Jacob Hallenbeck

So recently ive been having a real bad oil smoking issue. im getting real bad smoke during driving at all speeds and rpm's. even weirder its making its way into the cabin as well. it seems to be halted at a small burn normally but if i get on it real bad itll smoke so bad i have to roll the windows down and let it out before i get smoked out.
no mods besides the exhaust angles being disconnected and turned down. Ive done nothing else since i bought it,
as the oil gets low a rattle on startup gets louder. sounds like the normal starting noise just louder from less oil.
1-3k rpm's will see the small amounts of smoke, 3k and up will start to make the amount get larger, the smoke only becomes visible coming out of the car while driving when under hard load or hard driving. the rest finds its way to the cabin and i can see it enter when it gets bad from behind the seats.
any help is appreciated as im trying to get the car back to a drivable state.

gth452

I would suggest you try pulling off the oil filler cap in the trunk while the engine is running to see if there is a vacuum pull on it which is a clear indicator of a failing oil sep. I would also suggest pulling off the air intake to see if the manifold has oil in it (when my failed it had puddled oil in the intake plenum) If so that is probably your problem. If there is no oil there than you may have bigger issues with engine internals.

Shawn Stanford

AOS manifests in different ways. In my case it was a strong dribble of oil during operation, but no other symptoms. What you're describing does sound like AOS.

How many miles on the car? Has the AOS been done before? Is the cloud an oil smoke, or is there any chance it's coolant?

If the current AOS has over 100k on it, the you might as well change it. It's an afternoon in the garage with basic hand tools, nothing too strenuous or difficult, though it can be a bit fiddly. I did a write up on my experience with changing the AOS, including hurdles I faced and videos I used to reference the repair.

Jacob Hallenbeck

about 130k miles on it, it had dealer services to 60k and then the prev owner dropped off and did what came up. as it stands i know i am due for spark plugs and a possibly AOS. IMS was also replaced at i believe 80k. its never a cloud more than it was a slight haze normally, but if i got on it you could watch it blow in from behind the scenes like thick smoke. the first time it happened i thought the car was on fire it was so thick. i dont believe its ever been replaced and why im starting there. i plan on taking it out to my shop and pulling all the engine covers off and seeing if i can see oil going anywhere.
to me it doesnt totally smell like oil but i checked the levels of both and at 3k after the last oil change i was from topped off to near the bottom of the stick. im gonna re check everything when i get back home to try. the only linkable thing is i changed the alt and this started becoming more apparent but i saw nothing out of the ordinary or anything i could break while doing that job though i could be wrong

Shawn Stanford

Yeah, sounds like AOS. At least, that's where I'd start. With the amount of oil you're seeing disappear, you would have a hell of a puddle if it was something else, like the RMS or spark plug tubes.

bcrdukes

I know you mentioned no mods on the car, but any chance the previous owner(s) may have installed the oil cooler modification/upgrade from the Boxster S? If so, another possibility are the oil cooler o-rings. They go bad with age, and are often overlooked, and typically changed when the AOS is changed. Based on your description, I'm with Shawn on this one and going with the AOS. Hopefully Macster can chime in with his wisdom.

Having said all that, as a preventative measure, I would encourage that you check your oil regularly to see how much oil you are losing/burning.

peytonimor7

I agree with what was posted. Try to remove the oil fill cap while the engine is running and see if there is a suction to it. Clear sign of AOS failure.

Also if you have a jack you can jack the driver rear side up and look up at the bottom of the air filter housing. Wet oil around the drain will be another clear sign of AOS failure.

Also you can experience very jerky and erratic idle, but this is mainly in the complete failure stages of AOS