My only reservation about this engine is I'm still not certain the watercooled 986/996 engine will deliver the years of trouble-free reliability one expects of a Porsche. Aircooled engines run forever; I recently spoke with a gentleman who pulled apart the motor in a 270,000-mile 964 he had just purchased and said everything was still in great shape. european car's first 996 long-term test car (two years ago) had its rear main seal replaced. Our current 911 had its engine replaced at 6,118 miles. A staffer started it up in his driveway one morning, went back inside to get a jacket, and returned to find the car making a horrific rattle. The technician at McKenna Porsche listened to it briefly and ordered a new engine. Porsche does not allow dealers to disassemble and inspect failed engines, but simply sends them new ones to install under warranty. We don't know what the fault was with our particular engine.
Even with its new engine, our 911 consumes enough oil that I added a quart during my trip. I discovered that Mobil 1's distributors seem to be doing a terrible job. The grade Mobil's engineers report is the one to use in almost any car was the same one called for in the Porsche's manual, but I couldn't find it in three auto-parts stores.
It's a perfect, sunny afternoon outside, and I'm gazing out the window, weighing whether the unquestionable superiority of the 996 chassis compensates for an engine that seems still to have uncertain reliability. It occurs to me that this young grasshopper is asking the wrong question. The way up the mountain begins with, "Where are the keys?"