Greetings folks - my wife and I just purchased our '07 Boxster S 2 weeks ago and I've been educating myself on everything I can get my hands on with this particular forum being most useful.

My issue is simple - during low loads (feathering the clutch up a slight incline or away slowly from say a drive through) I have a distinct metallic rattle/tink coming from the rear of the car. Initially it sounded like a loose exhaust clamp to me, but I finally narrowed it down to the clutch last night. It is very noticeable when backing up out of the garage, or where sound will be echoed back (parking garage, alongside a wall, etc).

I can replicate the sound 100% of the time by doing this :

- car started and idling
- transmission in neutral
- clutch in, slight revs (800 to 1200 rpm), so just above idle

By contrast, if I rev gently in neutral from idle without touching the clutch, all is buttery smooth.

But if I depress the clutch, disengaging it, just 100 revs up from idle and through 1200, there is a very distinct metallic rattle sound that actually sounds much more like exhaust noise than flywheel chatter. If I hold revs at say 1,000 and remove my foot from the clutch, the sound slowly goes away. Clutch back in while holding revs at 1,000 and voila, sound is back.

It doesn't happen any other time during driving and shifts are wonderful direct and smooth, so I've attributed it to just being a quirk of the car and not a real problem. But in the past few days it seems to have gotten louder and I'm uncertain that it's not a symptom of something else.

The car has 3,800 miles on it - 2,800 of them put on by a previous owner (we purchased the car from a dealer out of state). My first gut check is that the previous owner was a "clutch rider" and the throw out bearing is in less than fantastic shape. Usually however, a bad throw out bearing will squeal a bit and vibrate when clutched in, neither of which happen in my case.

I guess I'm looking to see if anyone else also has this sound with their car before dragging her up to the dealership. I've lightly lubricated the connecting rod on the transmission (shifter linkage) as that was rather "klinky" with the amount of play it had. I've read up on the clutch slave failures and pressure plate bolts and while I haven't ruled those out, I don't think that's the case (I intend to bleed the clutch this weekend which will give me a chance to inspect the slave mounting and snugness). My car was built in January of '07 so it looks to be a mid-year build.

If I'm honest, it almost sounds like an engine control version of BMWs much hated CDV (clutch delay valve). Various new Mazdas employ ignition retardation when the clutch is depressed to smooth out shifts (and preserve clutch life). I wonder if perhaps Porsche does something similar?

The next time anyone is backing up out of their garage, roll down the windows and give this a shot. Maybe they all do it, or maybe I need to meet my Porsche service advisor for the first time...

Cheers!