Help! White smoke from exhaust on acceleration in a 996 C2.

[996c2]

On my way back from the sandwich shop at lunch time today I noticed that my car (a 2002 996 C2) wasn't responding in the usual manner when I pressed on the accelerator pedal. The car was travelling straight on a flat road at about 20mph in 2nd gear and I was only pressing on the accelerator gently to get it to 30mph or so. The engine felt slightly lumpy as I tried to accelerate and the car was accelerating very slowly. This went on for about 30s before I noticed white smoke coming out of the exhaust. There was no warning lights on the dash.

I continued at 20mph for another 500feet before parking up and having a look from the outside. There was no obvious fluid leak on the road but the exhaust exit did look wet. There was no smell so it did not seem like oil or petrol although I cannot be sure.

I decided to take a chance and drive the car the 1 mile journey back to the work car park. The car started fine and there was a lot of white smoke initially but this soon resolved and the car seem fine (no lumpiness or smoke) as long as I kept the rev counter below 2,000rpm. Above 2,000rpm it seems to me that the car did not want to accelerate very much and possibly felt lumpy. As you can imagine, I took it very easy on the way back so did not really test the car beyond 2,000rpm much. There was no warning lights on the dash on the drive back.

Can anyone help and suggest what could be wrong? I have left the car in the work car park as I did not want to cause any more damage by driving it without knowing what's wrong.

Thanks.

Edited by 996c2 on Wednesday 27th February 18:23

[steve singh]

If there is no coolant/oil mix on the dipstick then i suspect it's the air oil separater related.

You haven't overfilled it recently with oil have you?

Someone more knowledgeable will come along shortly.

[996c2]

steve singh said:

If there is no coolant/oil mix on the dipstick then i suspect it's the air oil separater related.

You haven't overfilled it recently with oil have you?

Someone more knowledgeable will come along shortly.

Thanks for the prompt reply Steve. The air oil separator is a good shout from what I have managed to learn from a bit of googling so far.

I have not filled the oil recently so I don't think it is an overfilling problem.

Hopefully someone will be able to confirm your suggestion or perhaps suggest other possible causes.

Do you have any idea how much the air oil separator will cost to fix?

Thanks.

[996c2]

After a bit of googling, I went to the car to check the oil level and it is fine. The oil on the dipstix looks normal.

Starting the car produced a lot of white smoke again but this soon improved and only a small amount of white smoke was seen when the car is idling.

I tried to remove the oil cap when the engine was idling and did notice that it was very tight.

From what I learned on the 'net so far, it does seem like the AOS is the problem.

Can anyone suggest how much this is likely to cost at the OPC?

Thanks.

[metsta]

if you are london based, give sid a call and get it recovered there

http://www.porsche-torque.com/

[steve singh]

996c2 said:

steve singh said:

If there is no coolant/oil mix on the dipstick then i suspect it's the air oil separater related.

You haven't overfilled it recently with oil have you?

Someone more knowledgeable will come along shortly.

Thanks for the prompt reply Steve. The air oil separator is a good shout from what I have managed to learn from a bit of googling so far.

I have not filled the oil recently so I don't think it is an overfilling problem.

Hopefully someone will be able to confirm your suggestion or perhaps suggest other possible causes.

Do you have any idea how much the air oil separator will cost to fix?

Thanks.

Hi, I seem to recall having this work done at an indy previously - it was a cheap pipe that split/broke on mine (?), but engine out job from memory...think it cost in the region of £200 all in, but it was a while ago.

Saying that though I had no smoke coming out the exhaust - best to speak to a garage to get their view.

Edited by steve singh on Thursday 28th February 14:53

[BertBert]

steve singh said:

Hi, I seem to recall having this work done at an indy previously - it was a cheap part that split/broke on mine, but engine out job from memory...think it cost in the region of £200 but it was a while ago.

You won't get an engine in/out for £200 will you?
BErt

[supersport]

BertBert said:

steve singh said:

Hi, I seem to recall having this work done at an indy previously - it was a cheap part that split/broke on mine, but engine out job from memory...think it cost in the region of £200 but it was a while ago.

You won't get an engine in/out for £200 will you?
BErt

Not if you want in one piece you won't.

It isn't an engine out job for the separator.

[Magic919]

Maybe find a large post and buy a chain.

[steve singh]

BertBert said:

steve singh said:

Hi, I seem to recall having this work done at an indy previously - it was a cheap part that split/broke on mine, but engine out job from memory...think it cost in the region of £200 but it was a while ago.

You won't get an engine in/out for £200 will you?
BErt

Sorry was typing whilst having a conversation - but NOT an engine out job is what i meant to say!

[996c2]

steve singh said:

If there is no coolant/oil mix on the dipstick then i suspect it's the air oil separater related.

Just a quick update for anyone who may have a similar problem in the future.

Steve was absolutely spot on with the Air Oil Separator as being the problem.

I took my car to RGA Posrche Centre in Vauxhall and Bob confirmed it was the Crankcase breather. He fixed it for 5h labour and £68.83+vat for the part. As Bob charges £72/h for labour, the repair was not cheap but it was certainly effective. Part of the labour involved an internal examination of the cylinders with an endoscope to confirm everything was OK so at least that is reassuring.