Estremo

They have now run the variocam manually and it seems to be ok. They have also checked the right cylinder bank and couldn’t see any scratches. In cylinder four and six they however saw some traces of oil. What could this mean?

It can be heard at lower rpm’s too but a little bit clearer at 1400 rpm. I used 10W40. I read a little bit about different weights and peoples opinions of changing it but ending up going for that. Maybe I should have tried something else?

This gave me a couple of new things to research, great! I will talk to the mechanic about it too. What I really haven’t found an answer to is if it would quite down/almost disappear when hot if it was the variocam or timing chain tensioner? For the piston slap I understand that this is the case. Also I have listened to a couple of video clips of 996 with piston slap now and I must say that the sound is rather familiar to how mine sounds, unfortunately... Have I understood it right that you could remove the coils and insert an inspection camera and see if it looks like a piston slap problem?

I’m going to update this thread since everything wasn’t fine after all. The water pump runs fine so that noise is gone. The other noise is still there though. The reason for me thinking it was gone is that it almost disappears completely when the engine is hot after three minutes or so. After that it can be heard when the belt is off. I also think it could have become a little bit quiter after the oil change, at least when it’s hot. You can here it a little bit more at around 1400 rpm. I left it to my Porsche Center and after putting down a couple of hours they still haven’t traced the sound and thought that maybe they won’t even if they keep going. Now I don’t know if I should just get the car and keep running it to see if the noise will change in time so it will get easier to trace it or tell them to keep looking. They hadn’t heard a car sounding like that before so they placed a ticket to Porsche Germany to see if they could get som help. It sounded like their feeling was that it isn’t anything that bad and that I should just keep driving it but since they don’t know what it is they can’t be sure of course and don’t want to say to much. Has anyone heard a Boxster sounding like this before or have a clue of what it can be? I’m really out of ideas and don’t know if I dare to keep on driving it, but leaving it to the mechanics didn’t help either. In the video the engine is cold and it sounds a lot more then in real life since I’ve but the mic to the crank shaft. All help is greatly appreciated.

I might as well share videos on it too. Without belt: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XJkt5FHdd1mfSBd7kWwWcllR0CNP0LE5 With belt: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1l3zHzYZAzqKqFOtwX6zWK1AHU2GsEEbE

This turned out to be a very good idea. Before doing anything else I probed different areas for the noise with my new mechanical stethoscope and I thought it could be heard most clearly from the right side of the engine block, like where the exhaust goes out from the block. It could also be heard at the exhaust itself and the cats, underneath the car like where the drain plug for the coolant is. I than cut open the oil filter and everything looked fine. No metal pieces at all. I also installed a magnetic oil drain plug. I figured if I'll do that I might as well do an oil change too since it was over it's time to do so. The oil was black which surprised me since I thought it looked it's regular chocolate brown when I have looked at the dipstick, but apparently not. I believe it also can have been a little too much since I got out 8.5 litres which is more then I usually get when I change it. After the oil change I can't here the noice anymore. It can still be heard with the belt off but much less. I don't think I had reacted at it in the first place if that was how it sounded then. Is it normal too hear some engine noice like that when running it without the belt? The same kind of sound as the first video in a previous post in which I posted three videos, but much quiter. With the belt on it can't be heard at all anymore. The car sounds just like it should to my ears. What values would I be looking at when running the engine? I don't have a Durametric but I do have an Autel Mot Pro that I can view values with. The clutch is fine (and the sound doesn't change when the clutch is in). Should it be changed at an service interval you mean? If not it's not near a clutch replacement as far as I can tell. The car has 87000 miles on it.

If it’ RMS or IMS seal, is it ok to drive for a while as long as I keep an eye on the oil level? I haven’t noticed any drop at the level. Same thing if it’s the catalytic converter making the noice, is it ok to drive with it? The season here is very short so everything you can wait with until the winter is great. Edit: Yes it’s a manual. Edit again: I think it’s most likely to come from the right side of the car.

Yes it has. It's electrical though and I think it's rather hard to tell differences. Maybe I should get another one, a mechanical? To my ears the sound from the first video with the belt off is what is heard in the next two videos, even if it's not that loud in them. Based on that I however don't think it's something of the other spinning parts. I also must say that it's incredible how people take their time to help others here. I hope I can pay that forward when there's other things I know off.

