What the hell is this noise !

i started my car , its been stored since nov 30 for the first time. it sounded terrible , lots of noise but a huge cla cla cla sound from under the car . As i give gas it goes with the flow . i shut the car off and started again , same thing..i let it run for 10 mins same thing. now what is the ims suppose to sound like? this sounds bad, can you drive with an ims failure cause i did move my car without any issues back and forth. Can this just be noise cause it hasnt started in a while ? would the ims come with an sighns of a leak? thank you for any help

I started mine for the first time since mid Nov yesterday and no weird noise at all. I wouldn't start it again until you can have someone who knows what this noise is to figure out what is up. Better to be safe then sorry. I mean if the sound is that loud to the point where it is freaking you out then STOP. Check under the car for fluids as well. A flat bed to your dealer or Indy could cost you some money but might save the engine if it is the IMS.

i have a slight oil leak i just noticed...

what was the outside temp? has it frozen in storage? check the oil and water. anything build a home in the car? (mice) I doubt it is an IMS issue. Relax, dont jump to conclusions, can you record it?

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ims does leak but if you hearing clank, tow it in and have it checked out. maybe you can save it before it sounds like marbles.

well, How many miles. I guess it could be chain rattle but that woudl go away after a few seconds. They say IMS sounds like marbels in a coffee can. The IMS can leak. But also can go with out a leak as well.

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is the oil coal black?

the oil is dark, you can say black. 22 k miles the car is f mint. this noise is loud, i thought it was the pse as i had baffles fail on me but when i saw the leak...freaked me out. i have aftermarket warranty but i am totally freaked with this car. its consistent , one cla cla at a time at every turn of the engine , its not random caos. i cannot pin point where its coming from at all. its under for sure. it smells of gas also, exhaust fumes i guess. any ideas guys.

If the oil is black.. as in Jet black... That is a sign of IMS... If the oil was the same color as the oil on the dip, that would be a sign on RMS. Drop the filter and see if you have anything in the filter. I WOULDNT RUN THAT CAR AT ALL till I knew WTF was going on. That thing jumps time and you are going to really have a mess. Sadly IMS doesnt take prisoners on miles.

would the car move though if it was that?

when i touch the oil with my finger it was brownish..it was fresh .

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Yes the car will run all the way to the point where the engine quits. The IMS shaft run the valve train. The bearing is on the end of the shaft. The shaft is driven off the crank via a gear. Then chians run from the IMS (located under the Crank) to the valve train. The engine will run all the way to the point where it jumps timming. When it jumps time is when the fun really starts. First the pistons impact the valves, then the pistons also may break when they do then this breaks the cylinder wall..... So basically you ruin the heads and the block... basically the whole frickin thing. Thats better. but doesnt disqualify it.

After the fact! Storage is not good for any mechanical device that requires lubrication. Specifically, motors, transmissions, wheel bearings and such. Most of the damage these things sustain, occurs from sitting rather than running. Once at operating temperature, there is virtually no wear that takes place. Rather than store a car for weeks or months, start the thing and let it run a few minutes, back it up a few feet and pull forward again if you don't want to drive it. This will at least coat everything with fresh oil/graese. Most of your motor and trans internal spaces are filled with air, moist air, need I say more?

OK - I will not say dont take it serious, nor will I say run the car... get it checked by a real mechanic......... BUT I think the IMS scare is blown out of whack on this one - I am just stating that for the record. Car ran fine, was parked and now makes noise... maybe a throwout bearing, a stuck lifter, bad gas causing rough idle and motor shaking, water pump, a pulley, power steering.... I dont know... I would be pissing my pants too, but my money is on something other than the IMS

First please explain what a cla is? Is it metalic or a strange running hesitating engine firing? Does it sound like the valves floating like a lugged down engine? Concerning the oil leak. Is the leaking oil the same color as the engine oil? If your engine oil is dark you would be best to change it and the filter. Sure dirty oil makes it easy to read the dip stick but..... Is the engine running rough or is it running good with what ever type of noise? I'd like to think for you that it's just a malidy of the car not being run for a while.

