HELP, White Smoke while driving

Today I faced quiet a weird experience, I was waiting for the green light on a traffic light, the soon it became green I stepped on it the car accelerated normally first gear then change to the second gear then to third @ 118 km/h (tiptronic) after that I looked at my rear view mirror and I saw a HUGE, Very Huge cloud of white smoke coming out of my car. I immediately stopped on the emergency lane and the car kept smoking, when I press littlie bit on the gas pedal I hear some cracking sound coming from the rear cabin (engine sound) I switched off the car, waited for couple of minutes turned it on again and the car still kept smoking. I tried waiting and turning it on again afterward the car smoked littlie and then its back to normal and there is no more a cracking type of sound coming from the engine and no smoke ! So what I did is I drove it slowly back to home ( I was beside my home when the incident happened) I inspected for any oil leaks or any sound, but there was nothing ! I am really too scared of what happened, my car is already out of warranty and am not in a mood to spend extra $$ on major things �. Did anybody face similar thing? Imo, I think it could be a weak oil separator � Any comments or suggestions ill be thankful Btw the mileage is exactly 100,000 km

Could be the oil filler tubes leaking onto the engine or exhaust. I had that a few years ago. Simple repair at the shop. Not very expensive.

check coolant level and leak as well.

that's similar to what happened to me on the freeway before my first engine had to be replaced.. did you open the engine compartment to see where it was smoking from? I was just driving at 65mph at cruise control and all of a sudden, a HUGE plume of smoke just came out of the rear of the engine.. after opening the hood it was exiting from a hole in the core of the engine.. no error messages, no problems, car was driving fine.. had to look in my rearview mirror to even notice it... i immediately pulled over.. the smoking continued rampantly for a few minutes, then subsided.. someone called the fire department and they put out the small remaining smoke that had subsided when i parked on the side of the road.. they tested it at the dealership and the car did start and appeared fine, but of course i didn't want to risk driving it around.... i found out later through inspection apparently a rod had blown through the engine core... i would bring it to a dealer asap before driving it anymore.. if you are indicating "HUGE, very Huge cloud of white smoke", that is definately something you don't want to just ignore to prevent causing any further damage to any other expensive parts... HOPEFULLY it isn't the engine good luck, let us know...

All the smoke was coming out from the exhaust, no smoke anywhere else. The car usually smokes on startup (I noticed only after driving it hard on curves) but that�s normal in Porsches. Inspection will require taking down the engine and opening it I guess. thank you bobporsche996 , djantlive and Paul Marangoni for passing by i appreciate it.

Are trying to make him feel better Bob? Why start off with a reference to your engine being replaced? You can't help yourself can you? As Jim Carrey said in Ace Ventura "Obsess much"

I would normally agree that it's too early to be too concerned about anything seriously wrong, but Khalid used the words "huge and very huge" to describe the white smoke coming from the exhaust. I would not be at all concerned about some white smoke, but the huge part does mean that the problem shouldn't be dismissed, at least IMO.

I just want it to hold apart just for the next 20,000 KM then am definatley going to get myself a 996TT I dont want to waste $$$ on fixing, maintaining etc.. i really love my current car, but the only problem with it is that its lacking power and now its even getting worse with facing this Smoky-experience ! its just a matter of time to get rid of this car !

khalid, you "need" to bring it to a mechanic.. i had the smoke coming out from my engine and exhaust, and under the car.. (apparently throwing a rod = bad), and by huge, i mean HUGE.. i was on a four lane freeway and i couldn't see any of the four lanes behind me... if you indicate it was a huge plume of white smoke, that's definately not right... a little white smoke out of the exhaust can be explained by some rings maybe not liking something... but not all of a sudden and randomly while driving.. i'd really suggest hold off on driving it anywhere, as to avoid any potential future spreading of any damage to any other components... and get it towed asap.. let us know.. gl

"i was on a four lane freeway and i couldn't see any of the four lanes behind me..." This is exactly what happend ! I am taking it to a mechanic on saturday (thursday + friday = weekend here in Dubai) ill be sure to update you of whats going to happen ... and thankyou all for your concern, I appreciate that

Poor Khalid is probably wetting himself about now. Of course, I can't stop laughing out loud. The entire floor thinks I am plain mad.

