Potential AOS?

[chaudanova]

Hey Guys, I've searched already, but I have a question that I'm trying to figure out for a friend who doesn't get on the computer enough to become a forum member. Not on my car, but on his 02 Boxster.

He occasionally gets the white puff of smoke on startup, usually parks on an incline, and it doesn't always happen.

On a recent trip in southern california, driving on the 73N, and later on the 73S toll road through Orange County, we noticed some strange power loss. It seemed to not want to make much power and go above 80mph. Perhaps an elevation issue? I'm not sure, but after that freeway, it seemed to perform normally. I've driven that freeway in my car before and it seemed fine, but in this trip in his car, it was acting a bit weird.

I don't know if that is related to the issue or just was a fluke. Suspecting the AOS due to the occasional puffs of white smoke on startup, I recall reading threads saying to try removing the oil filler cap while the engine is on and testing the resistance.

We tried that on his car, and the cap came off easily. There was a definite vacuum, and I wanted to ask, is the vacuum normal, or is that vacuum indicative of the AOS failure? Also, when removing the cap, the car's idle would change. I assumed this was normal...

Any ideas guys? He is worried, and I tried to help with what I knew, but I am no expert on this issue.

Thanks in Advance...

[kbrandsma]

Hey Guys, I've searched already, but I have a question that I'm trying to figure out for a friend who doesn't get on the computer enough to become a forum member. Not on my car, but on his 02 Boxster.

He occasionally gets the white puff of smoke on startup, usually parks on an incline, and it doesn't always happen.

On a recent trip in southern california, driving on the 73N, and later on the 73S toll road through Orange County, we noticed some strange power loss. It seemed to not want to make much power and go above 80mph. Perhaps an elevation issue? I'm not sure, but after that freeway, it seemed to perform normally. I've driven that freeway in my car before and it seemed fine, but in this trip in his car, it was acting a bit weird.

I don't know if that is related to the issue or just was a fluke. Suspecting the AOS due to the occasional puffs of white smoke on startup, I recall reading threads saying to try removing the oil filler cap while the engine is on and testing the resistance.

We tried that on his car, and the cap came off easily. There was a definite vacuum, and I wanted to ask, is the vacuum normal, or is that vacuum indicative of the AOS failure? Also, when removing the cap, the car's idle would change. I assumed this was normal...

Any ideas guys? He is worried, and I tried to help with what I knew, but I am no expert on this issue.

Thanks in Advance...

You can also check the "J" tube that goes from the AOS to the throttle body and check for standing oil. The Boxster is a flat 6 cyclinder engine so an ocassional white smoke at start-up is to be expected. If no oil in "J" tube, no regular regular smoke even after initial start-up, and no oil consumption, I would not worry about it.