Smoky 2.9 Boxster

[Shellman]

NEW POST after editing.

How about that!
Just taken car in for upgrade to software of ecu; only to be told that they have found some oil in the inlet manifold and they recommend that I DO NOT use the car for any long drives! I am due to go to France soon, so the news is not good!

For the last three years from new I have been assured repeatedly that smoke from the exhaust on start up is not uncommon on Porschers and that I should NOT WORRY as it WAS NOT A PROBLEM....BUT IT IS NOW, after the warantee period has run out.
They are going to approach Porsche and attempt to get the problem recognised as a long standing fault on my 2.9 engine and , therefore , get Porsche to contribute to any costs likely to arise ....I await the outcome!!!!!!!

So much for all the assurances I was given by several Porsche personnel.


ORIGINAL POST.
Smoking is bad for you?

Just taken delivery of 2009 2.9 boxster and only its only done a couple of hundred miles...Great but on start up the exhaust blows out enough smoke to hide a fleet at sea.
This only lasts for maybe 5 seconds or so but I'm not too happy.
My previous 2.7 Boxster never produced smoke even after 6 years...Can anyone offer any advice/comfort?

UPDATE: The car is always parked on a flat level surface in a garage (Not as cold as outside).
Last startup was filmed by my wife whos' non-mechanical voice can be clearly heard saying "Oh my God!" ...get the picture?
Then drove long enough to get the engine up to operating temp. parked on a flat/level surface and carried out the onboard computer check of the oil level....The level is well clear of the full mark..ie not overfilled.

Will monitor the weekends driving and then take the car into the Porsche Centre for investigation.
They have seen the video of the start up and agree the something is not right!

Will keep you all informed.

UPDATE 2: Just done a run of eighty miles left car out overnight..next day (warm) start up...No smoke!
did return 80 miles and parked in garage...will see to-morrow what happens.
To repeat.. my last 2.7 2003 Boxster bought new, never ever smoked from day one to its being sold on.
Maybe the new one was parked up at a dealers for a while before I got it nad they were only doing parking manouevers at the OPC for some time?

As an engineer I appreciate that the flat six could be prone to some residual oil being burnt off...but NOT the amount indicated by the levels of smoke that mine produced!
We will see.

 

[jpbecker]

How's the oil level? overfilled?

 

[Glyn]

Are you parking the car on a slope (side to side?)

The design of the flat 6 engine is that three cylinders point to the left of the car and three to the right - When you switch off oil that is in the higher parts of the engine drip back down into the sump, If you are parked on an incline some oil drips inside the cylinders - behind the pistons - this creeps up the cylinder until it meets the piston - and there it stays.
When the engine cools down and the expanded metal parts all return to their normal size (Pistons) this allows a tiny amount of the oil to seep past the piston rings and enter the combustion chamber - When you restart it burns off - a tiny bit of oil produces loads of smoke.

This is normal - embarrassing for such an expensive car but normal.

Park somewhere on the level

 

[THX911]

I didn't realise inclined parking makes this happen too; the common one I have heard is starting the engine from cold, taking it out of the garage or driveway for washing etc and then straight away parking it back without a longer drive. The next start then almost has a puff of smoke. Driving it really hard and parking without a cool down is another common scenario mentioned by many. Also it is more frequent after a service or oil topup to max. As Glyn mentioned it is the design of the Boxer engine used in Boxster, Cayman and 911s.

Finally, if it is clouds of white smoke which takes a few seconds to disappear then it may be an AOS (Air/Oil separator) failure.

 

[Shellman]

Hi all.
The car was parked on the flat after a 100 mile run.
The car is new and I assumed that the oil levels would be perfect if from the factory!
Maybe the dealer topped up and overfilled.
The 2009 boxster does not have an oil level dipstick like my previous 2.7 and you can only measure the oil level by having the engine idling at working temp (approx 60 degrees), the car on a level surface and by using the onboard computer.

Next time I take it out I'll follow the level measuring procedure according to Porsche and see what I get.

Will let you know the outcome.

Cheers.

 

[Black80XSA]

If you are getting this on every start up and its parked in a simialr fashion to your old car, then sounds like a slight overfill. If the issue persists i'd contact the supplying OPC, as excessive oil through the exhaust may not be good for the catalysts.

 

[whinbush]

Ok I have the same problem got me worried I picked my new GenII 2.9 with PDK last Wed. Gave it a nice gental run to Scotland and back never above 4000rpm. Now done 1300mls.
This morning when I started her I thought the engine had blown so much smoke.
Now Im not sure about the slope idea as my drive is near level and whats more my "06" Boxster was parked on the same spot for 3 yrs and 50K never a puff.
Im off to Rattle Reading OPC.

 

[Black80XSA]

Seems the engineering of the 2.9 is no better then

 

[oliver]

They all do it to varying extents - from 356 to 997. Newer cars are often worse than older ones.

 

[phlize]

I'd agree - although not through personal experience. A new engine will take a few thousand miles to bed in & prior to that there's bound to be a bit more oil passing the rings into the head. It would be interesting to get a view from OPC though. Also, everything is built to a tolerance and thus, some will be worse/better than others.

 

[khalb]

I've had my Gen 2 for 3 weeks now but was told by my dealer that it is not uncommon to have smoke at startup due to the layout of the engine. Any of you been told the same?