Hi everyone,
It seems my intermediate rough idling was not sparks or coils (all new) but a stuck lifter, with another one on the way (each one on different sides). Codes: p0300 p0301 p0306 compression test 170psi
Current oil Mobil 1 5w/40w

In a perfect world I would have all the lifters repaired, but do to a recent chain of events do not have the 4k to do it.

It's an '02 996 with 65k. It was a daily driver but more recently due to work loss it has sat in the garage for days at a time, then driven. This might have contributed to its decline?

Any ideas on temporary fixes? Should I drive it more often? Or let it sit until I have money for repairs? I've kept it very well maintained with yearly oil changes.

I read somewhere to put thin oil in with ATF drive 20 miles then change oil and filter. Anyone have any experience or suggestions?

 

I would definitely not try the ATF. To replace the lifters is a pretty complicated job, possible with the engine in the car, but much easier with the engine dropped. And on a 02 996 with the variocamplus system the lifter, particularly the intake, are quite expensive, probably $1,500-$2,000 in parts alone. And once you are in there it only makes sense to replace all of them.

You might try Seafoam, an oil additive. Do a search and you will find some discussions of this. You add it and run the car for a while, the drain and replace the oil. One of the challenge with the lifters is that they are basically a dead end path for the oil, so if debris gets in there it has no way to flush out.

Good luck

 

Change oil & filter, (good time to switch to 10w-40 Castrol edge) check filter for debris & good to pull oil sump plate & check oil pickup for debris/blockage. Go for a long hard, hot drive around 4000rpm & try to maintain temp around 220 F. Erase codes & CEL 1st if you can but in any case stop if CEL flashes. If this improves lifters repeat as needed, otherwise just drive as normal unless situation worsens.

 

There's a posting somewhere, but I can't find it where a 996 owner had a stuck lifter and an indy recommended a BG product. MOA I think, but not sure. Anyway, the 996 owner reported that it worked. Worth a try?

 

I've seen Swepco 502 recommended by some in this and other Porsche forums for "fixing" stuck lifters.

Suggested was to add it a few hundred miles before an oil change. Apparently this stuff has both MoS2 (moly disulfide, a friction reducer) and some aromatic solvents which could cause some gack to wash out of the engine/lifters--you'll want to replace oil and filter just to be safe, assuming this does happen.

I also have an '02 with an occasional "ticking", like a stuck lifter. The traditional "Italian tune up" (run it hard at high RPMs for a while) usually helps. I may, however, try the Swepco 502 before my next oil change, which is due in about 5000 miles (I just changed it).

Let us know what you do, and how it works. Good luck.

 

Byprodriver, I'm sort of a novice when it comes to mechanics, but since my lifters are getting stuck especially at cold start and idle, wouldn't I want to stick to a thinner weight oil?

 

Dhran55, do you think the Automatic transmission fluid would do harm? I've heard of seafoam but it seems it didn't help most people with similar problems from what I read.

 

I have not heard of the other two…
I'll have to look into them thanks Please keep the recommendations and opinions coming I'm desperate for something to work but not cause more harm then good. I assume the "Italian tuneup" will not make it worse as well? And perhaps I just need to take it out on the open road daily until I fix it?

 

That is entirely possible, but you have to try something different than what you have been doing. The higher viscosity may cure the cold start noise & the superior brand should help all around including the annual oil change interval.

ANY ENGINE FLUSH CLEANER will do a great job of cleaning the very crap you are trying to remove and permanently deposit it in the lifters, since as Dharn said it is the deadend of the oil circuit. You are trying to remove tiny impuritys thru a tiny hole from the part of the engine that has the smallest clearances. The method I suggested is your 1st step to improve the situation.

 

I'd suggest Liqui Moly engine flush, just before an oil change.

 

I have a valve tick and I put in a couple of pints of Marvel mystery Oil (basically the same as ATF) with no change. I have heard of success with stuck lifters with ATF, But i would not use an aggressive cleaner because of what others have posted, you could get crud loose which could cause even more clogging problems.

