996 Carrera C2 Cold Start Problem
 

Hello there,

I purchased a 2003 996 Tip Cab in July 2017 and I hadn't had any issues with it until recently when the weather dropped below 40 F in my area.
My problem is that every day that I try to start it from completely cold on the first start of the day, the starter turns but there is a metal on metal noise promptly after and then it stops turning. The tach goes up to 2-3000 rpms and then falls back to 0. If I keep holding the key in to start the car it will stumble, grind, and eventually start, but it has an unusually high idle after it has warmed up. Stopping and starting the engine after the initial start fixes the high idle. After the initial start and the engine warms up, the problem disappears until the car has sat overnight.

This problem started after leaving the car to sit for a week and half (covered in a carport) while I was working out of town.I bought the car with 76,000 miles and fresh oil/filter and today the car has 78089 miles.
I've brought my vehicle to a trusted indie who checked codes and replaced the crank shaft position sensor as well as a faulty oil pressure sender (for a presumably unrelated oil indication failure) and my problem persists.
I've scoured the internet including these forums and come up short with information on my problem. If anyone has had a similar experience during cold starts, any help or insight is greatly appreciated

Also, I will take a video of a cold start and add it here.

Thanks for reading

Problem 1: your starter bendix is sticking in the cold weather. Replace with a new starter. Metal on metal noise is not good while starting.
Problem 2: First perform an E-gas calibration of the throttle control, put key in ignition and move to the run position (not start), wait one minute and turn key to off position. Then see if it starts normally and idles correctly.

Thanks for the insanely quick reply DBJoe, I'll be ordering a starter this weekend and I'll try an e-gas calibration this evening. Thanks again.