Ticking noise from engine

[philippe]

Hello All

Just want to run this one by you guys just to get a view on it.

Drove the car yesterday ran like a dream, this morning on the way to work i noticed at the traffic lights with the window open a ticking noice from the engine, sounded like a tappet sound, even though they were replaced a couple of years back, when i listed to the noise with the bonnet up i noticed it is coming from the driver side and seems quiet low, i know it is hard to tell without anyone hearing it but i just thought i would see if anyone as had this experince before.

I feel an expensive bill coming up.

Cheers Phil

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

If it is less than two years I would have thought it would be covered by the parts warranty. Probably best to have a word with whoever did the job.

 

[philippe]

That would be nice Richard however it was done under the extended warranty and my OPC have told me its not covered as the warranty has run out. I am going to pop up there later and get them to have a listen to it, i will let you know what the out come is.

Phil

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

Might also be a loose spark plug - I've heard of that a couple of times too. It can sometimes make a chirping sound:

http://www.hamilton.myzen.co.uk/temp/boxsterchirp.wmv

 

[philippe]

i am not at a computor to listen to the sound will find one that has, but now makes me think, i drove down a mates very long bumpy drive, very slowly however it stated after this so maybe it made it loose, i hope off to OPC this afternoon to see.

Phil

 

[RichardLW]

Aren't all 996 supposed to suffer from noisy tappets for some reason?

 

[clubsport]

It could well be a hydraulic tappet bucket?... I once had a bad HT lead making the clicking sound where it was arcing.....it may be worth looking under the bonnet at night to see if you see anything plug or lead related.

 

[philippe]

Thank you for your comments, OPC have said they think it is 1 or 2 tappets, they said they would need to remove the engine and look into it, i mentioned i had all tappets replaced under warranty so what they said is once they have it apart and find the problem they will then speak to Porsche who would decide if there is any good will, as they had replaced them under the exstended warranty less than 2 years ago, however there was no gurantee of this. I had it serviced last year by JZ machtech and would rather give them the work as it will be cheaper, but i will not get any good will from them so puts me in a tricky spot with what to do.

Cheers PJ

 

[stevett]

How expensive is it to replace a couple of tappets from OPC vs Indy out of interest?

Your noise sound very similar to mine and Indy I rang regarding the noise mentioned tappets as one possible cause.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[adrian996]

Hi Philippe.

What grade of engine oil do you have in it now? Is it standard 0/40W Mobil 1? Was the engine stone cold when it started doing this and did it get any quieter when she warmed up?

I ask these questions as I've had the same noise which cleared after a few seconds/minutes. My car tends to spend a lot of time not being driven fro weeks. I sometimes get a tappit noise when I first start the car up after a while of being idle. Some people think that using a 10/40W oil can cause this as it is "thicker" than a 0/40W. I have used a 10/40W oil for years and - if anything - I find that the engine is quieter than when I had the 0/40W in it.

How many miles has the car done?

 

[philippe]

Hello Adrian

Mine has always made a noise on cold start up, it always clears apart from today, now i am experincing this noise all the time, in fact at my local post sorting office two guys i heard saying - nice motor sounds ruff though, not what you want to hear when driving a 911.

I had a good chat with Steve from JZ and he said that it is very odd that the tappets are noisy when they were replaced only 18 months ago,his suggestion was to bring it in give it an oil change and give it a good run, thankfully i have a trip to holland coming up so i have it booked in for an oil change then a good run to NL, if that doesnt work then i will have one bank replaced which is were the noise is coming from, Steve even recokens on early 996 you dont need to take the engine out, so i am thinking that this is the best bet rather than going to OPC and hoping for a good will that may not ever happen and cost me a fortune.

The oil i am using is now castrol txt softec 5w-40 it does not seem any better than mobil 1, this is what JZ puts in all there cars.

Stevett - OPC quoted £1800 to replace 1 bank 12 tappets worst case, so the Indi would be a lot less i would think especially if they dont take out the engine.

Thanks for everyones input, makes it all much more pleasent to deal with.

Phil

 

[minny]

ORIGINAL: Richard Hamilton

Might also be a loose spark plug - I've heard of that a couple of times too. It can sometimes make a chirping sound:

http://www.hamilton.myzen.co.uk/temp/boxsterchirp.wmv

My car had a light tapping (like someone using a screwdriver tapping on the rocker cover) that sped up as you rev it. At the service it turned out to be a loose spark plug.

 

[philippe]

I was hoping that it would be this Minny however, Opc reckon that it is Tappets, i am going to see JZ Machtech who will have a look at it and we can decide what to do.

OPC have quoted £1850 to do tappets on 1 side max cost and JZ £950, OPC say engine has to come out and JZ say it doesnt hence cost diffrence.

Lets hope it is a spark plug problem, if it is would driving with a losse spark plug cause any harm, i still want to use it before i see JZ in a week or so.

Thanks Phil

 

[minny]

I was lucky I guess. I thought it was a tappet myself. If the spark plug was loose and moving about the threads I'm sure its doing them no good.

 

[philippe]

I have decided that i am not 100% that it is tappets, i know i should not disagree with an OPC Mechanic however, it just does not sound like tappets and your description has made me re think, i am going to take a drive over to JZ today and get them to have a listen. I did try and open the link from Richard post (Boxster loose plug) but have no sound on my work PC, so could not listen to it.

I will report in once they have listed to it. Fingers crossed.

Phil

 

[blease]

Hi Phillipe.
Can you update us on what became of the noise. I have exactly the same issue with my '98 C2. It ticks away from the rear of left hand cyclinder bank. Same volume hot or cold. Just completed 2000 mile european tour and car ran like a dream at all times. No smoke, nothing else. Just the tick. Revs related but only really noticeable at standstill/tickover. Any ideas?

 

[philippe]

Hello Blease

This sounds the same problem as i had, i had it booked in to have an oil change as JZ thought that this was worth trying as there could be some muck that may be causing the tappet noise problem so well worth a try. However the noise came and went as i used the car and after a few hundred miles it went all together, i still got the oil changed for good measure. Maybe try an oil change this was the advise i got.

It still makes tappet noise on cold start up which hangs about for a while, then clears once driven.

Let is us know how you get on.

Philippe

 

[bazhart]

Don't take this the wrong way - I cannot hear the noise - nor want to worry you - but we have had a number of engines for rebuild taken out of the cars by other Independent specialists and sent on to us - where the diagnosis was originally tappets but it turned out to be a piston that had siezed and freed off and the added piston clearance that remained - allowed the piston to tip in the bores enough for the crown to tap on the cylinder head and leave a small shiny mark on the piston and head.

We have also heard engine noises ourselves that you would swear were tappets but turned out to be a siezed piston.

However a cylinder compression test or putting a TV camera probe down the plug bore should prove or disprove that - it is just that with you stating you didn't think it was tappets - I wondered if it will turn out to be this rare worst case.

I hope it is just tappets, spark plugs or something else similarly inexpensive - good luck.

Baz

 

[blease]

My ticking noise has been present for a long time. Oil change at last service has not altered it. It does not seem to be getting worse. I remember on old Honda bikes you could get a ticking noise from a slack cam chain. Is this possible on a 996 engine?

 

[philippe]

Hello Baz

If i was nearer to you i would come by and get it checked out, however i have had it looked at by my Indi JZ and they said it was very normal, also its been doing this for many years, 5.5 as thats how long i have had the car, The only reason i had mentioned it was because the sound had appeared all the time, but as mentioned before has now gone, lets hope for good, and i also hope it is not a problem you have seen.

Cheers Phil