3.2 Ticking sound is driving me crazy!

[LBEEMING]

Well to start, I think I have read every post of issues similar to mine. None of them come to any conclusion but nice to know I am not alone.

First off, engine has no tick when cold. Only once warm.

Frequency increases with rpm, but sound doesn't change, still remains as a tick. I have listened to loose cam chain videos, and there is no chain rattle at all.

I have also used a screwdriver to listen to the rocker covers and there is no tick coming from them. Every cover sounds the same. I had thought maybe I had bad rocker bushing or broken spring, but assume I would hear it.

Now I have also adjusted the valves twice over and same tick remains. I even did it a third time setting them tight, and sound remained.

Car drives fine and is smooth as ever.

The sound is only really noticeable with windows down driving past cars or walls. It's not audible in the car with windows shut.

I ended up suspecting the injectors. With a screw driver to my ear they do sound loud, some worse than others even after a full clean and new screen.

I've just been driving it as is and the sound hasn't gotten worse or better. I'm now at the point of thinking to sell it, and I don't want to scare off a potential buyer.

Do I just buy a new injector and see if it runs quieter than the others? Then replace the rest?

I'm running out of ideas, and am hoping this doesn't require a rebuild to fix! Leak down was 7% average! She's still fresh!

Video:
https://youtube.com/shorts/BHKm16Gvl5w?feature=share

[ant7]

Just a thought; have you tried running it for a short time without the fan belt ? Ant.

Originally Posted by LBEEMING

Well to start, I think I have read every post of issues similar to mine. None of them come to any conclusion but nice to know I am not alone.

First off, engine has no tick when cold. Only once warm.

Frequency increases with rpm, but sound doesn't change, still remains as a tick. I have listened to loose cam chain videos, and there is no chain rattle at all.

I have also used a screwdriver to listen to the rocker covers and there is no tick coming from them. Every cover sounds the same. I had thought maybe I had bad rocker bushing or broken spring, but assume I would hear it.

Now I have also adjusted the valves twice over and same tick remains. I even did it a third time setting them tight, and sound remained.

Car drives fine and is smooth as ever.

The sound is only really noticeable with windows down driving past cars or walls. It's not audible in the car with windows shut.

I ended up suspecting the injectors. With a screw driver to my ear they do sound loud, some worse than others even after a full clean and new screen.

I've just been driving it as is and the sound hasn't gotten worse or better. I'm now at the point of thinking to sell it, and I don't want to scare off a potential buyer.

Do I just buy a new injector and see if it runs quieter than the others? Then replace the rest?

I'm running out of ideas, and am hoping this doesn't require a rebuild to fix! Leak down was 7% average! She's still fresh!

Video:
https://youtube.com/shorts/BHKm16Gvl5w?feature=share

[Schulisco]

You wrote that you've read much but didn't mentioned what you've been done except checking the valve clearance twice..

I had pretty much the same issue on my SC with CIS. Culprit was lean running cylinder due to a too less fuel injected and therefore running too lean and too hot which let the exhaust valve prolonged too much. This caused a ticking sound only when engine was hot.

As the Carrera also injects more or less also constantly on every cylinder all the time only varying the duty cycle this could be same reason. Did you measured all injectors already how much they spray and the spray pattern? Did you check the exhaust temperatures in front of the heat exchangers with an IR gun?

Thomas

[Duc Hunter]

It’s a different car, but similar ticking once warm. My 996 Turbo has a tick like this. Oil cold (not water related in this car) there is no tick. once the oil is warm you hear a ticking. Changes with RPM, and at a certain point it seems to go away (hard to tell as above 3,000 RPOM there’s a lot of other noise coming up that may mask it). Back in the day Porsche replaced come 996 Turbo and GT3 engine over it (same basic engine). Some people did complete engine rebuilds and had the same noise after. NO one came to a good and well known conclusion. My mechanic, who worked at Porsche’s factory and as dealers here, believe it’s just the wrist pins on the pistons. Occasionally some of them made noise. No real fix, and even when rebuilding a non-ticking engine back in the day, he said you occasionally got a noisy one and the engine ticked after the rebuild when it did not before. Mine has ticked for the 10 years I have owned it. oil analysis shows nothing but a very healthy engine. I even tried thicker oil once. Maxed it stay quiet a little longer on warm up….but once the oil was warm it made noise.

YMMV, just. Just a thought. My 3.2 and 3.6 don't tick. The 3.6 had a similar but different tick, and reapplying my injectors fixed it (I replaced them because one was leaky, not the noise).

[914efi]

An exhaust leak can sound like a ticking noise.

[proporsche]

just a Q.how do you adjust the valves? with a feeler gauge ,or? what is the history of valve guides?
Ivan

for you just to compare here is mine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Out_PKGkYYY

[Balisong]

Long shot….gravel in exhaust.

