Bigwave

White smoke at start up. Here is my issues. 2006 CS2 with 92k miles. I have a check engine light on and get white smoke at start up about half of the time. It’s a pretty large cloud but clears up fast. Car seems to run well and I am getting 20 MPG on combined City/Highway. Yesterday for the first time on the free way I had cloud of white smoke for just a second or less but very noticeable. Just cruising in 6 gear not hard on the gas and puff. Cleared up right away. I have been very busy and have not had time to get this checked yet plus I am very short on cash right now. So what could be the issue? Did I lose this motor?

TIA
Dave

Palmbeacher

Typically, "white" exhaust smoke is caused by coolant, and typically symptomatic of a bad head gasket. You haven't "lost the engine" yet, but I certainly would have it sorted ASAP.

Bigwave

Thanks Palmbeacher. That seems to make sence.

Spokane5150

Does the smoke smell sweet?

Bigwave

now that you mention it yes.

neanicu

We're only going to be guessing here...
My advice is to start with the most obvious step : Check Engine Light. Go to Autozone or similar that offer free CEL read. They'll pull the code out,but don't rely much on the description they'll give you. Just post the code here and we'll try to help...

Luxter

Page 89 from Owners Manual:

"Although the vehicle is usually driveable and will
not require towing, see your dealer for service as
soon as possible"

And:

"If the Check engine light in the instrument
panel is flashing, severe catalytic converter
damage and power loss will soon occur.
Prolonged driving with the Check engine light
on could cause damage to the emission control
system. It also could affect fuel economy
and driveability.
Have the fault remedied at the nearest authorized
Porsche dealer immediately."

Spokane5150

OK....then if you get a white cloud of smoke and a sweet smell this is undoubtedly antifreeze getting into the combustion chamber either from a cracked cylinder, warped cylinder head or blown head gasket. No CEL test is going to tell you this. There would also be creamy looking oil if you could check your dip stick. Since you don't have a dip stick you'll need to do a leak down test. There are a few tests the technician can do to see where the antifreeze is coming from. You really need to stop driving your car and get into the dealer or indy for service ASAP. Let's pray it isn't a broken block. Head gaskets and warped heads are easier to fix and replace.

neanicu

I can agree that the symptoms he's describing are leading in that direction,but if he took this car to the dealer,the first thing they'll do before making assumptions is to run a diagnostic,especially that the CEL is on. I also agree that the CEL might not be related,but the OP hasn't provided us with too many details....
Are these engines prone to head gasket failures...NO...AFAIK...(for head gasket failures see the Subaru boxer engines...)
Has this engine overheated? We don't know...
Do you have enough coolant? We don't know...
Do you have a coolant leak? We don't know...
How does the oil look like? We don't know...
Has the engine oil level increased while the coolant dropped? We don't know...

Spokane5150

Big Cloud of Sweet smelling white smoke = coolant leaking into the combustion chamber.

Take it to the shop.

mjsporsche

Agree with the quick diagnostic. But this will not be cheap! It is not my old Chevy 283 needing a new head gasket. Take it to an indy...not a dealer.

Bigwave

Thanks for all the input. She is going to Hergesheimer Porsche right after work. To answer a few question. Never over heated. Not sure what the oil looks like. Anti freeze level seems ok but I think this could change if I did continue to drive it.

Spokane5150

The actual repair may not be cheap but the diagnostic should be fairly inexpensive.

Good luck! Keep us updated.

RollingArt

My guess is you have a cracked cylinder.

You'll be in the best of hands with Hergesheimer. I talked to Mrs. Hergesheimer once on the phone about 993's and she was super knowledgeable on the subject. I imagine Mr. H. is a master Porsche tech. I've only heard great things about that shop.

Bigwave

RollingArt, Do you feel with a cracked cylinder it would still run smooth and get good MPG (minu the smoke coming out the tail pipe) ?