Since it's easier to ask here than to wade through the rest of the internet, that's what I'm doing. What are the weak links in the 2008-ish Cayman S? They seem like a reasonable overall package for what would be my four-season daily, with dedicated winters 4-5 months out of the year. 6MT, of course.
The engine is the week link. If you're going to spend real money on one and intend to pile miles on, I'd seriously do everything I could to avoid ims cars. Especially since it seems like 987.1 (05-08) prices have been climbing lately to the point where a 987.2 (09-12) is only a few grand more. And they have more power and none of the reliability issues, nicer interior, and the couple of exterior styling changes are big improvements imo. Or, as a pure daily driver, I'd honestly probably go for a base 981 (14-16). Same price as a 987.2s, only down 20hp from the 987.1s, and a much, much better and more modern car all around.
Weak reliability, or just not a ton of grunt? This will be a pure street car, about 15k miles per year, will see the occasional 1000-1500 mile long weekend.
That's the last year of potential IMS issues. ~1% failure rate. If it were me and the price was right, check for on time oil changes (~5k miles is ideal) and run it.
Aren't 2007 and 2008 the years where the IMS bearing isn't accessible/replaceable without splitting the engine case apart?
There are no reasons to NOT buy one.
/thread
Someone on the Facebook Porsche Cayman Club put together a list of the Top 10 issues (ranked from most reported to least):
I'd add that the interior has a lot of miscellaneous bullE36 M3 that breaks like the cup holder assembly, springs for the interior door handles, micro switches on the door latches, etc. The soft touch coatings are easily scratched.
Polarized sunglasses are basically a requirement to see out of the windshield on a sunny day with the beige interior.
For a daily driver, I'd suggest a base over the S if you can live with it only being about as quick as an S2000. The engine is way less stressed and the 5 speed is much sweeter shifting.
For a street car they're solid. For a track car I've seen that motor grenade too many times to risk running one on track.
I have a 986S with 140K miles on it that's been to 50+ autocross events over the last 3 years. It has an updated IMS bearing. I would buy a 987S Cayman in a heartbeat. In fact, I'm looking for one to replace the C5 Z06. With Porsches, the options are almost all a la cart, and the difference between low option cars (mine, it literally only has cruise) and high option ones (HID headlights, heated seats, navigation, nice leather) can be stark. The blue interior is awesome.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Nothing to add other than this should be on a shirt:
Since it's easier to ask here than to wade through the rest of the internet, that's what I'm doing.
mblommel said:Aren't 2007 and 2008 the years where the IMS bearing isn't accessible/replaceable without splitting the engine case apart?
This is correct(2006 and late 2005 model year also apply), although there are some lunatics out there who have replaced it by drilling the engine block with a holesaw.
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
Didn't you just buy the C5 Z06?
My dad bought a maintenance deferred 2007 S with 88k miles and rehabbed it mostly himself. Seats out and firewall removed the entire front of the engine is accessible. Mechanically his car is now sound. Some interior trim paint is worn off and some creaks and rattles due to the stiffer suspension but it is a great car for him. It does have a couple electrical gremlins in the stereo. Biggest issue he had with it was a no start issue. There was a hidden connection in the cable from the battery to the starter that was corroded that seemed to have fixed the issue. It is stored in the winter but if you can wait a couple months I'm sure he'd let you check it out and talk to you about everything he's done.
EDIT: reasons not to buy one? I ain't got any. I want his car.
In reply to docwyte :
Yes. It's great. I just have a backwards garage with a scruffy Porsche track car and nice C5. It needs to be a scruffy C5 track car and a nice Porsche.
There are all sorts of failure points on the track. If you don't plan to track it, it really comes down to the IMS bearing. Incidence of failure is pretty low but severity of failure is pretty high.
This document from LN Engineering is a great source of info in the motor.
My 987.1 wasn’t really the Porsche I wanted, but it was the best Porsche I could afford at the time. The newer cars just have way more speed.
My biggest complaints are the leaky doors (that cause expensive electrical havoc) and the interior plastics do not hold up well. Other irritants include hvac that spits chunks of foam, smokey startups from an aged air/oil separator, and the ever present worry about the IMS bearing.
It's about an inch too short in all directions for me to be comfy? Oh wait, that's why I wouldn't have one.
It's on my top 5 list of favorite cars I've driven for sure.
Reasons not to buy an old German sports car:
whimpiness
cowdarice
boringness
Reasons NOT to buy?
I can think of a few... maintenance issues being one. But additionally, and I've only driven one once on the street, the Caymen S just did not meet my expectations.
I don't remember what year it was, but it just felt a bit boring. Yes, it was fast and handled great, but it just lacked a certain specialness about it. The shifter felt sort of meh, the clutch felt like the throw out bearing was on its way out, and the steering felt too slow. It did have a lot of feedback though.
I walked away wanting to get back into my NA Miata. I drove a 997 911 a few days later and was much more "wow'd."
I've talked about this before, and it was just one example, so YMMV.
How much are you looking to spend on it? That's the real question. If you're looking at a bottom dollar $15-20k one and are willing to take the risk of having to put an engine in it, go for it. If you're looking at spending $30k on a nice one, I'd much sooner have a 987.2 or 981 base model for basically the same money. They'll be down on power a little but much nicer cars to be in for daily driver use, and much lower risk. And either one will have plenty of power to be a fun street car.
Some IMS chatter from the crew over at Classic Motorsports:
The 987.1's have one oil pick up. The 2009 and up cars have 5. Not a big deal for a street car, but if you plan to track it spend extra for the 2009 and up.
pimpm3 (Forum Supporter) said:The 987.1's have one oil pick up. The 2009 and up cars have 5. Not a big deal for a street car, but if you plan to track it spend extra for the 2009 and up.
The 9A1 engine still has a single oil pickup in the pan. Are you adding the 4 scavenge ports to get 5? Those only return oil to the pan.
I had a 986 Boxster, Super Easy car to work on, did most of the failure parts as a preventative measure in one day. The IMS bearing always did worry me but when you look at the failure rates it's pretty low. If you can find one with it replaced and documented i wouldn't pass it up at all, loved my car just wanted someone with 4 seats instead.
The large IMS bearing in the Caymans is not as failure prone as the earlier small bearings. The risk for the cars with the large bearing is greatly exaggerated. The risk is to the mid year cars with the single row small bearing. The early cars with the double row small bearing have shown to be more reliable than mid year cars too.
Add to that the M9A1 is not free of failures too.
You can contact Charles at LN yourself if you don't believe this.
You'll need to log in to post.
