Jonathan_987

This is my first post after being a happy reader for years. Many decisions (especially the good ones) are based on the experiences and opinions you all shared to the public. Thank you very much.

I have been driving a 987.2 S MJ 2011 for a year now (approx. 5k miles). Mileage approx. 45000. Bought from the first owner.

When it comes to the engine, there are (or were) two problems:

1. Smoke when starting, especially when it has been sitting for more than a few days: oil separator replaced. Immediate improvement. After 1-2 weeks of standing, however, still a large cloud of smoke when starting.
2. Error code P0018: Timing missmatch bank 2. I will replace actuators (VVS/9A1 105 308 02) and valve actuartors (NVS/9A1 105 304 01) on both banks and hope to have solved the problem.

I have changed the spark plugs and the plugs a few days ago. This worked smoothly. However, I noticed that spark plugs #5 and #6 are very oily. All the others are virtually dry. Is this normal or does it indicate a problem? In 2017, User:altonj mentioned spark plugs #5 and #6 in a Link:similar thread. Unfortunately, the thread fell asleep after that. Is it possible that the problem of smoke after sitting for a long time and the oily spark plugs are related? Did you experience the same and which measures did you take? Root causes?

Looking forward to reading your advice.

KrisA

Maybe I need glasses but those spark plugs look great to me. What am I missing?

Smoke on startup after sitting for a while I've always thought as just a feature of the F6 (or any flat engine) configuration. On an inline or V gravity will pull oil down back into the crankcase when it sits. On a flat engine the oil lining the cylinder walls under the rings can migrate under the rings as it sits.

hueyhoolihan

just recently changed my spark plugs (2007 2.7l) and they looked just about the same. my car, AFAIK, burns zero oil.

The Duke

I have the same response as my other two esteemed community members - I see nothing in your above pics that suggests any problem.

I also just changed the plugs on my 2010 CS. I don't think my plugs looked any better or worse than the above.

Mike Murphy

Look at the white tubes. That’s where the oil is.

RGS

The plugs seem to be firing fine. Sometimes mechanics put oil or never-seze on the threads prior to installation. Could be residue from that?

Jonathan_987

Thank you very much for all your responses.

I had put the spark plugs in there temporarily after removing them. The threads of just #5 and #6 spark plugs were full of oil, which I had never seen before.

This in conjunction with the explicit question about spark plugs #5 and #6 in the other thread made me wonder. Even if this is not a problem at all, why only these and not others?

MrMoose

Yeah, I think your plugs look fine. Maybe you picked up some oil from the plug tubes, on a 10 year old car I wouldn't be surprised if the plug seals to the valve cover gasket were leaking a little, but that's really not much to worry about.

On the 987.2 I've learned to keep the oil filled only to one bar below full. When I was at the full line I was getting oil in the intake (even with a good OVS) that would sometimes cause smoke on startup. You may want to pull and clean the rubber corrugated tube to the mass air flow sensor as oil can tend to pool there if this situation happens.

If filling the oil lower doesn't solve the problem, I would guess that over 1-2 weeks you've got some oil seeping into the cylinders: maybe valve guide seals, or maybe around the piston rings? Not an expert on the 9A1 so couldn't tell you for sure what might be causing this or how serious it might be.

hueyhoolihan

i should have added that i was a bit concerned about discoloration on the threads of a couple of the spark plugs that i replaced, as mentioned in post #3, but eventually got over it....