Boxster smoking! Tech has no idea!
 

I am very lost and extremely frustrated. I really hope someone has an idea or clue--

I was driving my '97 2.5 one day when i decided to give the gas pedal a punch :cool: . Smoke piled out the exhaust as if i had packed the muffler and manifolds with dry brush. Cars stopped, people honked, and everyone ran up to make sure there wasn't a fire.

I had the car towed to my Porsche Tech (independent). He changed all oil separators and still had no luck. After another few days of trying to figure out the issue (without taking apart the engine)...he removed the muffler. Its MUCH better, yet still smokes on occasion. Under load, going up a hill, acceleration (occasionally)--the smoke starts again.

After a lot of time and money, i figured i would ask you all. Thanks for your read. :confused:

i guess the mufflers still had/has oil in it...maybe the intake also...try to clean/wash things out or let it idle for a while

It has idled for a good 7 hours (over time). It seems to be better, but whenever i think the problem has been fixed...it blows a lot of smoke. :(

its oil smoke and not water ?

Its oil. I just let it idle for 30 minutes. It smoked on start up then slowed down. I just took it for a drive. 2 minutes down the road it started to smoke...i live on a hill...on the way back up the hill the smoke was so extreme i couldn't see anything behind me. It drives perfect. No check engine light. UGH.

is there a way to disco the aos and drive the car ?

disco the aos? Please explain. Thanks.

disconnect...i wasnt sure of the spelling

color of the smoke?

is it white? that usually means water / coolant is getting into the combustion chamber. maybe it's more blue? that would indicate oil is getting burnt. if it's black then you might have too rich of a fuel mixture...

Its very white. Coolant, eh?

Just a process of elimination to find the cause. It should not be billowing smoke... duh.

1. pull your oil dipstick and look closely at the oil. Was it overfilled? Oil overfill will kill your new AOS quick. It should be clean and golden in color. If it looks like a milkshake you have a coolant/oil intermix problem. Open the coolant reservoir when cool and check same. If both look clean you can now celebrate with a beer. :cheers:

2. make sure your intake, throttle body and cats are clean of excess oil. (they can load up pretty fast with a bad AOS and it takes a while to burn it all off.

3. Monitor your oil and coolant levels to see if either are dropping. They should be very stable for 4000 miles or more.

4. If you have not yet found a problem you can pull and inspect the spark plugs or have a leakdown test performed to see if one or more cylinders has failed.

Plenty of things to check. Let us know what you find.

Air oil separator failure. no doubt. with car running, remove oil fil cap. you will hear a loud sucking noise.

He said in the original post that his indie already changed the AOS, but the problem still existed. Perhaps a problem with the oil cooler ?

Cracked Head ?

First off, i really, reallllly, appreciate the help.

No "sucking" noise from the cap. How do i clean out the cats? Please explain as i have today off and would love to try another option.

CRACKED HEAD?!!!??! Oh boy. :troll:

I really hope its an easy fix as i just purchased the vehicle 2 months ago. :ah:

perhaps you can take it to a shop that can tell what type of smoke it is

I assume you've looked in the coolant reservoir - does the coolant look like chocolate milk or normal?

When I cracked the head on my Jeep, the smoke from the exhaust was white and 'felt' moist....like when you put your hand over the exhaust vent of a laundry dryer.

If that's the case, you probably have a cracked head or leaking head gasket that is allowing coolant into the combustion chamber.

If it is not the AOS. (It really sounds like it is), then the cats have oil in them. First off they WILL NOT smoke and then not smoke and then smoke. Just not possiable unless new oil is in there.

If the cats had oil, it will burn out, may damage the cats because of carbon build up.

Same therory goes for the muffler. (except it will not be runied if it was full of oil).

Because it comes and goes, It is either a craked head or gasket like he said. When internal pressure builds the oil blows into the chamber and burns.

But you should look to the most likely spot. The AOS. It may not have been replaced correctly or completly.

I would take it to a dealer, let them fix the AOS, then then send the bill to the INDY shop.