no am fine belive me. I am using my young brother 2005 MUSTANG V8 till i get my car to a mechanic and get it fixed. OT: why do people call the mustang a sport car ? i dont see anything sporty in this car except that its a coupe ! no handling no power no safty nothing at all ! "PORSCHE THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE"

Khalid, do the words BOSS 302 mean anything to you? How about Shelby GT350... The Mustang is very much a sports car, with a long and successful racing history. Granted the recent offerings are not that great. BTW, your smoke issue sounds like an air-oil separator.

well he indicates that he had four lanes of smoke behind him.. when that happened to me, upon pulling out the engine, what caused it was an internal fire inside the engine from the rod blowing a hole out of the core... i don't think a little bit of air-oil seperation causes 40 width/feet of engine smoke.. :I hopefully it's just that, but when that happened, to me, it was not good news in the least..

Check the oil separator first. When mine failed the car consumed over a quart of oil in less than 1 mile. James Bond type smoke screen. The intake and exhaust may have to come off to clean all of the excess oil out. Part is cheap...labor is expensive. Tell your mechanic to pull the plugs and check for oil in the cylinders before you crank the engine. Oil from the intake may drain down into the cylinder.

Let's not forget the Cobra. Some of the Mustangs are serious performance cars, while others are just your basic transportation in a fancy box.

I trieded to stay out of commenting on another "Bob" post but I just can't leave this one alone. Bob do you know what throwing a rod is? While I don't doubt you went through two motors, how could you possibly throw a rod threw the block of the engine and not feel or hear any immediate difference in the engine. quoting Bob "no error messages, no problems, car was driving fine.. had to look in my rearview mirror to even notice it... i immediately pulled over.. the smoking continued rampantly for a few minutes, then subsided.. someone called the fire department and they put out the small remaining smoke that had subsided when i parked on the side of the road.. they tested it at the dealership and the car did start and appeared fine, but of course i didn't want to risk driving it around...." A "rod" is a connecting rod it "connects" the piston to the crank. Putting one through the block is a pretty traumatic event for the motor. The rod end still connected to the cranck is now thrashing about, oil is gushing out the hole in the block and you are at best running on 5 cylinders, throwing the balance of the motor way off. How this could possibly have happened to your engine without you noticing anything but smoke is bizarre. Rant over, I apologize, won't happen again.

i didn't understand it either.. that's what the dealer told me, and there was a huge hole in the core of the engine.. maybe they just told me that, because they didn't really know about happened? they didn't exactly have access to the internals... either way there was a huge plume of smoke and when the engine was taken out there was a hole in the core.. what would cause the hole besides a thrown rod? not that i can do anything about it now, but would be nice to know :>

I'm not sure I know what you mean by "core". Usually a core is the outer case of whatever part is being returned in exchange for a manufactured part. My engine experience is fron drag racing V-8s. When we threw a rod it went threw the block. You could see externally a hole in the block of the engine. Even more fun was doing it a high RPM and having it go threw the hood always a fun sight especially if you doing over 100 with a guard rail or another car 5 feet away going the same speed. The diagnosis of a thrown rod in you car smells like bs to me. How did they know there was a hole in the "core" if it was not externally visible? Did they open the motor up? If you threw a rod at 65 mph your were probably turning around 3k rpm. Not exactly high rpm, but there would have been more indications of trouble then just smoke. What happened to your old engine? Does your indy have it?

Hi Bob, I completely agree with JB, you can't drive the car with a hole in the block... when a car throws a rod it's a catastrophic experience. The dealership may have meant a spun rod bearing or something else... honestly, I've read repair invoices that lead me to believe that the people who write them have no idea how an engine operates... they should at least be proof read by tech's to avoid embarrasing themselves. On another note... white smoke... I'd check my coolant first... check for oil contamination. How about smell? Did it smell "sweet' by any chance? Did you notice your oil or water gauges? Do you have a check engine light on? I just read a post about someone with a hydrolocked engine with coolant in the cylinders... coolant will burn white...

there was an actual "hole" in the core of the engine.. i'm not a mechanic, but that's what they diagnosed it is.. i saw the core, the entire engine was a mess on the outside, covered in oil and coolant and burned..

