mpsig226

I haven't seen this issue come up before so I'd like to bring it up now that my 996TT engine is out (30K miles). I realized after I purchased the car back in 2014 that there was a noticeable ticking noise towards the front of the engine (the front were the engine drive pulley is), in the bottom area. Not scary but wondered about it. A couple of years later I asked a PCA member during a HPDE about it. The gentleman had an engine machining biz in AZ. He listened and said that he felt it was the typical "scavenge pump noise" that the Metzer engine develops. He asked me what type of oil I used and I told him Mobil 1. He told me to switch to over to Motul because it had more ... than the others and made engines run quieter. He said not to worry. I did and indeed the noise dropped significantly.

I have pinned the coolant tubes and in doing so, I removed the water pump housing for pinning as well as to put fresh seals. I am looking at what I believe could be the scavenge pump, easy access. I turn the exposed gear and I hear and feel a slight ticking. I open the pump and the ticking can be felt and heard when turning. I carefully removed the gears and do not see anything out of the ordinary such as wear and tear. The cover is smooth, no scoring. The housing has a very light circular wear mark on the center/drive gear. The other two are just fine.

The question is, should I worry or not? Is this indeed typical or not? I suspect the housing, cover and gears are expensive. The noise is no big deal and the wear does not seem significant.

Can you please elaborate ??? Thanks !!!!

2fcknfst

If everything you have inspected seems in good nick, perhaps you haven't found the source of the impact yet?

mpsig226

I feel confident I have!

Does anybody have any experience with this ?

2fcknfst

I have a lot of experience with failures, both catastrophic and progressive, and typically, a 'ticking' noise is when two pieces of something are not playing nice together - this is why I asked if there was any noticeable wear on the components...

If it were me, I would replace everything if the source of the contact was not obvious. Progressive failures are exactly that, progressive; so if you put everything back together and the ticking (contact) gets louder or more obvious, you are on your way to a catastrophic failure, which once everything is back together, will be a real pain in the ***.

If cost is a concern, go deeper and look for wear, check the run out on bearings, make sure bolt holes are not loose/worn etc etc. Once you have identified the source of the contact, you can replace it and motor happily.

Kevinmacd

"02996ttx50

ticking? what is being discussed?

2fcknfst

I would consider 'ticking' to be an unwelcome contact between two pieces that normally wouldn't tick.

Kevinmacd

Duc Hunter

Kevinmacd

Duc Hunter

"02996ttx50

ims gear/chain noise is NOT ticking. it's normal rattle. some cars *rattle* are *louder* than others. 5/50 oil quiets down ALL chain rattle. but one man's ticking, might well be another man's rattle. that said:

there is no "fix" for a perfectly normal sound of this mezger motor.

Duc Hunter

Lol too true. I will have to record mine and post it. Never heard one rattle like mine does. I may more to 5/50 Motul and see if that helps. As I said above, I am not worried about it hand grenading or something, just annoying to hear it inside the car at stop lights etc.

"02996ttx50

switching to 5/50 quiets the motor at idle dramatically, over say the oem fill or even 5/40. that said, after you change over? you shouldn't hear much of ANYthing untoward at idle from inside the cabin.. not even the normal "rattle".

Kevinmacd