LC991.2

Perhaps even 5w-50 will slow down the oil drain from the lifters to make a difference. It seems 4-5 days between starts is when I noticed it tapping where as 3 days or less seems to be okay.

LC991.2

I don't go racing with it but I certainly don't baby it either after the break-in period.

LC991.2

I know for sure it doesn't tap if I drive it everyday. It's a weekend car as I as I have another dd. It's a fantastic car to drive and I look forward to driving it every weekend, however the tapping sound make me cringe every time.

If it taps all the time Porsche will fix it for sure no question. The big question is whether my car is deemed bad enough for Porsche to decide on repair or not at this point.

theiceman

we have the same issue in my industry, employees "shooting from the hip" in contradiction to corporate documentation.

I'm sure Porsche corporate wouldn't be too pleased to hear their employees telling you stuff their own engineers don't approve of.

AWDGuy

did you tell the dealer you were also getting Check Engine lights? I think with the noise and the combination of check engine lights, they should really look at this some more.

SillyGoose

happens on my 981 cayman all the time. car is still driving fine after like 20,000 miles of hearing it

LC991.2

This is the third time I've had the engine control fault light come on but I don't think this is related to lifter tapping. Last 2 times error code was generated from emission control system.

Update - so car was parked at the the dealer for 6 days, started the car with service manager and shop foreman present, and it tapped for 15 minutes at which point we turned off. The shop foreman acknowledge that it sounded to be from the lifter. Also started another car in their lot to compare and it was not tapping at all. Got it all on video.
Dealer will be reporting to Porsche - awaiting their decision.

LC991.2

And it doesn't bother you? Did you buy your car brand new? Did it tap since new? Mine did.

If all new Porsche engines have this tapping lifter then I would say it's normal but if yours or my car is 1 out 10 or even 1 out of 5 then there must be problem with lifter or lubrication system with our car.

kayjh

I suspect you'll be getting a repair (or replacement). If everyone's engines did this I'd say its normal. Given that many forum members don't drive their cars daily, I suspect this question would have come up many times already if it was a common noise on startup. 15 minutes sounds like a long time to get oil to that tappet. Something has to be wearing during that period. Please update us when your dealer gets back to you?

mikemessi

I have a 2011 with 9a1 engine but overall basically same design. It has had noisy lifters come and go since day one. Sometimes on a cold engine and sometimes when hot. Now has 42,000 mi and burns zero oil between 3000mi oil changes (I know someone is going to say it's scored cylinders). But contrary to what Macster says about 5w40 going the wrong way to fix this, I don't think that's always the case. My cold lifter noise got considerably better with 5w40. My thinking is the slightly thicker oil had less of a tendency to leak out of the lifter when not running. Sort of how thicker oil sometimes can reduce an oil leak. I understand your line of thinking that thinner oil will fill up the lifter quicker when cold and drive the air out of it but maybe thicker oil will prevent the air in the first place?

mikemessi

As a side note, newer engines run lower oil pressures to reduce parasitic drag and improve fuel mileage and horsepower. Porsche brags about the "on demand" electronic oiling system these cars have. I wonder if that contributes to this problem? My neighbor has a 2006 997 with the M97 engine and it pegs the oil pressure gauge on startup and rarely drops below 3. It is a much quieter running engine (but he's had more issues with oil leaks!!). My oil pressure never goes that high. Maybe it's a tradeoff. High oil pressure equals quiet valvetrain but lots of oil leaks and vice versa. Also, my Mercedes AMG CLS55 had the same noisy lifter issue.

Fonzareli

Sorry but what is lifter

GTSMeister

Nice to hear you have dealer service sticking up for you. Hopefully they conclude in your favor.

fast1

LOL I like your approach. You are right: they don't all do that. I've owned several Porsches over the decades, and only one of them made a ticking sound when the engine was cold. Although it only made that sound when the engine was cold, I still didn't consider it normal. It's only normal when they all do it. OTH the sound may be innocuous and your suggestion would certainly determine just how serious the problem is.

m42racer

Here is my take.
It appears you will be getting some relief from Porsche. Hope so.

I think you have to look at the landscape here. I mean no disrespect here but, Porsche have created parts changers at best. From the SA to the tech's, they have to log in on any car and tell Porsche what they are doing. Porsche then advises them on what and how to do it. I'm sure there are some very clever people working , but if they are not allowed to think for themselves, what hope do we have.

In this case, I think there was some distance between the noise heard and what is expected to be normal. It seems that once the car was left at the dealer the time and scope of the noise was understood.

I think some good advice has been given and some really bad advice has been given. Do not add any sort of additive in the oil and do not change the oil weight other than what is in the owners manual.

The additive I suspect is some sort of anti wear additive to hopefully stop any wear from happening with excessive lash. First off, this stuff messes with your cat and secondly, a loose lash will not harm the camshaft base or follower. There is a designed amount of gap between the camshaft and the follower for oil to be present.

Oil weight plays a huge role in the engines performance and reliability. With today's mileage standards and emissions, lighter oil is required. Oil pressures are lower to help with performance. It takes a lot of the engines performance to push oil through the system at high pressure. With lower pressures comes tighter oil clearances. The bearing surfaces are rock hard as well for life span. The greatest amount of damage an engine can see from normal use is on startup. You run thicker "winter weight" oil and the oil film between the crankshaft and the bearings will not be there.

Also, the variable valve control is a function of the oils viscosity as well. Changing the oil will effect the valve timing.

A noisy follower is not normal and should never be heard. The oil is trapped in the system once the engine is stopped. The relief valves should close and the oil cannot find it way back. This holds oil in the oil galleys. However the oil has only one path in and out of the follower. The oil galley in the head to feed the follower is on the top side facing upwards. The oil would have to drain up against gravity to escape the follower. Difficult to imagine this happening. And its only way to escape is through the clearance between the follower and the head, which is less than 0.001" on each side.

The follower will collapse the same amount as the cam lift. At this point there is still some head room in the follower before it bottoms out. So oil will always be present in the follower. The cam lobe doesn't squeeze all of the oil out.

You sir have a failing follower that is leaking oil through its retainer sealing system inside that follower. This is happening even when the engine is up to running temps and pressure. The pressure is overcoming the leak, but the leak is allowing the oil to escape through the seal in the follower. This is on the bottom side facing the valve.

This is something of an old wife's tale that followers make noise. Even the dealer appears to be believing this still. The reason is, they don't understand how these engines are designed today as they never get to see inside of them. If they did, they would know its not possible and they would see all of the new ideas used to help with mileage and emissions.

Good luck and demand that the noise in investigated and not left to some old wife's tale. Arm yourself with knowledge. Knowledge trumps a wife's tale every time.