Ticking sound

[atmorris]

Yesterday I fired up my car after keeping her in the nice warm garage for the winter. I am a little unnerved by what I heard...a slight, but clearly audible, ticking sound emanating from inboard of the drivers side rear wheel area. The sound raises and lowers in speed with rpm changes, but gets no louder or softer. Car seemed to rev and respond fine to mild revving. Car was almost fully warmed up. There is no smoking or CEL light. Car is an '03 base and was last serviced 12k miles ago by the dealer (15k service). Oil 0-50W, is full, and is just due for a change. I was going to switch to Castrol Syntec during this change.

Now, I know it is likely this is just an exhaust leak, since I haven't re-torqued anything since I installed the headers and Fabspeed muffler at the start of last summer, but I know it can be a few other things as well - some not so good.

I also know that a lot of you guys say the light ticking sound is normal with your cars, and mine IS just getting to the point of being "broken in," as it just hit 28k miles before I put it away for the winter. Is it likely that this is just a "normal" Boxster engine trait that I am just starting to hear? I can't swear that it wasn't doing this before I garaged it for the winter last year.......

So, if checking out the exhaust situation stop the ticking, what else should I check out , and in what order of likelihood ? All opinions are appreciated.

Edited April 13, 2009 by Andy_M

[RFM]

Sounds like a empty valve lifter after several months of inactivity. Let the engine idling for 30 minutes or so, the ticking sound should go away, do an oil change to make more progress to the process.

[palmtree907]

Boxsters are known to have collapsed lifters or blocked oil galleys after long periods of inactivity. Run the car for a while and see if the problem goes away. I'd recommend driving it instead of running at idle as you need the oil warmed up and the lifters to build up pressure.

I bought my car knowing it needed a lifter job due to just this problem.

[jmatta]

Car is an '03 base and was last serviced 12k miles ago by the dealer (15k service). Oil 0-50W, is full

I think you answered your own question...50 weight is too heavy for these cars. Switch to a good brand 5W40 synthetic and hopefully the problem will go away.

[atmorris]

OK...update....

jmatta - I'm sorry, the car has whatever weight oil the dealer put in. Probably is 5W-40 already. Don't know why I typed 0w-50, that's what is in my MB.

Started the car and let it run for abouut 25 mins last night...only at an idle, did not drive it. If it is a lifter, it didn't pump up. However, I did notice a couple of things.

1) You can not hear the tick through the intake.

2) It could still be a lifter I guess, but it doesn't really sound like one. The tick is more like an electric arcing sound. Sharp and crisp, not really a "rap" or "clack" sound. Then again I don't know what Porsche engines sound like when a lifter is collapsed. This doesn't sound like a bad lifter in a big 6 or a small block V-8 sounds...that I know.

3) The sound pitch or loudness does not change with the rpms rising or falling, however the frequency of the ticking follows rpms.

I did double check the oil level with the dip stick and bothe the dip stick and the computer show it is full. Am going to try changing the oil (am going to change from Mobil 1 to Castrol Syntec as well) and drive it around a bit to see if it quiets down.

[dlmack1]

OK...update....

jmatta - I'm sorry, the car has whatever weight oil the dealer put in. Probably is 5W-40 already. Don't know why I typed 0w-50, that's what is in my MB.

Started the car and let it run for abouut 25 mins last night...only at an idle, did not drive it. If it is a lifter, it didn't pump up. However, I did notice a couple of things.

1) You can not hear the tick through the intake.

2) It could still be a lifter I guess, but it doesn't really sound like one. The tick is more like an electric arcing sound. Sharp and crisp, not really a "rap" or "clack" sound. Then again I don't know what Porsche engines sound like when a lifter is collapsed. This doesn't sound like a bad lifter in a big 6 or a small block V-8 sounds...that I know.

3) The sound pitch or loudness does not change with the rpms rising or falling, however the frequency of the ticking follows rpms.

I did double check the oil level with the dip stick and bothe the dip stick and the computer show it is full. Am going to try changing the oil (am going to change from Mobil 1 to Castrol Syntec as well) and drive it around a bit to see if it quiets down.

Possible coil bad/loose/loose connector on that side?......Loose spark plug...these are all easy to check and won't cost a thing!..(to check anyway!)

[1schoir]

Andy:

+1 on the possible loose connector on the coils at the spark plugs. It's not uncommon for one of those to look like it's connected but for it not be "snapped" in place securely. That could cause the arcing sound, and it would increase in frequency with RPM's as you describe.

Regards, Maurice.