Guys, new here, but not to cars/mechanics. I've been a BMW guy til 2 yrs ago when I got my 88 911 w/ 83K on the clock and good docs. I've been dealing with this problem since; it goes like this...crank cold car, let idle or drive off, doesn't matter-after 3-5 minutes WHITE smoke (sweetish smelling, maybe condensation)pours out for another 3-5 minutes, then disappears and runs cleanly thereafter. Any ideas? I've checked the obvious, never overfilled oil, vaccuum and ventilation hoses seem fine, valves adjusted. It does burn through about 1qt of 20W50 Castrol hi mileage every 700 miles or so, and have been told by several that this is normal. Any help is greatly appreciated. Brad

 

if i remember it right ..yours is a 3.6 littre... i had the c4 version back in the day....the first ones that tail goes up and down...yes its normal for the white smoke...till it warms up...its an aircooled motor...when the cylinders heat up and expands its fine....the oil..well all porsche leak oil...yours sounds about right...

my 2 cents
Lemon

 

lemon, thanks for the reply, but this one's a little more confusing. It's actually a 3.2L and the smoking doesn't start immediately as if were burning outsettled oilin the cylinders. This one warms up a bit, smokes, then stops. It's not blue, like just oil, and it actually smells damp, if you know what I'm saying... WIERD thanks again and please keep the suggestions coming. So far the local Porsche mechanic only had the "overfilled" suggestion. Take care, Brad

 

white smoke usually comes from water...but you have a aircool motor.....over fill is another idea...or one of the valve is not closing and sealing..spring might be worn...or valve seal leak...one way is to stick on that machine ( i cant think of the name of the machine..and i should know this, dah)...and see if all cylinder are equal in output...

my 2 cents
Lemon

 

hello i am a porsche mec any problems please ask

 

this is common its normaly due to condesation in the exhaust pipe

 

he is probably right..most likely...there is the expert...

thanks
Lemon

 

Thanks guys. Lemon, are you talking about the leakdown test? That is one of the suggestions to check for valveguide wear. Hate the sound of that. I was hoping that it would be something simple, but... dw, yeah, I can definitely tell there is a ton of humidity in the smoke. It's just a little embarrassing to have a great looking, running car and to have it look like a jalopy til it warms up. Thanks again, Brad