Changed oil, ready for winter storage - now I'm leaking...
 

Hi there,

As the title reads, I changed the oil in my 85 3.2 last week, and put the car to bed for winter :crying:

Aside from some of the mess of the oil change (my first), things looked pretty good. The problem now, is that I appear to have not one, but TWO oil leaks from what has been a completely bone dry engine.

The first leak seems to be coming from the centreline of the case. I've checked that the case drain plug is properly torqued, which it is, so I'm not sure where this is coming from. Maybe an oil return tube?

The second leak seems to be coming from the front corner of the passenger side lower valve cover.

So, that said, is there any chance that I've screwed something up lifting the car? I followed all the instructions in 101 projects - placed the jack under the centreline of the engine case and then transfered to jack-stands under the torsion bar covers. There was no drama during the process, so I'm pretty sure that I didn't damage anything.

Maybe I'm over-reacting and this is completely normal? Maybe the cooler weather and the fact that the car is sitting is contributing to this, and things will "re-seal" themselves when warmer temps arrive and the car is put back on the road in the spring?

Anyway, sorry for the rambling message - I'm just trying to figure out if I should start trying to fix it in the cold, or leave it till spring.

Advice? Recommendations?

Thanks in advance,
Dave

Did you put the same grade oil back in?
Sometimes a thinner oil can find leaks you never had.

Yes, I am quite curious as well.....what kind of oil did you use and where did you get it?

-matt

Hey Guys,

The previous owner used 10w40, and I've used 20w50, so that shouldn't have caused a problem.

As for what specifically I used it was Quaker State Peak Performance 20w50, API-SL. I'd been advised by some local guys that so long as I find an API-SL oil, I'd be fine. If I understand correctly, this whole oil debate flared up in response to the newer SM oil formulations, so hopefully I'll be ok with this oil, especially considering it's not even going to get driven much before the spring change.

Anyway, I'm going to go back and retorque everything under there later this week and see if something might have come loose in the course lifting the car. Anyone have any other advice on my new leaky problem?

:to_order:this is what happens when you put your car away for the winter:to_order: that's why i drive my car year-round.:burnout:

Man, How sad about three or four lines of Dave's post and I'm reminded of the nice 4 hour drive I had on friday in 80+ weather with 95 octane. I know, bad carma...

Ouch. Bad karma indeed Mr. Bray!

I once changed my oil and then went to Europe for 3 weeks. There was 1 quart on the floor when I came back home. I cleaned up the mess and it didn't leak again after that until about 6 months later.

All old 911's leak. I found this out after spending hundreds on seals and gaskets...

Thanks Murphy - I'm starting to gain some perspective on the issue. I had been blessed with a completely dry underside for the first 4 months of ownership, and was a little uneasy with the new leaks.

I'll keep an eye on it over the next week and should be in a better position to know what I'm dealing with.

Cheers,
Dave

If it didn't leak for 4 months, it must have been out of oil.

Ha! You're the third person to say that :) Actually, over the driving season this summer, the level never budged. And when I drained it last week, the flood of oil was massive....luckily I had my handy 15 qt drain pan ready to go!

Hey Dave,
Doesn't seam to make sense.
Are you sure you didn't just spill oil when you took the filter off or the new filter isn't tight? It could just be run off from there.
I would not be re-torquing nuts. This should be done once only.
Rod

Sadly no, the filter dribbled a bit, but I had rags underneath to catch the mess. The oil is visibly coming from the lower valve cover on the right side and also somewhere from the centre of the case - hence my suspicion that it's maybe the drain-plug, but maybe one of the oil return tubes.

My biggest fear is that somehow something shifted when I lifted the car, but that doesn't make much sense either.

Here's a question for those in the know. Could changing from 10W40 to 20W50 have caused this? I know the oil is thicker, and therefore should not leak if the 10W40 did not, but could it cause higher pressures in the various places where oil goes, and cause a seal that was previously holding up to let go a bit??

Anyway, I read the overview of replacing the oil-return tubes in 101 projects and it seems pretty straight-forward. Maybe I'll give that a go next spring if this keeps up.

How many quarts did you add after the oil change? Did you drive up to temperature and recheck it?

I have a large low profile drain pan...no need to jack the car for such a simple procedure.

I would say drive it for a while and see if the leaking stops. Tightening up the valve cover gaskets will probably only make it worse.

I'd give it a good cleaning so you know exactly were it's leaking.
Maybe even just a can of brake clean.
Porsches are suppose to leak a bit. (But mine doesn't LOL)