Even though ...

A good friend recently picked up a 986 in nice condition with a blown motor; he already had a 986 motor from the same year, out of a manual car.
Just wondered if there were any issues with making the transplant especially with the DME.

Should be OK. The Tip and manual engines are the same. Any engine control differences - idle speed for instance -- necessitated by the Tip are handled by the DME and the DME is staying put.

... The engines are "the same", they are not.
The wiring harnesses are different.
The tiptronic engine also has a second heat transfer unit for the transmission that the manual doesn't.
You can probably make it work if you use the original heads so that there are no wiring issues.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

The wiring harness is with the car and the car was equipped with a Tip before. The extra radiator should also be present.

Quote
MarcW
The wiring harness is with the car and the car was equipped with a Tip before. The extra radiator should also be present.

I'm not talking sbout the third radiator up front.
I'm talking about a second heat transfer (oil cooler) unit for the transmission.
The harness is in the car but the two engines don't share the same exact sensors with the exact same connector in the same places.
The transplant can be done but it's not plug and play.
In my car I have the block from a 2.7 tip car and the heads from a 2.5 manual.
The ECU is not an issue if it's from the same model year.

Happy Boxstering
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Hi Pedro.

I appreciate the clarity you shed on using a non Tip Engine in a Tip car. I have the same issue for a 2000 2.7 Tip. The original engine is blown, and I sourced a used engine from a 2000 2.7 manual. I was not counting on swapping out the heads, assuming the heads on the Tip engine are still good that is. I was under the belief that the only difference in the two engines is in the cooling system hose connections, although I'm not sure if that is accurate either. I do have the wiring harness for each engine, and my plan was to use the original harness. Is there a way to do the swap without changing the heads? If you can think of anything else I need to account for it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Fivetre
2000 986, Blown motor with 73000 miles,
2010 997.2 C4S Cabriolet.