An easier fix, or Valve Job, or worse???

[seanlonghi]

I have an 82 SC Targa.

The story.
Beverly hills Porsche car sold in 1997 with high miles and supposedly a motor rebuild in 1995

The car was driven to Canada (map route still in car) by a pal-friend I have come to know and he drove it here from 1997 to 2003 and had supposedly regular tune ups and valve adjustments. I just spoke with him today and he said yes, the mechanic here during 1997-2003 said it was nice and tight car then.
He got busy, car sat outside from 2003 till I bought it about 8 months ago.
He would driving now and then with temp insurance after 2003 and he start it every so often. Probably not the best.



Fast forward to today!!

Took it to my Porsche guy today and although it started right away, it smoked considerably. He had to stop as the smoke would have caused alarm in the neighborhood. When I bought it It smoked too, but after 20 minutes of running it dissipated. Valve guides and stems are the obvious answer to fix, but if it were rebuilt in 1995 say 30k kms ago it seems like this issue would have been replaced. There was a lot of Carbon on the plugs and the exhaust also has oil dripping in spots. Oil is obviously getting in from somewhere unless there is left over in there from storage and short starts and long sitting.

A compression test was done today and all cylinders were a little low, (80) but even across all cylinders. So its not like there is a cracked case or blown piston. Rather than drop the motor and pull everything apart, are there some tips, shortcuts that we could do to isolate the potentials.

My suggestion is just add oil and drive to a field a few minutes away and let it run for a while and see what happens. I'm a little saddened today as a $5000 plus rebuild wasn't in the cards for me today. The smoke is white, which I'm guessing has a little water everywhere from the long outside storage. There is corrosion and the usually oil lines, vacuum lines plugs and filters etc etc will need to be replaced and I had banked on doing all of that.

The seller could have just lied to me. I'm usually a believer though.
At this point, I'm not looking at rebuilding, so I'm looking for some advice, or adding a second engine, or just parting.

Advice please!

[Bob Kontak]

I rebuilt my 81 SC engine in 97. It is doing fine today.

How much do you know about wrenching? Do you have the ability to check the torque on you head studs?

80psi seems too low for ALL the power cells. Doubt you would have loss of compression so evenly in all cylinders. Was that a metric reading?

Keep the info coming - we can help.

Is the car peppy? Meaning, even with the smoke can it move down the road quickly? 80psi will not do that.

[Peter Zimmermann]

Don't be hasty and do something rash. First, drain the oil from the crankcase and reservoir. Then add 9 quarts of fresh, non-synthetic oil (Valvoline VR-1 20w/50 is a good choice). Move the car to a fresh-air location, start it, and stand back and watch it smoke. The oil change will assure you that the system is not over filled. The fresh oil will assure you that your oil is not contaminated with gasoline. It might take a half an hour for the smoke to dissipate, maybe less. Have a couple fire extinguishers nearby, and make sure that no oil is dripping onto the exhaust, especially the three into one pipe under the engine oil cooler. Watch carefully for fire of any kind and be ready to shut off the car.

Note; doing a compression/leak down test on an engine that hasn't run for almost ten years is useless info.

What is the condition of the gasoline? Fresh fill? Was the tank full when you took the car home? Did the gas have Stabil in it? Old gas (remove the filler cap and smell the contents of the tank), can be the cause of many problems.

A 'rebuild" on that car, today, will run about $15K if it needs a piston/cyl set. $5K will get you a valve job and a couple extras.

I must add a disclaimer to this post. During my career I have done the above process a few times, with great success. If you choose to follow my advice, because I can't be there with you, you are on your own. I accept no responsibility for the outcome of your work, or any problems that might arise from your work.

[Joe Bob]

Peter knows his stuff.

Those engines don't like to sit and unlike a V8 or a inline motor will allow oil into the combustion chambers and exhaust. Drive her and burn off the crap.

BTW, the PROPER way to check the oil is when the engine is warm, 190F the thermostat is open, engine is running, on flat ground.

The idle will drop a bit when you open the oil filler inside the engine compartment. Correct oil level is between the two marks.

Change the filter...do NOT USE Fram or any other filter that 'will work'...use a Mahle from our host.

Also change the fuel filter.....brake fluid and check the condition of the rubber brake lines.

[seanlonghi]

The car was unfortunately stored without Stable.
Yes I know I know.
However it has started right away and draining the tank is a must.
I have new filters and intended to replace all the lines.
There is gas in the oil.

I added new gas 3 months ago. But it hasnt been started it till today.

[na2ub]

Mine smokes for a minute after sitting for a couple weeks. This is natural. Extrapolate that to a couple years ...

I wouldn't worry about it and do what Peter said.

[rwest]

Sean-Christerfer,

My car sat for a year and a half due to some broken suspension parts. When I finally got the thing road worthy it smoked so bad I felt like I was fogging for mosquitoes! It took a good half hour or so (with me panicking, thinking I might need engine work,) to clear it out and it hasn't done it since. Just burn it off and out and you should be fine.

Good luck,
Rutager

[Joe Bob]

Gas in the oil is a bad thing....I wouldn't run it. It will wash oil off the lubricated parts and burn a ring, bearing or other expensive part.

[porsche930dude]

i agree run it much longer. even 20 minutes at a time letting it cool off between sessions will help loosten things up. and pour some marvel mystery oil in with the new oil

[seanlonghi]

The injectors are clean.
We are going to drain the oil, change the filter, put in fresh gas, pack the fire extinguisher and head out one evening this week and let it run for a good hour and see if the smoke settles down.
Hoping its just a long sitting issue and good hot operating temperature will make it better. My guess is it hasn't been at operating temperature since 2003.
If anyone has any thing else to add please do.


After some cosmetic TLC it would be tough on my pocket book to need a top end rebuild.





Thanks all for the advice!!!

[timmy2]

After following Pete Zimmerman's excellent advice, Read up on an "Italian tune up" then go do it.

[kidrock]

yup, Italian tune up!!!! BTW, really nice example you have there. I'm sure you'll be able to burn the crap out of it and be able to really enjoy it.

[seanlonghi]

Just wanted to provide an Update. Let it run for an Hour and everything worked great. No smoke anymore, and oil pressure was great. A few more things I discovered to be sorted, but the oil smoke vanished. Thanks!!!!

[timmy2]

Good to hear, these cars are very robust and will come back to life given some love and attention. Have fun and enjoy.

[brads911sc]

Awesome. Congrats. Nice Car.