rayjay...'80SC

My heart broke last week when my '80 911SC, 112k,3.0 began billowing white smoke. I guess it's time to rebuild, ring & valve, and I'm wondering what else would be wise to do at the same time? I'm thinking new clutch (aluminum?) and rebuild transmission with short-shift kit, but know there's probably more. I want to stay pretty stock, no high-performance. Also...on p.15 of Tweeks new catalogue there's something called "Total Seal Gapless Piston Rings"...does anyone know about these or recommend them? Thanks in advance...rayjay.

john walkers workshop

you're sure you didn't overfill the oil? billowing white smoke would be the result.

rayjay...'80SC

John...no, I hadn't added oil in several weeks and had driven pretty regularly until it started...rayjay

john brasfield

Go with stock rings goetze I believe.

rayjay...'80SC

Thanks for the advice, John. Is this based on the theory that Porsche knows their cars better than anyone?

Gunter

I have a 1980 SC and if yours has only 112k on the engine, that should not be a rebuild. Why not have it checked out with an estimate? I intend to leave mine stock, but will add SSI's.

rayjay...'80SC

I was just informed by a reputable source that white smoke is a sign of a fuel problem and blue smoke indicates an oil problem. Has anyone encountered this? It blows white smoke like a steam locomotive...

JDaniel

Blue/white = oil
black/blue = Fuel
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Is the smoke at startup, idle, driving?

john walkers workshop

better find another reputable source. excess fuel is always dark, black. it's common to take a hard corner, or stop real hard and have the oil in the tank slosh thru the breather hose into the intake. there should be a restricter sleeve in the hose to prevent that. that's one of the reasons to keep the tank level a quart low. if the engine still sounds like it's running ok, you might try just driving around (at night), and the smoke may dissipate eventually. it takes a while sometimes.

emcon5

If it is oil in the intake, it should be fairly easy to check. Take off the air filter and run a paper towel around inside the airbox.

When I bought my car, the dealer had changed the oil and overfilled it. There was a small lake of oil in the air box.

The strange thing though is even with all that extra oil, it still didn't noticably smoke. Wierd.

Tom

rayjay...'80SC

to JDaniel...yes, yes, yes. It smokes at startup, idle and driving.
to JWalker...the referenced "source" is Pelican tech support, who also suggested it may be water in the fuel. The oil dipstick is just below mid-way and the guage shows low.
to Tom...there is no oil on or around the air box or filter.
Idling for a while sounds like a reasonable try...tonight maybe...after neighors are asleep...
Thanks, folks, for thoughtful ideas...I'm sure I'll wind up taking it to the shop, unless idling fixes it, but appreciate some advance insight to be able, at least, to recognize whether I'm being lied to or not...rayjay

Steve Zitelli

White smoke usually means water somewhere in the system.I agree if your car was matained properly it shouldn't need a engine rebuild.It could be a broken headstud.That is one of the weak points showing up on SC engines.Bring it to a good,honest
porsche tech and have him check it.A rebuild is very expensive,make sure you really need it.

rayjay...'80SC

Thanks, Steve, for your input.

RBC

So this just happened out of the blue eh? I accidently (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it) overfilled my '78 SC, and it smoked like a steam locomotive for a week until "it" was satisfied with the oil level.

rayjay...'80SC

This happened out of the clear blue sky. Honest. I hadn't added oil for a couple of weeks and had driven it 6 or 7 times since adding one quart without any sign of smoke. I was driving for about a half-hour and on my way home and noticed smoke just a couple blocks before I pulled into the driveway. I hadn't been pushing it hard or braking hard. Honest!! It rained last night and might tonight too...if not, I'll let it idle for a couple hours and see what happens.