dporto

On Monday morning I got up and washed my car prior to taking it on a 40 odd mile run out to Montauk (would be returning the following day). Before I left I decided to check the oil and the coolant. The coolant was fine (right on the min mark when cool) but the oil was low - just the tip of the dip stick/bottom line on the meter. Hmmm... I put a whole quart in. It seemed really strange, because I hadn't noticed any smoke at start up, and hadn't noticed any puddles in my driveway either. In fact, the car has been running great - no strange noises (which I've really been listening for due to all the recent work I've done - especially the under-drive pulley just the day before). Needless to say, I watched the temp gauge and oil pressure gauge like a hawk on my trip out. The car ran great and quiet all the way out to Montauk (the east end of Long Island for those who don't know it). The car sat for about 10 or 15 minutes before I jumped back in and headed out for lunch. I was a little bit concerned when I looked at the oil level gauge and noticed it was down about 2 bars, but shrugged it off as the car was on a incline - once again it was running smoothly and quietly. We got to the restaurant which was about 5-6 miles away with no issues. Had a great lunch outside, the weather was perfect... I couldn't get this nagging feeling out of my head, because from where I was sitting, I could see the back of my car and the right rear corner looked different than the rest of the rear bumper (I was thinking soot/oil>...). After finishing lunch and saying our goodbyes, upon getting back out to the car I realized that the rear corner was covered with a fine oil spray. The first thing I looked at was the tailpipe...clean! No soot, no oil on the inside... Ok, that's kind of a good thing... I stuck my head under near the back of the back wheel - I couldn't see much, but I could see oil dripping down the sway bar by the drop link and I could tell it was coming from further up on the engine. The bottom cam plug was present, and though it was covered in oil, I could tell that it wasn't the source of the leak. I thought it might be the upper cam plug, but didn't want to go reaching around blindly and get covered with oil? I drove the car back to the house some 5 miles away - no lights, no strange noises - I parked the car, and my mind raced. I've driven close to 1000 miles since doing the work on the car...why now? Needless to say I didn't sleep very well last night, as I knew I had a hectic day ahead. Fortunately I was able to get a truck and trailer, and trailer the car back to my shop. In the mean time, I did have to start it a couple times to move it to a spot where I could get it on the trailer, and then I had to drive it onto the trailer. Before doing so, I added another quart of oil. The car ran fine - no noises, no lights - really bizarre! When I got the car back to my shop and was about to take it off the trailer and drive it up into the shop, what did I find on the deck of the trailer? The green Cam plug - it's in perfect condition and looks brand new! It didn't have so much as a scratch on it (and from what I remember, it went in pretty tight. Now I'm wondering if the cam cover bolts loosened up and allowed it to blow out? Why else would it come out? I know about possibly blocking the oil passage by the plug with cover sealant, but it seems that would have happened much sooner if that was the case. I'm hoping to get up to the shop tonight and figure out what's going on. I'll update when I figure it out - in the meantime, let's open it up for speculation. Just do me a favor and keep the CEF talk to a minimum for now ok?

996inTX

You are one lucky bastard! Interested to hear what happened when you figure it out

dgi 07

Mice....

gnarbowski

That's some good luck

Nickshu

Dharn55

Not sure what other work you have been doing but check the end of the camshaft and make sure the expansion plug is there. The cams are filled with pressurized oil. When I was repairing my engine years ago I used a home made tool to hold the cams down when I took off the cam cover and it deformed the expansion plug that then blew out of the cam.

Jake Raby told me that this is one of the modes of failure he has diagnosed. My cams now have threaded plugs in both ends of all 4 cams.

dporto

At the shop tonight I was able to get the cam plug reinstalled and all the cam cover bolts checked for proper torque. All the bolts were tight and the plug went in tight as well. So now the question is why the plug popped out in the first place? I'm going to drop the sum plate Thursday night and check the aos/swirl pots and see if they're clogged up with chain pad material...

Schnell Gelb

Wierd situation so an odball question _ Is it possible that the AOS system has failed and somehow the crankcase is pressurizing ?

popster_23

I'm glad that I took a look at this thread. My 2000 Carrera 4 has the same issue... the back bumper of the car is covered in a thin film of oil and the car will smoke upon accelerating. I bought the car in June and it has 145,000 miles on the original engine as far as I know. I first suspected the AOS because what seems to be increased vacuum pressure in the engine when removing the oil cap... the AOS may need replacing but it isn't the smoke issue. The smoke does not come from the exhaust but seems to be burning oil on the drivers side header. I had the car on a lift yesterday and it looks like it is coming from the cam cover. I'm going to have the engine taken down and reseal the cam covers/plugs, change out the clutch, AOS, IMS bearing, RMS, water pump, oil cooler, spark plugs and tubes and anything else that looks suspect. The engine still runs smooth and pulls well so I don't think there is anything mechanically wrong with the motor. When I had the car on lift I also found out the front diff seals are shot and it ate a bearing up too... lot of work ahead!

dporto

I "think"did feel the plug in the end of the cam before I re-installed the plastic "cap" at the end of the cam cover. Unfortunately, with the engine in the car you can't really see that top cam as it's buried up behind the rear suspension components. I suppose I could thread a bore-scope up there to have a look.

"Wierd situation so an odball question _ Is it possible that the AOS system has failed and somehow the crankcase is pressurizing ?"

This is exactly what I'm thinking - per a post a few days ago referencing a clogged oil sump aos. I'm going to pull the sump plate and check it tomorrow. If it turns out to be clean, I'll probably go back and check the plug in the end of the cam-shaft mentioned above by Dharn55

** I also think that if the cam end plug blew out, I'll probably find it in the sump...

Dharn55

When my cam expansion plug blew out it blew the green plug right out and there was a huge amount of oil coming out, it would have emptied the engine quickly so this is probably not the problem, but it is certainly worth looking at. Something is crating enough pressure to push out the green plug.

dporto

I'll let you know what I find when I open up the sump and check out the swirl pot/aos. My fingers are crossed, as I'm not looking forward to dropping the engine again

Schnell Gelb

To 'observe' the green plugs are in place or to verify cam timing I use a smart phone camera.There is just enough space to slide it in there. Shoot video if that is easier. Good illumination helps.

dporto

Good to know^^ I've got a bore-scope that I bought while doing all the work on my engine earlier this year - I'm pretty sure I can snake that up there to get a look - I'm thinking my I-phone 6 may be a little large

Schnell Gelb

I used an iphone 6.Yes, It does require some dexterity to operate there !