Uh Oh!!

Hi all, it's been a while. I just went out in my 996 (1998 3.4 C2) and not 300yds down the road the check engine light came on and a cloud of grey smoke came out the back. The was no other noises and the car crept home just fine. Is this the end of my 996 or something that I'll be able to smile about in a few days time? raysforgoodnews:

was the CEL flashing or constant?

Flashing. Well it definitely started off flashing but I then went into blind panic and a small meltdown so I think it remained flashing.

If no mechanical noises I suspect it was just oil bulid up in the inlet manifold, mines done and there have been many similair post on here , there was an article in one of the mags recently, you should be fine, make sure you hav oil at the correct level and that your water is fine.Mike

flashing CEL usually tends to be an emissions issue, which stacks with what Mike has said, just to be sure and to ensure you don't toast your 'cats' take your vehicle to your dealer/garage and have the codes read.

If the smoke stopped and there were no mechanical noises and oil pressure was (and still is ) normal then probably oil in manifold as Mike Brown says. But none the less..... Check coolant level Check for overly high pressure in the cooling system Check for any signs of oil in coolant Check for any signs of coolant in oil As MB says make sure oil is at correct leveland do not overfill.

My local indie suspects either a cylinder head has gone or a cracked cylinder. :sad: He's going to pop the engine out as soon as he gets a chance, although that might be a couple of weeks away, and then we'll go from there. At the moment I contemplating a second hand engine, a new engine or suicide. It could go either way.

When my cylinder wall split water come out of one exhaust. This happened days later and only when the header tank cap was removed. I hope you're more fortunate than I was. If the worst, suggest you head to Hartech. Cheers

Is your car still running and did you have any water loss, it sounds like it was just a temporary iol build up , telll us if it has used water or if the water is emulsified or indeed if the oil is contaminated, many engines have been removed without good reason and because of the mistake of assuming the worst.Mike

:yeah: Had exactly the same a few years back in my 996 convertible. Huge smoke and flashing light.... I nearly cried, sooooo, I stuck my head in the sand and ignored it. Within a few mins the smoke was gone, and the engine was absolutely fine for thousands more miles ... Make sure you definitely need the engine out before you spend a LOAD of dosh... Graham.

It was running, albeit sounding like it was misfiring, and the CEL was on permanently (not flashing). I took it to my local indie (AutoStrasse in Essex) and they called back to say either a cylinder gasket had gone or a cracked cylinder. They're going to take the engine in a couple of weeks and confirm the issue. Is there anything else they / I should be doing in the meantime? Thanks

Do you know the fault code(s)? If not find them out and let me know. How have they come to the conclusion so far? Compression test I imagine? If yes what were the PSI readings on each bore. Maybe look to getting out of there until you have received some valued advice from here. You may be able to avoid a big bill. :thumb: Lloyd

It was a compression test I think - I'll go and see them as soon as I get a chance and see if I can get a print out of the diagnostic reading. Thanks

Autostrasse took the engine out of my car today and confirmed that it is a cracked cylinder and thus a knackered engine. :sad: :sad: As far as I can see these are my options: 1. New engine from OPC c 10k 2. Second hand engine c6k 3. Hartech/autofarm rebuild £??? 4. Sell the car to a dealer who can fix it at cost, knowing I will be held over a barrel. There's pretty much no way I can justify buying a new engine, 10+k into a 12 year old car just seems insane to me. I'm not keen on the idea of a second hand engine, afaik there's no guarantee that it won't go pop again in 6 months and I'm pretty sure it would affect the resale. Hartech/Autofarm option I'm assuming is going to be around the 8k mark and again I feel that's a pretty large amount of money to plough into a car worth £15k. So , do dealers with onsite/local indie's buy knackered cars and how much do you think they would offer?? Any advice much appreciated. Thanks :sad:

Talk to Baz at Hartech. He has some far more cost-effective solutions.