i have heard tremendous gear rattle travel all the way through the engine because of a light weight flywheel install. this was on a 996 TT. and it was a Porsche motorsports flywheel.

Thats normal with the LWF, but that sound is different from anything originating at the intermediate shaft.

I cut open the oil filter on the motor and spread out the element. I found no metal in it. I also poured the oil left in the bottom of the filter into a glass of water and saw no metal there.

I just came back from 3 track days and the noise remains the same. sometimes lounder than others. Oddly when coming off the track it is the quietest (other than when its cold). It is the loudest when the motor just comes uo to temp as per the oil gauge.

I have a oil sample I am sending off to blackstone to be checked.

You said the transmission main shaft was bent? How did that happen?

Mark

You said the transmission main shaft was bent in post number 8. How did that happen?

Mark

It is a common problem with the 96 C4S and turbo cars. Porsche changed the materials in 97 to correct the problem. It happens when you try to launch the car drag race style. On my last car I bent it at the drags. It was not anything violent or abusive. On this car I got it that way.

The oil analysis did not reveal anything strange. Based on all of my home work I can safely chalk it up to noisy intermediate gears that are not life threatening. Thanks for all of your feed back and help.