(Another) White Smoke from the Exhaust Incident

[trimporp]

Originally Posted by dennizxxx

I am in Boston, the weather has turned cold in the last 2-3 days or so, with constant rain this whole weekend.....

thanks

Do you live in Boston, or just visiting? Reason I'm asking is that over here in the UK, when it gets cold and damp most big engined cars will smoke for some time when cold - so it could just be the temperature change? Same thing for the brakes perhaps?

Fingers crossed it's nothing serious!

[dennizxxx]

THanks!

I live in Boston, and have experienced 2 winters already with my Boxster, in the previous years I have not experienced this.

Actually, here's anopther update on this, during my lunch hour I went home to take a look again, and this time, the car won't even start. I'm not the most technical with cars, so i am going to attempt to describe what happens....

When I turn the ignition, the engine only goes halfway, the car tries to start but the engine does finish...

Yikes, that sounds bad...

anyway, i called my guy from Clair Porsche, and he told me that it could be that the engine is wet from the heavy rain and winds....or he told me to check whether the carpet was wet by the driver's side, under the floor mat, because the control unit for the alarm system is located beneath it and if it got wet, the security system could have disabled the engine start/...


I'm checking later and getting back to you...

All this AND I am working on Columbus Day....

[MNBoxster]

@dennizxxx

Do not try to start the Engine!!! Your Engine may be Hydrolocked. If it is, and you try to start it, you could quite easily destroy the Motor.

Hydrolocking occurs when water gets into the engine, from the Intake (which can happen in a driving rain), or often from a blown or leaky Headgasket (which as I watched this thread develop is what i'd be most concerned about). Liquids are not easily compressed and the engine will brake suddenly if running, or even from the torque of the starter motor and send tremendous shock and pressure to the reciprocating gear (Pistons, Rings, ConRods). Usually, it will tear the rings up in the cylinder(s) affected, but it's not uncommon to crack a Piston, a ConRod, or even a Cylinder. Any of these things require a full rebuild, if not an engine replacement.

The danger of causing mass destruction warrants having the car towed to a Dealer or Mechanic for Service, but be sure to tell them of a possible Hydrolock issue, so they don't try to crank the motor either. If you want to try and diagnose the problem yourself, remove all the sparkplugs and check to see if any are wet. Then dry off the plug holes in the head or stuff them with paper towels and try cranking the engine 1 or 2 turns to check to see if water (AF) is forced out of them - unless you disconnect the Fuel Pump relay, you'll get some Gas mixed in as well. I hope I'm wrong (long-distance diagnoses are difficult at best) and that it isn't already too late! Good Luck!!

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99