16 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHSkid plate mounting
Reported or suspected cause
best thing i could have done
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Identified cause
1
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that suspect a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suspected cause
Shutting the engine down was probably the best thing I could have done for my own sanity - as soon as the engine died and I realized the sound was still there, I started to feel a little less terror.
Leading evidence: 'best thing i could have done' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'best thing i could have done' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check clamp' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
As soon as it gets back from the indie (the front axles are being rebuilt) I'll check for the clamp.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
best thing i could have done
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Identified cause
1
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Discussions that suspect a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suspected cause
Shutting the engine down was probably the best thing I could have done for my own sanity - as soon as the engine died and I realized the sound was still there, I started to feel a little less terror.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
16 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
1 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Outcome without a verified action link
That it was emanating from directly under the engine didn't help any.
I have a 2001 C4 coupe with the skid plate. Ever since I got the car I've wondered about the skid plate and have never found an answer or a clear picture. I know the bolts used to mount the plate are already on the motor. The front bolt on mine does not actually compress the plate at all. It stands proud maybe a quarter inch from the plate. The side bolts both snug down like I would expect. Is this normal? I am wondering if it is the wrong bolt or maybe there is either a spacer or something missing. I think I remember reading once that the bolts are used to hold hold some pipe or wiring clamps. Maybe one of those is missing. Not a big deal but it has always bothered me since it just seems wrong.
Thanks
I suggest addressing this as soon as you have the time. The front bolt AND one of the side bolts on my oil pan skid plate worked loose and eventually dropped out; I came to know this while driving down the freeway at proper SoCal speeds...wind resistance caused the front edge of the shield to drop; it pivoted around the remaining side bolt and the front edge dug into the pavement.
In case you're wondering what it sounds like when your oil pan skid plate starts grinding concrete at 80+ mph...it sounds exactly what you imagine a 996 dying catastrophically might sound like. I shut it down and coasted to the shoulder, expecting to find an oil slick behind the car; instead, I just found a freshly resurfaced skid plate.
"expecting to find an oil slick behind the car; instead, I just found a freshly resurfaced skid plate. "
In addition to a large brown stain in his skivvies !!!
Heh. No upholstery was damaged, but my blood pressure probably spiked 200 points higher than normal. The time between cranking the key off and back on (so I could still steer) and being safely on the shoulder looking under the car was probably all of 30 seconds, but it felt like an hour.
Needless to say, thread locker was applied.
Thanks.
dporto, I would but I dropped it off at my indie this morning for some diagnostics (quick noise when lugging in 2nd that sounds a little like chain slap).
Rvca3112, thanks it is the bolt at the front of the plate (toward frunk). It actually has more like 1/2 inch between the bolt head and plate so the front of the plate "floats" a little.
fpb111, that is my assumption. That or something missing like a clamp that utilizes the same bolt.
5CHN3LL, Um, I think you just made a very good case for fixing this!!! On the other hand I might not even notice it with my tires. General G-Max. They are so loud even at low speeds that I'm considering an in-car communication system. As soon as I can wear these things out I'm going to put on PS2s.
5CHN3LL, quite sure I would have heard it and freaked big time. I applaud your ability to think clearly enough to shut it down and coast over to the shoulder. When my 1998 (1999) C2 coupe was hit in the side at 35 MPH, I sat on the side of the road for 5 minutes before I realized I left the engine running.
Heh - yes, I had a moment of clarity. Doesn't happen often.
Shutting the engine down was probably the best thing I could have done for my own sanity - as soon as the engine died and I realized the sound was still there, I started to feel a little less terror.
The bolt that holds the front mounting point of the skid plate is also an attachment point for a coolant hose mounting bracket. The bracket(an eyelet style bracket) gets sandwiched between the skid plate and the engine. The bolt is an M6X12 size bolt and it should fit tightly with no gap. For those that do not have the skid plate attached to their car, the bolt simply holds the coolant hose bracket to the engine.
If you were unaware of RL and the constant fear mongering that takes place here, you probably would not have had a few weeks taken off of your life as a result of this event.
If I'd been driving my Corvette - which has a rock-solid 5.7-liter slow-spinning lump under the hood - and it had made that same noise, I would have clenched just as tight. It was not a good sound. Not at all. That it was emanating from directly under the engine didn't help any.
This was not a "oh, jeez, Rennlist said something bad might happen someday" noise - this was a "holy f**kballs, something very bad is happening" kind of noise. The sound I heard was indistinguishable from the sound hundred-dollar bills make while being mass murdered.
But I like what you did there.
Finally figured out how to quote
DreamCarrera, Thanks. I figured it was something like that. As soon as it gets back from the indie (the front axles are being rebuilt) I'll check for the clamp. Dollars to donuts it is missing...
5CHN3LL, this is definitely a go-to quote for future use. Well said!
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.