OMG ! i just had my car for full major service (oil,filter bleeding coolant etc..) also i just just replaced the water pump while servcing it(drove only 300km since that) which means coolant level should be 100% fine however, i just did what "airbarrel" told me .. i checked the coolant tank and it was almost empty .. only few drops left !!!!!!!!!! also i checked the oil to see if it was mixed with coolant i really was not able to notice the diffrence if it was pure oil or mixed with coolant however when i start the car i do smell something !!!! ....... something that is oil or coolant burning so now ........ what ? ...............

Don't bother trying to reason with him. Reminds me of the famous line in Macbeth "All sound and fury, signifying nothing" Also Bob likes to use all the anecdotes of other members here. I would direct him to the RMS poll recently conducted here: 'RMS requiring engine replacement 2.87%' WOW! 2.87%, not 28%, 2.87% and this is not even a proper sample What was a recent Bob comment 'many 996 owners bet get used to this inevitability (read catastrophic failure)' Many mmmmm... Bob your using your own forum to peddle your arrant, baseless nonsense.Look at the facts man! Are you saying the poll is wrong? Your own fellow Rennlisters? And something else to consider, but by know means offered as definitive proof. Have you considered that even those 2.87% may have been abused? I'm not saying they were, but how do we know? It is entirely possible that some of them may not be absolutely truthful about driving and maintenance habits. So maybe, I stress maybe, the real amount is say 1% 1% !!!! Lets stick with the facts ( or a close educated guesstimate) and stop all this alarmist blather. I realise this will only get a view of both of Bob's ears, but for the rest of us we've got a greater chance of being hit by a bus!

munro, feel free to read my latest post with the countless engine failuires not caused by rms at under 30,000 miles if you don't wish to believe anything i have to say... the engine replacements "not" related to rms speak for themselves..

when this happened to me, my entire coolant tank had emptied as well.. when i was on the side of the road, there was maybe 1/4 a mile of coolant on the freeway behind me, following me until i pulled over to the side of the road, where it continued to leak, all over the ground, onto the flat bed, eventually emptying until there was none left.. when your car broke down, and you looked around the vehicle did you notice something similar?

Bob - It's obvious that you are bitter, and who wouldn't if they had similar experiences to yours. However, it's statements like the ones above that cause you to lose credibility. Do you have any evidence to support your claim about these countless engine failures? Keep in mind that all of the national quality publications give the 996 an outstanding quality grade. There are many members of this forum who have spent a considerable amount of money on their 996s, and they don't need anyone making baseless accusations about their car's reliability.

fast1, read my post of my copy/paste of statements from other forum members about their 84 engine faluires i counted... that post has nothing to do with credability.. they are cold/hard facts...

Sorry, your hard cold facts are merely an observation, a completely unscientific excercise. Only PAG knows the real numbers of RMS problems and catastrophic failures. I suspect the numbers are very low or there would have been a major design change by now.

the numbers are high for rms failures (40% in the online poll alone) and they brought that faulty rms designed engine with faulty rms right into the 997 without making a major design change.. ?? as we know, that's not simply an observation.. there's a new rms posting every day on this forum..

Correction: I didn�t notice the coolant level well while car was cold .. I opened the tank cap and due to cold engine coolant was down instead i saw very shiny white tank because of sun light and the water coolant was down � so now Coolant seems to be fine �. I apologies for my mistake .. Meanwhile, let me talk about the � Un-stable oil pressure gauge, usually when driving and the accelerating the gauge raise smoothly up to the 5 (maybe littlie bit under the 5 indication line) When the car is cold the gauge raise fast but the sooner the engine heats up the gauge become heavy and so smooth �. Some thing I noticed before this incident happened and maybe long time back that the gauge is unstable.. it doesn�t raise smoothly but while rising (accelerating & engine rpm going up) it suddenly keep vibrating up-down-up-down equally while raising. Once you step on it the gauge sticks on the 5 Did anybody notice the un-stable oil pressure gauge scenario? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Still didn�t take the car yet � I was just doing and checking it up myself - opened the water coolant cap - turned on the car (oil level was fine, no smoke came out this time �v.normal startup) - waited for the car to heat up - observe any changed in the coolant tank (water started rising as car is heating up i.e. due to cold startup) - checked for any overheating - the car was absolutely fine However, I am going to take the car to the workshop early in the morning.. I cant wait .. I don�t want to pay extra $$ on this car .. I am saving for a 996TT (the carrera owner dream )

i would let the porsche dealer do the checking, after an event like that, you don't want to cause any future damage.. even starting the car after a traumatic event like that can cause future damage... just get it towed and wait to hear from them..

