Rough idle, occasional cold start smoke, 987 .2
- Thread starter 911hillclimber
- Start date
Boris the spyder
New member
Yes Jeff, I remember doing 2 weeks school work experience with a Ford garage in the 70s. My treat for the last day was to help remove an engine from a Capri. The mechanic had it out and on the floor in less than an hour. Takes half that time just to expose the top of a Boxster engine. However the modern car is in my opinion an engineering marvel and the Boxster is more than capable of embarrassing more expensive toys on a twisty B road. Magic cars. ??
Boris the spyder
New member
The ammeter, yes please don't move left, The oil pressure gauge, please don't drop off the scale when I rev. The temperature gauge, why have you moved to the far right. The petrol gauge, why are you copying the ammeter. The vacuum gauge, why did I fit you, aahh yes I fitted you to impress the latest girl in the passenger seat if my jet fighter, she didn't give a s**t and only wanted a lift home. I miss the good old days Jeff. ??
Interesting.
the display on the dash is checked hot after a good run, ie after a minimum of 25 mins road running.
level drive, seat belt still on (!) and wait for the computer to read the level as the oil settles, about 30 secs at most.
all the bars are 'full' in the end and I think this is the correct level.
however, the oil could be over the mark significanty. Draining some out so the test gives one bar down is easier said than done. Maybe Ican hand pump some out of the boot mounted filler kneck.
i go to the local indie a week on Monday for the a/c test, so will ask them to get 0.5 litre out.
the club is running in early August a tech session on the 987, gen 1 and 2, I'm booked in and will be looking to separate fact from fiction or myth about these 2.9 engines.
the display on the dash is checked hot after a good run, ie after a minimum of 25 mins road running.
level drive, seat belt still on (!) and wait for the computer to read the level as the oil settles, about 30 secs at most.
all the bars are 'full' in the end and I think this is the correct level.
however, the oil could be over the mark significanty. Draining some out so the test gives one bar down is easier said than done. Maybe Ican hand pump some out of the boot mounted filler kneck.
i go to the local indie a week on Monday for the a/c test, so will ask them to get 0.5 litre out.
the club is running in early August a tech session on the 987, gen 1 and 2, I'm booked in and will be looking to separate fact from fiction or myth about these 2.9 engines.
Boris the spyder
New member
Yes Jeff, bang on tip arrow with one segment free at the top so bang on the money. Dipstick, who needs em. !!!!!
Briggy
PCGB Member
I tried the hand pump method to drain some oil, but I couldn't get the tube in far enough. I guess there must be some sort of mesh covering the entrance, lower down. I had to dump the contents from below, keep a litre back and put the rest back in. Yes - it was overfilled by a litre!
Cheers,
Bryan
Cheers,
Bryan
Did an oil check on the dash this morning, and as said, the VERY top bar is empty and the dash reads 'Full'.
I'm assuming all is correct.
As the engine is not dry sump etc why does this engine need to be hot and running for the check?
I'm sure there is a Porsche engineering logic in there somewhere.
I'm assuming all is correct.
As the engine is not dry sump etc why does this engine need to be hot and running for the check?
I'm sure there is a Porsche engineering logic in there somewhere.
Just started the car from cold, a few days after parking up after a 10 mile run on my flat drive.
Good belch of oil smoke and then clear.
Drove the car 5 miles and stopped on a sloping driveway for 2 hours.
Re-started with a warm engine, same again.
I think I've now had it with this car, just wanted to vent by spleen! [>:]
Good belch of oil smoke and then clear.
Drove the car 5 miles and stopped on a sloping driveway for 2 hours.
Re-started with a warm engine, same again.
I think I've now had it with this car, just wanted to vent by spleen! [>:]
Graham,
Not wishing to teach you how to suck eggs, but is it definitely oil (blue) smoke? White or black smoke would indicate respectively that it's coolant or fuel related.
If you're definitely burning oil then a cylinder compression test and borescope check would be useful to identify any potential problems.
A loss of coolant would indicate a problem there and a coolant system pressure test should confirm the system's integrity.
If the engine's over-fuelling on start-up for some reason then you could get a blast of black smoke. Maybe an injector is malfunctioning?
A rough idle could be due to a faulty variable valve timing (VarioCam) unit. A full diagnostic check should indicate if there's a problem.
Jeff
Not wishing to teach you how to suck eggs, but is it definitely oil (blue) smoke? White or black smoke would indicate respectively that it's coolant or fuel related.
If you're definitely burning oil then a cylinder compression test and borescope check would be useful to identify any potential problems.
A loss of coolant would indicate a problem there and a coolant system pressure test should confirm the system's integrity.
If the engine's over-fuelling on start-up for some reason then you could get a blast of black smoke. Maybe an injector is malfunctioning?
A rough idle could be due to a faulty variable valve timing (VarioCam) unit. A full diagnostic check should indicate if there's a problem.
