Does this mean the AOS is toast?
 

Hi,

2001 S. Experiencing a bit of hunting idle. Took out the TB to clean it. Found oil in the intake, see pics. This points to the AOS, right?

Thanks so much!

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1572485090.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1572485119.jpg

Yes that is coming from the AOS. With that much oil you should see white smoke coming out of the exhaust when starting the engine.

I think so..
I just went something similar, details here: http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/76396-2001-s-idle-issues-hesitation-when-warm.html

-Brian

honestly some oil in the intake is normal on modern pcv equipped cars. That amount of oil does not appear excessive. Testing the AOS is probably a good idea anyway, but I'm not sure this fully indicative of an AOS failure

+1
Every time I have gone to clean my TB there is some oil residue. I would expect some as that is one of the functions of the AOS. Now the amount you get is subjective. If you have puddles and white smoke then AOS would be something to look at.

Sorry to jump on this thread, but how do you "test" the AOS?

First level of no tool testing is while car is running see how hard is it to remove oil filler cap. More specifically you need a tool to measure vacuum and compare the results with the expected. Search and you will find references to the tool and the nominal values expected

Thank you for your replies.

The car does not exhibit any of the other signs of a failed AOS, so I decided to just clean the TB for now and put everything back together. The idle is very steady now, so I’ll declare victory at this point.

Thanks again!