this is actually my favorite part and a practice i subscribe to religiously ( their word lol )

Lastly, actually driving your Porsche more often and avoiding higher gears in order to keep the revs above 2500-3000 rpm is another good step to take to improve the life of the ball-bearing in the intermediate shaft(the faster you spin the IMS bearing, the longer it will last and less it will wear). Although there is limited data, the general trend is that lower mileage vehicles with infrequent oil changes or driven light-footed (as in run at low speed/engine rpms) are most likely to suffer a failure rather than those cars that are driven hard and well-maintained.

 

Says the guy selling the big fix lol.

 

Most seem to do it and mine certainly does.
I also just came across this in the 997T forum, they seem to make similar noises as well.
http://rennlist.com/forums/997-turbo...s-arrived.html
Post #14 by Philipj
"Love it.. Cant wait to hear it at full boost! So funny with the Mezger engine. They all sound like a bucket of bolts at idle!"

 

just for reference. my car at 130k miles does not exhibit that rattle can bucket of bolts sound AT ALL.

5/50 castrol edge. loves it. also uses less. went from 1 qt of 0/40 per 1k miles to maybe 1/2 qt every 1500 miles. still run it hard daily even in 100 temps. the easiest way to quiet that sound ( that all cars exhibit at one time or another ) is with a heavier viscosity. that OREGON PCA chapter webpage info says much the same thing. not for nothin'.

 

Luckily my car does not smoke or make any such noise-M1 0-40 either.

 

Be careful about terminology.

The Mezger engine has what is more commonly referred to as a layshaft, but I guess IMS is also correct. Whatever you call it it runs in plain (hydrodynamic) bearings. It is gear driven by the crank.

This shaft does not have the ball bearing failure hanging over it, but it does have something else, though fortunately it is far rarer and that is the bolts that hold the gear to the shaft can work loose. The key that locks the gear to the shaft can also get loose. Generally though if either of these conditions occur the engine doesn't run a year without manifesting clear indications something is really wrong.

Gear drives can be noisy. If the engine doesn't idle real smooth the varying idle speed can have the gears making noise. If the engine/drivetrain is warmed up there can be some noise from the manual tranny, too. In this case stepping on the clutch should have the noise gone but it can come back if one releases the clutch and revs the engine.

The Turbo engine is not a real smooth idling engine. It is "tuned" by the factory to produce 420hp from a 3.6l engine. By comparison my 2006 GTO 6.0l engine only produced 400hp and it didn't idle all that smooth either.

Different engines can sound a bit different, in this case noisier, and still be ok. Also, the car should be put on a lift and the engine carefully listened to with a stethoscope to as precisely as possible identify the location of the noise. It might be from some other area and this may ore may not be indicative a possible problem.

You really should post a good clip of the noise recorded from the engine in the car you are looking at.

 

After listening to the OP vid again mine doesn't seem to be any where near as loud.

 

Ok let's see if this works. Actual video clip of the car:

 

Either you have a very sensitive mic or thats one noisy engine.

 

That sounds terrible.

 

Agreed, that sounds really bad.

 

sounds like a rod

this is what mine sounds like.
View My Video

 

To me, I dont think it sounds normal. This is my car, I parked overnight to help my friend move, but be aware, I have aftermarket light flywheel/clutch. yet sounds nothing like tractor or VW diesel. I say don't even bother.

maybe that's why he wants to get rid of it and looking for someone to buy it.

First thing. Compression test. btw if you trying to buy this car from small local dealer. forget it.

 

Your car is nowhere as noisy (in a bad way) as the op. With all the nice cars to choose from keep looking.

 

That noise is awful. Don't just walk away, RUN!