You've been reading too many threads about IMS failures, take a deep breadth. You have a warranty, use it and get a professional opinion rather than speculating. GL

I start the car time to time with no issues at all. This time is was was weird. its a mechanical noise for sure. cla cla cla = metal hitting something when turning . its a nice even noise , consistent meaning it happens every second , not random out of control chaos. iam getting my insurance ready to put it on the flat bed today . i really believe its the IMS , sounds like that nightmare to me and what are the chances that i have a leak at the same time !! crazy crazy...2 months agao i was about to trade it in for a turbo 996 , i actually stopped myself cause i saw no point as i love the look of my car...i have some serious bad luck.

I agree. good chance it is not IMS.... But better safe than sorry. Every second? Thats really SLOOOOOOW... I dont think their is anything in the car that turns that slow. Chances you have a leak a the same time. VERY GOOD... The RMS seems to leak all the time and that isnt related to IMS Dad luck? Not really. Bad luck would be it needing and engine. If it is IMS and you caught it in time you just had the best luck you could have had with it, if it was going to happen. The only thing I can thnk og that may have a 60rpm may be the belt on the front of the engine

ok..say its ims failure. is there sure a thing of catching it just in time ? I mean i just backed up the car 15 feet and revd it till 4 rpm. i want to see if it was the baffles. Can you repair it as this point? Shark, youve been a great help, you keep my heatbeats normal. I called porsche and they think it could be ims or a valve thing...no idea which technical term he was using. can they just clean the seal and repair the bolt or is it an automatic engine change ???

Please. please. please stop starting the motor.

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Follow this advice. YES you can catch IMS in time. But you can also have complete failure next time you start it. When the IMS goes and the timeing chains jump time it only takes a split second to cause all the damage. STOP RUNNING THE ENGINE!!! If the engine still runs and it is IMS YOU CAUGHT IT IN TIME. If next time you start the engine and it comes to an abupt halt... you then didnt catch it in time. it can happen at idle, or at rpm, I would think it could even happen while cranking to start. Thanks for the kind words. where are you located. Do you have a good indy shop that can look at it. If it is IMS the dealer is going to be a nightmare.

in montreal canada. ill ship in back to dallas and have them fix it ! this will get ugly i think.

it could be, but it might not be too. Best of luck. BTW - going to the F1 race? I am!

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oh no, are you the guy that aslo had a PPI done by a dealer and they missed a whole bunch of stuff.? IIRC trans fluid was one.

If the car has sat for a long time some of the lifters have colapsed. When you start it there will be a loud ticking or even a hammering noise until they fully pump up. Sometimes this may take several minutes. It happens frequently and is alarming but perfectly normal. Let the motor run for a few minutes and the noise will diminish. If you have a more serious problem, and it's hard to imagine having the car just sitting, I would not recommend running it.

dealer is saying lifters as well for now...but the leak at the same time bothers me ... spoke to dealer if ims they will replace engine no questions asked..they are used to it. And BOYS it happens often they said, they see it frequently in Dallas. 997 boxster 996 ... x51 new upgrade is a 6 k option more is that worth it ??? i know ive crossed the bridge but iam just asking thats all. Thanks for all the help. Should i run for few mins or not ????

oil leak from sitting....or oil leak prior to sitting that was so small you didnt se it. seals dry out, sometimes a little oil leaks... there are 100 or more places it can leak from and without more info saying an oil leak is an rms/ims is simply stupid did you check fluids yet? you never said if the car froze in storage this is like getting a haircut over the phone... a bit tough to give real info on rather or not to run a car with a "noise" is there anyone close to you that can have a look for a second opinion?

Mine sat for a month. I started it last week and let it idle. Tick, Tick, Tick... for about 15 minutes. Then the lifter pump up and went away.

Yeah, all my money is on a few bad lifters. If you hear a loud clamor or a tick tick tick as opposed to metal crashing into metal (the sound is far different). I can't tell you what to do but I would drop the oil and filter, replace it with fresh oil, start it and let it idle for 10 minutes. Do at your own risk. I am just stating what I would do before I sent a car back to Dallas from Canada.

