jcb928

I noticed a exhaust/fuel smell (not strong raw fuel) and found this oil leak. Is this the rear main seal?

Sorry for the bad pic but it was taken by holding the camera under the car (drivers side just behind front wheel)

Mrmerlin

could be oil leaking from the cam cover or the banjo bolt need to be snugged.
Depends on the color
Red , banjo,
brown, cam cover.
If its green then a leak at the rear block off plate on the head or a head gasket

928 at last

JB,
That shot shows your starter at the far right, and seems to be centred on your steering rack. If your main seal is firing oil this far left.....you definitely have a problem.
Looks like there may be something running down the wiring leading to the starter, but impossible to say where it's coming from for sure.
A first guess would be your power steering resevoir and/or associated plumbing, but again the photo isn't helping.

jcb928

The cam cover is leaking but I didn't think it would travel that far

David L. Lutz

My vote is Power Steering fluid. (that would be Red)

Might just go ahead and get it up on stands and start the long process of getting it cleaned up and then you will better see where it is coming from.

There are several threads here on the products and methods of cleaning under there.

Mrmerlin

to see the cam cover leaking you need under the car it usually leaks along the lower edge you could just run your finger along the edge till it gets wet with oil.
From your picture if the end caps leaking,
then its also possible that one or both of them are leaking at the rear as well.
Need a visual under the car to determine

David L. Lutz

Clean up that cam cover and check how much its leaking ?? You might just have more than one area leaking.

928 at last

Best bet, Messy but effective is wash the driver's side of the engine down, and then once it's really dry without running, dust with baby powder and watch very closely.............
Just looking at the pic though, you may want to really focus on the power steering hoses, connections and resevoir.
A general dusting and observation can't hurt though, and if you do have a leak from the cam covers, it'll be obvious.

928 at last

Oh, and by the way, if you're smelling raw fuel, this is not where the problem is...!!!!
You need to very carefully check your fuel lines especially under the hood and determine where that smell is coming from prior to a major barbeque!!!!

PorKen

Those are the original cam seals which all leak. They were superceded by a two piece design that seals much better.

There are three cam seals per head. Two are at the rear which are difficult to change, and usually leak worse than the front one.

Mrmerlin

if you smell fuel remove the RF fender liner and inspect the Y fitting they usually crack. Next possible place for fuel smell is at the back of the intake under the MAF where the curved short hose connects the damper and FPR

blown 87

Fix the fuel smells and leaks first.
Then fix the oil leaks you KNOW you have.
Keep cleaning and repairing leaks until you get them all.

One thing a lot of folks do not understand is that oil attacks most of the rubber bits on the car that it comes on contact with.

Lizard928

That is the cam cover leaking. Time for a recoat.

jcb928

I would say the smell was more of a exhaust smell and only happens sometimes (smelled it 3 times in 2k miles). When my 500SL had a small fuel leak you could smell raw fuel in the car + a heavy gas smell in the garage.

With the 928 you can't smell any fuel around the car but I have checked all the fuel lines (and the u shaped one under the MAF). I will pull the RF liner tonight and check the Y fitting.

The previous owner has a bill from 2/12/09 "replace valve cover gaskets" ($80 in gaskets, $384 labour) but they either did not do the work or only one side.

Come back soon