Blown engine?
 

Will it seems my luck with used cars has finially come to a major end, while running about 4500 RPM I notice some blue smoke coming out he exhaust. I backed off and it quit, I drove about a half mile further and than, white smoke just rolled out the the back. I drove it that way for less than a quarter of a mile to get it off the road and shut it off...still running ok and no CEL. I than went to the back and my tail pipe is on fire! Got the fire out and check the oil level and it appears that there is none left, some how I dumped 9 quarts of oil in less than a quarter mile.

Any ideas? is my engine toast? some one want a good buy on a 2001 S ? are these to many questions? Its a shame jus to blow 25 grand out the door isn't it :(

There goes my whole summer.
dusty

That sucks. Sorry.

When did you buy it? Did you get a PPI?

Could it just be the oil air separator?

I picked it up in January and it has sat in the garage unitl these last two weeks and I only put about 500 hundred miles on it, what little warrantee I had on it expired in the the garage :( and no I did not get a ppi.

Could someone expain about the oil seperator, would I have lost all the oil?

Thanks

If the engine seems to run OK, but is blowing smoke... oil is getting in somewhere. Not likely a completely destroyed engine. A destroyed engine wouldn't run, now would it???

I'd have it towed to a dealer, have 'em look at it. If it's the oil air seperator, it's not a majorly expensive part, and shouldn't take much time to replace.

Wvav8tor, no PPI....oouch!

There is some great info on this Forum, but I guess you can't make people read everything or follow the advice.

You have a great looking car! Time for a nice engine swap from a 996! :D Make lemonade my Boxster friend.

I don't think we need to be talkin to him about 996 swaps and such yet!

Get that bad boy to a dealer, it could be something simple.

Hopely it's not blown engine, (usually you hear broken metal sound and the car stops and becomes undrivable) but make sure to talk to your dealer and PNA even if it turns out to be and out of warranty. Class suit is palnning on, so you never know.

Hey in less than 2 hours I have already warn out one ass kicking machine and I am looking for a loaner :) I wonder if an inspection would have caught something like this? As for the soft drink no thanks but I have started in on the Jack and figured the bottle was better used beating myself over the head with it than drinking out of it.

My neighbor had similar experience. She had a intermediate shaft failure, total engine gone.

Hopefully, you have not gone down that road.

Keep us posted.

No CEL, I would have towed it to the dealer and have them tell you what's wrong. There could be hope...

What makes you think it blew out all 9 quarts? Did the oil light come on?

I'm inclined to think that if you blew all the oil out of the engine that it would throw some pissed off idiot lights at you, and most often, blown motors don't continue to run without throwing idiot lights as well, but from what Jim said you may be in bad shape.

I'd get it to a good tech and let him figure out what is wrong before you call it a day.

Patrick

Went back out to the car with some oil, found out it was less than two quarts low.
Car starts and runs fine except for the billowing white smoke, I will do some checking in the morning about where I should have it towed(maybe to the junk yard) any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

dusty

Don't run it anymore and get to a qualified Porsche mechanic.

Hi,

Oil Separator and/or associated Tubing seems like the issue to me, but that's the simplified answer.

I assume that you checked the Oil Level prior to cranking it up from it's Winter Nap. If so, you blew 2 Qts. of Oil through the Intake system, which will need to be disassembled and thoroughly cleaned, incl. the Throttle Body. Then, you probably contaminated the Plugs, O² Sensors on both Banks, and maybe damaged the Cats as well. You may also need to flush the Cylinders w/ Carb Cleaner and then blow them dry w/ compressed air. You'll also need an Oil and Filter change.

If you didn't check the Oil Level prior to starting it, why not? (That's not so much an admonishment of you as much as it is a warning to others...)

Long Distance diagnoses are difficult at best. But from your description, it sounds as if the mechanicals are intact - no IMS failure.

Check under the Car for signs of leakage to insure that a catastrophic RMS or IMS seal didn't let go and the airflow dragged the spilt Oil over the Exhaust system and what you saw wasn't ignited Oil from the exterior of the Muffler.

Also check the Urethane Bumper Cover for signs of melting from the associated Fire.

Before committing to any plan of action or buying any parts, unless you're a skilled DIYer, have a good mechanic look it over to confirm your suspicions. Good Luck!...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Based on this addtional data, I would guess blown head gastket.

I have to ask... how'd you put out the fire? I've considered putting a fire exstinguisher in my car.... as a just incase

Would a blown head gasket result in loss of coolant? There was none as the coolant level shows full, also checked under the car and no signs of oil.

I have been running the car for about two weeks now although no big trips and yes I check the oil level. The car was running great before this occured and the first sign of a problem was the light blue smoke rolling out the back. That quit and a couple of seconds later the white smoke and lots of it.

Hi,

Yep, I still say Oil Separator/Tubing. That doesn't guarantee I'm right, but that's my bet...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

I put the fire out with an extinguisher I had with me but after thinking about it I could have just stuff a rag(which I had in hand) up the exhaust pipe but I was in the panic mode and just didn't think about it. The whole thing including the fire was a real cool effect but I guess the timing was just wrong :cool:

I'm really trying to keep my sense of humor about this but it is hard, I only put about 500 miles on the car and this is my second Boxster in six months to go south on me. The first needing the imfamous RMS done and a new clutch as well.

