Smoke on startup - normal? 997.2

[Maxf]

Hi all,

Is some ‘smoke’ on startup normal if the car (997.2) has sat for some time? It seemed like it was probably mostly condensation and was white in colour - some water was pooling inside the exhaust tip but some black oil/soot/dirt was in the water too.

There wasn’t much ‘smoke’ at all - a just a continual whisp, but noticeable and carried on for 5-10 mins or so.

Thanks all.

 

[Rhodris-dad]

Sounds perfectly normal to me. My C4S had 70k miles on it and would occasionally give a puff of blue smoke on start up, but only used about a litre of oil in between services.

 

[Maxf]

Great - thanks. It’s a possible purchase so being a little cautious I guess.

 

[Lavazza]

Hi all,

Is some ‘smoke’ on startup normal if the car (997.2) has sat for some time? It seemed like it was probably mostly condensation and was white in colour - some water was pooling inside the exhaust tip but some black oil/soot/dirt was in the water too.

There wasn’t much ‘smoke’ at all - a just a continual whisp, but noticeable and carried on for 5-10 mins or so.

Thanks all.

I'm not sure about it being 5 or 10 minutes, but I'm sure someone will be along with perhaps a more informed view.
I have a 997.1 C4S, 987.1 Cayman S and B7 RS4,a puff of smoke on occasional start up after not much use isn't a concern, but my experience is it's just seconds.
With regular use, virtually nil.

 

[jl-c]

Depends if it has been pulled out of a garage a few times and not been allowed to warm up fully. I wouldn't worry too much about it as long as the tips are not too sooty.

 

[Punchdrunked]

White smoke is fine

 

[RUDDY]

Fired my 997.2 up today for the first time since last August , what you are describing is purely condensation not oil smoke.

On a separate note I keep the 997 and my bike on a Motopower GTPOWER 2000 trickle charger bought from Amazon for £29, brilliant piece of kit for the price, never fails.

 

[Marky911]

What Ruddy says. Normal.
(Those chargers look good Ruddy! )

If it comes on as the car is warming up and is white wispy smoke (water vapour) it’s just condensation due to things warming up in a cold, damp atmosphere, which is much more apparent this time of year.
It will last a few minutes until things get up to temp.

What you can also get is a huge puff of blue/grey smoke (oil) instantly on start up. This is a single cloud that blows away immediately and whilst it can look quite dramatic (and embarrassing) it is also totally normal. A tiny bit of oil leaks into the engines cylinders when standing and it gets burned off at start up. It’s often better or worse depending on what position the engine stops in.
This is just a quirk of the Flat 6 engine with its horizontal cylinders.

I’d caveat that with what others have said in that you don’t want to see one tailpipe being way more sooty than the other, but you’re taking about a Gen2 and they are a very safe bet usually.

 

[Chigster]

Sorry to hijack thread but this is what I am getting on start up. Doesn’t always happen - but seems to be getting more frequent last few weeks. Is this the condensation vapour or should I be worried? It doesn’t smell acrid.

C

 

[911UK]

just smoke or anything blue?

 

[Chigster]

Just white smoke. But quite a bit of it.

 

[911UK]

I assume you’re not starting and stopping and starting the engine, that’s not recommended

Flat 6 motors allow oil, sprayed on the cylinder walls, to seep into the combustion chamber as the motor cools, which the smallest slope allows this to occur. White smoke can happen at start up as a result. Probably nothing to worry about.

Sooty tail pipes go with DFI motors. Again, probably nothing to worry about. Our cars are pre particulate filter. Porsche worked hard and wisely to make the 997.2 bullet proof. Water pumps and AOSs do not seem to fail , but yes there are always exceptions, but these are few and far between.

 

[Chigster]

Thank you. Yes car is parked on a sloping driveway - so that will explain it.

 

[911UK]

Thank you. Yes car is parked on a sloping driveway - so that will explain it.

but test this theory, just to make sure