It's very hard to say with the stethoscope but maybe the sound gets louder at one of the catalytic converters. What to do if it's a loose element? I have tightened all the spark plugs. Wouldn't the sound disappear with the belt off if it was the idle pulleys or alternator case? I'm actually not sure what these are but is it the three drive belt rollers? Two of the rollers make a sound when spinning them so I'm planning to change them too but they wouldn't make any sounds with the belt off, right? I'm not sure if it's related or not but I also found this under the car. Normal or not? https://drive.google.com/open?id=1olXrmLwooUE1u8ZxGOBgu85QVeUnPsMP https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lC8kvGyC8anr4-l9AX353IK8cKbNuz-G https://drive.google.com/open?id=170L5_SsxQwPUvjbsK-QRnBlP-V7Uag1q https://drive.google.com/open?id=18PsoRjzYPi_z4aKLPublaiUqEAraLs5S

I have taken all of your advices and just flushed it with distilled water and will get the Porsche coolant next. Thank you very much! When having the car running after changing the water pump it turns out that it actually was the pump making the noice so that is the answer on my original question. It feels really good to have that sorted out. This does however bring up new questions. When the water pump being quiet the sound that I prior to the replacement could only hear with the belt off is now noticeable when the belt is on too. This was how it sounded with the belt off: And now the car sounds like this when it's running: I also have this ticking that I don't know if it's normal or not. I think the "knocking" sound could be heard here also (maybe better than in the previous clip): Is this something to be worried about or is it normal?

I don't think they sell it in anything else but litre bottles here. 1 litre is 18 USD. Not to mention the nearest shop is 1.5 hour away. But if you really think I should go with Porsche I guess I have a drive ahead of me tomorrow... Is it ~6gals in the Boxster too? I've seen some different figures and actually thought I was rather close now. Your method seem very smart, I wish I had seen that before. Since I have just drained it the old fashioned way and now know how to do it and have connected all the hoses again to flush it with distilled water first thing in the morning, I think I'll stick to that plan however.

I'll take your advice and flush it once with distilled water. So far I have gravity drained it and think I got 14-15 litres out of it. Do anyone know if it's ok to mix Porsche coolant with VW/Audi G13 coolant. People seem to use that in their Porsches so I figured I'll do that too if it's ok? I already have two litres of Porsche coolant so if it's ok to mix I guess I use those to litres together with VW/Audi. And if not I will only use VW/Audi. Or as a third option I buy just Porsche coolant if that's a better option. The price difference isn't that big here but my nearest Porsche dealer is really for away.

I would prefer to install them first so that's some good news. Maybe I'm off my own topic now but what is really the advantage of replacing it all? The cooling temp is rarely an issue but of course I want to do everything I can to take care of my engine if other bad things can happen.

Thank you, then I guess I probably have the original. Would you just dump it as getting everything it all out and then refilling it with new coolant or also flush it completely with distilled water once before refilling it with new coolant? Does it really matter if I change the water pump and thermostat before refilling? Thinking in terms of not wanting "bad fluid" running through the new parts.

I'm back home again and with a new stethoscope but it wasn't as easy to track down as I would have hoped. What I missed last time however is that two out of three rollers are making some sounds that I don't think they should. As I understand it they should be quiet so I probably should replace them anyway. Is it possible that they would make noises like this when they are going bad? I started replacing the water pump also and found green coolant, was this color ever used in the 986? I bought two litres of Porsche coolant since my Porsche center said that it's what I need to refill after replacing the water pump. They didn't changed the coolant so I thought that neither should I, but now I'm not sure if I should flush it completely while doing this work or if I should just fill it up?

Good point about the engine load. That makes sence. I'm away at the moment but listen with a stethoscope is the first thing I'll do when I'm home again. An electrical seems good in the sence that I could use sound isolated earphones, but maybe the outside noice doesn't disturb that much wich a mechanical one. I came to think about an earliear question about tightening the spark plugs. Would a bad coil possibly produce the same sound as a loose spark plug? That gives me great hope, thanks!

That's exactly the kind of comments I was hoping for, great! It isn't wobbly, it was just a way of describing the sound. But ok, then I'm not the only one that thinks that sound is scary. I will buy a stethoscope but what should I do with it with the belt off? Just put it against different places of the engine? It can't be heard at all when the belt on so my feeling is that the pulley is making the sound when the belt doesn't hold it place, or something like that. Will also order a new waterpump and a thermostat while I'm at it. Wouldn't make that sound no matter if the belt is on or off it was catalytic converters? I have tighten all the spark plugs and they were ok.

Yes that is a very good point and the crankshaft is what concerns me the most. I will just have to decide in what end I should start. Thank you! Another great tip! I will make a little list of things to order to get this going since my nearest (which is still far away) Porsche center had a months waiting time to get it fixed. At least a new water pump is on the list since it seems to be due for a change no matter if it's whats causing the noice now or not. I'm still very open for new ideas or if anobody recognize the noice or now if the crankshaft sound is normal or not.

Thank you for the advice. I guess I wouldn't find anything unusual there if it's the water pump or AC compressor that is making the noice? A good clue that it's something else if I find something though. I would say that everything else sounds normal. The only wheel that sounds wrong when hand spinning it is the AC compressor with it's slightly scraping sound. Do anyone know if all the other wheels are on the same place on the non AC version so I can buy a belt for a Boxster without AC and see if the sound disappears when the AC isn't spinning?

