no clue what he had.

He said it was a 1995 993 3.6L and it turned out to be a 1989 964 3.6L after checking the engine type (M64/01). It was missing the distributors, the AC compressor, and the cluthch/flywheel asssembly.....and this motor was supposed to be complete one end to the other. The sheet metal was beat up and there were so many open ports and dangling wires all over the place....wow.

I used my Droid phone and found an on-line Porsche engine type decoder and pointed it out to the fellow trying to sell me the motor. I couldn't tell if he was putting on a show or if he really knew that it wasn't the engine he said it was. No thanks, I said. "At best, you have a core."

Still looking...........................

I have to believe used engines will get less expensive, not more, as our economy continues to decline. Peoples projects, upgraded and toys are the first to go when money is short. JMO. Mark

901 (911) cores are on the rise believe me I have been looking. It won't last for many years but for now unless you pull a perfect running motor from a donor don't buy it. the $10,000 motor is down to about $5,000 now.

Yes Those that make their $$$$ on rebuilds and high performance will chime in and say but don't believe the hype.

The price on used motors will fluctuate .... irregaurdless of economic state. There is no large influx of "new" 993 motors. Porsche doesn't make aircooled motor's anymore... so know its entirely a private almost black market that will fluctuate with supply and demand. So as time goes on and the likely hood of good motor vs cores gets worse the price of a good motor will go up. When working on ducati's we would take the cam belts of and do a bottom dead center leak down test if we were being anal, If you found a motor with lower compression but good leak down we would do a bottom dead center leakdown. This would require removal of the timing belts so that the cams could be held in a closed position.

Good luck... you have me watching cause all i can afford is crappy subaru motors.