924Board.org

[Mike67]

Just bought a 1985 924S, gaurds red full service history Has 105,000 miles on the clock taking into account the history (clearly the odometer now reads 5,000 m).

Problems: 1) From cold start and after 30 secs there is billowing white smoke from the exhaust which lasts for approx. 1-2 minutes. After that and out on the road no smoke. Runs well and oil press is at 4 as it should be at 5000 rpm etc..

2) Steering wheel starts to wander between 80-100 mph and gets light.

3) Damp foot well on passenger side (RHD) EU car.

That's it so far, but have

Booked in to Porsche garage for 40,000 service and check over. They agreed to give it a full mech. check ..oh yes and cambelt change and gearbox oil.

Any advice, opinions, questions very welcome. This seems like a great chat group!

Best, Mish67 in UK
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Don't threaten me with a dead fish!

[Neil924]

Welcome, is it Mike or Mish? Is the smoke clearing very quickly when it comes out or does it hang around. ie: water will leave quickly and brake fluid will hang around {so I have read}.

I used the search function and found these threads.

http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=4756&highlight=blue+smoke+white+smoke

http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=11965&highlight=blue+smoke+white+smoke

http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=9155&highlight=blue+smoke+white+smoke

http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=8855&highlight=blue+smoke+white+smoke

[macBdog]

White smoke that dissapears sounds like head gasket/cracked head (more likely gasket). Damp footwell is due to rusty battery tray area, needs to be replaced.
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1979 931 with a 350 chev
1973 911E with EFI

[924zombie]

White smoke is caused by water getting into the combustion chamber,so suspect cylinderhead/head gasket problem

[SSen100]

I get the white smoke upon start-up and there is also the mayo-like stuff in the oil cap.
Sounds like I've got the head gasket issue as well.
How much does this tend to cost to fix and is the engine fully the same ever again?

[Mike67]

Thanks everyone for the replies so far, I'll be taking it out for a decent drive this weekend. Have not had a chance so far this week with work and dark evenings etc..

I think it is water contamination but will check for any smell of brake fluid. It has synthetic oil in at the moment and have heard this burns white as well, not sure... Will also look out for coolant level dropping and post progress of that and the service.

There is a rumour that the sun might be shining somewhere in UK this weekend, so hopefully get some pics.

Cheers for now.
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Don't threaten me with a dead fish!

[Paul]

Make sure the Porsche garage knows about the smoke, so that they can check the head gasket before doing the front service.

Otherwise you'll end up paying for the belt replacement labor twice (one must remove the belts to remove the head).
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White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.

[gohim]

Is that an 85 2.0L engine 924 or 86 2.5L engine 924S?

The 2.5L engine 924S was not introduced until the 1985 model year.

The maintenance schedules for the engines are completely different.

If you have the 2.5L (944) engine, you need to have the complete front of engine service performed, if you do not have the complete maintenance history of the car, and can see that it has been done in the past three years of 30K miles.

The complete front of engine serive will include replacement of the camshaft and balance shaft belts, the ball bearing equipped rollers & pulleys, front of engine oil seals, and water pump. You should also check for leaking oil cooler seals (look at the oil level dipstick for signs of coolant contamination, in the coolant expansion tank for signs of coolant contamination, and below the oil cooler housing for an oil leak).

If you have the 2.0L engine, while the hp is much lower, following the maintenance schedule is less critical because the engine is non-interference, and will not self-destruct if the timing belt breaks for any reason (as opposed to the 2.5L engine which is interference, and will be very expensive to fix if the timing or balance shaft belts break, jump or strip any teeth), the cost of the parts, number of items to check and the amount of time required are also much lower on the 2.0L engined car.

[sleepy]

white smoke doesn't neccessarily mean head gasket does it? My 924 used to give a lot of white smoke at startup on cold days when i first got it in september, but it had a new head gasket about a year before. it doesn't really any more, the only things I can think of mite have anything to do with that is the oil change to semi-synthetic or the new downpipe i fitted, oh & i added redex to the fuel for a while. I really don't know?


What are the signs of coolant contamination in the expansion tank? There's no sign of water in the oil.

-sleepy
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meteor silver 1981 924 lux. -UK

[Roger]

If the spark plugs are clean and there is no water in the oil, and the car is not loosing coolant I would not suspect the head gasket. Often condesation will form in the exhaust system causing white smoke durring a cold start. I would not automaticaly suspect the head gasket.

The damp foot well is probably from holes in the battery tray. Over the years rust and acid have eaten through the pan. I used some qualitity expoy (marinetex) to seal mine. Some people have gone as far as adding a layer of fiberglass or welding in a new pan. Of course I am guessing that your battery is on the oppisite side.

I know little about suspensions but I wonder what condition your tires and struts are in.

As far as I know the 924S is the 2.5 liter Porsche motor. The earlier 2.0 liter in the 924 is an Audi motor. I am not sure about EU cars though. If you have the 2.5 liter than you have more in common with the 944 guys than the 924 guys. Try

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=10

The timing belt is a hugh issue with the 2.5 liter. I think that the maintaince interval is 3 years or 45,000 miles. Check the maintiance records you have. If the timing belt goes its going to bend alot of valves. The tool to adjust the timing belt on the 2.5 liter is like $500. Adjustment of the timing belt is important and usually requires a visit to the shop.
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1981 924 NA

Some people are like Slinkies. Not really good for anything, but you
still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.