Amber Gramps

Hold on buddy you just hit a home run with that description. We can be 90% sure it's "the triangle of death" as rusnak would put it.

Oil will drip off the back of the engine and land on the exhaust cross-pipe. If the sound pad is loose and sagging the oil will soak up into it. :cheer:

It's time to stick your phone back in there and snap as many picture as you can to see if you see any obvious pooling and see if you can reach in there. Its a simple fix with only two 13mm nuts that have to come off.

And a oil so low that you cant read it on the dipstick is no big deal. The engine and tank hold some 13+ quarts.

rusnak

It could be the triangle of death or cracked crankcase vent tubes. The triangle of death area is really obscured on the SC motor vs. the 3.2 Carrera motor. This discussion might make me re-up my Renn membership so I can post a pic.

Amber Gramps

Um, Russ, you are a member. Post the pick. I'm gonna go get banana split fixings for a pile of 16 y/o girls. No you cant have pictures.

rusnak

Let's see if this posts…



The oil pressure switch is next to the oil thermostat, which is also near the crankcase breather, hence the term "triangle of death". This is the area that you need to reach, which is why I think an engine drop is in your future.

gjm

Ohhhh.... Goody. I can hardly wait. <sigh>
Can't be as bad as pulling the engine from a 928S4.

Just one thing... How does this fit with an airbox full of oil? Which (to be fair) was my main reason for considering an overfill.) Coincidence?

Tomorrow is another day. I've pushed Madame 911 back into the garage for the night. The statement about new leads stands though - having cleaned my hands and forearms I can see many dozens of places where those prickly little plug leads have tried to make friends with me.

Whatever, I'll have to get it up in the air a bit.

Amber Gramps

You don't think there is room even when dropping the engine mounts 4 inches???

gjm

My apologies - I have been most lax in thanking everyone for your help!



Now... 3.0 (SC?) motor in a 1973/4 'G' body. Is there likely to be room to get at the back of the engine without completely dropping it out? If the front of the engine can be dropped, I think it could happen. The airbox and all the fuel distribution gubbins on top is a bit of a pain, but there should be room down the right side once the hose between the oil filler neck and the airbox is removed.

(All front/back etc descriptions taken from a position standing behind and facing the car. )

rusnak

Is there room if you drop the engine and tranny 4"? I don't know, maybe. I'm just stating what I would do, but I guess it depends on your situation and what sorts of jacks and tools you have. IMO, all you are doing is saving yourself from having to raise the rear and drop the front enough to clear the valance with the top of the motor. If it were me, I'd want to get that engine out where I could see what's going on and possibly change the oil cooler seals and have a look at the crank seal too.

gjm

In a perfect world, that is what I would do. And fit turbo valve covers, uprate various bits, and so on at the same time.

Time, finances and facilities don't really lend themselves to that at the moment. I know - it was an $x0000 car when new, and comes with the running costs of a $x0000 car, regardless of age.

That doesn't mean it'll not happen. I'd much prefer a simpler fix at this stage, so perhaps I'm being inappropriately reluctant.

Amber Gramps

If you could get your hands on something like this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/1500-lb...ift-60636.html

or this:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...Lifts-_-148721

You would have it made. ....and when a good mechanic is $105US/hour your landlord could blow that just getting air in the tires.

gjm

The Torin one at $99? That's near $300 here. (Exchange rate is ~ US$1 = NZ$1.20).

I'll keep an eye out for something s/h. Very useful tool for engines, gearboxes, axles, or even motorbikes or ATVs.

Amber Gramps

It is a motorcycle jack. Not sure it clears the bumper with the shape of the pump. Just shop around locallyfor a motorcycle jack.

gjm

Stuff like this tends to be more expensive here, perhaps because of the shipping costs. That said, as so much is made in China these days, those costs would probably apply to the US, too.

Not to worry. We'll get there. If I can 'prove' the oil is coming from somewhere that cannot be reached without dropping the engine, it'll perhaps add some interest.

Or drop the buy price of the car to a point where I can think of keeping it in the garage for another couple of years before I sort it out!

JCP911S

Debbie Downer here....

Fully sorted, running and on a good day, this car is worth maybe $12K in US. It's basically a mongrel built on one of the least desirable 911 chassis... it's a project car.

By all means, dig in, and do your best, these guys have their teeth in this, and are in a position to give you some good advice.

If the motor is just suffering from some external oil leaks, then you dodged a major bullet.... as a data-point, if you have to rebuild a 3.0L engine, it's easily $7-12k USD.

But how is the body? Its not a true '73 MY small-bumper T, but if the structure is straight, accident and rust-free, then it still has some good value as a donor.

That would help.

But, be careful, you may end up adopting a stray dog that eats more than its keep.

Amber Gramps

Focus on getting her running. The oil leak is way down the list of worries. The leak will not effect how it runs. Landlord will spend the money to fix the leak once running. A running Porsche has a way of getting men to open their wallet.

Make sure you have spark and good fuel. It shouldn't cost you much more than a gallon of fuel and a working battery.