Start up Smoke

[tkosier]

I keep hearing, and sometimes reading, that "all air cooled Porsches smoke on start up" if they've been "sitting for a while".
True?
thanks

[daepp]

Mine sure does - and I'll be damned if I can find any rhyme or reason as to when or why. Someitmes if it's sat for a long itme - sometimes if it had just been running. Sometimes it doesn't smoke at all.

Recently I have been letting it idle after driving to pump oil back in to the oil tank. I have no idea if this makes any sense, though...

[Rot 911]

They all don't smoke on start up, but a lot of them do. Nothing to worry about.

[scottbombedout]

If I dont run mine for 2 or 3 weeks it will set the smoke detector off in the garage.

Perfectly normal for a flat 6, dont worry too much.

[gerard vaglio]

If the car sits for a while I think the oil seeps past the the rings. Think of it as a "feature" of a flat, boxer engine.

If you over fill the oil you will notice this happening more often though.

[Jack Olsen]

Some don't at all. Some do.

[h20cooled7]

depends on milage and engine wear

[daepp]

My beef is that my engine only has a few thousand miles on it. Oh well - sometimes it's embarassing - and I coast it out of my garage before starting to keep my wife happy, but it hasn't caused me any trouble.

Anyone have any opinion about letting the oil pump refill the tank before shut-down?

[cbeers]

Anyone have any opinion about letting the oil pump refill the tank before shut-down?

Why yes, yes I do

It works for me. I read that tip when I first got my car and it has worked great since. It really does work too because if I am in a hurry and don't allow enough time before shutting down, I'll get a puff on start up sometimes.

Sitting doesn't seem to matter much, though my car almost never goes more than a week or so and is usually driven daily.


-Chris

[dd74]

Same with me. I let my car idle about twenty seconds after driving (or long enough to roll up the windows, gather whatever accoutrement I have with me), and shut down the engine. When next starting, no smoke.

Does the 911 owner's manual list a start up/shut down procedure?

[daepp]

Wow - I did not now this was a common solution.

[dd74]

Well, I'm not certain it's a procedure that Porsche suggests, as I haven't seen it in a manual - maybe it's printed in other manuals, but not the ones I've seen.

I think the idle-after-driving exercise is much more important to the early 930 turbos.

[masraum]

I first noticed the "idle for a bit" method several years back and posted it on this site. It worked nearly 100% for me. I've seen several other folks post that it works for them as well.

[Paul Ferradas]

It would be great to see some videos of what is considered normal smoke and what isn't. I can tell you that I still haven't figured my car out. I bought it back in November and the weather is just now starting to warm up. When my car would smoke on start up the previous owner told me that it's cold and it's condensation. The smoke is usually gone by the time i make it to the first traffic light leaving my complex. It seems to last longer if I just turn the car on and let it idle.

I haven't really tested it in warm weather yet to see if its condensation or not.

I plan to take a video of it an post it so you guys can tell me what you think.

[goat]

Originally posted by daepp
Anyone have any opinion about letting the oil pump refill the tank before shut-down?

I do this. Cbeers told me about it. It it does sit for longer, like two weeks then I still get a little smoke.

[stlrj]

The amount of smoke that results from the first startup in the morning could also be a function of how well your rings have seated which would help prevent oil from seeping past them when the crank case oil level reaches the level of the cylinders overnight.


Joe

[dugsud]

Originally posted by dd74
Same with me. I let my car idle about twenty seconds after driving (or long enough to roll up the windows, gather whatever accoutrement I have with me), and shut down the engine. When next starting, no smoke.

Does the 911 owner's manual list a start up/shut down procedure?

Works for my SC too 100%. I used to get smoke nearly every start up until someone suggested letting my car idle for 30 seconds before shutting down. Since I started doing this 3 years ago I've never even had a puff of smoke!!

[h20cooled7]

you should warm up your turbo before nailing it , be easy on the turbo before you get to your destination and let idle for a little bit to cool down . this keeps the turbo from being scorching hot and cooking the oil in the turbo, which leads to clogged oil feed lines and wear on the turbo itself .

[movin]

I seem to remember a thread about two check valves between the tank and engine. When the springs get weak (old) the oil can seep past causing this annoyance. Does anyone else remember this?

[alniki]

Just wonder if more oil is pumped to the tank at idle than during driving?