 

Thanks for everyone's input. I'm going to be talking to my Indy this week and will bounce some of these off of him.
The crude that gets loose, do you think will only perhaps make the lifters worse? But not effect anything else?
The reason I ask is it might be worth a try if the worse case scenario is that I would have to change the lifters after putting in swepco, ATF, mystery oil etc… since that would only help or put me back full circle at changing lifters.

 

I had a noisy lifter in my car - when I was having the IMSR procedure done, I had a new set of lifters installed. Much better now. Sorry that is not much help.

 

You can try the auto-rx additive to see if it cleans them out; don't really have a whole lot to lose at this point.

 

The lack of use probably has contributed to the symptoms. I'm not convinced the cause is one or more stuck lifters.

Without some clearer signs one or more lifters are truly stuck I'd hold off replacing then.

While in the 'old days' adding a quart of ATF (very high detergent oil) to engine oil was a fix (supposedly) for a stuck lifter or a sludged up engine no way a quart of ATF can resurrect an engine that has suffered from lack of proper oil/filter servicing over enough time the engine is manifesting the symptoms arising from lack of proper oil/filter servicing.

Thus, if you have run a proper oil and changed it at reasonable intervals I do not believe the engine has a stuck l lifter.

The car sits unused, but even it if sits for days the engine should quiet down in just moments upon engine start.

(My 02 Boxster with 257K miles sat -- in an airport parking lot -- from June 22 to June 30 and while it made some clatter upon its first startup the engine quieted right down in just moments. I will add my Turbo sat that long unused too, and its engine made a bit more racket at start up but it too quieted right down. Oh, both engines have Mobil 1 5w-50 oil (not a typo for 15w-50).)

A stuck lifter should be a noisy lifter. Unless you hear this noise my money is not on a stuck lifter but something else.

The something else...You mention new coils/plugs but I have to call into question the quality of the work and ask if OE or OEM parts were used?

My tech friends tell me misfires often come from the wiring harness connection a coil has rather than a bad coil so you should consider a bad electrical connection. No need to replace the harness, just find the electrical connectors and undo the connector and then reconnect it. Be very sure you fully insert the connector. Sometimes the connector has a resistance that makes one think it is connected when it is not, it is loose.

Also, be gentle with these. Connectors age and you can break/bend a pin and then you have real problems.

Another thing to consider is the injectors are blocked due to tip deposits.

Yet another thing to consider can be stale gas.

On this note a family member's car -- an Infiniti EX35 -- has sat since late January with gasoline from that time. (Oh, premium gasoline, too.)

I had reason to drive the car. The engine started right up -- and was quiet even though it had been weeks maybe months since being run last -- and once on the road the car ran ok. The engine felt a bit flat but I was just assuming this was because after driving my Porsches as much as I do other cars feel underpowered.

Anyhow, I drove the car enough it got low on gas. I filled up the tank with Shell 91 octane and the engine was transformed. The engine perked right up and in fact impressed me with its power and performance.

While in the case of this Infiniti the engine never even hinted at a misfire, the engine was definitely suffering from very stale gasoline.

In your car's case even though you drive the car more often than my family member's car gets driven the gas in your car may be getting stale and suffering from some stratification. This stratification can contribute to misfires.

Thus you might consider doing two things. One would be to use a bottle or two of Techron -- according to directions -- and the second would be to fill up the gas tank with fresh gasoline.

After running the gas tank down with the last bottle of Techron added to the gas I like to change the oil/filter.

Yet another thing to consider, is if the car sits for a while unused, it may have been visited by mice/rats. These creatures can do some damage to a car's wiring and fuel system lines and the first hint that something's amiss is the car/engine develops odd behavior/symptoms along with a CEL and one or more error codes.

A thorough inspection of the car needs to be made to eliminate the possibility rodents have been in/at the car.

Sincerely,

Macster.