I love the pure pleasure of driving these cars and as I have said the most fun ever in any other car I have owned. Having said that I will get the car fixed and then I think I'm gone. I simply do not have the cash to keep a car like this running and should have taken that in to consideration but I didn't and am now paying the price. You would think a car as refined as this one is would not be proned to these problems and what is funny the same problems seem to continue through later models.

I guess it is back to my ole 98 Ford F150 which I have sunk nearly $1500.00 in over 141000 miles...not bad huh. The only problem is damn top won't go down :(

well at least the F150 doesnt have any RMS problems, or stupid convertible top problems, os fire coming out of it.

but its kinda funny, even after all the troubles we go trough w our cars, if we sell them we will probably end up getting a new one just like it :)

Contacted the dealer (Tower Auto in Pittsburgh) and in so many words told me sorry about your luck. I almost understand and if I had put any kind of mileage on the car than so be it but only 500 hundred miles and a major problem occurs and not even an offer to look at the car, I think is way below the belt. I guess it is something to think about if anyone is planning to do business with them in the future…great people when you are buying but cold as hell when you have a problem.

Porsche dealership in Pittsburgh is supposed to call me in the morning I will see what they have to say. I also have a appointment next Monday with a foreign car expert ( I had no idea that anyone in Morgantown was an expert at anything) and he said it could be the oil separator but also said it could be other more major things…I have heard he is pricy and it sounds like we are headed in that direction.

As suggested here I did remove the oil refill cap to see if it would stop smoking but it seem to blow as much smoke as before, I did not run it long and was wondering if I should have. I figure that it would take sometime to burn off the oil but it appeared not to be decreasing any in the short time I ran it. I believe the hardest part is waiting to find out how much this is going to cost and mechanics are like doctors and none of them get in a hurry.

I do know if the engine is gone it will sit in my garage for sometime to come or I will sell it as is…anyone know what something like that would be worth?

Thanks for letting me whine. :ah:
dusty

I would take it to a Porsche garage, no where else to find out what's wrong. Once you know what it needs, then make the decision as to where to get it done.

I second Paul's sentiment. Take it to a p-car wrench, someone that knows boxsters and 996s. Don't write the car off yet. It might not be a bad fix.

You are probably looking at $10k-$15k or so based on my experience.
But it's worst case, so hang on there.

I think you misunderstood or maybe I have misunderstood you, I meant what is the car worth with a blown engine? Hell at this point I would be almost willing to roll the dice and sell for $15000.00 :dance:

Looking at my credit card limits :barf:
Dusty

Hi,

Don't run the Car! I still think it's the Separator, but running the Car, while not risking grenading the engine is still harming the Cats and Emissions gear. Wait to see what the pros say. Good Luck!...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

You still have not recieved a CEL this whole time? Even a lighty bad oil seperator could trigger a CEL. Perhaps someone knew it a CEL light,found out the problem was too much to fix and sold it anyways. Does the CEL come on when you turn the key over? Do you have access to an OBD II reader? Even if someone cut power to the light you should still be able to read any codes it giving from the OBD II port.

Hope all works out! Good luck!

Yep, CEL does light up when the switch is turned on and goes out after start up.....still. I'm going to start it up one more time to see if there is a vacume on the oil fill cap and from what I have read here it would seem to say yes it is the separator. If so I am temped to do it myself. I have never worked on a Boxster before but I will get a room at Holiday Inn first thing in the morning. :D

dusty

Really....DON'T start the car. If it's just a bad AOS, you could hydrolock the engine with all that oil, then you *will* be in a world of hurt.

Here's hoping it's a $100 AOS fix.

There are a lot of Boxsters available on the used car market...so, one with a blown engine won't be selling anytime soon, IMHO. Get it fixed. And STOP RUNNING THE ENGINE!

Considering you only put on 500 miles since you bought the car before this incident, aren't there lemon laws that can take effect?

Hopefully it isn't a major problem, but white smoke sounds like you are burning water/coolant, thus either a blown head gasket or cracked cylinder liner. A compression/leakdown test will tell you pretty quick. Echoing the sentiments of others, please stop running the car or you will guarantee the need for a new motor.

If the engine is done and you decide to sell it as is, let me know, I might be interested in it.

Todd

Well after all of the thoughts and advice that I have received from here I decided to take a gun to the Boxster and than to myself…..just kidding. I did with all of your help and instruction remove the AOS myself! :dance: I found it had quite a bit of oil in it and I was over whelmed with joy. :cheers: I have ordered the new AOS and should have it by the weekend, I anxiously wait to install it to find if this is indeed the problem…Lord I hope so.

I found the removal not real difficult but hard enough and as with most of the new and amazing thing we have into today’s world they are all engineered to work not to work on.

Thanks for the help and keep your fingers crossed.

dusty

@ wvava8tor,

Unless you know 100% that the Oil Separator is the problem I would still pay a independent shop a hours labor to proper diagnosis it.

Suggest you get this car to a mechanic. I don't think your approach is the best one.

what happens to aos's when they go bad? Can't they be fixed or cleaned out? How much are they?

I paid $94.00 shipped, I was advised to remove one of the hose connections from the AOS and if I found oil in it than it had failed. After completely removing the AOS it had a fair amount of oil throughout...enough to drip out of it. Is this the only problem?...hope so but I assumed that replacing it as indeed it does need replaced would only leave me $94.00 further in the hole and in the big picture if the engine is toast than it is only a drop in the bucket.


Possible paper weight owner(big one)
dusty