15 captured repliesPartial discussion capture · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHVery slight misfire at idle 996.2 3.6
Leading reported evidence
Clean mass air flow sensor
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
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 performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
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.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
Was the maf or throttle body , took them both of and cleaned them, idles perfect now.
Leading evidence: 'Clean mass air flow sensor' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Check air leak i think' (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 performed work without a confirmed outcome
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.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
A fuse had blown and the mobile mechanic replaced the fuse, it started, then smoke started pouring out of the wheel arch (right hand) and the car died again.
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 performed work without a confirmed outcome
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.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
Williams Crawford in Cornwall diagnosed a failed (burnt out) cam actuator solenoid, once replaced not only was the car fixed but the tickover was cured.
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.
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
I've got a plan to pull the motor and change the variocam pads and check the timing next winter to see if anything is slightly off.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
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.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
A fuse had blown and the mobile mechanic replaced the fuse, it started, then smoke started pouring out of the wheel arch (right hand) and the car died again.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
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.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
Williams Crawford in Cornwall diagnosed a failed (burnt out) cam actuator solenoid, once replaced not only was the car fixed but the tickover was cured.
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.
15 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
911uk: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261027T042512Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
My 2004 C4S 3.6 has a very very slight misfire at idle only. On 130k.
Its had a hartech rebuild 20/30k ago.
Recently had plugs, coils, aos, all filters and oil etc.
New manifold gaskets.
No eml and it’s not dependent if it’s hot or cold and doesn’t do it all the time either. Say 30% of the time.
Any ideas?
Is it a misfire or a lumpy tickover?
The reason i ask is that my car had a lumpy tickover from the day I bought it, 25,000 miles later on my way to my Cornish holiday the car died. A fuse had blown and the mobile mechanic replaced the fuse, it started, then smoke started pouring out of the wheel arch (right hand) and the car died again. Williams Crawford in Cornwall diagnosed a failed (burnt out) cam actuator solenoid, once replaced not only was the car fixed but the tickover was cured.
The bad news, it was a big job with headers off (and all the siezed bolt nastiness that involves).
Many owners have reported smoother idling after replacing the CPS sensor, it migh be a good place to start. Age & heat eventually take a toll on these types of sensors.
Worth checking for an air leak I think. There are some good plans for a home-built smoke tester online, I made one and it was very useful finding a missing o-ring in the vacuum booster takeoff on the inlet manifold.
That said my idle is still a little lumpy, after a new CPS, MAF, injectors cleaned, air leaks sorted (see above) as well as service items. Variocam solenoids working well. I think it's just character at this point!
Just out of interest, how can you tell? no garage could tell me what my tickover issue was, in fact it was just one Porsche mechanic on here who made the right guess. Other than a slightly lumpy tickover the car drove perfectly.
First indication is the change in exhaust note at about 3000 rpm. Second it's very easy to actuate the solenoids manually using a 12V power supply to the connector on each bank. The car runs like a bag of nails if the solenoids are activated to the 'advanced' position while idling. Plus you can hear the click very clearly if the engine is off. Finally I'm working on a plug in aftermarket ECU for the 996 and once you're connected to the multiplug it's trivial to activate the solenoids from your laptop. Although that's not an option available to a lot of people!!
I've got a plan to pull the motor and change the variocam pads and check the timing next winter to see if anything is slightly off. I've been getting bits of brown plastic in my oil filter for some time now so the pads are clearly on their way out.
I noticed that my 996.1 C4 was running every so slightly rough and ticking over at about 700RPM and always felt like it was just on the verge of stalling. After reading this thread I bought some Circuit Cleaner, removed the MAF Sensor, gave it good clean, let it dry completely, reinstalled it and now the car ticks over at a lovely 1k RPM and doesn't miss a beat.
