Bluish white smoke while driving
 

Hi everybody, so a few days ago I was driving back from the shop literally on my way home to change the oil and do some routine maintenance, and out of nowhere a huge cloud of white smoke started pouring out of my exhaust. The engine temp was alright, and the car kept running just fine, but then when I stopped it I noticed the idle was pretty high (~1000rpm) and it felt erratic, jumping around a lot and vibrating. I decided to take it home regardless of the smoke since I was very close (probably not the best idea). Does anyone know what might cause this? I know it's I'm not giving you guys a lot to go on but what should I check? I read that this might be a bad air oil separator, but I have no idea. If it helps at all, it's always leaked a little bit of oil, and at one point it leaked coolant but a mechanic took care of that. But that mechanic also stripped out my drain plug so I'd rather not take it to him this time. I don't need to be driving it right now so I wanted to fix it myself if possible. It's an 01' Boxster S tiptronic with about 61k miles on it. Any help would be much appreciated.

AOS. Common issue. Oil being sprayed or released into the intake manifolds can do that and mess with idle of course.

Oil leak can be RMS. Find the source. That can be fatal. May be plug tubes as well. Several easy fixes may cause a small leak.

Here's the AOS DIY at Pelican Parts. It has good pictures and info: Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Air / Oil Separator Replacement - 986 / 987

The spark plug tube are often a cause for an oil leak, but not for white smoke.
Here's a great thread discussing the replacement of the tubes:
http://986forum.com/forums/diy-project-guides/52150-spark-plug-tubes.html
Probably a good idea to do it while you have some down time if they haven't been replace yet.

Okay, thanks guys. I did some more looking and testing and I ordered a new aos. Hopefully it'll fix the problem. And I'll definitely check the plug tubes for the oil leak. But now the main issue is my drain plug; it's totally seized up. I can't even move it without digging into the threads. How do I get it out?? any special tools? Would heat help? I ordered a new one but I can't even figure out how I'd replace it!

When you say the mechanic stripped out the threads how did he fix it ? Did he butcher it by using JB Weld or similar ? You may be looking at a new oil pan I'm sure you could pick up a good used one.

I'd just replace the whole sump pan if the plug is stripped. Check eBay or put a parts wanted post in the parts forum. (I have one off a dead engine sitting on a shelf, and I bet there are over a dozen other forum members with an extra pan.)

I was very much considering replacing the whole pan but thankfully I got the plug out using one of those ez-out negative threaded drill bit things. The threads on the pan looks fine so the new plug should fit in fine when I get it. In the mean time, would you mind giving me some tips on how to remove the AOS? I took off the back right wheel and I'm working through there, but it's still a tight squeeze. I'm sure it's manageable, but is there an easier way?

I did mine from the top.

Pull the snorkel & see if any oil pools in the manifolds.

I had same problem in my '03 S. Can you remove the oil fill cap while idling? If not AOS bad. If you run engine too long oil will ruin cats!

True enough, but if it hydrolocks on ingested oil, ruined cats will be the least of your problems.

Since you need to replace the drain plug, I highly recommend purchasing the LN billet aluminum magnetic drain plug. It is very beefy, won't strip like the factory plug and has a powerful magnet to attract any metal contained within the oil. Very comforting at change time to see if the plug attracted metal which could tip you to internal problems.

Thanks again for all your help. I did order the magnetic drain plug too; I didn't wanna have the same issue as last time (also thank you for explaining what the magnet was for, haha I was confused). I also haven't started the car since I pulled it into the garage a week ago, but how can I tell if I already ruined my cats?

jmatta:

Even if the LN billet magnetic plug is beefy, you must be careful Not to over torque it, because It Will fail... guess how did I found out :-(

.

What should I torque it to?

Torque to 19 ft/lb (25.8Nm) with a new washer.....

The new plug should come with a sticker over the hole to warn you to only torque to 19 ft/lbs (at least mine did).

Blue smoke is oil being burned in the combustion chamber(s). White smoke is typically coolant. If the AOS doesn't help you it is time to look at the head gaskets and pray you don't have a crack somewhere in the heads etc.

That would truly suck. And I have had coolant leaks in the past that a mechanic fixed, but I did lose a bit of coolant on my drive back. Is burning oil and coolant a common problem that cars can have at the same time? I know the exhaust was basically dripping with oil and it smelled a whole lot like oil, but my loss of coolant as well was a bit disturbing.

I Started my car up the other day after it sat for 5 months - I too noticed white smoke coming out of the exhaust right away (-1C outside). It was not as bad once the car warmed up though... thoughts of what this could be? Issue or non-issue?

Okay so it's been a few weeks since I changed the oil and AOS. Everything's working pretty well except for a slightly distinct smell of fuel after starting the car. But surprisingly I haven't seen any oil leaking and it doesn't start burning oil if I drive it long distances like it used to. I'm a little curious about the smell though. Also, it's making a loud belt-whir kind of sound on cold start, but only sometimes. Any ideas?