T Tanner

I'm looking at buying a 97 boxter, the owner says it is smoking out the tail pipe?What are the issuses with these motors? Can they be repaired? Has any one been inside one?I have worked on 911's for years, can someone shed some light on this problem

Thanks

cdodkin

Is that smoking at start-up, or smoking most of the time?

If just at start up, that can be perfectly normal.

If it's most of the time - this could indicates a 'porous block', which will require a replacement engine.

Seen this in earlier (97-98) Boxsters, it's a known, but not acknowledged problem.

Mine 'failed' at 9,800 miles, and my buddies 98 'failed' the same way at 23,000 miles

Probably uses coolant over time if this is the case?

If it's the 'all the time' problem, either avoid or get a good PPI to rule out this issue.

Chris.

T Tanner

Thanks for the reply, I can buy this car for next to nothing so I think I will even if I have to put an engine in it I will still be in a good place as far as it's value. Porous block? Is there any more info about this problem??

Thanks for the help

cdodkin

In my case the problem was water getting into the oil, causing the steam effect (and other issues I'm sure), which was diagnosed originally as a possible head gasket failure.

This shouldn't be happening to a car with this few miles.

After the engine was stripped it was diagnosed as having porous crankcase halfs with possible hairline cracks.

This was never officially admitted to be a known problem - but discussion on the many Boxster websites leads me to believe it happed on many early cars - leading to Porsche doing warranty engine replacements, as they did with my car.

6 years later my buddies '98 car had the same symptoms, now out of warranty (on time not miles).

He took it to Porsche, who initially wanted $10k to replace the engine.

He argued the point, based on what he understood to be a 'known issue' with his year of Boxster, and after escalating to the local Porsche rep in SoCal, they agreed to replace the engine for free, give it a 2 yr warranty, but only if he signed non disclosure papers.

Chris.

aron in toronto

Another problem showing up in earlier Boxsters is a failed or failing Air Oil Separator (AOS). When the AOS goes bad the engine can ingest oil into the cylinders and produce a dramatic amount of smoke out the exhaust. If the motor is shut down prior to hydro lock occurring then a relatively inexpensive (Vs. engine replacement) repair and cleaning is all that is usually necessary to get back on the road. This is a different problem from the porous block issue that “usually” occurs at lower miles. A quick check of the oil and coolant to see if there is any cross contamination (mixing) will help diagnose if the problem is a porous / cracked block, head gasket, or potentially less costly AOS problem.

There are several threads on the Air Oil Separator on PPBB.com

http://www.ppbb.com/boards/ppbbphp/s...ue#Post1109416

And rentech.com

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index...+Oil+Separator

If the price is right and the problem is simple to correct, your may have a great buy.
Good luck

Aron

cdodkin

Yep - AOS is another 'common' issue - often though you can hear a screaching sound as the AOS fails and cavitates - sounds like a dying banshee!

Chris.