[LBEEMING]

As the Carrera also injects more or less also constantly on every cylinder all the time only varying the duty cycle this could be same reason. Did you measured all injectors already how much they spray and the spray pattern? Did you check the exhaust temperatures in front of the heat exchangers with an IR gun?

Thomas[/QUOTE]

I sent them to a injector cleaner business. He said all were running fine, he did say one needed a bit more cleaning than the others. When I first got the car it was running extremely rich as someone had fiddled with the afm.

How would I diagnose a burnt valve without taking the heads off? Or perhaps I should be able to isolate the noise to one bank and position. Reality is, the sound is just everywhere.

[LBEEMING]

Originally Posted by 914efi

An exhaust leak can sound like a ticking noise.

Yes, I need to put the car on my lift when I can and get under there. My heat exchangers haven't been changed in decades, so could be something there. I always assumed an exhaust leak sound would do the reverse, be loud at could start and maybe get quieter when warm. I can't rule anything out though, so will investigate.

[LBEEMING]

Originally Posted by proporsche

just a Q.how do you adjust the valves? with a feeler gauge ,or? what is the history of valve guides?
Ivan

for you just to compare here is mine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Out_PKGkYYY

Firstly I used a feeler gauge on its own. Then I saw a method where you use a screwdriver to accurately back out 1mm. Was on the franny garage youtube.

Valve guides, I am not sure. Have no history on any rebuild unfortunately. I know it does not blow any smoke on startup or while driving. Even when leaving it for a month, zero smoke on startup.

[proporsche]

ok.. can you make a video when the engine is cold?It is definitively coming from the valves..
interesting about the franny valve adjustment..that is how i do it past cc.35 years ;-) maybe she saw my video;-)....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_ypBn_u7g8

[isby]

Originally Posted by LBEEMING

Firstly I used a feeler gauge on its own. Then I saw a method where you use a screwdriver to accurately back out 1mm. Was on the franny garage youtube.

Valve guides, I am not sure. Have no history on any rebuild unfortunately. I know it does not blow any smoke on startup or while driving. Even when leaving it for a month, zero smoke on startup.

You can always double-check the valves using the "backside method" described in this article by Wayne:

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_backside_valveadjust/911_backside_valveadjust.htm?srsltid=AfmBOorGdZc2k g1tbD-h_LXyf5WJHG4gz8Iq8LR15jRFhW0e1ZaKXan9

I found this method to be very helpful. Even though I used the Kirk tool to adjust my valves (which is pretty accurate) and was super careful, the "go-no go" test described in this article proved that a few of my valves were off.

[mb911]

Likely exhaust gasket nearest the head. If it had poor leak down I would suspect broken head stud

[pmax]

Originally Posted by LBEEMING

...
First off, engine has no tick when cold. Only once warm.
...

I'm running out of ideas, and am hoping this doesn't require a rebuild to fix! Leak down was 7% average! She's still fresh!

Video:
https://youtube.com/shorts/BHKm16Gvl5w?feature=share

How does it sound like when cold ?

[proporsche]

Originally Posted by pmax

How does it sound like when cold ?

i`m too waiting for it;-)

Ivan

[LBEEMING]

Originally Posted by proporsche

i`m too waiting for it;-)

Ivan

I will send a video this week, as it's parked in another garage 😀 watch this space!

[LBEEMING]

Cold start no tick video - https://youtu.be/u2f9HUGcSaI?si=Y232LpWAdZW7gC4u

Update, after feeling silly for not trying hard to diagnose it better, I got a long automotive stethoscope and started listening to it once the tick came back when warm.

I couldn't hear any exhaust leaks at all.

When I listen to the intake cover for cylinder 3 it has this ticking noise. Same noise cannot be heard on the exhaust cover of cylinder three. All other cylinders sound "normal". Cylinder 3 intake, I noticed as different straight away.

Next step will be to take the intake cover off. Firstly though, I will cold start it again and make sure this ticking sound is not present, otherwise I might start chasing my own tail.

Thing I am wondering is, why only when hot. I am guessing tolerances open up and ticking starts.... might point to rocker arm and shaft? I assume broken springs would make a noise even at cold start.

[proporsche]

yup no sound..yes spring would be noise ...If the spring is broken the larger spring goes 1st.Try to push it in ,the intake 3...Are you using the feeler gauge there or by feel???
How is the surface on the camshaft on 3?
Ivan

[G450X]

Originally Posted by 914efi

An exhaust leak can sound like a ticking noise.

True, somewhat uncommon on 911’s, but I hear newer Dodge gas V8’s with header leak “ticks” all the time. In my last job we had two new Dodge 2500 pickups that both started to tick like crazy around 20k miles - it sounded like valve train noise…

[scarceller]

I doubt you can hear an injector tick. But you can also simply unplug each injector one at a time at idle. An injector without power to it can not tick.

The other suggestion made already is to remove the fan belt and run for very short amount of time, 30 seconds or so to see if the tick goes away.