Oil Leak with smoke

[utkayaker]

Well I pulled the AOS from my 2001 Boxster 2.7 liter and it doesn't have a drop of oil in it so I assume that little device is not my source of smoke.

On Wednesday, I sprayed the passenger (right hand) side of the engine with degreaser and ran it for a while and didn't find the source of any smoke.

It really looked like when I was running it the smoke was coming up from the backside near the AOS and dripping on the exhaust (but earlier I noticed an oil drop on the catalytic converter.

I did not degrease the front sparkplug because of reach and because I really thought the problem was toward the rear of the engine, but now I am wondering if it could be that first sparkplug tube's o-rings.

Right now I have the car jacked up so it may not be dripping back as much as it otherwise would.

I also inspected (maybe not thoroughly enough) the oil fill tube and it felt like it had oil residue on it but not as much as the rest of that side of the engine.

What troubles/scares me is when it let loose with smoke it was fairly significant. Not out the tailpipe but out the side vent. It wet the back right bumper pad (splattered) so I know it blew a good bit of oil out.

Again, the bottom of the engine IS wet but I don't see how that got oil on top of the pipes (which is where I saw it smoking) (UNLESS it hemorrhaged so badly it blew oil everywhere (but the left side is relatively dry - including the back bumper).

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!

[ganseg]

Do you have room before full to poor some oil in the fill tube and see if it drips? Any issues with idle that indicate a vacuum leak?

[san rensho]

You have oil dripping on the exhaust/cats. It usually comes from mthe spark plug tubes, or leaks from the bottom section of the cam cover. Do search on replacing the spark plug tubes if it's the tubes.

Next, look at the bottom edge of the cam covers. If you see a big drop of oil, the leak is likely from the cover. If its the cam cover, try this. One by one, take out the 3 or 4 bolts at the bottom of the cam cover. Meticulously clean the threads of the bolt and the hole. Goober some gasket maker from the center of the bolt to the head. More is more. Reinstall the bolt and torque to spec, do not over torque. I did this and the cam cover still weaps a bit but I don't get the smoke coming out of the vent like I did before.

[utkayaker]

Thanks to both of you!

It idles smoothly but runs a bit rough if I pull the oil fill cap off.

One thing I didn't do either is check to see how much oil is left after it smoked and blew a good bit of oil. I am now wondering if I can't find the leak because there is not enough oil in the engine to "feed" a leaking spot.

I am really starting to suspect that it is the front right spark plug tube.

Can I run the engine without reconnecting the AOS? Should I go ahead and replace the AOS even though it is probably ok? (I just bought the car so I don't know how long this unit has been installed.)

THANKS!!!

[ganseg]

If you have the AOS out, read the last two digits of the part number. The one i bought recently ends in 04. I believe that has been out a couple of years or more. If yours has an older (smaller) end number, replace for sure. If not, I owuld learn toward changing it anyway. My car has not smoked since I replaced it even though mine was only 3 years old.

Regarding low oil level, it doesn't take much oil to make a lot of smoke. Also, a low level won't help a leak. The spark plug tubes get oil in them from when the engine is running not from sitting in oil when it is off. The cam cover bolts may be above the level of the oil when not running too.

I run my oil one line below full. Most say to have it full but not overfull.