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Yeah, I dont think IMS would have a rythum to it. Keep in mind that what I am about to say should be taken as advice. it is up to you to choose to do it. If it were mine and it had a rythum to it. I would run it. I would drive it to operating temp and see what I get. I have noticed the 996 lifters do clank not really tick. But, its on you.... I have a little cowboy bread into me with taking chances. May I also add, A lifter make more sense at this point.

Having lived up North where salt is used, I appreciate trying to protect a car during the Winter, but I wonder if the damage done by salt is frankly less then the 'wear' of having a car sit around for months, where seals dry, lubrication settles, etc, not to mention the inability of enjoying it even as the depreciation progresses. It's easy to make this statement living in Tucson, but if I lived up North I'd put Winter tires and drive it around, less often then Summer, but still keep it moving a few times a month. I hope the sound turns out to be related to the lifters, and that it clears up so you can enjoy your car...

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I agree. I drive mine everytime the roads are dry. I dont think "storage" is good for the car. I have never seen a car come out of a 5 year "storage" and be rippin and ready to go. However i have seen many cars driven for 5 years that DO NOT need the work of a 5YO storage car needs. Rubber, tires, rust.....

Yes the noise is a rythum noise with a leak Thank you for all your help, my last question would be how long before these lifters lift ? i ran the car for 5 mins before i freaked . Ill try again today, ill look at the leak tonight as well and give you news. i put a hold on the X74 Suspension ! it was on order....what a day...

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Why would you send it back to Dallas? What kind of warranty do you have? If a US CPO, Porsche will cover it at a Cdn dealer. Don't bother asking me how I know.

IF the engine is covered by CPO then your best answer instead of shipping it out is just change the oil and run it up to get the fresh stuff circulated. If it is the IMS failed you get a free engine anyway if you have the CPO insurance that covers it. A few guys have posted links to audio files so that others online here can figure out what their cars problem is. I think that's a way simpler solution. You might have a digital camera you could take video with so that you could post a file on youtube possibly saving your self a long wait for the car to return. I can even guess it's a rock, loose part or cats collar stuck in the pulleys

Well guys finally my car was brought in and it was the lifters and i have A RMS and my spark plug tubes leak. how can i have all this with one winter storage? when i stored it all was fine. Warranty will cover most of it. now that iam doing this iam changing the clutch and other seals as well, do you recommend doing other maintenance, if so, what? thanks all of you for your help, this is a relief but i wonder why everything is happening all at once, is there something going on???is this a sign? thanks again.

I dont store my cars. WHen you take them out of storage, they let you know how pissed they are that you left them sit. That seems to be what has happened to you. Next year, dont "store" the car. I know it sounds really cool when you are talking to your buddies and co-workers. It really makes it sound like your car is this mystical item that cant see winter months. But really, this is what happens... Drive the car when you can. Even if snow is on the ground, there is usually a time when the roads are 95% dry and bare. Take it out once in a while and drive it..... It is a LOT better for it than "storing" it.

I couldn't agree with Kyle more! Machines are made to be exercised, not stored. I make it a point to drive it least every few weeks in the winter. You can usually find a few days here and there for a short drive to bring it up to full temperature and get everything well lubricated. I try to run it long enough to get the moisture out of the engine. We find the same thing happens to our aircraft in the military when they sit for extended periods of time. You can normally expect a rash of unrelated issues when the plane or helicopter is brought out from long term repairs or storage.

shark. i agree . trust me i will drive this car often . they are just machines. thank you for all your time. Shark especially you, for all your time and patience

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+1 I travel a lot, and to keep my cars exercised, I even let my wife drive them when I'm out of town.

AOS while the trans is out. What year?

2001 C2 26 K MILES what is AOS?

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Great advice.

AOS = air/oil seperator

Sounds like the dealer is happy to throw the servicing over on the manufacturer insurance. I guess if they are replacing the RMS then at least the trans will get dropped. Not to be too sarcastic but for the diagnoses lifter problem with you telling them the car was stored their game plan for fixing all you see is what you hear is to take the car out and run it up with fresh oil then take it out on the hwy to make sure things get freed up. My wildest idea is if they are being so cooperative, how about just swap in a new rebuilt engine from germany. But eh thats a wild idea.