997 - loud lifter noise and plume after sitting x 1 week

[pabafree1995]

Hey fellas - had a question , probably obvious to many of you.
But, if I let the car sit 7-8 days (rarely do, just when vacation, otherwise is a DD), when I start it up, it sounds horrible like the engine is going to hell! Loud lifter noise and plume of smoke via exhaust. After 60-90 seconds, the sound normalizes to the usual.

Does this happen due to oil near completely draining out of the engine?
Any way to prevent it? Is it normal for oil to near completely drain and have this issue on start up after sitting?

I asked the service advisor who gave the explanation of oil completely draining.

I am the guy whose 997.1 had a scored cyl (#6) back in Nov 2010 and eventually got a rebuild.

Thanks for helping out with your advice, much appreciated.

[VaSteve]

The Boxter engine allows oil to "pool" at the side of the cylinders over a few days so when it's started, it burns off some oil.

[blipshift]

I took my car to Arlington for some service several months ago they had it for a couple weeks doing various warranty work. Lifters made a paint can rattle when I picked it up which was convenient because they were able to listen first hand; no smoke though. All they did was rev the car up to about 3k RPM for 30 seconds and then blip the throttle at the end. Oil was recirculated. Tech said it was pretty normal if they sit for too long. That said, it's the only time I've ever noticed the issue.

[markwemple]

Never had that noise even when mine has sat for a week. Could it be early ims issues? I know that valve tappet noise can happen if improper oil and/or too long between changes. Based upon conversations with TPC.

[Lt. Dan]

What weight/brand oil do you use?

[pjalexandre]

I would verify that you have the correct oil level. It is not uncommon for the M96/M97 engine to sound like a sewing machine at startup until proper oil pressure has been obtained to feed the hydraulic lifters. Particularly when they have sat for a while and even worse if the oil level is a little low.

[joep]

The puff of smoke is normal for a 986 boxster for the reasons named above, but I can't say the same about the engine noise. If it goes away I suppose that could be your engine's normal? I would keep a close eye on it at least.

[Vicegrip]

Useless data point of the day!

My 1995 993 motor does the same if it sits for a few weeks.

[Ryan]

My 997 does it. Completely normal for it to smoke for a couple seconds if the car sits for a while.

[Casey914]

yeah, common and i have seen in in cars w 5 miles that haven't been started in a week.

[Lupin..the..3rd]

I think a few seconds of start-up chatter is common to any hydraulic lifter engine that's been sitting a few days or more. I can't think of a car I've owned that didn't do this.

[Noah]

The rammer will make lifter noise for about 1.5 seconds upon startup after it's been sitting for a week or more. But 60-90 seconds? That doesn't sound right at all.