Anything that gives me a chance to buy another tool plus....

In the September 2011 issue of Excellence Magazine there is an article (p.131) on Air Oil Separators. The authors suggest purchasing a Slack Tube Manometer to check the crankcase vacuum at every service or oil change. Have any of you purchased and used one of these? If so, where did you buy one and have you found it to be helpful?

Thank you,

Neil

2001 Boxster S

with something as fancy as a vacuum gage.

It sounds good in theory but the problem is most often the AOS goes from good to bad in a time span that does not cross over an oil/filter service or any other service for that matter.

In most cases the AOS gives you sufficient signs it needs attention. The downside is it may not signal this at a convenient time. The 1st AOS on my Boxster failed when I was out of work and the 2nd one failed after driving halfway across the country and in a motel parking lot 90+ miles from the Porsche dealer.

A quick search turned up a price of $56. I'm not interested in buying one but not because of the price. I just don't think the gage is that useful for an owner of one car.

Now a Porsche shop probably ought to have one to check out every car that comes in. Over a year's time if the gage id'd a few cars (even one car) in need of an AOS it would have paid for itself.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Heck, lots of us go out and buy code readers and special transmission plug tools, the latter being for very long service intervals. If the device is sensitive enough, it's be good to know about the tiniest of cracks in the AOS bellows.

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

sense of the normal variations in vacuum the AOS produces -- and which results in the AOS having varying degrees of effectiveness which accounts for I believe the majority of the smoking upon startup events many owners experience -- to avoid the possibility of mistaking a normal variation in a healthy AOS as a sign the AOS was failing.

Sure many of us have an OBD code reader and even a data logger. I have several. I use an OBD code reader/data logger but only have it connected when I'm looking for something I already suspect is wrong. Even then it is difficult to really know what's going on until the condition gets bad enough from the readings that one can see that make it clear (actually more like they confirm) what's wrong.

But the OP is certainly free to pick up the Slack Tube Manometer and use it whenever he wants. Heck I might pick one up just to see what the readings are.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

I live about 500 miles from the nearest dealer so checking this a regular intervals might help ease my concern.

Neil

2001 Boxster S

I might be wrong and the gage does provide a clear and distinct and early enough warning of pending AOS troubles.

Sincerely,

MarcW.