Jeff
Gordon Attar
New member
Since your original posting have you had a couple of decent drives eg 100 miles. If not then you do need to do need an exuberant drive to allow it a chance to get really hot to get rid of any surplus oil sitting in various places.
Boxbrownie
New member
Hows the tickover after cold start now?
Briggy
PCGB Member
When were your coilpacks changed? That may or may not be your problem, but since I changed mine, I no longer have smoke on startup. If they've never been done, then change them anyway as they're due by that age. If they have been done recently, then at least you can rule them out.
I can type up a guide if you want to change them yourself. Cost about £250 for the full set of 6 from OPC.
Cheers,
Bryan
I can type up a guide if you want to change them yourself. Cost about £250 for the full set of 6 from OPC.
Cheers,
Bryan
Hello all, and the pm'd sent today and yesterday. I'll answer the MPs later.
the smoke is dark blue and smell oily, not white for sure.
the car starts cleanly 80% of the time or better, but every now and then....
when running and hot the tick over can slowly get rougher, say after a minute of idle.
I will be taking the car to the indie who has pm'd me and see what they make of it all.
I Don't know if the coil packs have been changed etc, so hope the indie can find more out.
the smoke is dark blue and smell oily, not white for sure.
the car starts cleanly 80% of the time or better, but every now and then....
when running and hot the tick over can slowly get rougher, say after a minute of idle.
I will be taking the car to the indie who has pm'd me and see what they make of it all.
I Don't know if the coil packs have been changed etc, so hope the indie can find more out.
Graham,
I'm sure your Indie will do it but I think the plugs need to come out to see if one is fouling due to it oiling up. Obviously it would be best done when you're getting a rough idle condition.
The condition of the coil packs can be assessed at the same time.
Don't give up yet.!
Jeff
I'm sure your Indie will do it but I think the plugs need to come out to see if one is fouling due to it oiling up. Obviously it would be best done when you're getting a rough idle condition.
The condition of the coil packs can be assessed at the same time.
Don't give up yet.!
Jeff
Fresh plugs went in at the 40k service 2 k miles ago, but hear what you say.
this is a great car, but the issues spoil the whole experience.
by contrast I ran my '73 911 with a 130k mile old 3.2 in it today, ready for Silverstone this weekend.
started well, no smoke, ran great, steers like a dream and felt ready for anything.
brilliant car.
this is a great car, but the issues spoil the whole experience.
by contrast I ran my '73 911 with a 130k mile old 3.2 in it today, ready for Silverstone this weekend.
started well, no smoke, ran great, steers like a dream and felt ready for anything.
brilliant car.
Yes, a very disappointing experience for you Graham compared with that of your old 911.
The complexity of modern vehicles really is astonishing compared with those of the 70's, especially the electronics and electro-mechanical components. Hopefully your Indie has the necessary diagnostics - and the skill to interprete the results - to throw some light on the problem, if indeed it is electronics related. After that it's just a process of elimination including, if necessary, a mechanically related source of the problem.
I hope that everything turns out well for you in the end and that you end up having a more positive experience of what is an excellent car.
Jeff
The complexity of modern vehicles really is astonishing compared with those of the 70's, especially the electronics and electro-mechanical components. Hopefully your Indie has the necessary diagnostics - and the skill to interprete the results - to throw some light on the problem, if indeed it is electronics related. After that it's just a process of elimination including, if necessary, a mechanically related source of the problem.
I hope that everything turns out well for you in the end and that you end up having a more positive experience of what is an excellent car.
Jeff
While the coil packs are a common problem as is the AOS a less common cause of uneven running is cracks in the plastic intakes, at it's worst it can even show up as loss of power when cornering, also the majority of cases where an AOS has failed have been reported as dramatic but they can have a small split in the diaphragm or around the edge of it.
The rather occasional nature of the fault would indicate something moving outside the engine itself and there are a variety of ducts, pipes etc in the crankcase ventilation system all of which are worth investigation, listening through a tube while flexing the ducts may reveal something as any leaks will produce a suction"whistle" but it will be close to the ultrasonic level and so difficult to hear, AOS is the most likely item to pass oil but check the oil filler cap for creamy discharge, in case of other internal oil leaks although some will occur with too much short running and that won't cause oil in the chamber unless the is something such as head gasket very unlikely in this case from what I have read here.
The rather occasional nature of the fault would indicate something moving outside the engine itself and there are a variety of ducts, pipes etc in the crankcase ventilation system all of which are worth investigation, listening through a tube while flexing the ducts may reveal something as any leaks will produce a suction"whistle" but it will be close to the ultrasonic level and so difficult to hear, AOS is the most likely item to pass oil but check the oil filler cap for creamy discharge, in case of other internal oil leaks although some will occur with too much short running and that won't cause oil in the chamber unless the is something such as head gasket very unlikely in this case from what I have read here.
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