Thumbs up the AOS installed...it needs to right on or your problem will not go away. The J-tube on top is usually replaced at the same time. Also the lower tube can fail and crack or suck air around the orings. I would check the AOS to be sure it is in correct. There is a place it goes into the block and the notorious boot...usually this is where you might get a problem.

Has your car ever run Hot? (240+) When my 2000 S AOS failed I replaced it & it still smoked slightly, cleaned thin film of Mobil 1 from Throttle Body & intake tube & cured smoking. Later removed Intake Manifold & saw simular amount of oil inside but no smoking. Removed sec. Cats & no sign of oil there. I would think if you had oil in cats it would light the check engine light with codes. Has your car ever run Hot? :cheers:

Hey all, thank you VERY much for all the suggestions and help. I really appreciate it! I had my car towed back yesterday...got a call this morning. He thinks the BRAND NEW oil separator was bad...im going to check it tonight and see if she smokes. Ill update you all. I really hope its fixed.

Just because the part is new means nothing. I get bad AOS units right out of the box too.

I am working on a kit to omit the POS AOS!

Cool! Sign me up for beta testing! :)

There are a lot of universal AOS kits out there, like this one from Moroso:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MOR-85471/

Would that work with the right fittings & a bracket?

They operate off of a different concept. I have proven the AOS doesn't help or hurt power even when completely deleted from the system.

BTW- after changing an AOS it is normal for the cats and mufflers as well as the intake to still have residual oil from the occurrence.. It can take up to a week for the smoke to totally stop.

Jesus man, would you stop following the Jake around the forum like a lost puppy!

Nope, not at all.. This would only be for track vehicles not to be used on any public streets or even fitted with a license plate.

Thus far this has only been tested in a lab setting (dyno cell) and hasn't ever hit the street.

Well i drove it home today without the slightest bit of SMOKE!!! Woohoo! A good ending to a bad beginning :cheers: Time for a beer.

congrats! here's to many more smoke-free miles.
:cheers:

Well, those miles were cut short. I spent all day fabbing up a mount for my stebro muffler. I got it on!!! WOOOT! 10 miles later...smoke. Again. Just as bad.

Im trying to stay as positive as possible...so heres some more info on when it happens. Hopefully i can get the "why" from you 986 geniuses.

I have given more thought as to when it starts...

It runs perfect for miles, not a hint of smoke...the last 3 times its happened either going up a very steep hill (i live on one) or accelerating ( to freeway speeds) up a local on-ramp thats has a small climb to it....

Its got to be an internal engine issue....ugh. :(

DOESNT LOOK OR SMELL LIKE OIL!!!!!! eh?
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4...e/IMG_0252.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4...e/IMG_0253.jpg

Is it just me or is that coolant? Uh oh...cracked head? Please give me some opinions...i think im making headway. If it is indeed not oil i have NO faith in my tech. :confused:

SO... does it only smoke when the temp gets to a certain level ?

so your mechanic cant tell what it is ?

No...he cant.

It will run fine at normal temp, then i'll get on the freeway or go up a hill and it will just go crazy with white smoke...its very random and never happens at the same speed, place, rpm, or temp...it is coolant, right?

they [oil water] dont smell the same....oil will hang around for more than a few seconds...water [steam] is gone after a few seconds

After a lot of scratching my head and staring at my baby...Im pretty sure its a cracked or warped head.

Aftermarket headers were put on it recently (will never go there again). The power steering line rubbed up against the drivers side header and eventually burned a hole-- caused a fire underneath :ah: . I was able to get most out with an extinguisher, but then hit it with water as it kept coming back...the VERY hot then cold could crack or warp a head, right?

help?

Your pics look like coolant in the combustion chamber for sure. A spark plug inspection will confirm this.

Might want to do a compression test. I can't believe the "mechanic" hasn't done that already, as that smoke looks nothing like thick burning oil (to me, could be a camera issue too).

Draining your oil/coolant is another way to check and see if there is crossover, but on this car both things will wind up running you over $100-150 in parts & labor. A simple compression test should tell you whether or not coolant is entering the combustion chamber through a bad head gasket or cracked head (won't tell u which), and it's cheap and easy to do.