::::::: UPDATE ::::: OK, I took my car yesterday to Porsche workshop to get it inspected, they said it will take them 1 day to do different tests on the car the engine and try to observe any kind of a problem and after reciving a call today the results are .... The Car is completely normal, there is nothing wrong with it no oil leaks, no coolant, absolutely nothing !!! However, asking the mechanic of what was the possible cause of such an incident was narrowed down to one possible thing which is air-oil separator. Due to the hard driving and the way I was pushing my car too hard some how some way caused oil to burn. NOW WHAT SHALL I DO ? I have two possible choices in front of me .. 1. SELL THE CAR NOW�. (and drive a Toyota camry till I be able to afford a 996tt) 2. Drive the car 15,000 � 20,000 km more and risk any future damage 3. commit suicide <-- (optional in both cases)

Keep the car and just keep an eye on things. And don't get a Turbo! Get a new 997 GT3 (when they finally arrive) or the new Cayman S!

am seeking a 550HP + daily driving street car 997GT3 would be too expensive and not efficent for daily driving more like a track car (too solid) Cayman "S" is just another boxster and imo from a 911 i dont go down to cayman or boxster i keep on going higher also, i assume that within next months when the 997TT arrives the 996's Turbo resell value would decrease (here in dubai) because people always go to the new one and deappreciate the old one's ! so am assuming a 20% decrease in 996TT values specially that they have been over produced when compared with the previous model 993TT

Yeah, I see your point. Nothing wrong with Turbos - I just don't like four-wheel-drive, that's all. Plus, that amount of power is nuts! Personally, I think my next sports car will be the next generation Acura NSX...but we'll see..... I was at the auto show here in Los Angeles the other day, and that new Lexus concept car ( http://www.lexus.com/about/concept/l...or_photos.html ) looked really nice too....

GT2 resell value is the same as 996TT and personally i would love to have a moded 996TT over a GT2, i cant trust the way i drive ! 4-wheel drive is a must ... its much more safe that the GT2 and more daily driving car (personal opinion) and regarding the lexus - - - i dont know what happend to this brand now this cocepts if it didnt hold the lexus logo i would guess its a small version of a bugatti !!! they do copy alot from other cars ... and thru an experience with lexus i've had a 1999 LEXUS GS with a Supra twinturbo engine from the factory ! that car was really amazing and easy to to be moded 450HP + mine had the stock turbos and only ECU upgrade which was around 340HP somewhere there

EXTREMELY TACKY AND IN VERY POOR TASTE.

even if its supposed to be a joke ?

That just isn't somthing you joke about.

OK I appologies for saying that although i dont understand why you think such a joke is somehow offensive . Sorry again ...

I just had this exact problem with my gauge. Porsche service replaced the oil pressure sending unit under waranty and sure enough fixed the problem. It now goes up and down smoothly with rpm.

Jeezus! I pop back in after about 6 months and Bob is still blabbing the same old "my engine blew up" tune. Now I remember why I left this Forum.

Berny you are a riot!!!! Glad to see you back on the boards. Been the same without you

ha! Cheers Dell. Actually I should STFU just in case I happen to mention that Root Mean Square thang and then be blamed of similar blabbing action.

It's all good. Nothing like some friendly banter. See you around the boards

Your famous now Scouser-excellence article and all or was it Total 911? What is your opinion on the current RMS fix?

huh? What article, what magazine? This is the 1st I heard of it. You serious?

Yes, very serious. I saw it on Renntech. Loren had posted an excerpt from the article and I'm sure it mentions you with regards to your numerous RMS replacements. It doesn't refer to you as 'Scouser' but Bernie something-surname (don't have the article before me) but I'm pretty sure it was you. I'm sorry if I've got this wrong, but I don't think I have. It was a couple of months back. The whole article was about the RMS controversy. Cheers, Jason

Cheers for that Jason. I will go chase it up with Loren. Even if I am not mentioned in it it sounds like a good read

Scouser writes, "Jeezus! I pop back in after about 6 months and Bob is still blabbing the same old "my engine blew up" tune. Now I remember why I left this Forum." You've got to be kidding me, Scouser...we used to get novel-length updates from you on your RMS trouble. Was it ever fixed? Geert

Here we go......