G50 1st gear noise

[san augustine]

I just bought an 87 carrera targa. The car is running great, nice and tight, no smoke what so ever on start up. The car shifts just fine. It’s just that when I start off in 1st gear I hear a strange sound. This is after the clutch is released and fully engaged. It’s not really a harsh grinding sound, it just something else spinning. If I start out real slow and smooth I barely hear it. Synchro maybe? Axle? Any ideas?

[Crachian]

Does it sound mechanical, like gears meshing, a hum of sorts? That's the G50.

[san augustine]

It sounds mechanical, but definetly harsher than a hum. This is my first 911. But, I drove a 66 bug in college 20 years ago and I don't recall that. Not that I would of cared; I thrashed that car around imagining I was in a 911 and it never left me stranded unlike my 67 micro bus.

[don911]

I'd agree with the other post that it's probably just normal G50 noise.
I've removed all the factory sound deadening material and I can only wish my G50 made a noise I can barely hear.

[Dueller]

Had a similar noise in mine. Changed the trans lube with mobil synthetic and it quited down. That was 60K (s)miles ago.

[mthomas58]

If you are getting this noise at at low RPM in 1st and 2nd, it is cat/ left side heat exchanger vibration. In my experience the vibration resonates through the cat heat shield. In 1988, the second year of the G50, the factory installed a brace from the tranny to the left side HE at the cat connection to reduce vibration. What you're hearing is classic G50. Check your Cat/HE/Muffler and heat shield connections to make sure everything is tight and nothing is cracked or broken. Also consider removing the heat shield and adding the brace.

I'm in the midst of this excercise myself....check out my recent posts on this subject.

[san augustine]

I guess I am just being paranoid. But, I still plan on babying this car for a while. Is there any thread on the various idiosyncrasies or mistakes to avoid for newbie 911 owners? I know not to pump the gas on start up and I dropped the dipstick in the tank last Wednesday.

Thank you for your replies.

[Dueller]

Don't overfill oil

Don't rely on the oil gauge (you're obviously already doing that )



OH YEAH....DON'T BABY IT FOR TOO LONG

[rw229]

Mark is spot on. My 87 makes the same noise if I don't ride the cluch out a bit. FWIW, it's the HE as I don't have a cat/sheild.

[rw229]

In addition, only check your oil when up to operating temp. (on a flat surface) Checking it cold will lead to an overfill.

Originally posted by Dueller
Don't overfill oil

Don't rely on the oil gauge (you're obviously already doing that )



OH YEAH....DON'T BABY IT FOR TOO LONG

[san augustine]

Thanks for the input guys!

I've have wanted a 911 since I was about 7. Dad drove Alfa gtv's but I've aways wanted a Porsche. I love this car! I live in the middle of nowhere and it is blast to drive as long I stay off the hwy and stick to the FM (farm to market) roads.

1st 911 but not the last

[Dueller]

With thanks to Dr. Lane, cut and pasted from one of my favorite threads here:

1. Pay attention to the dipstick. Don’t rely on the dash-mounted gauge.

2. Don’t lose the dipstick in the oil tank be careful when checking the oil level.

3. Only check the oil with the car warm, running, and on level ground.

4. You want the oil level in the middle of the “Hi and Lo” areas of the dipstick.

5. Wait until the engine properly warms before driving aggressively.

6. The little shims used as spacers for the alternator pulley are important and they must all be in place, either between the pulley halves of next to the nut.

7. If you upgrade your headlamp system what so ever, install relays.

8. Periodically check you lug nut torque, especially if you have installed aftermarket wheels.

9. A puff of white smoke at start up is normal on some cars.

10. Cross-drilled rotors are a waste of money, but they look cool.

11. Cross-drilled rotors cannot be turned like ordinary rotors.

12. Buy a numbered oil temp gauge kit. It’s worth the money.

13. Dead pedals are cool, but be extra cautious if you have big feet… especially on Targas.

14. Original factory windshields get very brittle with age. Be careful when removing them or even trying to remove the rear view mirror.

