6thGearHead

I have a 2008 Cayenne S. It has 78K miles on it. The car is with my mechanic and he has isolated the problem to a lubrication problem on the drivers side of the engine. With the valve cover off, on just that side, the oil hardly squirts. The other side has good pressure and a gauge to measure pressure also checks out. Its isolated to one cylinder head not getting the lubrication it needs.

He said he has inspected a check valve in the head that can get clogged and that it appears to be clean. Upon calling contacts within Porsche, their answer is what most do, replace the head. They don't seem to want to fix anything that doesn't involve just replacing parts.

It developed a tapping sound that we suspected could be lifters. We had the lifters replaced on both the intake and exhaust on one side. That solves the problem as long as the lifters are pre-filled with oil. Once it pumps out the tapping starts again.

He has said that this is a problem that they have seen in the past but that replacing the valve he checked usually solves the problem. He is trying to figure out a way to fix it without removing the head. If not, determine if there is a way to fix it after pulling the head. As a last resort replace the head with a new or used one.

Are there any ideas on what could be causing this or has anyone else had this problem? Porsche told him that 80K is the magical number with this problem that they have seen. Make it past 80K miles and you are free. I am at 78K. Fun!

aftCG

What prompted your mechanic to find the low pressure? Was it the tapping noise or something else?

6thGearHead

Yes it was a tapping noise from the top end on the right side.