Who has an idea of the possible problem?

You can see a video on : http://youtu.be/on8QCjV5Drs

Everyday same smoke during +- 8min. After that the white smoke disappears. Some pendling rpm at the very beginning. Oil-air separator problem? But there is no serious vacuum when the oil cap is removed at idle. Or can it be a scored cylinder or a leaking head gasket? There is some oil and coolant loss on the car. And the exhaust tips are a little bit wet. The coolant has still the normal consistency. After parking the car I still wait 1 minute at idle after stopping the engine.

Who can help?

 

It's normal for the car to let off a cloud of smoke when you first start it in the morning.

 

Thank you for your reply.But can it stands for about 10min and really on every start-up. Never had this on my 2 previous 996..

 

Does it still smoke while driving? My 996 Turbo once in a while smokes on startup, but goes away a few seconds later. My 997 Turbo, since I have had it, only smoked once and that was it. Maybe the check valves are going? Can you smell any coolant from the oil cap? I would say if it's while driving and white smoke, it's coolant, if it's blueish it's oil, if it's black it's too rich. But if it's just idle it could also just be the check valves.

Maybe one of the forum gurus can provide a more in depth explanation.

 

Thank you for your reply. When driving there is no smoke. It's only on the start-up and almost always at idle. If I let the car idling after start-up the smoke disappears after 10-15 min. When I start the car and leave, the smoke disappears after 3 min.I am/was a bit afraid because I never had this with my 996's and other cars. But maybe a turbo is totally different... I find the smoke rather white than blue, but sometimes difficult to see the difference..

 

Thank you for your help.Today I took her for a drive and she smoked again, but indeed it could be condensation because the exhaust pipes were a little wet.
But...my oil and coolant level were again too low. I had to add 0,5l of coolant and 1l of oil in about 700 km. I suppose this is not normal. My opc told me there was a small leak at the crankshaft seal, but 1 liter is not so less. The water pump makes some noise abd my opc told me that it had fo be replaced, but can it cause a loss of 05,l in 700km?
Another problem after the smoke..

 

These cars do tend to get a puff of smoke on occasion at start up. But what you are describing is not normal. Especially given that your oil and coolant are getting low. It sounds similar to the 996/986 issues with the AOS (air oil separator). I would definitely have that checked out.

Good luck,
DC

 

The coolant getting low is a huge issue in my opinion. Before you blow the engine, go have that checked out and the white smoke you mention is a direct result of water getting in the combustion chamber. It is possible that the when the car warms up the expansion seals the location of the seal.

I had that issue on a 944 and luckily I returned it to the shop right away and it turned out to be a gasket issue (a few hundred $ to fix as opposed to blowing the engine).

Let us know what the cause turns out to be when you find out and good luck.

 

Thank you again for your help.Indeed, the loss of coolant worries me a lot.
It is indeed similar of the air oil separator.
And what 512bb is saying, is possible. Because after warming up, there is no smoke anymore.
There is no white sludge under the oil cap and no oil in the coolant reservoir. And no bubbles in the coolant reservoir when the the car is idling. Can it then be the head gasket?

 

From my experience, if it was the head gasket it would be while driving also. I think 512bb provides a good idea on what the cause may be.

 

That is not normal and has nothing to do with what ppl describe as an "occasional puff of smoke at startup" Which is normal and has to do with oil seeping into the cylinders depending on how you pistons line up when the car is turned off. Note: When this happens it is a blue puff ~3 seconds of smoke (oil being burned)


What you show is a constant white smoke. That means you are burning coolant. You may not see any signs yet because it is a small leak and probably a recent issue. I suggest bringing it to a tech.


As you may know these cars burn oil ~1 liter to 5000 KM

However should not be loosing coolant.

 

I think I will bring the car back to my PC, but the problem is that the car is still under warranty but the seller doesn't want to cover the costs for check-up/repairs. And if the engine has to be removed to check if it's a head gasket problem I don't want to pay big money myself. But indeed, I haven't ever had a burning of 1l of oil and 0,5l of coolant in 700km with any of my previous porsches. I checked the whole car for a coolant leak but didn't find anything... And turbo engines are quite expensive ��. I still (and maybe also my PC) hesitate of the white smoke is only condensation or condensation/coolant. All my other porsches where parked at the same place, but I never, never had white smoke on start-up, even on cold days or after haven't used the car for a week or two. Only with this turbo..

 

hold on. Before you go crying foul to your mechanic, you need to actually measure this supposed loss of coolant.

And have none of you people ever heard of condensation in the exhaust burning off. Look at any car during the winter within about 15 minutes of start up. Constant stream of white smoke people. The turbo is particularly bad about this given the exhaust lay out.

1L of oil in that short amount of miles is an issue, but does not appear to be related.

1. Does the white smoke smell sweet?
2. Hows the car run?

 

As said, it's possible the smoke is due to condensation. And because the layout of a turbo is different, it's possible that's the reason I hadn't smoke with my previous porsches.

1) the smoke doesn't really smell sweet, but as normal exhaust smoke. But I think there is not much coolant in the coolant liquid. Normally the coolant must be temp.proof till -30°C but mine is proof till -20°C my porsche technician said. I assume the previous owner already added so much water that the coolant has been diluted..
With a warm engine I don't see any smoke anymore. But someone said it's maybe the expanding metal when the engine is warm that tighten the seal and this reduces the smoke...
2) the car drives nice. The oil temp. stays at +-89°C or 200F and the water temp. stays at 80°C or 175F. The boost pressure achieves 1bar in normal mode and 1,2 bar in sport chrono. The oil pressure is 4 at 2000rpm and 5 bar at 3000rpm. At idling there is 1,7 bar with warm engine.
I fill a very little vibration on the gas pedal, but maybe that's normal.




I never saw a warning light on the display.


I searched for a coolant leak under the car and around the water pump, but didn't find anything. But the coolant level still drops quite rapidly.
As said there was some engine damage in the past due to a broken timing chain and because of that a crack in the engine case... The valves, chain tensioner and timing chain and engine case were supposedly changed... But this wasn't done by a OPC. No info where it was done... Is it possible they didn't repair it well...??

 

how much coolant are you using?