Dryslick13

OK. Decision time! Mechanic needs/wants $2500 more to continue. $11,200 into it with $8500 in parts and the rest in labor. Has 100 hrs time already. Says total to finish $15,000. Have no choice but to continue as I see it. End result = ? Hopefully will have a running car that can at least be sold to recoup expenses. Other option is to take it and sell as a roller + try to sell the parts. Don’t really have the space for a non-running car. What to do?

996-CAB

$15K less $8.5K of parts leaves $6,5K for 100 hours of labor?! $65/hour? Where is this shop? I'm on my way!
Yeah, if you can come out of this for only $15K, go for it.

Dryslick13

have a feeling it will end up being more, but hopefully not too much more. He has been very reasonable in the past with other work he has performed. He loves working on cars. He has also owned 996. Had one as his shop car. I bit the bullet and said proceed.

NuttyProfessor

Was the LN bearing registered by the last installer? Was the shop a certified LN installer?


In my opinion, you already have a heavy investment in getting the car running, and the $3800 contingency is nothing compared to the loss of selling it as a roller and still having to pay this mechanic $11,200 for his time and parts. Finish the car and then enjoy it OR sell it to someone for market price.

allcool

Don't remember how many miles are on your car/cylinders. Does that $15k include cylinder sleeves (nickies) ? or are they rebuilding with your stock bore loco-sil cylinders and your used pistons/rings...?

Dryslick13

No nickies. New pistons. 118k

Dryslick13

Installer did not register it :-( Know he has installed others and rebuilt engines. Fully agree!

allcool

The general consensus among the most experienced expert 996 engine builders, at 100k miles (many engines with a lot less miles) all loco-sil blocks are so so far out of round and tapered new rings have a very slim if any chance of seating/sealing.
Was just a thread on this and Charles from LN explained it very well as did Porschetech3.

Might want to ask your engine builder for the measurements he's done on your block for out of round and taper. Curious what he says...

hbdunn

They don't have certified installers for the retrofit, only the solution.

Mike Murphy

I’d have to agree

meirschwartz

out of curiosity I might measure mine.

TheChunkNorris

Huh I just learned something today, had no idea this was true.

BRS-LN

The Certification and required training is the same for all IMS products. A Certified Installer for the IMS Solution is also Certified for all IMS retrofit and LN products. The IMS Solution is the top tier product in the IMS Retrofit lineup, so any shop that meets the criteria, attends the training, and maintains their status is certified for the entire range of IMS Retrofit product installations.
"Super Certified Installers" double as trained Certified Installers for Flat 6 Innovations engines that are sold, and supported by LN Engineering, as well as all IMS Retrofit products.
There are no Certifications for just the Single Row Pro, or classic single/ dual row, or RND bearings. Any shop that would be certified in these would also be certified for the IMS Solution product.
Mr. Raby is in the process of training around a dozen more shops at this time that will be added to the list, if they finish the process and pass the evaluations.
I hope this helps you understand things better.

Charles Navarro

All the Solution Certified installers can also do Retrofit installations.

Charles Navarro

Correct. The wear limit per Porsche is .0031" for ovality and taper.

New pistons give me concern on two fronts. If they are using new Porsche replacements, they are expensive, but they are the only ones that are compatible with the stock Lokasil bores. If they are using aftermarket pistons, none of them are compatible with the stock bores.

if the bores are at or beyond the wear limit, the new rings won't seat either.

Very good recommendation on asking the builder to measure the bores. The other issue you have is that even if they measure correctly, you don't know if the silicon matrix is compromised. When there aren't enough exposed (and unfractured silicon particles) to support the tribofilm that is required for the pistons and rings, that's when the bores score.