tomtom911

I've owned my car since last April. Over this past winter i have occasionally pulled it out of the garage and let it run in the driveway for 20 minutes. and recently noticed an oil leak. I have minimal leak when the car is parked in the garage, but the oil leak while running is much more and in a diff location. The Leak location is on the driver side and is dripping onto the what appears to be a shield or part of the exhaust, some is burning off , the rest is on the pavement. I cannot see whats happening above. Any ideas what it could be in that location and that it only leaks while running? I have had to refill oil during this past year and have read many threads re normal oil consumption, this may explain things. I am looking for ideas before I bring it to my mechanic so I can read more threads and get better informed. The car only has 59k and I am probably going to bring it in for a tensioner kit upgrade this year so wondering if both should be done at the same time?
Thoughts?

JCP911S

Seals and gaskets can go bad on these cars from various spots. If the 59K mileage is original, this car has been sitting for long periods, which tends to lead to gasket/seal deterioration.

Oil leaks are a b**ch, as the oil can run along the engine... like finding a leaky roof. There are numerous possible causes... you can chase them all over the place.

Unless you are a pretty handy mechanic, and like getting dirty, I'd suggest taking it to a good Porsche specialist, have him just pull the engine (this is about $500, or so) and then have him go over the whole engine at once.

There are a whole bunch of relatively simple things you can do with the engine out... be prepared to swallow a couple of $K, but if the engine is basically sound, then you'll have a no-worries engine that will run for another 20 years.

Cheers!

rusnak

Yeah, the engine will probably come out during the tensioner upgrade. What I would do is clean the entire underside of the engine and start again. Look at the return tubes. Are they leaking?

On an SC and Carrera, the most common leak is from the oil pressure swich and thermostat o-ring. Both of these will leak oil onto the exhaust cross pipe roughly in the middle of the car, sometimes slightly on the passenger side.

I would highly reccommend that the oil pressure switch, thermostat o-ring, and possibly the three oil cooler seals all be replaced while the motor is out. The rear brake hoses and suspension bushings are easier to get with the motor out too.

mpiffaretti

If not done already, I would also recommend getting the Turbo valve cover upgrade. The originals tend to warp and leak oil right on top of the heat exchanger, which is the exhaust piece you are trying to describe above.

theiceman

As pointed out oil leaks on these cars can be very difficult to find . they always " apear" to be the valve covers. These poor things always get the blame. they are the lowest point on the car that oil always ends up on. then onto the heat exchangers.

Jonathon Rolstin

Up to you if you want to wait, but tensioners aren't an engine out operation, so unless the covers are leaking it is unlikely you will save any money by grouping them together

tomtom911

Thanks for all of the replies. Even though I have an awesome and trusting mechanic who also owns a 85' I have decided to take the car which i have now owned for 1 year for a PPI type inspection. The car engine purrs and sounds great, and the car is very original and clean with low miles. I want a dedicated Porsche shop to do a full assessment so I can make a effective plan to repair items as needed and see what are nice to haves. I saw from the 101 project book the tensioner upgrade doesn't require an engine drop so thanks for sharing. I'll post back with pics of the leak and what the source is in mid April once the inspection is done. Looking forward to spring and snow melt to get the car on the road on my new Re11a's.