Smoke on a rebuilt 3.2
 

Good morning. I just had my 88 3.2 911's engine rebuilt by a reputable independent Porsche-only shop in my area. When I got the car back, I noticed two issues. The first was oil leaking on the driver's side of the engine. To their credit the shop willingly stated they would correct that. The second issue was that on start-up I get 30-seconds or so of smoke, which eventually clears up. No smoke thereafter. until the next start. I can see the oil leak being relatively easy to fix, but the shop says the smoke is common while the rings are "seating". My question to the gurus on this forum is: Is the shop correct on the rings seating and, if so, how long does this take? I have about 200 miles on the engine since the rebuild. I am worried about this because the "fix" for this may mean pulling the engine and tearing it down again. I anticipate the shop being reluctant to do this. Help?
Dennis

Don't bother! Go to the shop! you paid for a functionnal engine, not a smoking one

Yeah, deftom, I was kinda thinking the minimum standard for a rebuilt engine would be no smoke no leaks. Was just seeking input from those who have rebuilt these engines so I would be better informed when I take the car back to the shop. Need to be able to call BS if/when I experience it. This is a really good shop who routinely work on cars far exceeding mine in value.

Even if they arr experienced, they can't prevent gasket issue or things like that.

You could post this over on the technical forum as it’s gets a few more eyeballs for for this type of stuff. This sub forum is for the cerebral end of engine rebuilding.

To get you started though, it may be that the engine was overfilled with oil. Warm the engine up and on a level service, check the oil level. It should be closer to low that high mark on the dipstick. Could also explain the oil leak.

Thanks Glenfield.

There’s a process for breaking in rings. It’s starts when your assembling the engine! IE how much lubricant…what kind of lube…cylinder surfaces….first start up….first drive….etc

There are many places to screw up which results in rings taking longer than normal to break in and stop smoking.

Daniel

I would give it some running in first. Let me guess, you a babying it the first xxx miles?

Ask the shop what you should do. Freelancing now will give them cover to deny a claim. What they should tell you is to put break-in oil in it and drive the piss out of it to seat the rings. Long WOT pulls on the highway in taller gears and some spirited backroads driving in the lower gears. But before driving the car more, talk to the shop. Give them a chance to do the right thing.

Who did the motor?

Drive the car for an additional 300 miles. At that point you should be doing a follow-up service [valve adjust, timing check, tune up specs] and if by then you're still seeing an inordinate amount of smoke, the shop should be responsible.
If the oil leak is excessive, give the shop a chance to examine it and make a recommendation. You say in your OP that they are a "reputable independent Porsche-only shop" so give them a chance to show you why.