grc0456

Hi folks,

I have an 03 Box 2.7L 5 speed. Lately I have gotten a vibration type noise at idle speed. It is not noticeable during normal driving. My uneducated guess was perhaps it was coming from a heat shield, put I couldn't identify the source from under the car on ramps.

I know sound doesn't translate too well on video, but here it is. It may seem more noticeable after a rev the engine and it returns to idle.

Macster

Noises can be tricky. The only "heat shield" like noise I experienced with my 2002 Boxster proved to be not a heat shield but a converter with a loose brick.

Probably made loose some years earlier when I ran over some road debris and felt it hit the car some where around the engine. I was concerned enough I left the freeway and being the impact happened with a BMW dealer just on the other side of the freeway fencing I drove the car there and the SM kindly put the car on a lift and we looked at the car. I could see the place where the road debris hit the exhaust but there was no other signs of any damage and no CEL or other signs of any engine/exhaust problems, but the brick was probably broken then and over time gradually became loose enough to buzz when warm and towards the end knock when cold.

My advice is you need to get the car in the air and probably using a stethoscope pin-point the source of the noise. If it is coming from the exhaust that should be fairly easy to identify. That you did this and were unsuccessful suggests you might need to enlist the help/ears of an experienced Porsche tech. These guys hear engine noises all day long and pinpoint same all the time.

If it is coming from the engine then the task becomes harder.

I don't wish to be an alarmist but just to be safe I would recommend you remove the oil filter housing and carefully dump the contents into a *clean* drain pan.

What you are looking for is any metal -- especially ferrous -- debris in the oil or filter element.

Again I'm not trying to be an alarmist but my first impression when I heard the noise was it sounded very much like another Boxster I heard -- on the lift at the dealer -- that was in for what proved to be an ISMB problem.

But like I said noises can be tricky.

If the noise is best you can tell coming from the engine then check the oil filter housing. If it is clean replace the filter element with a new one, along with a new O-ring and pre-fill the housing with oil and re-install.

If there are debris that's another thread.

But with no debris you can breathe easier but you still need to pinpoint where the noise is coming from.

grc0456

Thanks, Macster. Your thoughtful and detailed responses are always appreciated in this forum.

The good news is I just changed the oil and filter last week. The oil looked very clean, but I did cut the filter open for visual and magnetic inspection. There was zero ferrous material. To be on the safe side, I sent an oil sample off to Blackstone for analysis.

I should also mention this car had a rebuilt engine installed one year ago, with new IMSB and Direct Oil Feed. I don't mention to start a flame war over the best approach to the IMSB issue, but just to state the facts.

I will schedule some time with my indie to get it on a lift.

Thanks.