15. Targas are better than coupes.

16. If you have a CIS car, inspect the little green wire coming out of the distributor for damage.

17. Don’t over tighten the valve covers.

18. If you’ve lowered a US spec car, make sure you remove the 10MM spacers on top of the front shocks.

19. Put a little lithium grease on the rear Targa top pins to keep it from squeaking.

20. Reversing the windshield wipers is a big bonus.

21. If you autocross, consider turning your tachometer so that the redline is facing 12 o’clock.

22. Don’t try reupholstering the bottom side of the Targa bar unless you “really” know what you are doing.

23. RS door panels look cool, but the kits I’ve seen are really a pain to install.

24. If you have a 930S steering wheel and you don’t have enough finger space between the wheel and dash, consider installing a hub spacer.

25. For the love of god, buy a leather shift and emergency lever boot. We need to eradicate the factory rubber boots.

26. Don’t waste your time with Dash Overlay kits that are guaranteed not to warp. They warp. (I can send pictures)

27. Wet Okolie seat covers are a huge waste of cash as well.

28. Replacing many small rubber trim parts (door handle, windshield wiper, antenna, fender cowl, mirror seals etc.) is very easy, not too expensive and makes the car look much better.

29. If you have late model highback seats, you can swap the two seat backs with one another if the drivers’ side is showing wear.

30. Put a thin film of lithium grease on the seat sliders when you have them out of the car.

31. Recovering the interior with vinyl is cheap and fairly easy.

32. Keep a spare Targa top handle in your glove box, just in case.

33. Periodically make sure the screws on the fuse panel are tight.

34. Put a dab of Liquid Electrical Tape” on the screws to keep them from backing out.

35. Always carry extra fuses and relays.

36. Once you have your shift coupler adjusted properly, use a paint pen to mark its position for future reference.

37. Don’t waste your time with K&N air filters.

38. Keep in mind that CIS engines hate dirt in the worst way. K&N filters have been known to let allot of dust into an engine, even when properly cared for.

39. Don’t drill air holes in your air box…you won’t go any faster.

40. On any car 20 years old, it’s probably time to rebuild the pedal cluster. It’s not expensive.

41. Make absolute sure your clutch cable is adjusted properly.

42. Make sure the little rubber stop is not missing from the clutch pedal floor-board.

43. A gate shift kit is good protection from accidental mis-shifts.

44. A flowmaster muffler can save you hundreds of dollars over the price of a fancy SS job.

45. If your rev-limiter isn’t working, it’s probably the speed switch module located behind the gauges.

46. Re-torque your headstuds at every valve adjustment.

47. If you are going to go with a Short Shift Kit, just buy the factory one.

48. Don’t reset your trip meter under the odometer while the car is moving.

49. If you buy a set of aftermarket wheels… do NOT get rid of the original Fuchs.

50. If you get rattles from your doors after installing RS door panels, it might be the little free floating metal tabs along the bottom of the doors. I used a dab of RTV on each and they stopped rattling.

51. When you roll down your power windows, if you hear a “click” when they hit the stop, you may have a crack in your inner door panel where the assembly attaches, and it should be welded up.

52. The cold start valve, warm up regulator, Aux. Air valve and thermotime switches are the work of the devil.

53. If you want to add a voltmeter, cylinder head temp gauge, and or a fuel/air mixture gauge, the bottom of the ashtray offers up a good place to mount them.

54. When you replace your carpet, ditch the center console if you don’t have a/c.

55. Please don’t put white gauge faces in your car.

56. There is no excuse for having a crappy looking hood badge. The SCWDP has a “zero tolerance” policy in effect on this matter.

57. If you decide to put stone guards on your 911, please make sure that you put narrow body stone guards on narrow body cars and wide body stone guards on wide body cars.

58. It’s a good idea to put some air in that 20 year old spare tire to see if actually holds air.

59. If your hood doesn’t quite look right it may be out of adjustment. If you remove the two plastic plugs on the bulkhead, you can use an Allen wrench to adjust the latch up or down.

