Chasing Cayman S Lifter Noise

[cpcooper]

My '06 Cayman S makes a fairly loud tappet or lifter kind of noise coming from the left rear of the motor, more pronounced toward the top of the cam cover. From a cold start, it is quiet but begins to tick within a couple of minutes of starting. It goes away at about 3000 RPM, but returns as the motor comes back to idle. I dropped the motor and found one exhaust lifter on cylinder 6 I could push down with my finger, as opposed to the others which were firm and presumably filled with oil. There was another one that showed some slight marking, so I replaced that one too, put everything back together and the noise is still there. My new thought is that since the intake operates on the larger lobes during warm-up, then switches to the smaller lobe once warmed, the culprit must be the center part of an intake lifter. The motor is out again and I can't see or feel anything different about the four intake lifters on cylinders 5 and 6. I was hoping for a smoking gun, but no such luck. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks,

Craig

[BYprodriver]

Before installing a lifter/follower, new or used into a engine, submerge in hot new oil & pump the piston until old dirty oil is expelled & lifter is fully pumped full of new oil. If it leaks down replace it. Ideally heat the oil to engine temp of 250 degrees.

[cpcooper]

Hey, thanks... Good idea, I'll give it a try. Even have a line on an electric fry pan to heat the oil to 250.

Found this on Youtube, this is EXACTLY what my car sounds like:

2006 Porsche Cayman S with Lifter ticking. - YouTube

[ircrdu]

I have a 07 Cayman S. Slight lifter noise for a while on startup, goes away in a split second!! The oil in the engine was about 10 months old, changed it, all lifter noise went away. Oil changes now are every 6 months or 2,000 miles. Over the top you say, don't care. 0-40 M1! Also consider the LN filter adapter, it forces all the oil through the filter, little cleaner arrangement I think.

[rfuerst911sc]

I can't believe I'm going to suggest this as it usually turns into a flame war but you might want to consider better oil than M1.........flame suit on

[ircrdu]

Yes flame suit needed. I am a retired NASCAR guy. Started out in the engine room at Bobby Allison shops in Al in 1968. I have assembled more engines than I care to remember. I think bout 2,300. Lots of R&D work in the day. My twin Brother was the go to guy for GM assemblies in the 70's and 80'0 into the mid 90's. R&D such as rod stroke ratios, bore stroke ratios, Various valve timing and rocker ratios depending on the power range we were trying to achieve. Restrictor plate issues, then the plastic oils were introduced in mid 80's, dropping what we know as frictional HP, Am I throwing big names around here, yes to make a point. My brother has headed up a couple engine shop in Charlotte that have leased engines to teams that have won the Daytona 500, 4 to be exact, with drivers you have heard of. I converted to chassis development in 1976. I have worked with Davy Allison, Neil Bonnett, Built practically all of Harry Gant Nationwide stuff. Heres my point. if Mobile 1 oil can be run in a Cup car, Nationwide or the trucks, its good enough for Porsche. I have seen it all in the engine room. Yes there are other good oils out there, I run MOTUL in my 550I, but make no mistake about it, the NASCAR engines are second to none. The only other oil I would consider is the Joe Gibbs oils, recommended highly by a few friends still hanging around Charlotte.

[rfuerst911sc]

The Joe Gibbs oil is what I was going to recommend. Mobil 1 is not the oil it used to be.

[ircrdu]

Still on the table!! Any info you come up with will be appreciated ! However my brother is a fan, and he would know!!!

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by ircrdu

Still on the table!! Any info you come up with will be appreciated ! However my brother is a fan, and he would know!!!

Look at the work Charles Navarro/Jake Raby have done on the m96 engine, lots of info on the net. They worked with Joe Gibbs to come up with DT40 specifically for these engines. I am NOT an oil guru I didn't even stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night Plus there is a 900 page + oil debate forum you can search that has so much technical jargon in it your head will spin. I'm just suggesting to the OP that he might want to try different oil to see if his noise goes away.

[rfuerst911sc]

Enjoy !

Ultimate Motor Oil Thread or Why we hate CJ4/SM oils

[ircrdu]

My issue with you is not that there are not other excellent lubricants out there such as the Gibbs products, but the fact you suggested that there was a better oil than the M1 products, and again my , walk through Stewarts life post was only to qualify myself so as to weigh in on this subject, and not in anyway to boast about my career in the business. The Gibbs product is absolutely at the top of the charts IMO!!! I will probably change over to the Gibbs stuff on my next drain! But I still have nothing bad to say bout the M1 products at all whatsoever! And yes, our friend here with the lifter issues should take your advise and make a change to the DT40 and see what happens. So are we friends??? BTW, I live around the corner from you, Suwanee GA. My small shop is on Treasure Island FL.

[rfuerst911sc]

ircrdu we're good but I still will use DT40 in my Boxster S .

[MikenOH]

Former 987 owner here; now 981.

The 987.1 motors--from what I've seen and heard--have lifter issues; clatter from deflated lifters does happen and from mechanics I've spoken to is the result of very small ports that allow oil to flow in to pump up the lifter.

I had this for a while on our 987 Boxster, usually associated with spring startup; no noise, then the ticking would start and it took a while to get rid of it. Eventually, I moved away from 0w-40 M1.15W-50M1 and settle on Castrol Edge5W-40 the last 18 months I owned the car--drove it for 7 years--and had no more clatter/ticking.

It might have been a coincidence but the noise abated with the Edge..

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by ircrdu

My issue with you is not that there are not other excellent lubricants out there such as the Gibbs products, but the fact you suggested that there was a better oil than the M1 products, and again my , walk through Stewarts life post was only to qualify myself so as to weigh in on this subject, and not in anyway to boast about my career in the business. The Gibbs product is absolutely at the top of the charts IMO!!! I will probably change over to the Gibbs stuff on my next drain! But I still have nothing bad to say bout the M1 products at all whatsoever! And yes, our friend here with the lifter issues should take your advise and make a change to the DT40 and see what happens. So are we friends??? BTW, I live around the corner from you, Suwanee GA. My small shop is on Treasure Island FL.

I believe Mobil 1 used to be 1 of the best before BP bought them & the gov. began influencing the formula. When I started building engines, Lee Hurley did most of my machine work. I went to high school with Jimmy Barton who works for Robert Yates now.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

I believe Mobil 1 used to be 1 of the best before BP bought them & the gov. began influencing the formula. When I started building engines, Lee Hurley did most of my machine work. I went to high school with Jimmy Barton who works for Robert Yates now.

Huh? Mobil was purchased by Exxon, who then promptly lost a lawsuit against BP's Castrol over the rights to use of the term "full synthetic". Shortly after that, Exxon started reformulating Mobil 1 backwards from Group IV to Group III+ and then eventually to Group III products; all of which are vastly inferior to the original Mobil1 PaO formulation. Didn't lower the prices, however..........

[BYprodriver]

Thanks for keeping me straight JFP. I confuse the 2 co.'s. It's hate Exxon for ruining Mobil 1, & hate BP for dumping oil into the Gulf of Mexico.