Tapping noise after oil change. please help
 

Getting tapping noise (increases with RPM) after changing my oil and filter on my 2003 Boxster base model. Noise is consistent warm and cold.

What are the best solutions to try?
Can I still use as daily drive or get into shop ASAP?

Thanks!

Check your oil level
both the electronic and dipstick
should be warmed up and level
let it sit for 10 minutes and check it

Did you use conventional or synthetic oil ? What weight/viscosity ?

Don't flail, diagnose.If you fail it could be expensive -as in Thousands of $.
1.Get an electronic Engine Ear to locate the exact location of the tapping
2.Pull the plug lead from the cylinder that taps - what happens to the noise ? Yes you'll get a code.Do not run more than a few minutes w/o the plug connected.
3.drop the pan,cut open the filter - inspect for FOM.Post photos of separated debris if any here.
4,How many miles/ what service history/use/abuse ?

^^^. Good advice right there. Should be a bumper sticker: Don't flail, diagnose.

Unfortunately the M96 is too quirky and the repairs (can be) too expensive to make diagnostic errors.I approached a similar problem with my car as a -"well I know this stuff,I have all the tools and equipment, what's the worst that can go wrong issue?" I had no idea what I was getting into,no idea of the cost,complexity,time. Worst I did not realize how massively upside down it would render the car. My 1970 era XKE is a gold mine by comparison !
How is it that Honda built one of the best engines in the world - the Flat 6 - F6B Gold Wing/Valk and Porsche did not just improve/enlarge on it? Or the Lancia Flavia engine?
I just feel for younger owners who bought a cheap Boxster (to replace a Miata?)and then the engine starts tapping ....

The place that did the oil change with kendall synthetic 5w40 European. Then I took it back and said it is knocking so they put in Mobil 1 0w 40 with a new filter from Porsche.

Still tapping. 52k miles, no history of abuse. Oil levels are fine and they put in 8.8 quarts

Hello,

8.8 quarts is 8,32791 litres. That seems to be a little bit too much, even with a new oil filter. Maybe they cashed up 8.8 quarts but put in less.

Did you check the oil level with the dip stick on a leveled ground?

Can you provide us with a video of the tapping noise and describe exactly where it is coming from?

Regards, Markus

Here is a video of the noise.
https://goo.gl/photos/tpu8scJzYcf1vPj6A
Thanks for your help!

Did you watch the place change the oil?

My money is on them starting it with low or no oil.

I watched them do it the second time....

On a side note, is that shop liable for the damage and how do you pursue it. They are a small garage that doesn't do major repairs so the work I would assume would have to be done by someone else.

You would have to prove conclusively that the work they did is directly responsible for your problem, and that there was no other contributing factors, such as engine wear, etc. You would have little if any chance of success.

Hello,

yes, that is definitely too loud. I would say it's coming from the left side. Right?

Concerning the noise. I would say that is caused by a hydraulic lifter or a valve.

Did the shop do anything else to the car or just a simple oil change. For example did they do an engine flush?

How old was the old oil and when did you change it the last time?

Regards, Markus

Yes it sounds more from the left side.
The shop only did an oil and filter change. Oil is probably 1-2 years old.

5W-40 should be the right oil for the car. 0W-40 Mobil 1 is also correct.

Don't think that the problem is caused by an oil change. In general noises from valves and hydraulic lifters are getting calmer if you put in new engine oil.

Because the noise doesn't go away when the engine warms up i would say don't drive the car any longer and bring it to a qualified shop (diagnose would be different if the noise would go away or be much quieter when warming up - let's say after 1-2 miles - that would be a bad or clogged hydraulic lifter).

They should check what exactly is wrong.

One thing that can be done easily is a compression test and to have a look into the cylinders with a camera.

If there is nothing conspicuous to see than you'll have to invest some more money, because they have to disassemble some things and lower the engine and check the hydraulic lifters and valves.

I would recommend to look for a shop that has experience with 986 Porsche cars.

Hope that helps…

Regards, Markus

Are you saying the oil change took place 1-2 years ago and used 5W-40 and only recently the engine is making the noise?

Good Evening,
Did you ever get your problem fixed/diagnosed? Your engine sounds eerily familiar (mine not all the time. No rhyme or reason for when it decides to do it)

Thanks
Thom

Yes, the shop put the wrong oil, had to put mobil1 and z max to get it unstuck. Major close call.

So wait...I'm confused, but very happy it's fixed.


First you said they put in 5W40, then 0W40, isn't that right?

So are you saying they STILL put the wrong oil in the second time and now after a THIRD time everything is good??

Z max? What is that.

cool stuff - i just checked it out. according to the federal trade commission, it is tinted mineral oil that accelerates engine bearing corrosion by 3x. perhaps there is nothing left in your engine to tap!

Do we even know which component was ticking/tapping? No !
But is Z Max or any other product works consistently to free up sticky lifters on old M96 engines it would be good to know. I too am skeptical about this product and Rislone or Marvel Mystery Oil only because the experts seldom recommend them. I tried Rislone on my stuck lifters =fail.

On LS engines this can happen (even on oil change) when "gunk" gets dislodged and blocks an oil passage causing a lifter to run dry. An oil flush can sometimes help it. I've also seen people pull a valve cover and manually clean a passage.

I'm still new to Porsches so this might not apply here.

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk

On the M96 a common Mode of Failure for ticking lifters is the small internal orifice inside the INA lifter plugs up. Then the tappet gets 'hammered' into the bucket so hard it jams in an over-compressed position. Then the ticking begins.
When you dismantle lifters in this condition you need visegrips to extract the tappet from the bucket .Obviouly this renders them unuseable but your curiosity is satisfied. Perhaps I am being unfair to the snake oil vendors, but I don't think any solvent would free the tappet in such circumstances.
In the reported cases of miracle cures, seldom has a careful diagnosis confirmed lifters to be the problem,prior to magic treatment. It may be that the snake oil+lifter cure was actually something else.
That said, where is the harm in trying some Rislone? I did. Hypocrite .It did not work unfortunately. Hopefully the upgraded lifters from INA are better. INA had exactly this problem in the many other engine brands that used this specific(now superseded) part number.

I suspect that the probable cause of the Lifters being "hammered"= the tappet jammed into itself & therefore rock solid+ excessive clearance was from the P.O.
1.Ran engine with low oil pressure
2.&/or used excessively thick oil+/- thickening additives to hide a bearing knock.
Lesson - Respond immediately to a low oil pressure warning
Use the thinnest of the recommended oils - to ensure the tappets in the lifters are reached with life-saving oil as sonn as possible after start up!
Jammed Lifters can Not be fixed Even with Vise grips you can't separate some of them !

[QUOTE=mattluttrell;523498]On LS engines this can happen (even on oil change) when "gunk" gets dislodged and blocks an oil passage causing a lifter to run dry. An oil flush can sometimes help it. I've also seen people pull a valve cover and manually clean a passage.

I'm still new to Porsches so this might not apply here."Quote

Let us know how long before you can make adverse comparisons between the LS engine and the M96 :-).
Soon you will be able to buy a new mid-engined (LS?) C8 Corvette ?