luke-44

I have a 930 in a shop for a ppi and the mechanic is reporting "numerous oil leaks". he says it will be $7-10k for an engine r&r and reseal. Does this sound normal?

He also can't remove plug #3 (seems to be seized and did not want to take a chance going further) to check compression although the other 5 cylinders are good.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance,

Kirk930

Seems high to me.

Do it yourself and save huge $$.

Any specific locations mentioned other than "numerous"?? Some are simple to fix (e.g. valve covers), but others (e.g. cam towers) are much more involved. The oil lines can leak/weep as well.

MUSSBERGER

There are a lot of places for oil to leak from (unlike a Viper) .Problem is once you open them up (if neccessary) a routine reseal will take on a life of it's own as you almost always find more that needs to be done. Just for starters a Turbo motor R&R probably around 800.00

luke-44

I went back to the shop on the basis of the above replies as well as sellers (2nd owner - owned for 10+ years) insistence there was only minimal leakage after sitting over the winter. Shop admits it could be only a "minor" leak as they can't pinpoint it based on oil "being everywhere". I asked if it could be vc gaskets or oil return lines (last done 10 yrs/15000 miles ago). They suggest I authorize a $150.00 charge to pressure wash, add a dye, run the car, and then pinpoint the leaks more precisely and go from there.

Turns out original engine reseal estimate of $7-10k includes a top end rebuild - head gaskets, valve job, new studs. The explanation was - now they are that far it would make sense to do these things (88000 miles).

There is also a broken/missing air pump belt they say requires the engine coming out to replace anyway - and yes that makes it an $800 belt.

Shop could only remove 5 of 6 plugs for the compression test I ordered- 125-125-125-125-130. They did not want to risk breaking a plug to remove the stuck one. Car seems to run like a top.

PPI found a few other things - cv jt boots, ac needs converting - nothing that was a deal breaker. But the possible engine bill is another matter. And, they say the trans leaks oil too. But my RSA engine and trans is a bit weapy too. Seems normal to me more or less.

Does this all sound legit?

C2 Turbo

Oil leaks need to be addressed/fixed, now or later and yes it would cost any where from $5000 to $7000.

The proper way would of course be to drop the engine and address what needs to be addressed including but not limited to changing all hoses/O-rings/seals/oil lines/gas tank lines as well as doing the 60K service (plugs/distributer cap/valve adjustment/fuel filter etc).

Having said that, these cars do leak if not driven regularly.

Timspu

I bought a 930 with small oil leaks which appeared from the cylinder head and progressively got worse the more i drove it. (Car was a garage queen 4k miles in 6 years) It turned out to be a broken head stud. This could be proved by what appears to be a banging noise coming from the waste gate when hard on boost. i also had to have valve guides replaced. My motor had 81K. I would trust the mech and put aside 8k for a repair. All in all mine was 5K GBP including clutch.
If it s a PPI i would negotiate the 8k off the price or agree a price and get seller to pay for the re seal and what ever else gets found.
When it comes to engine they can get real expensive very quickly.

luke-44

Wow. Thanks for the heads up. I will proceed accordingly.

Handy930

As perviously stated, there are several potential sources for oil leaks. If I was interested in this Pcar I would wash it down or have it done and then look closely for the source. Could be minor or major. BTW is the mechanic knowledgeable about Porsches? Normally you would do a leak down test instead of compression test. I have never had a spark plug removal problem so not sure what to suggest. But I would not buy the car unless this was resolved. Good luck.

Kirk930

I owned my 930 for almost six years, and in that time I re/re the engine twice (well, sort of....) The first removal was to fix oil leaks. It was hard to identify where they were all coming from with the engine still in the car. Replaced all oil lines (rigid, and flexible), most of the seals/gaskets, oil tubes, etc. Used the Pelican engine gasket kit. One thing I didn't replace were the cam tower seals.......I should have

Fast forward a couple of years and the cam towers are now leaking and the oil is dripping on the exhaust.

Those were replaced with the engine in the car. When I sold the car last summer it was still bone dry underneath. Total cost for all the work I did was under $1000

luke-44

I spoke with the shop again today. They seem very knowledgeable about the 930. (the situation with the seller is a bit touchy so I would rather not divulge the shop name right now). Like Handy has said the conclusion I have come to is the leaks are either minor or major, and so I have authorized the engine degreasing/pressure washing. I will know tomorrow.

Shop agrees if it is minor it is likely external stuff like oil return tubes, vc gaskets and the cam tower seals as Kirk mentioned. There is a broken air pump belt that requires the engine to be removed, and if it's minor we will proceed to fix that as well as the tubes/gaskets and also get full access to remove the stubborn spark plug.

If it's major, the shop says it's likely leaking at the head to the barrel or barrel to block - most likely caused by a broken stud. In this case it's an upper end rebuild. Given the records indicate the upper end has not been done (88000 miles), the shop is hinting it most likely needs this work done in their opinion and experience. If it's major I'm afraid I may have to pass on what appears to be an otherwise very nice piece.

PS - leakdown vs compression test: this shop is of the opinion one will give an pretty good indication of the other. The leak down (their comment) is a long ago carry over from multi piston air cooled airplane rotary engines, but compression is simpler and will give the same relative sense of engine health.

Last930

We do leakdown checks on all current piston aircraft engines. It provides a better gauge of cylinder health. All pistons engines have a certain amount of combustion blow-by; the leakdown check tells you how much (as a %), and where it's leaking (valves, rings. ). A compression check doesn't tell you the same info. Cutting open an oil filter also can provide info on health inside the engine. A borescope is useful too.

The seized plug may be resolved with a little heat, but if it doesn't come out clean it can bring the plug hole threads with it which can be very expensive.

MUSSBERGER

Driver side cam tower gets subjected to a lot of heat.

Side note. First thing I do is wrap those bumper shocks with towels. The sharp edges can be deadly.

GlennD

Just a thought ... if the engine is coming out, it would be a good idea to replace any non-solid fuel line (e.g. rubber components). There is lots of heat on the 930s (and other air cooled engines) that will cause the rubber to harden and potentially crack - leak points.
I have seen pictures of older 911's with flames out the back (and not in a good way). Same for 928s and any other older car with rubber fuel lines.

Oil leaks are minor when the engine is on fire due to old fuel lines. Having the engine out is a great time to get to a couple of these lines (a bit of a bugger trying to replace with the engine in the car). Put them on your list

Cheers
Glenn

pete77930

I bet its normal oil leaks from not being driven. Every one of my 911's/ 930's that I own, have owned, and probably will own has leaked oil if it sat for more then 2 months, be it a original factory high mileage motor or a just rebuilt race engine.
MOST problems are solved just by driving, enjoying, and god forbid( sarcasm) putting miles on the car. After all, the man who made the cars told us to drive them.