Any suggestions for best test for a suspicious 2002 3.6 engine?

[baloo]

Just got a 2002 996 Targa with 3.6 engine, Tiptronic.

It has about 165,000 miles on the entire car -- no rebuilds, but a one-owner car, brought to THE SAME Porsche dealer and THE SAME PORSCHE MECHANIC for all maintenance (and even at the recommended intervals!) for its ENTIRE LIFE (10+ years).

Well, the PO tells me that one day at 158K miles, the car suddenly spewed white smoke. He took it to his mechanic who stated that it was "head gasket," and recommended that he sell it and just get another car. The price for a fix did not make sense for a 158K mile car. (It really sounded like an AOS failure.)

He sold it at dealer auction about one year ago, 158K miles.

I got it a month ago, now with about 165K miles -- auction purchase. Of course, I did not know about the "head gasket" problem (I was lucky to track down the PO, and he was gracious enough to tell me the car's history.) The car drives well, with good power (better than my 3.4 996). IT handles very tightly, brakes great -- everything's too good to be true.

However, I can see tiny flecks of copper in the radiator overflow tank.
In addition, occasionally the service engine yellow light comes on. The code checker says that it is burning lean. After zeroing out the codes, the car does not pop an SEL for several more days (we drive about 80 miles a day).

I cannot see any obvious evidence that the head/s were removed, so I wonder if Stop Leak was the solution for the car's "head gasket". Maybe the problem really was the Air-Oil Separator, and that was replaced. I don't know.

HOWEVER, I AM WORRIED WHETHER PROBLEMS LOOM AHEAD OF ME due to the past history and the occasional SEL. Can it be an AOS that is going out? Possibly a cracked head that someone's Stop Leak temporarily fixed?

Are there any recommendations for testing that I should perform on the car to proactively figure this out before it becomes catastrophic?

The condition of the car, both interior and exterior, is exceptional. Truly exceptional. The owner drove 100 miles a day to work, and kept it garaged both at work and at home its entire life. In fact, he stated that it was likely that the car probably spent more time outside when it was at the factory and at the dealership for scheduled maintenance, than when it was in his possession for 10 years.

I'd like to hear some ideas.
Thanks in advance.

[baloo]

FYI - for those interested, replies and suggestions were PMd to me.
These included compression and leakdown test, and sending oil to Blackstone for analysis.

I sent an oil sample off, and they reported no evidence of antifreeze.
Waiting for a break to take it in for leakdown test.
Car still runs excellent.

[ltusler]

Its gone this far. Keep up with the normal maintenance, keep the hood shut and drive it.