Should I Worry?

[maxman]

Hey guys,

First off, thanks for all the great advice and conversation so far, this forum has been a blessing.

That being said, I have another question...

My 82 Euro SC (52k) is stored in my heated underground garage for the winter, I just got it a month ago, so aside for test driving it this fall I have really have not driven it much yet. Anyway, I have started it up a couple of times in the garage and let it warm up and taken it from one end of the garage to the other a few times (maybe 1/8th mile), mainly to get the stable in the the fuel lines/injectors. I definitely notice some oil haze in the air, especially right after start up. Is this normal? Also, I notice a small oil drip under the car, any ideas what that might be and if I should worry?

The car had leak down tests done 2 years ago, 4 cylinders had 4% and 2 of them had 6%.

Should I worry?

Thanks!

~Max

[Wilhelm]

I wouldnt worry about a little oil smoke on start up if the car has been stored and not driven much. This is not unusual when the car has been sitting idle for a long period.

Minor oil leaks are common on older 911s . Welcome to the club ! There are several places where that leak could be coming from. Some of the minor leaks are easy and inexpensive to fix. There is plenty of info on this forum to help with that.

Those leakdown numbers sound excellent to me .

[Looking_for_911]

From what I have gleaned by reading many such posts I don't think you have anything to be worried about.
A small puff of smoke immediately on start up isn't considered to be too far out of normal, and a small drip or so seems to be very common with P-cars.
I'm sure more qualified gear heads will chime in soon.

[LWJ]

I believe this is a perfect time to add "Italian Tune up!"

Can't hurt.

[Wilhelm]

"Italian Tune up!"

Exactly ! ..I was thinking of that phrase when I made my initial post. Havent heard that in a long time.

Is that phrase "Politically incorrect" these days ??

[85Shark]

Originally Posted by Wilhelm

"Italian Tune up!"

Exactly ! ..I was thinking of that phrase when I made my initial post. Havent heard that in a long time.

Is that phrase "Politically incorrect" these days ??

What is an Italian tune up? Pardon my ignorance.

[300cd300sdl911]

Let the oil warm up to correct operating temperature then essentially "drive it like you stole it".

[tharbert]

These engines were made for spirited use. A lot of small problems like stumbling idle or odd leak-down numbers will magically disappear after a nice stretch of hard use - Italian tune-up. The oil leak? Not so much...

And is it PC to call it "Italian"? Where do you think the name came from, Romania? I lived in Italy for a while. I know exactly what the term means and it's well earned with no negative connotation.

[DanielDudley]

I believe that the mechanics on this board, and especially Pete Zimmerman, do not recomend short startups or warmups without driving the car. Most will only run the car about 30 seconds to a minute before putting the car in gear and driving it down the road to operating tempurature.

Probably a bunch of reasons for this, but I think that in general some parts will get pretty hot while other parts will stay pretty cold. I also think that most believe it is better for the oil to get hot so that is can cook out the water and gas vapors that would otherwise accumulate.

I'm sure you car is fine, but I wouldn't run it in the garage every week for ten or fifteen minutes. I would just get a battery tender and let it go until you can drive it.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Wilhelm

"Italian Tune up!"

Exactly ! ..I was thinking of that phrase when I made my initial post. Havent heard that in a long time.

Is that phrase "Politically incorrect" these days ??

Probably. These days if you don't have an up-to-date PC dictionary to consult it's better not to say anything.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by 85Shark

What is an Italian tune up? Pardon my ignorance.

Italian Tune-Up: Take a car that is not running quite right, drive the piss out of it for an hour or so to blow out the carbon. Charge the customer for a tune-up.
It was a universal practice among performance car mechanics back in the 1950s, but it got it's "Italian" name from dilettantes who bought Ferraris and Alfas and never drove them hard enough to heat up the cylinders and burn off the carbon build-up. All the car really needed was to be driven hard for a while.