Please help, Engine vibration ....

[Sideways Steve]

Good Morning Everyone,

Apologies in advance for this being my first post however I only just bought myself a nice tidy 2000 Boxster 2.7 over the weekend.

On driving her the 400 miles home I seem to have encountered a problem !

Once on the open road I opened her up a little and all was well but as the revs passed 5,500 rpm I noticed what can only be described as heavy engine vibration followed by the check engine light flashing at me.

I backed off and the vibration went away and the light went off.

I drove sensible the rest of the way home then yesterday took her for a spin to see what she done. Again above 5,500 rpm the vibration started and the light came on again, this time on bacing off the vibration went but the light stayed on.

Low down the revs etc she drives fine even though the light is still on but any time you go above 5,500 ish it shudders quite a bit and feels really nasty. At that point the light goes from solid to flashing again until you back off.

Now last night an additional issue has come to light, she seems to be dripping some oil when parked after a drive now too. Not much but enough to be concerned about !

Ive not had a chance to look and see where the oil is coming from yet but im thinking the vibration has damaged something and caused the leak.

What could be causing the vibrations ?

Just to add, I have owned many performance cars but generally stuck to japanese stuff, last car a Skyline GTR with over 600bhp. I do all my own work on cars etc and also can get access to a fault code reader to check why the light come on, but something really does feel mechanically wrong here

[eightsandaces]

SS, This car doesn't sound tidy at all, it sounds like it has any one of many possible serious, expensive, internal engine problems, that theory being fortified by the oil leak. Is there any way to approach the PO for a refund or force them by law to repair it?

If not, your cheapest option might be a used engine.

[idheaton]

Not sure what your problem might be but do not drive the car if the CEL is flashing, if it's solid that's okay but flashing is an indication of something very bad and driving the car could cause major damage.

[Steve Tinker]

The Boxster M96 engine is usually very smooth all the way up to redline - you definately have a problem. It could be anything from a coil pack failure @ high revs, an engine mount failing or an IMS bearing.

1) Read the fault codes before you do anything else....othrewise you are just guessing.
2) Get the car up on jackstand and determine where the oil is coming from - if its from the bottom of the bellhousing its either a RMS (rear main seal) or IMS (intermediate shaft) seal or bearing.

Let us know what the fault code(s) are, someone here will be able to point you in the right direction......

[Sideways Steve]

Multiple cylinder misfire on all cylinders apart from 3 and 6.

Had it all apart today and replaced the dual mass flywheel as that looked to be knackered, It was so knackered that it was actually wobbling that much it had managed to hit the bell housing on the gearbox and score it round its outer edge !!!!

Pics to follow when I get them off the camera. Luckily the box is not damaged and its only cosmetic which can only be seen with it removed from the car.

It was indeed the RMS causing my oil leak but it was only leaking at the point where the vibration happens.

I got hold of a brand new DMF and fitted my new RMS, got her all back together and guess what ..... still vibrations, still get the CEL light coming on past 5500 rpm then it stays solid until I plug in my OBD tool and pull the codes then reset them.

Again the codes are for multiple misfires on 1, 5, 2, 4 ....

And again when it vibrates the RMS starts leaking oil !

Im losing the plot with this car already as I cannot see why it would be doing this, it feels like something is imbalanced, Im begining to wonder if the damaged flywheel has cause my crankshaft to bend ? Surely not ?

Has anyone ever suffered a bent or warped crank on an M96 ??

Could a misfire cause this sort of vibration issue meaning it is just a case of replacing 4 coilpacks ?

I think its safe to say I now know why it was a good £3k below book price despite having full porsche and indy service history !

Any thoughts are welcome,

Tomorrow im going to pull the starter out and clock the flywheel while turning the engine by hand to see if its running true or if its warped in some way. Hopefully this will show if its an issue with the crank or not. Im hoping its not though

[Matt Fredrikson]

Pull the front mount and have a look could be your whole problem

[Sideways Steve]

Holy post revival! Hello everyone I am back and have another boxster lol! I've had a long list of cars over the last 5 years since selling my rebuilt 2.7 but after getting married and buying a new house I'm finally back behind the wheel of a Porsche....or at least I will be on Saturday when I collect it!

Are any of you lot who followed my build thread still active on here these days?

[Steve Tinker]

Hello SS - I'm still here and after re reading the thread still admire your tenacity.
What eventually happened with the 2.7 and what P car will you be getting now?

[Sideways Steve]

Hey Steve! Really didn't know if anyone would still be around!

I ended up selling the 2.7 and bought a TVR...... Big mistake I hated it lol!

I've just bought a reasonably cheap 2000 model 2.5 with full aero kit and a few other nice options on it, Low Mileage too for its age. My plans to but a 996 or something along those lines have been postponed for a few reasons but it will still happen sometime!

I'll stick up some photos when I get it on Saturday!

I also own a JCW my I countryman now too so some of my money went into that as well!

What are you driving now?

Here's the jcw mini