60. Be careful when adjusting your hood or deck lid latch. If you make it too tight, there is a chance that it will stick closed.

61. If you have a newer 911, you can lower the rear end about an inch by using the eccentric bolts on the spring plats instead of removing the torsion bars.

62. If you have a CIS car, check to make sure your throttle linkage is adjusted properly, or you may not be using all the power your motor can make.

63. If your brake caliper bleed nipples are slightly boogered up and frozen… and you’re afraid to use an open ended wrench to loosen them, use a ¼” drive deep well socket to break them free then use a wrench to open and close them.

64. If you have a door alignment issue, try adjusting the striker plate and door hinges for a better fit.

65. Spacers can be added behind the hinges and strikers to aquire a better fit. Sometimes these were removed and never replaced by a careless paint shop or Previous Owner.

66. Polishing cast wheels can be done, but it is not easy. (Trust me)

67. If you have an Aux. Oil cooler mounted in the front fender, you can remove the left side marker light from the bumper to get more air flowing through the oil cooler. Or if you have $90 burning a hole in your pocket, you can but the cool looking “Scoop”.

68. When racing your car at Autocrosses or DE events, remove the windshield wiper fuse so you don’t accidentally hit the switch while driving.

69. New domestic glass seems to be the best bet when replacing windshields. Many people say that it is even superior to German glass.


__________________

[Dueller]

And the rest of them...


70. A dab of lithium grease on the door stays will let them operate easier and save your door the added stress.

71. Make sure all of your little Targa top clips are adjusted correctly. They must be clamped tightly to the top frame or they will let go at speed and make one hell of a noise.

72. The targa top itself has many different adjustments on it which can be played with to aquire a better fit. It includes the latches, front pins, rear pins and the side seals.

73. The vent windows have a bit of adjustment to them, which can help seal the Targa top where the two meet.

74. Also, the window height can be adjusted from the inner door panel as well as the stops.

75. I have absolutely NO idea what that subtle “popping/clicking” noise coming from the gauges every now and then is caused by.

76. Rekeying your door locks to fit your ignition key is a fairly simple and easy project to undertake. And you get the benefit of dropping one key from that wad you carry.

77. While you have the door panels off, put some lithium grease on the window linkages, regulators and tracks.

78. If your car doesn’t have it, use plastic sheet (even a garbage bag will do) and tape them to the inner door to keep water from warping your nice door panels.

79. Always torque your lug nuts to 90 Ft/Lbs using a torque wrench. No calibrated elbows!

80. H5 headlamps can be cleaned if they have fogged up by carefully using an alcohol pad with a pair of forceps to clean behind the lens. Be very careful not to bend the little metal reflector pad!

81. The factory has superceded the windshield frame to Targa top seal. So, if you buy a new seal for your pre-’86 car, it won’t fit properly. The only way around this that I know of is to shave the seal down. Not easy.

82. Inspect your tie rod boots for wear. Mine were less than 3 months old and they rotted away.

83. If your Targa top bar is looking faded, you can remove it and repaint it. Easily done in a day.

84. Once or twice a year, remove all badging from your car when you wash and wax it so you clean out all of the crap from the nooks and crannies.

85. If your engine mounted Aux. Heater blower is squeeking, it may be possible to prolong its life by carefully disassembling it and packing heavy grease in and around the bushings.

86. If your car isn’t getting much heat and you are sure the flapper valves and ducts are in good order, you might want to concentrate your efforts to the fresh air/heater valve assembly in the trunk. If any of the valves are out of adjustment in relation to their cables, you won’t be getting much heat. Use the Bentley manual to adjust the cables.

87. If anyone comes up with a good way to keep the fuel/oil level gauge from fogging up, please let me know.

88. 3.2 Carrera motors benefit greatly from having 2 teaspoons of fine metal shavings put in the oil tank every oil change.
"WARNING" My lawyer has just notified me of the legal dangers of actually suggesting someone put Metal Shavings in their oil. Let me be perfectly clear on this matter... I hear it works. Ok, don't do it, moron.

