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Old 10-10-2005, 05:29 AM   #1
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(Another) White Smoke from the Exhaust Incident

Hey Everyone,

I did a quick search on this topic before posting, didn't find an exact match, so here goes..

I am in Boston, the weather has turned cold in the last 2-3 days or so, with constant rain this whole weekend.....

This morning, I start my car to go to work and there is a thick cloud of white smoke emitting from the exhaust, ON TOP OF THAT, the brakes feel very heavy, about 2-3 times heavier than normal...when I turn off the engine there is also, what is best described as a soft "groaning" noise.......

Oh yeah, I have a 99, 31K miles, and last drove the car about 2 days ago whithout any problems.

What's anyone's take?



thanks

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Old 10-10-2005, 06:37 AM   #2
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A couple of questions to help get a better handle on it.

Does the smoke only come from the exhaust pipe, or somehwere else too?

Does it continue to smoke a little bit from the exhaust pipe when the engine is running until it's warm?

I wouldn't drive it until you figure this out. Possibility of permanent engine damage.
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Old 10-10-2005, 08:25 AM   #3
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thanks deliriousga, I saw from the searches, you had some problems as well.

The smoke is only coming from the exhaust, the smoke is white, (not blue thank heavens).

I only let the engine run for about 3-4 min, at that time the smoke was still coming out. After which I turned off the engine and took my other car to work.

Could it be water in the exhaust from rain/wind?

How abot the brakes any connection?

thanks agian
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Old 10-10-2005, 09:52 AM   #4
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The smoke problem sounds exactly like my problem which turned out to be the the oil separator.

For the brakes, I don't know why that would be connected to the smoke. If by "heavy" you mean it takes more pressure than normal to get it to slow down, it could be humidity in the brake lines. Bleeding cures most brake "feel" problems.

Has the brake fluid ever been replaced? If not, you should flush the system every year. I use ATE DOT4 racing fluid because you can get gold colored and Super Blue. They both have higher boiling points than the Porsche fluid. I replaced the original with super blue so I could tell when all of the fluid was replaced. The next time, I use the gold for the same reason. Only use new, unopened cans of fluid when replacing and throw out whatever is left. Opened cans of fluid absorb moisture so it won't be any good when you try to use it later.

The best way to do it is to get a Motive Power Bleeder (http://www.928gt.com has it for a great price and it fits all Porsches) and bleed in this order: Rear right / rear left / front left / front right. If you have Traction Control, there's additional bleeding that needs to be done. Let me know if you have it and I will post the additional instruction for that.

Hopefully that will take care of your brake problem.
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Old 10-10-2005, 10:22 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dennizxxx

I am in Boston, the weather has turned cold in the last 2-3 days or so, with constant rain this whole weekend.....

thanks
Do you live in Boston, or just visiting? Reason I'm asking is that over here in the UK, when it gets cold and damp most big engined cars will smoke for some time when cold - so it could just be the temperature change? Same thing for the brakes perhaps?

Fingers crossed it's nothing serious!
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Old 10-10-2005, 11:34 AM   #6
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THanks!

I live in Boston, and have experienced 2 winters already with my Boxster, in the previous years I have not experienced this.

Actually, here's anopther update on this, during my lunch hour I went home to take a look again, and this time, the car won't even start. I'm not the most technical with cars, so i am going to attempt to describe what happens....

When I turn the ignition, the engine only goes halfway, the car tries to start but the engine does finish...

Yikes, that sounds bad...

anyway, i called my guy from Clair Porsche, and he told me that it could be that the engine is wet from the heavy rain and winds....or he told me to check whether the carpet was wet by the driver's side, under the floor mat, because the control unit for the alarm system is located beneath it and if it got wet, the security system could have disabled the engine start/...


I'm checking later and getting back to you...

All this AND I am working on Columbus Day....
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Old 10-10-2005, 01:05 PM   #7
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@dennizxxx

Do not try to start the Engine!!! Your Engine may be Hydrolocked. If it is, and you try to start it, you could quite easily destroy the Motor.

Hydrolocking occurs when water gets into the engine, from the Intake (which can happen in a driving rain), or often from a blown or leaky Headgasket (which as I watched this thread develop is what i'd be most concerned about). Liquids are not easily compressed and the engine will brake suddenly if running, or even from the torque of the starter motor and send tremendous shock and pressure to the reciprocating gear (Pistons, Rings, ConRods). Usually, it will tear the rings up in the cylinder(s) affected, but it's not uncommon to crack a Piston, a ConRod, or even a Cylinder. Any of these things require a full rebuild, if not an engine replacement.

The danger of causing mass destruction warrants having the car towed to a Dealer or Mechanic for Service, but be sure to tell them of a possible Hydrolock issue, so they don't try to crank the motor either. If you want to try and diagnose the problem yourself, remove all the sparkplugs and check to see if any are wet. Then dry off the plug holes in the head or stuff them with paper towels and try cranking the engine 1 or 2 turns to check to see if water (AF) is forced out of them - unless you disconnect the Fuel Pump relay, you'll get some Gas mixed in as well. I hope I'm wrong (long-distance diagnoses are difficult at best) and that it isn't already too late! Good Luck!!

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99


Last edited by MNBoxster; 10-10-2005 at 01:31 PM.
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