Air/Oil Seperator write up?

[Kevfra]

Well I replaced mine - and still have white smoke, although perhaps not as much. I have to drive it to see if it clears, and if the sucking comes back to the oil cap.

Isn't this thing just a minor smog control device, to capture vapor from the crankcase and burn it? In the old days (and on other cars) that would be a very simple matter. This thing seems overly complicated and prone to failure.

[Kevfra]

OK - no smoke. Here is what I think...

While I was under there scratching my head, I decided to change the oil. It took about twenty minutes to drain, and I don't mean a slow drip. It was a steady stream of about 1/8 inch diameter for twenty minutes, obviously way longer than it should take if all the oil was in the pan.

I think the AOS failure sucked oil into another area of the engine, and it was sitting there which is why I still had smoke after I replaced the part. But by completely draining the oil I removed it from the inappropriate area - and life is good.

Just put twenty or so miles on it and things appear normal and happy.

Still think it is a stupid design...

[Sain0rs]

First off, amazing job with the DIY. I had been concerned about the smoke issue late last year for my '03 S and bought the AOS from pelican parts but hadn't gotten around to installing it. Yesterday the smoking on startup and while running has become extreme so I intend on installing the new AOS.

However, Pelican has two AOS units for sale. The one that I bought (Oil Separator, Boxster/Boxster S (2003-04):
http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/more_info.cgi?pn=996-107-026-01-M100&catalog_description=Oil%20Separator%2C%20Boxster%2 FBoxster%20S%20%282003-04%29%2C%20Each

And the one that resembles the AOS in your instructions (Boxster/Boxster S (1997-02) up to Eng # 65X01419):
http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/more_info.cgi?pn=996-107-023-04-M100&catalog_description=Oil%20Separator%2C%20Boxster%2 FBoxster%20S%20%281997-02%29%20up%20to%20Eng%20%23%2065X01419%2C%20Each

Anyone have an idea if the install is much more difficult for the 03-04 AOS?

[gschotland]

Sounds like you don't really have a choice either way unless the alternative is paying someone else a few hundred bucks to do it. Go for it! And share your results with us on what differed from the write up.