CEL and white smoke at start up-Air Oil Separator (AOS)

[masterbm]

Well,

My '99 2.5 with 120K is doing the ol' "big puff of white smoke at start-up" gag. Lasts 2-3 secs, worse if I leave the car on an incline (i.e. with the passenger side higher than the driver side.) Got a CEL. Car idles at about 800 rpm, has gentle shudder as it works its way up to just above 1000, then gives big rev and works its way back down. No obvious fluid on ground.

Thanks to this board, I'm reasonably sure it's the AOS.

Unless anyone else has a better idea.

I hope not, cause my new one is coming from Sunset in 2 days.

Wish me luck as I try to install it myself. Maybe I'll take some pics for future sufferers.

But Spring has FINALLY arrived in Cincinnati, and I gots to gets this car healthy for fun!

While I'm at it, anyone have any other tricks to brighten sluggish performance from an old Box, aside from clean/replace MAF? 'Fraid the ol' grey goose aint what she used to be. Neither am I!!!

masterbm

[jgriffin56]

Well,

My '99 2.5 with 120K is doing the ol' "big puff of white smoke at start-up" gag. Lasts 2-3 secs, worse if I leave the car on an incline (i.e. with the passenger side higher than the driver side.) Got a CEL. Car idles at about 800 rpm, has gentle shudder as it works its way up to just above 1000, then gives big rev and works its way back down. No obvious fluid on ground.

Thanks to this board, I'm reasonably sure it's the AOS.

Unless anyone else has a better idea.

I hope not, cause my new one is coming from Sunset in 2 days.

Wish me luck as I try to install it myself. Maybe I'll take some pics for future sufferers.

But Spring has FINALLY arrived in Cincinnati, and I gots to gets this car healthy for fun!

While I'm at it, anyone have any other tricks to brighten sluggish performance from an old Box, aside from clean/replace MAF? 'Fraid the ol' grey goose aint what she used to be. Neither am I!!!

masterbm

Two things come to mind. THE PCA Tech Question and ANswer forum, usually says that this is not uncommon for the time of year with the cold nights and the warm days ( Moisture, etc). It says that if the color is dark black or blue then you may have a worry, but a white puff of white smoke is usually indication that it is moisture. I know you know this, but always make sure you let the fuel pump prime the engine before starting, by turning the key to on and waiting for a few seconds before engaging the starter. Second, make sure that you are using the right oil for your model of P car. JIM G

[1schoir]

Well,

My '99 2.5 with 120K is doing the ol' "big puff of white smoke at start-up" gag. Lasts 2-3 secs, worse if I leave the car on an incline (i.e. with the passenger side higher than the driver side.) Got a CEL. Car idles at about 800 rpm, has gentle shudder as it works its way up to just above 1000, then gives big rev and works its way back down. No obvious fluid on ground.

Thanks to this board, I'm reasonably sure it's the AOS.

Unless anyone else has a better idea.

I hope not, cause my new one is coming from Sunset in 2 days.

Wish me luck as I try to install it myself. Maybe I'll take some pics for future sufferers.

But Spring has FINALLY arrived in Cincinnati, and I gots to gets this car healthy for fun!

While I'm at it, anyone have any other tricks to brighten sluggish performance from an old Box, aside from clean/replace MAF? 'Fraid the ol' grey goose aint what she used to be. Neither am I!!!

masterbm

Master:

A failed AOS will keep providing white smoke for a lot longer than 2 03 3 seconds. Leaving the car on an incline and getting smoke at startup is a "feature" of flat-6 engines.

Take a look at Mike Focke's website for a photo of what your smoke should look like if your AOS is bad, and for other telltale symptoms (near impossible to remove the oil filler cap at idle, etc...): http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/airoilseparatorreplacement

Also check out a recent (current) thread by poster "shihman" for some good photos and tips on replacing the AOS.

Regards, Maurice.

[shihman]

mastrerbm, i am no way an expert at problem solving but i just have to chime in on this issue since i just had an exact same problem. thanks to all people in this forum and especially to maurice, glyn and bob walking me thru the entire process.

first i also have the idling problem and i got that taken care of by cleaning the throttle body and the butterfly valve particularly. clean off all the grease and the gunk at the valve. i used break fluid and found that it's very easy if you use an old clean sock that you don't wear anymore and put it over you hand to clean inside the valve. i can guarantee that will fix the idling problem.

as for changing the AOS, follow the link maurice post.

here is the link to my post.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...4731&hl=aos

hope this helps.

[masterbm]

Thanks, all for the input.

You're all exactly right, the puff of smoke at startup is normal, and I've seen that before, but what I've got now is really excessive. Looks exactly like Mike Focke's pics. While it only lasts for a few seconds, it's really quite a bit of smoke. I'll take some pics so all can see a before and after, though it may be a bit redundant since Mike's site tells the story so well.

Thanks for the tips on the throttle body, shi. I'll give it a good going over as I work on the AOS. Your post is excellent, and convinced me that I can give this a try myself.

B