Radiator fans not working/drive belt isn't rotating smoothly/ticki

[Arenki]

Hello! First post here.

hoping someone here might be able to brighten up my day.

My 2007 9974S manual has a list of problems that I'm going to attempt to solve myself. This is due to some serious cash-flow problems (2 and a half years of unemployment, go figure :| ).

Currently, I seem to have 3 faults with my vehicle. Please note my knowledge of Porsche mechanical engineering isn't good but I'm confident I can learn on the job very quickly (it's in my nature).

Brief car history:

Ex demonstrator (sigh), owned for 4 years. bought directly from OPC and has always been maintained by them. Car has spent roughly 18 months standing, prior to March 2010, and then another 6 months standing from April to August this year with battery disconnected. No warranty of the vehicle, since I was under the impression Porsches are bulletproof. Internet proved me wrong.

Car is driven. I did not spend a large amount of money in order to drive everywhere sedately. Although it certainly isn't 'ragged' it is not driven everywhere slowly.

Car currently uses mobile 1. Will be changing oil as soon as I can to something that is thicker, maybe 5W40 or something similar.

Radiator Fans:

I've noticed my oil temperature has been creeping up to 100c after hard driving (sometimes beyond 110) and there's been no sound of the monstrous fans spinning at any point. I've also not noticed the engine fan (is this coolant related, or airflow to the engine?) hasn't been spinning either. Engine temperature doesn't exceed standard operating temperature. I suspect it might be a switch possibly, or debris. I'm going to attempt to strip the front bumper off this weekend with the aim of attempting to get at the radiator fans to either clean them out or replace them as necessary. However if it's the 'switch', I don't have a clue where to start.

Drive Belt

I'm not sure if I'm suffering from paranoia here, but one of the belts at the back of the engine seems to be rattling. It is not the belt that drivers the alternator, rather the one immediately the right of it and below the main air intake. I will post a video tomorrow (it's late here in the UK, therefore starting the car up is a no-no). It isn't rattling the the point where it seems it's about to fall off, but I'm fairly confident it's making more noise than it used to. This has left me wondering whether my flywheel is either bent or on it's way out. I've noticed at times first gear has been difficult (not sure if this is related). I've not driven the car hard since this apparent rattle started, but it has felt to me occasionally that power delivery is ever so slightly hesitant

Ticking Sound

The noise is coming from the driver's rear wheel (car is right hand drive). It is only noticeable at idle and is not present (not that I can hear of anyway) once in motion. Please note i have an unplugged Sports exhaust system so I cannot honestly hear anything other than the roar from the engine. Oil consumption has been completely normal. Originally was concerned since left-side exhaust was sooty, turns out that the car was over filled with oil. Since cleaning the cars exhaust and driving another 1000 miles in it, I have not noticed any soot returning on the left hand exhaust nor has there been any increase in oil consumption. The car has also not been smoking excessively. I'm not sure this rules out Bore scoring failure, but better to be safe than sorry.

I am honestly complete unsure of what to make of it. From doing my reading, I was wondering whether it might be hydraulic lifters on their way out? Not quite sure if they make a ticking sound however.

I've always maintained the car to the highest service standard possible, and whilst the paintwork is less than showroom standard (chips etc) I would be devastated if my current only means of transport died on me leaving me requiring an outlay of the best part of £10k for a new engine.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[logray]

Hi there! Thanks for the very descriptive post.

As for the fans, I believe with a 997 you can unplug the stage 1 relays and then verify that the stage 2 fans click on. If you turn on your air con, the stage 1 fans should come on. If you own a durametric this can activate stage 1 or stage 2 fans with your laptop. 100c is not abnormal. Certainly clean your radiators and be sure your coolant tank is topped off to max level (add distilled water if it is low). The engine bay fan only clicks on when it is really very very hot (Africa hot). If a fan isn't working on one side it could be a ballast.

As for the drive belt, if you hear abnormal noises, you can remove the belt the run the cold engine for just a minute or so. If the noises are gone, then likely the noise is related to the belt itself or one of the accessories (i.e. aircon, power steering, idler puller, water pump, generator). While the belt is off you can spin the pulleys around by hand. There should not be any play other than rotational and they should not make noise. Do check that all of your fluids are topped off.

As for the ticking sound, this could be a variety of issues. Loose exhaust, wrong or low oil, damaged internals, etc. Too many to list in fact and they are all just guesses. Best thing is to check the oil is adequate and the proper viscosity. Post a video or recording of the sound and that might help isolate the issue.

Lastly, if any of this sounds to difficult or doesn't make sense to you, certainly don't hesitate to pay the money for a professional inspection. On your model year car, it is worth much more than the cost of a replacement engine, even as a roller (sans engine).

[PAULSPEED]

Leaves get between the radiators and the ac coolers. Look

for leaves after you pull the front bumper. Replacing radiators should be one of the

last things you do. You really need a reverse pressure machine for

adding coolant fluid.

The fan belt could be a bad alternator bearing.

The ticking could just be a need for an oil change.

Paul

[ecostellodo]

take a video of your car making the ticking noise and post it on youtube. that way we all can "hear" what you "hear".