Loose 2001 Boxster S Crank Shaft
 

I have had a series of events that have been rather unpleasant financially and wanted to see if anyone could give me some insight. I bought a 2001 Boxster S with about 55K miles on it. After about 6 months the oil/air separator tore and was replaced. Recently it began leaking oil significantly and I am in the process of having my mechanic replace both the rear main seal and the aux seal. After they repaired it the mechanic called to tell me that I needed to know that the crankshaft is very loose and that it will continue to leak oil even after this $2K repair. From what I understand a loose crank shaft is fairly normal and not a big deal, obviously it is not ideal, but it would not force you to sell the car? He has advised to get rid of this car as soon as possible as this will only lead to bigger "overhaul" issues later....... Any thoughts here?

To me a loose crankshaft IS a big deal,but I don't know beans about Boxters. It would mean that more than one thrust bearing has failed and a floating crank will just eat away at the mains.
YMMV

Check out this site for some "issues" with the M96 family of engines.

www.lnengineering.com

Intermediate seal "issue"

Thanks Jase,

I am familiar with the issues on the intermediate shaft and the upgrades to fix it. However what I am being told is that it is the crank shaft that has the issue, apparently is it simply "loose" but I am hearing from other mechanics that this is normal and not at all an issue...however in my mind a loose shaft will only continue busting the seals and causing more problems

Any thoughts?

Do yourself a favor. Look up flat 6 innovations site by Jake Raby. Register and ask a question there or better yet look on their website and get their phone # and describe your problem and see if they have heard of it and can help.

http://www.flat6innovations.com

Call at night; Jake is usually there working late (9pm) and it is the only time to get him on the phone.

Ask the mechanic for the axial play of the crank (the actual measurement). There should be some play, but there will be a spec for it. 'Loose' could mean a lot of things to different people and it may be a non-issue.

Maybe he's just trying to cover himself if the RMS replacement starts to leak again?

Js,

Is your mechanic an experienced Porsche mechanic, and what is your own level mechanical skill? I ask because of his advise to get rid of it. What your describing is one of the reasons I choose to avoid anything earlier than an '03 to improve my own chances, but one thing I've learned reading here and online is that most anything can be prevented/repaired if your on top it it.

x2. Porsche has revised the RMS so work better support the weight of the crank. The later model years have them from the factory, and your replacement seal should be the newer design. I don't believe the new seal is 100% leak proof, but probably lower the probability of the occurrence.

Also can you describe how bad your oil leak was? A few drops on the garage floor here and there (which can be disconcerting but most Boxsters leak like that for years without issue) or much more than that?

HI Guys,

Thanks for all the input, I am using an experienced shop in Tysons (not the dealer) Apparently the crank has more play up and down that it should. They have replaced the seal with the newer version that started in 2004, and basically what I gather is that either it will continue to leak, or it wont. What I am trying to avoid is another costly set of seals as they are around $2k to replace.To answer the above question there was a lot of oil on the floor of the garage, the meter in the car only had one notch left from the bottom.....