After a longer trip my Boxster S 986 2000 started to have a very unpleasant sound. I didn’t here it while driving until I started to drive very slowly and that still is the case. It can be heared while the car is stationary or at low speed. After that the sound is eaten up by road and other engine sound. It was a long trip on the motorway in temperatures that is very high, in nordic climate measurements at least. I’m having a hard time describing the sound, especially since English isn’t my main language, but I think it sounds a little bit like a truck sound and as if the sound is from something moving/rotating with kind of a scraping/not smooth sound. I hope these sound files and video clips will do a better job than me trying to explain. The sound isn’t there when the car is cold and it starts after a couple of minutes. I feel like it also increases with rpm. The engine running on these to clips: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GuMqDJ3-K058vWAlC2DEcNRev80eFUwu https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fVcvKks9stPGhWb3gckTN34TJ8oEGUiM A sound clip from outside the car: https://drive.google.com/open?id=10WhasU_nq4y5VlkGh5dlBCy4X9aG8OgI From within the car with the shield and interior on in front of the engine: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1s3Dn2dF52_oTZWnDg4anYYMjFwmOoU-_ I took of the belt and then the sound disappeared completely. The belt itself, which I changed last year, looks good. I also mounted my old belt and the noice was still there. This got me down to three theories: Water pump The water pump can be moved inwards/outwards, is this how you would know that it should be changed? I think it can be moved from a couple of mm to half a cm maybe. It doesn’t make any sounds when I spin it. No other signs of it being bad. The water level in the trunk have been exactly the same for years and the temperature is fine. I don’t know if something of interest can be heard or seen from this: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HbI4V5Sxbay-CGw4BiSM-HWoMoftI7lA AC compressor This can also be moved inwards/outwards slightly and it does make a little scraping sound when I spin it. The mic didn’t really pic it up good so you have the turn the sound up quite a bit but than it could be heard rather clearly. The AC cools as it should and the sound doesn’t change wether the AC is turned off or on: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DZeiJzvzkrz9ejcdq77mIXU2sHiU-v-i Crankshaft When the belt is off it makes a very clunky noice that to my ears doesn’t seem right. Kind of like it’s wobbling. I think it can be heared quite clearly here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hJxh06sgw7Q4yCU9H-PxmTei7sfULBGY Can it from this be said what the problem can possibly be, out of these three or do you have another theory maybe? All help is greatly appreciated! Right now I don’t now what I should do and if I can drive it to a mechanic or if I can find the right source of the sound and change it myself without moving the car. Don’t now if this needs to be said since the sounds disappear when taking the belt of but I have reinstalled all the spark plugs (none were loose) and checked the heat shields. Some of the spark coils had cracks/missing pieces in the plastic but I guess that doesn’t affect their function?

I'm answering my own question after finally finding (at least I think so) what the problem was. After trying with the inside door handle microswitch disconnected the car locked and unlocked perfectly. The window also dropped from the outside. The switch itself was working but one of the cables that you connect to the switch was a little loose. After pushing it in its place in the connector everything works again. All these problems for such a small thing... I haven't read about someone else having this problem so hopefully someone can be saved in the future if checking this before spending too much time with it. The bad news is that while tearing down half the car trying to find the problem, I created a new one. Now the window drops from both inside and outside but it doesn't stay up after letting go of the handles. Can someone confirm that this is a broken door lock mechanism? I even took the microswitch that check if the door is closed in the latch apart so it wouldn't be a big surprise if something went wrong, even though I was careful.

I have a problem on the passenger side of my Boxster S 2000 that makes the car unable to lock and passenger window to not drop when grabbing the handles (either outside or inside). Sometimes the window drops from both the outside and inside door handle and then it also works to lock the car, but must often it doesn't work. When you try to lock with the remote it locks and then unlocks immediately and double honks. The door button light on the panel is also lit red (even while driving). If you lock with the key on the drivers door it locks but not the passenger door. After a couple of hours the alarm goes off. After this happens the passenger door and windows works and I can lock the car with the remote. I suppose the car get a contact with the passenger door again and realizeses that it's unlocked? I had the exact same problem last year after taking the door panel off and forgetting to reconnect the inside microswitch. When connecting it again the lock and window worked the rest of the year and so it did for a short while after taking it out again after the winter. I have checked that the microswitch is connected now. So far I have checked that both outside and inside switch are connected. I have also removed the door lock mechanism. The microswitch on the outside, that as far as I understand check if the door is open or not, seem fine to me. I have opened the alarm module under the driver seat (LHD car) and it's like new on the inside so it shouldn't be water damage or something like that. When doing this I also replaced the fuse on the alarm module. I have also cleaned all the connections I have disconnected with electronic cleaner. Now I'm completely out of ideas. What should I try next? Is there any point to buy a new door lock mechanism even though the switch look fine to my eye? Or could it even be just the window micro switches i should replace? Any help is really appreciated.