Hi all,

This might one a longer explanation than it could be as I want to be as clear as possible.

This is a noise that increases as the engine warms up and I find annoying. It sounds like tappets and is from both banks and relatively uniform (ie both sides appear to do this at similar volume) it sounds like a damped sewing machine when cold (nice 'tight and mechanical) and then when warmed up it sound like more of a 'clattery' loose sewing machine. It does not sound broken and operates fine but sounds like tappets. I am running on Mobil 1 0-40 and will move to either 5-50 or similar to see if this helps a little, I have also added some Moly and this made a marginal improvement.

It sounds like tappets in that it's similar to out of adjustment mechanical valve train 'clatter'. The best way I can describe it is like a loose noisy sewing machine. Ticking over hot the noise from the tappets to me is not nice, is there any way to improve this and any ideas. I would love to hear a similar engine hot, my 991 GT3 does not make this noise in any way (I know it's a different engine !) sounding mechanical but 'sweet' and 'correct' not seemingly a bit worn.

The car has 45k miles and is a 3.6 L 2011 Carrera 2.

Any suggestions

 

Record a video, post it to YouTube and put the link here. If it's a very fast ticking noise, it's the DFI injectors.

 

Would guess DFI or HPFP. Post video please.

 

2009 C2S 203K miles

Let's assume the sound is normal for a moment. .2 engines are noisy. Way back when the first .2 cars came out of warranty, I got a call from my indy... an ex-shop foreman at a Porsche dealer who started his own shop... an owner of one of the first .2 cars he had seen came in and complained of a noisy engine... he called me to simply ask "are these new engines noisy?". Besides some general rattling and tapping, there is a very distinct ticking that starts at about 30 seconds to a minute in from a cold start... from the left side of the engine if you have the lid up. It is perfectly rhythmic and sharp... like an electrical arc. Originally the fuel system was blamed but it is some sort of solenoid for some sort of purge/evap emission system ... or something like that. This is normal.

On my engine... there is a definite ticking/tapping I have heard from since the car was new to me at around 25K miles. It has been with me always. Every once in a while it sounds louder than usual, sometimes I don't hear it. I suspect this phenomenon is due to me paying attention or being distracted in thought. I dunno. Again, the .2 engine is noisy.

As Pete asks, please record a clip of the sound and post here. You may also read the codes as those solenoids will throw a code if malfunctioning.

OK, let's assume there is a problem... The cam/valves/lifter systems on these cars do not fail. Jake Raby has stated this many times (I think he saw only one car with a true lifter issue) that these cars do not suffer from this problem. So... the next bad problem may be bore scoring... if you are hearing it, and it is scoring, you should see it in the upper cylinders... you must scope it to be sure. You can not scope from below in a .2 car. Is the car burning more oil that in the past? Growing/changing oil consumption is a pretty common symptom of scoring. Steady oil consumption, even if high, is not usually a symptom.

Another source may be the tensioner pulley... If it is stuck, the belt may "flop". You can check this by pulling the air box off, and putting a very large 30mm(?) wrench on the pulley mechanism, and turn it back as if you are replacing the belt... releasing the tension. If it moves freely or is stuck, you found your problem. While you have it pulled back, spin the pulley, it should be smooth and not spin freely (spinning freely is a sign the bearings are shot).

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

 

Okay hope this works
Cold


Warm (not hot but water up to temp and oil 75-80)

 

Watching the video in real life the warm sounds more clattery and the cold less ! Maybe my video skills need more work !

 

That sounds normal to me.... or at least if it is a problem, very early stage. If you are worried about bore scoring, google around... the clacking you will hear is nuts.

I would be interested in what other .2 owners have to say here.

I would just watch the oil consumption very carefully... keeping in mind it can vary such as many short trips followed by a long one where water is burned off leaving you thinking it had a quick drop.

Now for something highly controversial here.... put a bottle of Cera Tec in it. Read up on it... I use it every 5K oil change. It may quiet it down a bit.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

 

2010 C4S with 165K miles.

Not hearing anything alarming here. Refer to Bruce's comments.

 

I had my car for over 10 years. Now it has 27K miles. This tapping sounds normal to me and I remember noticing it when I first bought the car at 14K miles. I just chalk it up as a normal direct-injected engine sound . My wife's old BMW X1 with N20 2.0L engine had a much more pronounced tapping sound.
My oil consumption is about half a quart every 1,000 miles.

 

Agree the warm video is louder but what I hear in that one is almost exhaust resonance. The cold video is definitely the injector ticking.

Nothing concerning in either one though.

 

I'll take another video when fully warm. I am guessing that fuel injector noise will not vary with engine temperature ?

 

Correct.

 

Sounds normal to me, and sounds like my 997.2. The rapid "ticking" is probably from the HPFP. I used a Mechanic Stethoscope on my car, and it is the HPFP “ticking”. Car drives great and not using any oil.

 

This is another a bit hotter (fully up to temp) seems YouTube changes things as it's less top end chatter on YouTube that played from player.

 

Sounds normal... what oil are you using?