Check Engine light--camshaft adjustment

I have a 2004 Carrera I bought early spring with about 85,000 miles. I have since put on another 10,000 more and have about 95,000 on it now. I'm not mechanically inclined and knew nothing of an IMS bearing when I bought the car. Except for having to replace a coolant reservoir the car has ran great. About three weeks ago I started it an it was running a little rough the check engine light came on--there might have been a little of a thump thump sound, but nothing to bad. I took it to the shop and they cleared two codes 1 for a camshaft adjustment in the right bank and the other was for a misfire on number two. The light came on a few nights ago but didn't stay on when I turned it off an restarted . Does it sound like the beginning of an IMS bearing? What do you think my plan of action should be? ad I drove to Canada and put about 1,600 miles on it and it ran great My clutch seems to b pretty good and I was planning to wait to do the upgrade So it seems like I might have to get in there a second time in the not to distant future I like my mechanic--I went to school with him---he was a few years younger and one of my best friends leases him the building for he business I'm not sure if he is certified, but my friend told me he was shop manager for about 17 years at one of the biggest dealerships down n So California. I'm on the northern California coast up here in Humboldt County coast and cant see a place certified up here. Thanks, Craig I'm pretty sick and the car might outlast me

Craig, first off, best wishes with your health. But you are here because of your car so lets dig into that. The misfire is likely to be electrical - most commonly caused by a crack in the coil. The timing code could be lots of things, some simple repairs, others not so simple. First thing to do is to change the oil and inspect the filter for metal contents. Driving it now is rolling dice.

Wish you could supply the actual codes. You need to get the car to a reputable Porsche shop, either an indy -- I have no recommendations -- or a dealer. The Porsche dealer, Niello, in Rocklin, CA (in the Sacramento, CA area) is a very good one, one of the top dealers in the country. My experience agrees with that. Two times, unannounced, I first stopped in and had my Boxster serviced and then some years later my Turbo serviced. I was welcomed and the cars serviced -- the Boxster received an oil/filter service, the Turbo 4 new tires -- and the service was outstanding. Anyhow, you need to get the car to a professional who is quite capable of properly/accurately diagnosing the problem and fixing it. My advice is to have the car flat bedded. Rather pricy but if the problem worsens the engine could be ruined. I'd rather err on the side of caution and have a number of times and had my car towed rather than drive it to the shop. Could be a VarioCam solenoid/actuator. Had one go out in my Boxster. Engine ran poorly. No misfires. Tech said they can arise though as the DME tried to adjust the fueling to get the #2 O2 sensor readings it expects and because the cam timing is not right the fueling will go too far out and the engine will misfire.

Not every check engine light is a death knoll. Don't jump to conclusions but get it checked out by someone who knows about our cars. And...it doesn't take a rocket scientist to check the #2 coil for cracks or even pull a spark plug to look for fouling. Maybe go through your local PCA Chapter and see if someone could give you a hand, maybe even help you out with Durametric.

Thanks guys---I had the oil changed right after my check engine light came on and I should have known to cut the filter open---an employee is the one that worked on it (he's never done an IMS retrofit---the owner is a real Porsche guy and I'm sure he knows a lot about the IMS issues and has done retrofits-- I haven't noticed a misfire since he cleared the codes. there a little hard to read on my receipt----I think it says p1325 po302 and maybe camshaft adjustment--2 10102--I will make sure of the codes when I talk to the shop owner later

P1325 is inlet camshaft Bank 2. Could be the inlet camshaft sensor on Bank 2. P0302 misfire cylinder 2. Could be a cracked coil, fouled plug, or a result of P1325. However, cylinder 2 is on Bank 1. I would work on P1325 first, then check out cylinder 2 coil, plug. If the service history is sketchy, I would plan on just replacing all coils and plugs at 95K miles anyway.

Craig The vario pads which are plastic pads which the cam chains run over in the cylinder heads as part of the vario cam system can be a main culprit for this problem, they take a fair bit of abuse and get quite worn throwing out the cam timing and can cause misfires, you need to get cam deviation readings in degrees , I think anything over 8 degrees is out of spec, don't worry it's not too bad of a job just valve covers off, the heads don't even need removing , a good porsche Indy shouldn't charge too much, hope you get it sorted!

I went by and talked to my Indy tonight and he doesn't think I'm going thru an IMS faliuare and I think if anything it would be some plastic like you said Noz. It's took a little stress off me and I don't need any extra stress about catastrophic engine failure right now. Although I know its guilty until proven innocent My Indy who l like and trust has been reasonable with his billing. He' was a shop manager at one of the largest Southern California Porsche dealership and said he knows most of the players. He said he had done IMS retrofits many times. He said he was into 2 big Porsche projects now , but he could get to me towards the 1st of the year, so I wont to have it hauled or anything.. I guess I will have to suffer and drive my Toyota Tacoma for awhile-- I putting it in the garage for the winter anyway

I went by and talked to my Indy tonight and he doesn't think I'm going thru an IMS faliuare and I think if anything it would be some plastic like you said Noz. It's took a little stress off me and I don't need any extra stress about catastrophic engine failure right now. Although I know its guilty until proven innocent My Indy who l like and trust has been reasonable with his billing. He' was a shop manager at one of the largest Southern California Porsche dealership and said he knows most of the players. He said he had done IMS retrofits many times. He said he was into 2 big Porsche projects now , but he could get to me towards the 1st of the year, so I wont to have it hauled or anything.. I guess I will have to suffer and drive my Toyota Tacoma for awhile. I wanted to put it in the garage for the winter anyway

Just went through this with my car....intermittent check engine light, they do not usually fix themselves, and it would happen at 5K in 3rd gear, no power........codes revealed misfires....plug and coils replaced, still same issue. Then changed cam actuator (left-side) as the misfires were left bank.....still had issue....turn out the left cat went bad, broke apart and the piece lodged in the exhaust tube blocking exhaust flow, hence the codes. So, new hi flow cat with x-pipe, no codes, runs like a champ. My point, check the coils and plugs, and be sure to have your exhaust checked. It is very easy to wind up spending a lot of $$$ trying to diagnose and fix these things. Hopefully, it is not a motor......and while I am not a mechanic, a flickering check engine light doesn't sound like it is motor time...........fingers crossed for you.

Not much hqppening. I've been wating on my mechanic to get a little free time to check on doing my IMS--he was busy with two other porsches and said he would be busy until close to the end of the year-- I made room in the garage for it and mostly have been driving my Toyota Tacoma but couldn't resist the urge to drive it little. It really is good medicine for me. The check engine light hasn't came back on and it seems to be running pretty good, but I do need to et the IMs done to get rid of my stress with it. I ordered some Gold wheels and some new continental Extreme contact Tires. I didn't want to use up my Bridgestone RE71Rs up on the street. The wheels have been on back order for about three months and they were finally shipped to me was a little worried having gold wheels, but thought they might go good with my dark Teal green and my Savana Beige interior. I will repost when the mechanic tells me of his recommended plan of action. I plan on talking to him Monday How do you think these new wheels go on my car?

The gold wheels match the interior. Nice, but the orange side marker clashes now. Time for some smoked ones. Ez swap out.