Montychristo128

So mine has just started ticking, went for a run, no tick when I left and the noise you hear in the video ever since whether hot or cold, its the same. Rises and falls with revs, does not seem to go away just gets drowned out with rest of engine noises.

Its a 1998 built 996.1, 3.4 with an indicated 130K kms.

So its consistent, seems to be top end and coming from bank 1 (left hand side of engine as you look at it from rear).

I had everything crossed for a loose spark plug, so pulled the coil packs and plugs yesterday, but not that (on bank one).

I have called a couple of shops for quotes on diagnosis but they wanted $300-$600 to just check it out. Seems steep to me, I might call a few more. Can anyone recommend a good shop near Toronto?

So here are my questions:

Any recommendations regarding a boroscope/inspection camera? For this money I can buy one and scope bores myself. Coilpack/spark plug removal was pretty easy once I had dropped the engine a little.

Thoughts on possible solution, how difficult are lifters to change out? Is this even feasible with engine in car (I doubt but want to be optimistic).

The car had fresh oil in when I bought it, so may change this out. I don't seem to be getting any significant back pressure in the dip stick tube (which I saw on one thread might indicate scored bores) and usual culprit seems to be bank 2 (rhs as I look at rear?), so I'm hoping its not that.

Regarding oil pressures, drops to 1 bar when warm.



Sorry for the offensive sandal and pasty leg content.

Macster

First thing I'd recommend is you remove the oil filter housing and look at the oil and element. Be sure you have a *clean* drain pan to dump the filter and its oil into. You don't want to diagnose the Porsche engine with sparklies from the lawnmower oil.

Depending upon what you see/don't see that determines what you do next.

If you see sparklies, ferrous bits, that's bad news.

If the oil is clean, free of any debris, then the engine might have a collapsed lifter.

You'll have to use a mechanic's stethoscope to try to pinpoint where the noise is coming from.

If it is from under the camshaft cover then it might be appropriate to remove the cover and the cams and replace at least all of the lifters that correspond to your best determination that the noise is coming from an intake or exhaust lifter.

Schnell Gelb

Splendid technical advice. I had the same problem so am painfully familiar...
Here is a different aspect to the advice - if you get this diagnosis and repair wrong it may require a replacement engine. That is a $5000++++ job. So get serious about dissecting the filter,inspecting the pan if necessary,replacing the oil and filter, UOA,buy and use an electronic engine ear. These engines do not reward cheapskate repairs !
Search for lifter replacement. It requires a standard of mechanics and dexterity way beyond most engines.
Many older Boxsters are just sold when they have these faults for the reasons cited above. Then someone who was looking at Miatas(me) gets sucked in because the ticking Boxster is so cheap. Hopefully not your scenario.

Montychristo128

Macster and Schnell, thanks for the advice. Just ordered the parts from Pelican, so the wait is on. Will dissect the filter once it all arrives, it can stay tucked up in the garage in the meantime.

I did review the lifter replacement and it looks "Diy able" (with the right tools) except for the access.

If only an engine replacement was just $5k, It wouldn't be so painful a proposition, the whole "I'll just fix this while I'm in there" syndrome adds so much to the whole process.

docmirror

do the UOA, and they will tell you about metals in the oil. More than you can see with the eye. Buy any of the borescopes on ebay, but get one that articulates well. Do your inspection of the cyl walls and hope for good news.

More often than not, a $500 diagnoses will come back with; "you need a new engine. We will rebuild it for $xx,xxx."

Schnell Gelb

MonteC -The next piece of research(in view of your location) is the connection between cold temperatures and cylinder bore scoring....

Montychristo128

Yeah, but it was so quiet until just now, if it is bore scoring then I think it will be run it till it dies!!

My only hope is its seems to be bank 1 which seems to be less likely to have bore score!................

Oh well lets see what the filter reveals......

Schnell Gelb

Make sure the lifter carrier is not cracked = that produces the same noise but has catastrophic consequences when a chunk breaks off. The smart guys do not replace a single lifter .If one is bad,......

Montychristo128

Haha I researched and found this UK article "Baz from Hartech piston heads article" and it seems I'm a prime candidate for failure as I do like to XLR8..... If I have to pull the cams, I'll replace the lot at $20 each. Just hoping its nothing more catastrophic.

Macster

Be careful. Bore scoring is the new iMSB and any ticking noise or other anomaly gets bore scoring as the explanation. But saying it is so doesn't make it so.

You can't really diagnose bore scoring by the sound of an engine. And there are other more common problems that can account for the noise.

Best advice is to as best you can -- with the help of a trusted/experienced Porsche tech -- is pinpoint the noise.

From under the camshaft cover probably lifter (or cam, as in flattened lobe) related.

If the noise is down more in the head/block maybe (maybe) bore scoring (or something else). At either end of the engine that's chain tensioner territory.

If you and the tech believe and agree it is lifter noise and replacing one, some or all is the way to go you can do this with the engine in the car.

Be sure you have the proper steps to this work. That you know how to take things apart but just as important know how to put the cams back into place without affecting their timing.

Sealing the cover is tricky. A small bead of special sealant is used. It is critical to apply the right size bead. Too much is as bad as too little.

When the cam cover is tighted down this spreads out and seals the cover. Not only does it seal the oil in the cover but it seals around the high pressure holes that transport oil form the head to the cam bearings in the cover.

If you use too much the extra sealant can squeeze into the hole area and the sealant can tear loose and prevent oil from flowing through the hole to its final destination, a camshaft plain bearing.

Too little and there can be an external or internal oil leak. An external leak is obvious. An internal leak is not. But part of the cam/lifter hardware can run with sub-par lubrication and that ain't good.

Flat6 Innovations

-Check for exhaust leaks
-Check for loose spark plugs
-Listen closely to the engine with an electronic ear

Whatever you do, don't assume the issue is lifters, and replace them. You must quantify exactly where the noise is rooted before throwing a variable at things.

If you have a ticking noise, then you must find the source of this conclusively. That takes more than a bore scope and a scan tool.

Montychristo128

Thanks Gents for the input, I'm planning to go through a logical assessment process to try and pinpoint this as best I can. Regarding a trusted tech, I don't have one as such, so was hoping someone near Toronto might provide some recommendations.

I sincerely hope its not bore scoring, or anything else terminal.

Jake, I've pulled the plugs from bank one and not those, one was not overly tight and I had everything crossed for that, but no joy I did check tightness of all the exhaust header hardware and that seemed good on both sides. I'll look at bank 2 plugs when I get parts from Pelican so I can pull filter, I might as well scope the bores and make a day of it.

It seems to be coming from the head on bank one using a screwdriver as a crude listening device. Just hoping its something relatively fixable...........

Flat6 Innovations

The noise ALWAYS comes from a cylinder head... Thats where the noise emanates from, but is seldom where it is rooted.

Thats why this fools Porsche shops all the time.

9964runner

For a list of indys in the TO area head on over to the Canada section of the forum, where you'll get many great recomendations such as EU Autowerks Hunter, Mantis, Keltech.....

Montychristo128

Thanks, I'll give that a try.