White Smoke

[986ohana]

Good morning fellow Boxster,

After painfully getting my wisdom teeth pulled and now being able to drive, I started my Boxster this morning after sitting for a week only to see white smoke pour out of the exhaust for about three seconds and immediately stop. Should I be concerned?


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[2000986s]

Any weird sound on start up? Did the car run fine besides the smoke? White smoke for a few seconds on a boxster is usually sign of a failing AOS.

[986ohana]

No weird start up noise, car runs fine!


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[2000986s]

Sounds like a failing AOS then. Very common on our cars and nothin to be too concerned about. If left untended, it can lead to some other more concerning issues... But it's a cheap fix so just get it taken care of. Plenty of stuff on this forum about AOS and there are some YouTube videos that show how to DIY. Otherwise take it in to your shop and have them do it for you. Just don't drive the car hard until you get it taken care of.

[986ohana]

Thank you, means a lot.


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[2000986s]

No problem. I posted a thread with almost the same title as yours about a month ago so now I'm just passing on advice I was given! I would recommend having your MAF and throttle body checked out as well. Occasionally the failing AOS can cause these to be fouled up. Hopefully they can be cleaned, otherwise the MAF is not too cheap to replace, I think mine was about 600$. If this is the first white smoke I wouldn't be too concerned though. Just get it checked out sooner rather than later.

[rick3000]

A puff of white smoke on startup after sitting for a few days is normal.
If it happens every time or there is a lot of smoke then you should have the AOS checked.

[Boxtaboy]

Agreed. Don't change your AOS just yet. The car sometimes will do this, especially after starting it and turning the engine off shortly afterwards and then leaving it overnight. The next day when you start it up, you'll see smoke, but it's nothing. If the car smokes up everytime you start it, then look into the AOS.

[Gelbster]

Don't speculate - diagnosis it?
Just measure the vacuum at the AOS - lots in Search/DIY.You need a manometer to do this.Your Indie should have one. Replacing the AOS on a whim may not yield any improvement in the smoke for a few seconds after start-up.
As others have hinted ,the cause may be benign but they did not explain. Others will do a better job than me -but here is a beginning at an explanation - the flat engine configuration may be the problem. Oil tends to slowly drain & pool to places where it combines with the combustion mixture in the first few revolutions of the engine after starting.In a vertical engine, oil in the upper part of the cylinder bores would drain past the rings, down into the sump. In the flat engine it accumulates in the lower portion of the bores but 'above' the piston rings.There is no gravity drainage part the rings.
The next stage is to find out which cylinder is worst and why.That is another thread.

[2000986s]

Originally Posted by Gelbster

Don't speculate - diagnosis it?
Just measure the vacuum at the AOS - lots in Search/DIY.You need a manometer to do this.Your Indie should have one. Replacing the AOS on a whim may not yield any improvement in the smoke for a few seconds after start-up.
As others have hinted ,the cause may be benign but they did not explain. Others will do a better job than me -but here is a beginning at an explanation - the flat engine configuration may be the problem. Oil tends to slowly drain & pool to places where it combines with the combustion mixture in the first few revolutions of the engine after starting.In a vertical engine, oil in the upper part of the cylinder bores would drain past the rings, down into the sump. In the flat engine it accumulates in the lower portion of the bores but 'above' the piston rings.There is no gravity drainage part the rings.
The next stage is to find out which cylinder is worst and why.That is another thread.

Wow this is incredibly educational, thanks for the post!

[Gelbster]

Originally Posted by 2000986s

Wow this is incredibly educational, thanks for the post!

You are welcome, that is why your 986 Membership is worth every penny !
Credit should go to people like Ben who write:
http://986forum.com/forums/diy-project-guides/61858-diy-cheap-vaccum-gauge-inwc.html
Note ,even a new AOS can be defective
http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/60203-new-aos-failing.html
video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipkQUKkUcJk

[2000986s]

yessir!

[986ohana]

You guys are amazing


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[rexcramer]

Originally Posted by Gelbster

As others have hinted ,the cause may be benign but they did not explain. Others will do a better job than me -but here is a beginning at an explanation - the flat engine configuration may be the problem. Oil tends to slowly drain & pool to places where it combines with the combustion mixture in the first few revolutions of the engine after starting.In a vertical engine, oil in the upper part of the cylinder bores would drain past the rings, down into the sump. In the flat engine it accumulates in the lower portion of the bores but 'above' the piston rings.There is no gravity drainage part the rings.
The next stage is to find out which cylinder is worst and why.That is another thread.

VW's and Subaru flat engines, with lots of miles, can smoke on start up after sitting for awhile also. Trying to pull the oil cap off while the engine is running is a 'shade tree' mechanic test. A manometer would definitely dial it in for you. How many miles on your engine? Once after a week, most likely a non-issue, depending on mileage. Definitely don't ignore it, if it continues. A compression test and or a leak-down test might also shed some light too.

[986ohana]

Well she's got 216,000km or 110,000 miles I think ?


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[986ohana]

It say for about a week and a half....


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