89. Don’t use JE pistons in Alusil cylinders.

90. Dilvar headstuds are the work of jealous Carrera owners and must be abolished.

91. Just buy Factory steel replacements, unless you are building a 400+ hp motor, you don’t need Raceware studs.

92. When installing the trunk mounted fresh air blower assembly. Be careful when tightening the two mounting screws that sit behind the hood scoop grill. The plastic will start to break on the blower housing before the screws strip.

93. I will not use Loctite 574 on engine case halves ever again. I’d drop the cash for a bottle of Dow Corning.

94. Beware of aftermarket hood crests. A buddy of mine bought one and the mounting pins were about an 1/8” higher on the crest than on the factory ones. The result was a very obvious line in the paint from natural fading.

95. If you live in a place like Idaho, buy fog light lens in sets of three. I’m on my third one this year.

96. Don’t let a wheel shop put balancing weights on the front of your wheels. Some PCA regions have reported Lynch Mobs resulting from such heinous acts.

97. Many older motors don’t like Synthetic oils. They tend to spring leaks because of the detergents and the fact that some Synthetics may be a bit thinner than Dino oil.

98. The rubber rocker panel trim molding is best put on by using dish soap and peeling it back onto the rocker, rather than trying to slide the rubber down the length of the car.

99. If your car is over 20 years old anf gets driven often… buy the door stay reinforcement kit and save your self the headache later on.

100. Don’t drop your engine on the floor when removing it from the car!

101. SC’s RULE AND CARRERA’S DRULE!!!!!!!!!


__________________

[Dueller]

Now the link for a butt load more tips:

Dr. Pate's "101 Tips for 911 Owners"

Don't stay up all night reading them

Oh yeah...need to post a pic of your pride and joy

[UK Carrera]

You could be hearing shift rod rattle - do a search for this. Porsche did issue a remarkably unsophisticated 'fix' for this.

Was the transmission to HE brace only for cat-equipped or US cars?

[Crachian]

Seriously, do not baby your new car once you're comfortable with it. Once at operating temp, go to redline everytime you drive it. You likely will notice (as I did) that it runs much better once you blow out all that built up carbon.

[crosby50]

I understand that the noise you are hearing is normal. Also, try staying away from this forum as much as possible. I have found frequent visits to this forum cause:

1. excessive money spent on mods.
2. excessive knowledge of air/oil cooled engines and quirky old cars that none of your friends will care about. For instance, at a cocktail party if you casually mention that your car's engine must be at operating temperature in order to check the oil, people will probably agree amiably and then talk about you in private.
3. excessive abuse by your spouse.
4. excessive time wasted at work.

By the way, I can't seem to follow my own advice.

[dshepp806]

sometimes: all combinational, as to "G50 rattle" (synchros) with possible marginal shift bushings and other shift rod-related things.....I'm up for my shift bushings changeout this weekend and am considering applying some serious dB attenuation while "in there".....maybe change the "rattle" to a muffled rattle (,..a "mattle"?)..

Best

[lindemans]

G50 boxes are known to be noisy, when driving off between 100 -1500 rpm. They make more noise that the old 915-s.
To me like a sound of worn bearings. Perfectly normal (funny enough...).

[san augustine]

After six months and 4k miles the noise at some point went away. Since I am going on vacation for two weeks I put the car in the shop today to have the valves adjusted, fluids changed and various little things checked out. The tech called me a few hours later and was running down the list of “little things” and mentioned that one of the brackets on the heat shield was broken. So that may have been the noise. I had totally forgotten about it. The car had sat for at least a year before I bought it and before that had been used sparingly for several years. Maybe it just needed to be driven. One of the reasons I put it in the shop was that the car had developed a little vibration in the front end. The Boge shocks are original and I am thinking about replacing them with Bilstein Sport shocks and adding a Weltmeister Cambermeister Front Strut Brace. I already added the Targa Brace Bars which helped. The car is an absolute blast to drive and I try to take it out on the local Farm to Market roads at least once a week.